Michael IV (Byzantium)

Histamenon of Michael IV.

Miniature 67 from the Manasses Chronicle , 14th century, murder of Romanos III. by order of Michael IV.

Michael IV the Paphlagonier ( Middle Greek Μιχαὴλ Παφλαγών Michaēl Paphlagōn ; * 1010 ; †  December 10, 1041 in Constantinople ) was Byzantine emperor from April 11, 1034 until his death .

Life

Michael came from a simple background, but his brother Johannes Orphanotrophos had an influential position as a eunuch at the court of Byzantium . He owed his elevation to the Empress Zoe , a daughter of Emperor Constantine VIII and wife of Emperor Romanus III. She had tried in vain to father offspring with her husband. For this, the rulers had also commissioned magicians to help fertility. However, all attempts were unsuccessful. Zoe then turned to the younger Michael, who had a weak character and suffered from epilepsy . On the same day that her husband Romanos allegedly died of poison (April 11, 1034), Zoe married her chamberlain.

Michael left the government largely to his brother, the eunuch Johannes Orphanotrophos, who had already been minister under Constantine and Romanos, and who had probably also introduced Michael to the empress in order to secure his influence. In the time of his reign the closure falls of a 30-year-long peace and support contract with the Caliphate of the Fatimids of Egypt (1037). This gave Michael permission to have the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem renovated at his own expense. In return, Michael released around 5,000 Muslim prisoners. During his reign the Byzantine troops were able to temporarily conquer the cities of Messina (1037) and Syracuse (1040) in Sicily . In the Balkans , his army did not succeed in defeating the ruler of Zeta , but it did crush the revolt in the Bulgarian provinces.

Michael's health had deteriorated since his accession to the throne. On his return from Bulgaria he was seriously ill and went to the monastery of the holy brothers Cosmas and Damian in Constantinople.

literature

• Erwin window: Michael IV. Paphlagon , in: Biographisches Lexikon zur Geschichte Südosteuropas . Vol. 3. Munich 1979, p. 177
• Alexander P. Kazhdan (Ed.): The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium . Oxford University Press, New York NY 1991, ISBN 0-19-504652-8 , p. 1365.
• John Lascaratos, Panaghiotis Vassilios Zis: The Epilepsy of Emperor Michael IV, Paphlagon (1034-1041 AD): Accounts of Byzantine Historians and Physicians. In: Epilepsia. Volume 41 (7), 2000, ISSN  0013-9580 , pp. 913-917, doi: 10.1111 / j.1528-1157.2000.tb00264.x ( digital copy )

Web links

• Michael IV. Paphlagon in the Prosopography of the Byzantine World
• Michael IV in: Encyclopædia Britannica . on britannica.com, accessed August 25, 2014.

predecessor	Office	successor
Romanos III.	Emperor of Byzantium 1034-1041	Michael V.