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The name and place of burial of Eudokia in the Church of the Holy Apostles was recorded in De Ceremoniis by Constantine VII. However little else is known of her.

She is presumed to have been married to Justinian II during his first reign (685 - 695) and to have either predeceased him or divorced him by the time of his second marriage to Theodora of Khazaria in 703.

A daughter of Justinian is reported by the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor and the Chronographikon syntomon of Ecumenical Patriarch Nikephoros I of Constantinople to have been betrothed to Tervel of Bulgaria between 704 and 705. Her name is presumed to have been Anastasia, after her paternal grandmother. She is the only known child attributed to Eudokia.

[edit] Possible descendantsModern genealogists have theorised Eudokia and Justinian II may have descendants among later Bulgarian and Byzantine royalty and nobility. The theories rely on the successful marriage of her daughter "Anastasia" to Tervel of Bulgaria; however, the Byzantine chroniclers give us only fragmentary knowledge of the Bulgarian royal lineages of her time and no clear description of the relations the Bulgarian monarchs had to each other. Thus there is little evidence to support them beyond the theoretical level.

Among the theorised grandchildren of Eudokia are Telerig of Bulgaria[1] and Maria, wife of Leo III the Isaurian;[2] however, such close relations between the two would be rather unlikely to escape the notice of Theophanes.

Michael III (January 19, 840 – September 23–24, 867), Byzantine Emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Phrygian Dynasty. He was given the disparaging moniker the Drunkard (? ????s??) by the hostile historians of the succeeding Macedonian dynasty, but modern historical research[who?] has largely rehabilitated[citation needed] him, demonstrating the vital role his reign played in the resurgence of Byzantine power in the 9th century.
Michael was the youngest child of Emperor Theophilos and Theodora. Already crowned co-ruler by his father in 840, Michael III had just turned two years old when he succeeded as sole emperor on January 20, 842.

During his minority, the empire was governed by his mother Theodora, her uncle Sergios, and the minister Theoktistos. The empress had iconodule sympathies and deposed Patriarch John VII of Constantinople and replaced him with the iconodule Methodios in 843. This put an end to the second spell of Iconoclasm. The internal stabilization of the state was not matched on the frontiers. The Byzantine forces were defeated in Pamphylia, Crete, and on the border with Syria by the Abbasids, but a Byzantine fleet of 85 ships did score a victory over the Arabs in 853, also there were many operations around the Aegean and off the Syrian coast by at least three more fleets, numbering 300 ships total. The imperial government undertook the resettlement of Paulicians from the eastern frontier into Thrace (thus cutting them off from their coreligionists and populating another border region) and launched an expedition against the Slavs in the Peloponnese.

As the emperor was growing up, the courtiers around him fought for influence. Increasingly fond of his uncle Bardas, Michael invested him as kaisar (Caesar) and allowed him to murder Theoktistos in November 855. With Bardas' support, Michael III overthrew the regency on March 15, 856, and relegated his mother and sisters to a monastery in 857.

A conflict between the Byzantines and Bulgarians started in 855–856. The Empire wanted to regain its control over some areas of Thrace, including Philippopolis (Plovdiv) and the ports around the Gulf of Burgas on the Black Sea. The Byzantine forces, led by the emperor and the caesar Bardas, were successful in the conflict and reconquered a number of cities, Philippopolis, Develtus, Anchialus and Mesembria being among them, and the region of Zagora was recovered.[1][2] At the time of this campaign the Bulgarians were distracted by a war with the Franks under Louis the German and the Croatians.


Michael IIIBardas justified his usurpation of the regency by introducing various internal reforms; Michael III took an active part in the wars against the Abbasids and their vassals on the eastern frontier in 856–863, especially in 857 when he sent an army of 50,000 men against the Emir of Melitene. In 859 he personally besieged Samosata, but in 860 he had to abandon his expedition to repel a Rus' attack on Constantinople. Michael was defeated by the Caliph al-Mutawakkil at Dazimon in 860, but in 863 his other uncle Petronas defeated and killed the amir of Melitene at the battle of Lalakaon and celebrated a triumph in the capital.

Under the influence of Bardas and Photios, Michael presided over the reconstruction of ruined cities and structures, the reopening of closed monasteries, and the reorganization of the imperial university at the Maganaura palace. Photios, originally a layman, had entered holy orders and was promoted to the position of patriarch on the dismissal of the troublesome Ignatios in 858. This created a schism within the Church and, although a Constantinopolitan synod in 861 confirmed Photios as patriarch, Ignatios appealed to Pope Nicholas I, who declared Photios illegitimate in 863. The conflict over the patriarchal throne and supreme authority within the church was exacerbated by the success of the active missionary efforts launched by Photios.

