Zoe Zaoutzaina
Encyclopedia
Zoe Zaoutzaina was the second wife of the Byzantine emperor Leo VI the Wise
. She was the daughter of Stylianos Zaoutzes
, a high-ranking bureaucrat
during the reign of her husband.
was a continuation of the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor
by other writers, active during the reign of Constantine VII
. According to it Zoe was first married to Theodore Gouniatzizes, an otherwise obscure member of the court. She became mistress to the Emperor after the death of her husband. Theophanes records Theodore being poisoned, implicating Leo VI in his early demise. Symeon Metaphrastes
records Leo falling in love with her in the third year of his reign, placing their meeting c. 889. At the time Leo was married to Theophano, daughter of Constantine Martiniakos. Their marriage had been arranged by his father Basil I
. They had a daughter but the marriage of Leo VI and Theophano seems to have been loveless.
suburb of Constantinople
. Theophano is considered particularly devoted to the church throughout her life. Whether her retirement was voluntary is left vague by both Theophanes and Symeon. Zoe replaced her in the palace and court life. There is a contradiction on her particular status from c. 893 to 897. According to Symeon, the marriage of Leo VI to Theophano was officially void. Allowing Leo and Zoe to marry within the year. According to Theophanes, the original marriage was still valid and Zoe remained the royal mistress. Both agree however that her father Stylianos Zaoutzes rose to the top of palace hierarchy and was even awarded the new title of basileopatōr
("father of the emperor"). Which he held until his death in 896. Theophano died in her monastery on 10 November 897. According to Theophanes, Leo and Zoe proceeded to marry at this point. Both Symeon and Theophanes agree that Zoe was only crowned Augusta following the death of her predecessor.
by Constantine VII, she had given birth to at least two daughters. However Leo VI still had no son and his succession was not secure. Symeon records her being buried in the temple of her namesake Hagia Zoe. However De Ceremoniis mentions her buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles
where Leo VI, Theophano and third wife Eudokia Baïana
were also buried. Providing both references were accurate, her remains were moved from the original burial place to that of her husband.
by Constantine VII, Leo VI and Zoe had at least two daughters. However different copies of the text give two different names for the second one:
A letter attributed to Nicholas Mystikos
by Christian Settipani
mentions negotiations to betroth the second daughter to Louis the Blind
. Whether negotiations were ever completed and whether the marriage ever occurred is not known. However Settipani and other genealogists consider Charles Constantine of Vienne to be the result of this marriage.
Leo VI the Wise
Leo VI, surnamed the Wise or the Philosopher , was Byzantine emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty , he was very well-read, leading to his surname...
. She was the daughter of Stylianos Zaoutzes
Stylianos Zaoutzes
Stylianos Zaoutzes was a high Byzantine official of Armenian origin. Rising to high rank under Byzantine emperor Basil I , he then rose further to prominence under Basil's successor Emperor Leo VI the Wise , who had a close friendship and possible an affair with Stylianos's daughter Zoe Zaoutzaina...
, a high-ranking bureaucrat
Bureaucrat
A bureaucrat is a member of a bureaucracy and can comprise the administration of any organization of any size, though the term usually connotes someone within an institution of a government or corporation...
during the reign of her husband.
Royal mistress
The work Theophanes ContinuatusTheophanes Continuatus
Theophanes Continuatus or Scriptores post Theophanem is the Latin name commonly applied to a collection of historical writings preserved in the 11th-century Vat. gr. 167 manuscript. Its name derives from its role as the continuation, covering the years 813–961, of the chronicle of Theophanes the...
was a continuation of the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor
Theophanes the Confessor
Saint Theophanes Confessor was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy, who became a monk and chronicler. He is venerated on March 12 in the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Church .-Biography:Theophanes was born in Constantinople of wealthy and noble iconodule parents: Isaac,...
by other writers, active during the reign of Constantine VII
Constantine VII
Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos or Porphyrogenitus, "the Purple-born" was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 913 to 959...
. According to it Zoe was first married to Theodore Gouniatzizes, an otherwise obscure member of the court. She became mistress to the Emperor after the death of her husband. Theophanes records Theodore being poisoned, implicating Leo VI in his early demise. Symeon Metaphrastes
Symeon Metaphrastes
Symeon the Metaphrast was the author of the 10 volume medieval Greek menologion, or collection of saint's lives. He lived in the second half of the 10th century...
records Leo falling in love with her in the third year of his reign, placing their meeting c. 889. At the time Leo was married to Theophano, daughter of Constantine Martiniakos. Their marriage had been arranged by his father Basil I
Basil I
Basil I, called the Macedonian was a Byzantine emperor of probable Armenian descent who reigned from 867 to 886. Born a simple peasant in the Byzantine theme of Macedonia, he rose in the imperial court, and usurped the imperial throne from Emperor Michael III...
