Theodosios Monomachos

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Theodosios Monomachos ( Middle Greek Θεοδόσιος Μονομάχος ; † after September 1056) was a Byzantine senator and usurper against Emperor Michael VI.

Life

Theodosios Monomachos was a nephew (or cousin) of Emperor Constantine IX. , under whose protection he rose to Proedros (chairman) of the Byzantine Senate. In addition, he may have held the high dignity of a Magistros and Protospatharius in the course of his career , which suggests corresponding seals of his name.

As Constantine IX. died on January 11, 1055, Theodosios played no role in the succession plan. On his deathbed, the emperor had designated a certain Nikephoros Proteuon as his successor, but Theodora III was in the struggle for power . enforce, which, however, only ruled Constantinople for a year and a half . The last member of the Macedonian dynasty decreed before her death on August 31, 1056 that the rule should pass to Michael Bringas , who did not come from her family , who then became Michael VI. ascended the throne.

Theodosius did not want to resign himself to having been passed over again as the next male relative of the late emperor. He armed the slaves in his household and, with the help of some supporters at the imperial court, gathered a crowd in the streets of the capital behind him. In order to increase his following, he had some prisons open , including the Praitorion , and recruited the prisoners in the hope of being able to storm the palace with them . When the Varangian Guard opposed the armed crowd, Theodosius turned to Hagia Sophia , either to be acclaimed as emperor there (according to Skylitzes ) or to seek asylum there (according to Zonaras ). However, the Patriarch Michael Kerularios had the church doors locked to the rebels. Theodosios was abandoned by his followers and taken prisoner together with his son in front of the church. Michael VI. banished the usurper to Pergamon , where his trail is lost.

swell

literature

  • Jean-Claude Cheynet: Pouvoir et contestations à Byzance (963-1210) (= Publications de la Sorbonne. Series Byzantina Sorbonensia. Vol. 9). Reimpression. Publications de la Sorbonne Center de Recherches d'Histoire et de Civilization Byzantines, Paris 1996, ISBN 2-85944-168-5 , p. 67 No. 78.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Theodosios Monomachos
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Θεοδόσιος Μονομάχος (Middle Greek)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Byzantine senator and usurper against Emperor Michael VI.
DATE OF BIRTH 10th century or 11th century
DATE OF DEATH after September 1056