Under the guidance of Patriarch Photios, Michael sponsored the mission of Saints Cyril and Methodios to the Khazar Khagan in an effort to stop the expansion of Judaism among the Khazars. Although this mission was a failure, their next mission in 863 secured the conversion of Great Moravia and devised the Glagolitic alphabet for writing in Slavonic. Fearing the potential conversion of Boris I of Bulgaria to Christianity under Frankish influence, Michael III and the Caesar Bardas invaded Bulgaria and imposed Boris' conversion according to the Byzantine rite as part of the peace settlement in 864.[3]

Michael III's marriage with Eudokia Dekapolitissa was childless, but the emperor did not want to risk a scandal by attempting to marry his mistress Eudokia Ingerina, daughter of the Varangian (Danish) imperial guard Inger. The solution he chose was to have Ingerina marry his favorite courtier and chamberlain Basil the Macedonian. While Michael carried out his relationship with Ingerina, Basil was kept satisfied with the emperor's sister Thekla, whom her brother retrieved from a monastery. Basil gained increasing influence over Michael, and in April 866 he convinced the emperor that the Caesar Bardas was conspiring against him and was duly allowed to murder Bardas. Now without serious rivals, Basil was crowned co-emperor in May 867 and was adopted by the much younger Michael III. This curious development may have been intended to legitimize the eventual succession to the throne of Eudokia Ingerina's son Leo, who was widely believed to be Michael's son.

If this had been Michael's plan, it backfired. Ostensibly troubled by the favor Michael was beginning to show to another courtier, Basil had Michael assassinated in his bedroom in September 867, and succeeded as sole emperor. Due to his stabilization of the economy, Michael III succeeded in increasing the empire's annual revenues to 3,300,000 nomismata by the year AD 850.

Michael's unflattering reputation in later centuries was largely a result of Basil's propaganda, which sought to justify his usurpation of power.[citation needed]

[edit] FamilyMichael III had no children by his wife Eudokia Dekapolitissa, but was believed to have fathered one or two sons by his mistress Eudokia Ingerina, who was married to Basil I:

Leo VI, who succeeded as emperor in 886.
Stephen I, patriarch of Constantinople.

Exiled to the monastery of Gastria.

Exiled to the monastery of Gastria.

Exiled to the monastery of Gastria.

Basil I, called the Macedonian ; 830/835 – 29 August 886) was a Byzantine emperor of Armenian descent who reigned from 867 to 886. Born a simple peasant in Thrace, he rose in the imperial court, and usurped the imperial throne from Michael III. Despite his humble origins, he showed great ability in running the affairs of state, leading a revival of imperial power and to a renaissance of Byzantine art. He was perceived by the Byzantines as one of their greatest emperors, and the dynasty he founded, the Macedonian (Greek: ?a?ed????? d??aste?a), ruled over what is regarded as Byzantium's most glorious and prosperous era.

Basil was born to Armenian parents in the 830s in the Byzantine theme of Macedonia (an administrative division corresponding to the area of Adrianople in Thrace).[2] While one source has claimed him to be of Slavic descent, such assumptions have been dismissed as fiction by the scholarly world.[3] The sole foundation of the Slavonic theory is that Arabic writers designate him as a Slav; this is explained by the Arabic view that all Macedonians were Slavs.[4] Basil's first language was Armenian, and he spoke Greek with a heavy accent.[5] A later story asserted that he had spent a part of his childhood in captivity in Bulgaria, where his family had, allegedly, been carried off as captives of the Khan Krum in 813. Basil lived there until 836, when he and several others escaped to Byzantine-held territory in Thrace.[6]

Basil was ultimately lucky enough to enter the service of Theophilitzes, a relative of the Caesar Bardas (the uncle of Emperor Michael III), as groom. While serving Theophilitzes, he visited the city of Patras, where he gained the favor of Danielis, a wealthy woman who took him into her household and endowed him with a fortune. He also earned the notice of Michael III by winning a victory over a Bulgarian champion in a wrestling match, and soon became the emperor's companion and bodyguard (parakoimomenos).


The coronation of Basil as co-emperor, from the Madrid SkylitzesOn Michael's orders, he divorced his wife Maria and married Eudokia Ingerina, Michael's favorite mistress in around 865. It was commonly believed that Leo VI, Basil's successor and reputed son, was really the son of Michael. Although Basil seems to have shared this belief (and hated Leo), the subsequent promotion of Basil to Caesar and then co-emperor provided the child with a legitimate and imperial parent and secured his succession to the throne.

