12 Facts About Constantine VIII

Constantine VIII Porphyrogenitus was de jure Byzantine emperor from 962 until his death.

Constantine VIII was the younger son of Emperor Romanos II and Empress Theophano.

Constantine VIII was nominal co-emperor since 962, successively with his father; stepfather, Nikephoros II Phokas; uncle, John I Tzimiskes; and brother, Basil II.

Constantine VIII displayed a lifelong lack of interest in politics, statecraft and the military, and during his brief sole reign the government of the Byzantine Empire suffered from mismanagement and neglect.

Constantine VIII had no sons and was instead succeeded by Romanos Argyros, husband of his daughter Zoe.

Constantine VIII bore Romanos four children, including Constantine, born in 960, and his elder brother Basil, born in 958.

Aged eight, Constantine VIII was engaged to a daughter of Emperor Boris II of Bulgaria but in the end, he married a Byzantine aristocrat, Helena, daughter of Alypius.

Basil and Constantine VIII became the new heads of state; nominally the brothers were equals, but Basil devoted himself to the responsibilities of his office and emerged as the senior Basileus.

Constantine VIII had no comparable interest in state business, and never developed any.

Constantine VIII was tall, graceful, and athletic in his youth, enjoying an excellent speaking voice and a good grasp of rhetoric.

On his deathbed and without a male heir, Constantine VIII named as successor Constantine VIII Dalessenos, Duke of Antioch, a senior aristocrat and member of one of the few powerful patrician families who had been unswervingly loyal to the Macedonian dynasty.

Constantine VIII Dalassenos was summoned from his estates in the Armeniac Theme, with the intention that he should certify his position as successor by marrying the emperor's daughter Zoe.