Constantine Dalassenos ( duke of Antioch ) Constantine Dalassenos ( ) was a prominent Byzantine aristocrat and general of the first half of the 11th century . An experienced and popular general , he twice came close to ascending the imperial throne and marriage to the " porphyrogenita " Empress Zoe ( r . 1028 – 1050 ) , and suffered a long period of imprisonment under Michael IV the Paphlagonian ( r . 1034 – 1041 ) , who feared that he plotted against him . Biography . Constantine was born probably circa 965 / 970 , the eldest son of the " magistros " Damian Dalassenos , who held the important post of " doux " of Antioch from 995 / 996 until his death in battle against the Fatimids at Apamea in 998 . Constantine , along with his brothers Romanos and Theophylaktos , was also present at the battle . He was probably one of the two sons of the " magistros " who , according to the Christian Arab historian Yahya of Antioch , were captured by the Fatimids , taken to Cairo , and ransomed only in 1008 . Constantine reappears in spring 1024 , when he held his father ' s old post as " doux " of Antioch , with the rank of " patrikios " . His career between 1008 and 1024 is unknown , but he probably held a succession of military commands . He enjoyed the favour of Emperor Constantine VIII ( r . 1025 – 1028 ) , who on his deathbed reportedly considered naming him his heir and wedding him to his eldest daughter Zoe . Constantine Dalassenos thus set out from his estates in the Armeniac Theme , where he was living , but before reaching Constantinople the situation changed : the emperor ' s advisors , who preferred a weak ruler whom they could control , had persuaded him to choose Romanos III Argyros ( r . 1028 – 1034 ) instead , and to order Dalassenos to return home . Under Romanos III , Dalassenos served in the failed campaign of 1030 against Aleppo ; Arab sources and the chronicle of Matthew of Edessa blame Dalassenos and his conspiring against Romanos for the expedition ' s failure . During the reign of Argyros ' s successors , Michael IV the Paphlagonian ( r . 1034 – 1041 ) and Michael V ( r . 1041 – 1042 ) , Constantine Dalassenos emerged as the leader of the aristocratic opposition . He enjoyed not only the support of several prominent Anatolian families , most notably the powerful Doukai – the later emperor Constantine X Doukas ( r . 1059 – 1067 ) was married to Dalassenos ' s daughter – but also , according to Michael Psellos , of the populace both in Constantinople and especially in his old command , Antioch . The accession of the low - born Michael IV in particular reportedly enraged Dalassenos , who derided the new emperor as a " vulgar and three - penny man " . Michael ' s eunuch brother and chief minister , John the Orphanotrophos , tried to neutralize Constantine Dalassenos . With the promise of titles and honours , they tried to lure him from his estates in the Armeniac Theme to Constantinople . Dalassenos at first refused , but after receiving assurances for his safety , guaranteed by an oath on some of the Empire ' s holiest relics , he left for the imperial capital . Initially , he was treated well , receiving a promotion and gifts , but in summer 1034 , a revolt broke out in Antioch against the local governor , Michael IV ' s brother Niketas . The uprising was triggered by heavy taxation , but the Orphanotrophos chose to blame it on the Dalassenoi : Constantine , his brothers and relatives , including his son - in - law Constantine Doukas and other nobles associated with them , were imprisoned and exiled . Constantine himself was first exiled to an island in the Sea of Marmara , but later , to prevent his escape , he was transferred to a tower in the Walls of Constantinople , along with Constantine Doukas . His military expertise , however , continued to be so valued that the Orphanotrophos considered sending him as a military advisor to his brother Constantine in a campaign against Abasgia . A later tradition has it that during Constantine ' s detainment in the capital , Zoe , who had yet to conceive a child , carried out a secret relationship with him in hopes of getting pregnant . At some point in 1041 , Constantine was also forced to become a monk . The accounts here are contradictory : Psellos writes that Michael V did this upon his accession in December , but Michael Attaleiates in contrast records that Michael V had Dalassenos liberated from confinement . After Michael V was deposed in a popular uprising in April 1042 , Constantine VIII ' s daughters Zoe and Theodora were left as " de facto " rulers of the Byzantine Empire . Following both custom and her own inclination , Zoe decided to choose another husband ( her third ) to be emperor . Constantine Dalassenos , who had almost become her first husband in 1028 , was her first choice . He was brought for an audience before the Empress , but during their conversation , his austere principles and his independent and forceful manner displeased Zoe , and he was passed over in favour of the more pliant and amenable Constantine IX Monomachos ( r . 1042 – 1055 ) . Constantine Dalassenos disappears thereafter from the sources .