. They had a daughter but the marriage of Leo VI and Theophano seems to have been loveless.
Royal consort
In the seventh year of his reign (c. 893) , Theophano retired to a monastery in the BlachernaeBlachernae
Blachernae was a suburb in the northwestern section of Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine Empire. It was the site of a spring and a number of prominent churches were built there, most notably the great Church of St. Mary of Blachernae , built by Empress Pulcheria in circa 450,...
suburb of Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
. Theophano is considered particularly devoted to the church throughout her life. Whether her retirement was voluntary is left vague by both Theophanes and Symeon. Zoe replaced her in the palace and court life. There is a contradiction on her particular status from c. 893 to 897. According to Symeon, the marriage of Leo VI to Theophano was officially void. Allowing Leo and Zoe to marry within the year. According to Theophanes, the original marriage was still valid and Zoe remained the royal mistress. Both agree however that her father Stylianos Zaoutzes rose to the top of palace hierarchy and was even awarded the new title of basileopatōr
Basileopator
Basileopatōr was one of the highest secular titles of the Byzantine Empire. It was an exceptional post , and conferred only twice in the Empire's history...
("father of the emperor"). Which he held until his death in 896. Theophano died in her monastery on 10 November 897. According to Theophanes, Leo and Zoe proceeded to marry at this point. Both Symeon and Theophanes agree that Zoe was only crowned Augusta following the death of her predecessor.
Death
Zoe herself died in 899. According to De CeremoniisDe Ceremoniis
De Ceremoniis is the Latin title of a description of ceremonial protocol at the court of the Eastern Roman emperor in Constantinople. It is sometimes called De ceremoniis aulae byzantinae...
by Constantine VII, she had given birth to at least two daughters. However Leo VI still had no son and his succession was not secure. Symeon records her being buried in the temple of her namesake Hagia Zoe. However De Ceremoniis mentions her buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles
Church of the Holy Apostles
The Church of the Holy Apostles , also known as the Imperial Polyandreion, was a Christian church built in Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, in 550. It was second only to the Church of the Holy Wisdom among the great churches of the capital...
where Leo VI, Theophano and third wife Eudokia Baïana
Eudokia Baïana
Eudokia Baïana was the third wife of Leo VI the Wise.The work Theophanes Continuatus was a continuation of the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor by other writers, active during the reign of Constantine VII. The work records the few details known about her.According to Theophanes, Eudokia came...
were also buried. Providing both references were accurate, her remains were moved from the original burial place to that of her husband.
Children
According to De CeremoniisDe Ceremoniis
De Ceremoniis is the Latin title of a description of ceremonial protocol at the court of the Eastern Roman emperor in Constantinople. It is sometimes called De ceremoniis aulae byzantinae...
by Constantine VII, Leo VI and Zoe had at least two daughters. However different copies of the text give two different names for the second one:
- Anna. Considered to have died young. Buried with her father and mother at the Church of the Holy Apostles.
- Anna or Eudocia. Eudocia was the name of the only daughter of Leo VI and Theophano while Anna was the name of the first daughter of Leo VI and Zoe. In either case possibly named after an already deceased half-sister or sister.
A letter attributed to Nicholas Mystikos
Nicholas Mystikos
Nicholas I Mystikos or Nicholas I Mysticus was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from March 901 to February 906 and from May 912 to his death in 925. His feast day in the Orthodox Church is May 16.Nicholas was born in the Italian Peninsula and had become a friend of the Patriarch Photios...
by Christian Settipani
Christian Settipani
Christian Settipani is the Technical Director of an IT company in Paris and a genealogist and historian.He has a Master of Advanced Studies degree from the Paris-Sorbonne University and is currently preparing his doctoral thesis, while he often gives lectures to students undergraduates at the...
mentions negotiations to betroth the second daughter to Louis the Blind
Louis the Blind
Louis the Blind was the king of Provence from January 11, 887, King of Italy from October 12, 900, and briefly Holy Roman Emperor, as Louis III, between 901 and 905. He was the son of Boso, the usurper king of Provence, and Ermengard, a daughter of the Emperor Louis II. Through his father, he was...
. Whether negotiations were ever completed and whether the marriage ever occurred is not known. However Settipani and other genealogists consider Charles Constantine of Vienne to be the result of this marriage.
Sources
- Theophanes Continuatus, Chronicle.
- Symeon Metaphrastes, Chronicle.
- Constantine VII, De Ceremoniis.