| Constantine X Doukas | |
|---|---|
| Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans | |
 | |
| Byzantine emperor | |
| Reign | 23 November 1059 – 23 May 1067 |
| Predecessor | Isaac I |
| Successor | Eudokia (disputed) orRomanos IV |
| Co-emperors | Konstantios Michael VII |
| Born | c. 1006 |
| Died | 23 May 1067(1067-05-23) (aged 60–61) |
| Spouse | Delassena Eudokia Makrembolitissa |
| Issue | by Eudocia Michael VII Doukas A son Anne Doukaina Andronikos Doukas Theodora Doukaina Konstantios Doukas Zoe Doukaina |
| Dynasty | Doukas |
| Father | Andronikos Doukas |
Constantine X DoukasorDucas (Greek:Κωνσταντῖνος Δούκας,romanized: Kōnstantīnos Doúkās;c. 1006 – 23 May 1067), wasByzantine emperor from 1059 to 1067. He was the founder of theDoukid dynasty. During his reign, theNormans took over much of the remainingByzantine territories in Italy, while in theBalkans theHungarians occupiedBelgrade. He also suffered defeats by theSeljuk sultanAlp Arslan.
Constantine's parents are not mentioned in any primary sources,[2] but some scholars theorize that he was the son of Andronikos Doukas, a nobleman who served asstrategos ofPreslav during the reign ofBasil II (r. 976–1025).[3][4] Historians often give his birthdate asc. 1006,[5] as he is said to have died aged "slightly over sixty years".[6][2] He was an academic, addicted to endless debates about philosophy and theology, and he gained influence after he married, as his second wife,Eudokia Makrembolitissa, a niece of PatriarchMichael Keroularios.[7] In 1057, Constantine supported the usurpation ofIsaac I Komnenos, gradually siding with the court bureaucracy against the new emperor's reforms.[7] In spite of this tacit opposition, Constantine was chosen as successor by the ailing Isaac in 1059, under the influence ofMichael Psellos.[8] Isaac abdicated on 22 November and Constantine X wascrowned emperor on the following day.[9]
The new emperor quickly associated two of his young sons in power,Michael VII Doukas andKonstantios Doukas, and appointed his brotherJohn Doukas askaisar (caesar), and also embarked on a policy favorable to the interests of the court bureaucracy and the church.[7] Severely undercutting the training and financial support for thearmed forces, Constantine X disbanded the Armenian local militia of 50,000 men at a crucial point of time, coinciding with the westward advance of theSeljuk Turks and their Turcoman allies.[10] Undoing many of the necessary reforms ofIsaac I Komnenos, he bloated the military bureaucracy with highly paid court officials and crowded theSenate with his supporters.[11] He even started a persecution of theArmenian Church due to many Anatolian-landed aristocrats being Armenian descent and as part of the campaign to further crackdown against the Anatolian-landed aristocracy thus alienating manyArmenians.[12]
His decisions to replace standing soldiers with mercenaries[13] and leave the frontier fortifications unrepaired led Constantine to become naturally unpopular with the supporters of Isaac within the military aristocracy, who attempted toassassinate him in 1061.[7] He also became unpopular with the general population after he raised taxes to try to pay the army.[7]
At the very start of his reign, theNormans underRobert Guiscard completed the conquest of ByzantineCalabria, but Constantine showed a resurgent interest in retainingApulia. He appointed at least twocatepans of Italy (Marules andSirianus) and sent reinforcements on two further occasions (under "Miriarcha" andMichael Maurex). He also suffered invasions byAlp Arslan inAsia Minor in 1064, resulting in the loss of the Armenian capital,[14] and by theOghuz Turks in theBalkans in 1065,[15] whileBelgradewas lost to the Hungarians.[16]
Already old and unhealthy when he came to power, Constantine died on 23 May 1067.[17] His final act was to demand that only his sons succeed him, forcing his wife Eudokia Makrembolitissa to take a vow not to remarry.[18] Both Michael and Konstantios were too young to rule, so Empress Eudokia ruled as thede facto ruler until 1 January 1068, when she marriedRomanos IV Diogenes and crowned him emperor.
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By his first wife, a daughter ofConstantine Dalassenos, Constantine X Doukas had no issue.[19]
By his second wife,Eudokia Makrembolitissa, he had four sons and three daughters:[19]
Constantine X Doukas Born:c. 1006 Died: 23 May 1067 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Byzantine emperor 1059–1067 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| People | |
| Other | |
