page_title: Theodora III Porphyrogenita
section_title: Co-empress with Zoë
hierarchical_section_title: Theodora III Porphyrogenita / Co-empress with Zoë
caption_attribution_description: English: Byzantine enamel plaques probably parts of a crown representing the emperor Constentine IX Monomachos (1042 - 1056), the Empress Zoe and her sister Theodora.
context_page_description: Theodora III Porphyrogenita was Byzantine Empress from 19 April 1042 to her death on 31 August 1056. She was sole ruler from 11 January 1055. She was born into the Macedonian dynasty that ruled the Byzantine Empire for almost two hundred years.
  Theodora became involved in political matters only late into her life. Her father Constantine VIII was co-ruler of the Byzantine Empire for 63 years then sole emperor from 1025 to 1028. After he died his older daughter, Zoë, co-ruled with her husbands then her adopted son, Michael V, keeping Theodora closely watched. After two foiled plots, Theodora was exiled to an island monastery in the Sea of Marmara in 1031. A decade later, the people of Constantinople rose against Michael V and insisted that she return to rule alongside her sister, Zoë.
  After 65 days Zoë married again to Constantine IX, who assumed the imperial responsibilities. Theodora seemingly retired to a convent after the death of Zoë in 1050. When Constantine died, the seventy-four-year-old Theodora returned to the throne despite fierce opposition from court officials and military claimants.
context_section_description: With Michael IV's death in December 1041, Zoë adopted Michael's nephew, who was crowned as Michael V. Although he promised to respect Zoë, he promptly banished her to a monastery on the Princes' Islands on charges of attempted regicide. This treatment of the legitimate heir to the Macedonian dynasty caused a popular uprising in Constantinople, and on 19 April 1042, the people dethroned Michael V in support of not only Zoë, but Theodora as well. Michael V, desperate to keep his throne, initially brought Zoë back from Princes' Island and displayed her to the people, but the population rejected his proposal that he continue to rule alongside Zoë.
  Key members of the court decided that flighty Zoë needed a co-ruler, and backed the people's demand that it should be Theodora. A delegation, headed by the patrician Constantine Cabasilas, went to the monastery at Petrion to convince Theodora to become co-empress. Theodora, accustomed to a life of religious contemplation, rejected their pleas out of hand, and fled to the convent chapel to seek sanctuary. Constantine and his retinue pursued her, forcibly dragged her out and exchanged her monastic clothes for imperial ones. At an assembly at Hagia Sophia, the people escorted the now furious Theodora and proclaimed her empress with Zoë. After crowning Theodora, the mob stormed the palace, forcing Michael V to escape to a monastery.
  Zoë immediately assumed power and tried to force Theodora back to her monastery, but the Senate and the people demanded that the two sisters should jointly reign. As her first act Theodora was called upon to deal with Michael V. Zoë, weak and easily manipulated, wanted to pardon and free Michael, but Theodora was far more strict. She initially guaranteed Michael's safety before ordering that he be blinded and spend the rest of his life as a monk. With Michael V dealt with, Theodora refused to leave Hagia Sophia until she had received a formal invitation from Zoë, some 24 hours after they had been crowned. Officially Theodora was the junior empress, and her throne was situated slightly behind Zoë's on all public occasions. In practice she was the driving force behind the joint administration. The sisters administered the empire, focusing on curbing the sale of public offices and on the administration of justice. Although contemporary historian Michael Psellus claimed the joint reign was a complete failure, John Scylitzes stated that they conscientiously rectified the abuses of the previous reigns.
  Although Theodora and Zoë appeared together at meetings of the Senate or when they gave public audiences, it was soon apparent that their joint reign was under considerable strain. Still jealous of Theodora, Zoë had no desire to administer the empire, but she would not allow Theodora to conduct public business alone. Court factions formed behind each empress. After two months of increasing acrimony between them, Zoë decided to search for a new husband, thereby denying Theodora the opportunity to increase her influence through her obvious talents for governing. She eventually married Constantine IX, on 11 June 1042, and the management of the empire reverted to him. Although Theodora and Zoë continued to be recognised as empresses, and although Theodora continued to appear at all official functions, power devolved onto her brother-in-law. Nevertheless, Theodora exerted influence at court, as demonstrated by her ordering the arrest and blinding of John the Eunuch, the powerful administrator who had been the chief minister of Romanos III, the brother of Michael IV, and the uncle of Michael V; he had lived in exile after the fall of Michael V.
  Constantine IX's preferential treatment of his mistress in the early part of his reign caused rumours that he was planning to murder Theodora and Zoë. This led to a popular uprising by the citizens of Constantinople in 1044, which came dangerously close to actually harming Constantine who was participating in a religious procession along the streets of Constantinople. The mob was only quieted by the appearance on a balcony of Zoë 
caption: Zoë (left), Constantine IX (centre), and Theodora (right) depicted on the Monomachus Crown
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