Constantine IX Monomachos

Uncommon card · No. 171482

Constantine IX Monomachos (Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος Μονομάχος, romanized: Kōnstantīnos Monomachos; c. 980/c. 1000 – 11 January 1055) reigned as Byzantine emperor from June 1042 to January 1055. A member of the urban aristocracy, Constantine became emperor through marriage to Augusta Zoë Porphyrogenita in 1042. The couple shared the throne with Zoë's sister Theodora Porphyrogenita. Constantine's energetic rule was one of the most consequential in the Byzantine Empire's tumultuous 11th century. Fiscally, Constantine's reign was marked by profligacy, and he depleted the abundant imperial treasury he had inherited from Basil II (r. 976–1025) and his successors. For reasons that remain obscure Constantine debased the gold currency of the empire, the first permanent debasement of the coinage since its introduction by Constantine the Great. In Constantinople Constantine spent lavishly on both personal gifts and religious projects. Presiding over a period of economic expansion, Constantine encumbered...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Unknown 11th-century Byzantine mosaicist; Deuterium 1, Public domain