Constantine IX Monomachos
Bodin was the son of Mihailo, the ˝King of the Slavs˝, who held the Byzantine title of "protospatharios". His mother was the niece of Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos (r. 1042–1055). His father was more of a politician and statesman than warrior. Energetic and ambitious, Bodin was brought up in a period when the state enjoyed rare peace for two decades, although this did not interfere with his development of warrior qualities and abilities. He participated in the large revolt that broke out in Pomoravlje and Povardarje against the Byzantines in 1072–73.