Lost to the West (46 page)

913—959......Constantine VII the Purple-Born..........
Son of Leo VI

920—944.....Romanus I Lecapenus..........
General, father-in-law of Constantine VII

959—963......Romanus II the Purple-Born..........
Son of Constantine VII

963—969......Nicephorus II Phocas..........
General, married Romanus II’s widow

969—976......John I Tzimisces..........
Usurper, nephew of Nicephorus II

976—1025......Basil II the Bulgar-Slayer..........
Son of Romanus II

1025—1028......Constantine VIII..........
Son of Romanus II

1028—1050......Zoë....
Daughter of Constantine VIII

1028—1034......Romanus III Argyrus..........
Zoë’s first husband

1034—1041......Michael IV the Paphlagonian..........
Zoë’s second husband

1041—1042......Michael V the Caulker..........
Zoë’s adopted son

1042......Zoë and Theodora..........
Daughters of Constantine VIII

1042—1055.......Constantine IX Monomachus..........
Zoë’s third husband

1055—1056........Theodora (again)

NON-DYNASTIC

1056—1057.......Michael VI the Old..........
Chosen by Theodora

1057—1059......Isaac I Comnenus..........
Usurper, general of Michael VI

DUCAS DYNASTY (1059-1081)

1059—1067......Constantine X..........
Chosen by Isaac

1068—1071......Romanus IV Diogenes..........
Married Constantine X’s widow

1071—1078......Michael VII the Quarter-Short..........
Son of Constantine X

1078—1081......Nicephorus III Botaneiates............
Usurper, general of Michael VII

COMNENIAN DYNASTY (1081-1185)

1081—1118......Alexius I..........
Usurper, nephew of Isaac I

1118—1143......John II the Beautiful..........
Son of Alexius I

1141—1180......Manuel I the Great..........
Son of John II

1080—1183.......Alexius II..........
Son of Manuel I

1183—1185......Andronicus the Terrible..........
Usurper, cousin of Manuel I

ANGELUS DYNASTY (1185-1204)

1185 1195......Isaac II Ángelus..........
Great-grandson of Alexius I

1195—1203.......Alexius III Ángelus..........
Brother of Isaac II

1203—1204......Isaac II (again) and son Alexius IV

NON-DYNASTIC

1204......Alexius V the Bushy-Eyebrowed..........
Usurper, son-in-law of Alexius III

PALAEOLOGIAN DYNASTY (1259-1453)

1259—1282.......Michael VIII..........
Great-grandson of Alexius III

1282—1328......Andronicus II..........
Son of Michael VIII

1328—1341.......Andronicus III..........
Grandson of Andronicus II

1341—1391....John V..........
Son of Andronicus III

1347—1354.......John VI..........
Father-in-law of John V

1376—1379......Andronicus IV..........
Son of John V

1390......John VII..........
Son of Andronicus IV

1391—1425......Manuel II..........
Son of John V

1425—1448......John VIII..........
Son of Manuel II

1448—1453......Constantine XI Dragases............
Son of Manuel II

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

L
ike the individuals it chronicles, a book never occurs in a vacuum, and writing this one has left me indebted to several people. First and foremost is my brother, Anders, who was a tireless source of encouragement and without whom pen would never have been put to paper. I am also grateful to Tina Bennett for her constant, excellent advice and to my editor, Rick Horgan, for his insightful comments and for keeping me true to the original aims of the book. The manuscript could never have reached its final form without Julian Pavia’s astute reading and has benefited immensely from his thoughtful questions. Many thanks also to Sam Freedman, David Morken, and to my students who endured the constant shoehorning of Byzantium into nearly every subject, but still asked questions. I am sincerely grateful as well to my parents for encouraging my love for the past, and to my siblings, Tonja, Pat, Nils, and Celine, for braving an endless stream of emperors and generals with unceasing support. Finally, I must thank my wife, Catherine, who has had to share me with Byzantium for far too long but whose enthusiasm for my work has never dimmed. Thank you all; your encouragement and guidance enabled this book to be written.

Copyright © 2009 by Lars Brownworth

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Crown Publishers,
an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group,
a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com

CROWN and the Crown colophon are registered
trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on request from the Library of Congress.

eISBN: 978-0-307-46241-1

Maps by Anders Brownworth

v3.0