During an expedition against the Arabs, Basil convinced Michael III that his uncle Bardas coveted the throne, and murdered Bardas with Michael's approval on April 21, 866. Now Basil became the leading personality at court and was invested in the now vacant dignity of kaisar (Caesar), before being crowned co-emperor on May 26. This promotion may have included Basil's adoption by Michael III, himself a much younger man. As Michael III started to favor another courtier, Basil decided that his position was being undermined and preempted events by organizing the assassination of Michael on the night of September 23/24, 867.

[edit] Reign
Basil I and his son Leo.Basil I inaugurated a new age in the history of the empire, associated with the dynasty which he founded, the so-called "Macedonian dynasty". This dynasty oversaw a period of territorial expansion, during which the empire was the strongest power in Europe.

[edit] Domestic policiesTo secure his family on the throne, Basil I raised his eldest son Constantine (in 869) and his second son Leo (in 870) to co-emperors.

Because of the great legislative work which Basil undertook, he is often called the "second Justinian." Basil's laws were collected in the Basilika, consisting of sixty books, and smaller legal manuals known as the Eisagoge. Leo VI was responsible for completing these legal works. Basil's financial administration was prudent. Consciously desiring to emulate Justinian, Basil also initiated an extensive building program in Constantinople, crowned by the construction of the Nea Ekklesia cathedral.

His ecclesiastical policy was marked by good relations with Rome. One of his first acts was to exile the patriarch Photios and restore his rival Ignatios, whose claims were supported by Pope Adrian II. However, Basil had no intention of yielding to Rome beyond a certain point. The decision of Boris I of Bulgaria to align the new Bulgarian Church with Constantinople was a great blow to Rome, which had hoped to secure it for herself. But on the death of Ignatios in 877, Photios became patriarch again, and there was a virtual, though not a formal, breach with Rome. This was a watershed event in conflicts that led to the Great Schism that ultimately produced the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church as separate entities. Church and state supported one another and it was during Basil's reign as emperor that Photios created a genealogy tree that purported that Basil's ancestors were not mere peasants as everyone believed but descendants of the Arsacid kings of Armenia.[7] Members of the Macedonian dynasty would come to use this tree to claim their descent from King Tiridates III of Armenia.

[edit] Foreign affairs
Another miniature representing a scene from Basil's life.Basil's reign was marked by the troublesome ongoing war with the Paulicians, centered on Tephrike on the upper Euphrates, who rebelled, allied with the Arabs, and raided as far as Nicaea, sacking Ephesus. Basil's general Christopher defeated the Paulicians in 872, and the death of their leader Chrysocheir led to the definite subjection of their state. There was the usual frontier warfare with the Arabs in Asia Minor, which led to little concrete gain, but Byzantium's eastern frontier was strengthened. The island of Cyprus was recovered, but retained for only seven years.

In the West, Basil allied with Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor against the Arabs and sent a fleet of 139 ships to clear the Adriatic Sea from their raids. With Byzantine help, Louis II captured Bari from the Arabs in 871. The city eventually became Byzantine territory in 876. However, the Byzantine position on Sicily deteriorated, and Syracuse fell to the Emirate of Sicily in 878. This was ultimately Basil's fault as he had diverted a relief fleet from Sicily to haul marble for a church instead. Although most of Sicily was lost, the general Nikephoros Phokas (the Elder) succeeded in taking Taranto and much of Calabria in 880. The successes in the Italian Peninsula opened a new period of Byzantine domination there. Above all, the Byzantines were beginning to establish a strong presence in the Mediterranean Sea, and especially the Adriatic.

Basil's spirits declined in 879, when his eldest and favorite son Constantine died. Basil now raised his youngest son Alexander to co-emperor. Basil got on badly with Leo, whom he probably suspected of being the son of Michael III. Basil died on August 29, 886 from a fever contracted after a serious hunting accident when his belt was caught in the antlers of a deer, and he was allegedly dragged 16 miles through the woods. He was saved by an attendant who cut him loose with a knife, but he suspected the attendant of trying to assassinate him and had the man executed shortly before he himself died.

[edit] FamilyThe mother of Basil is unknown, but his father was:

Konstantinos of Macedonia
By his first wife Maria, Basil I had several children, including:

Bardas
Anastasia, who married the general Christopher.
By his second wife, Eudokia Ingerina, Basil I officially had four children:

Symbatios, renamed Constantine (c. 865 – 3 September 879). Co-emperor to Basil from 6 January 868 to his death. According to George Alexandrovic Ostrogorsky, Constantine was betrothed to Ermengard of Provence, daughter of Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor and Engelberga in 869. The marrital contract was broken in 871 when relations between Basil and Louis broke down.
Leo VI, who succeeded as emperor and may actually have been the son of Michael III.
Stephen I, patriarch of Constantinople, who may also have been a son of Michael III.
Alexander, who succeeded as emperor in 912.
Anna Porphyrogenita. A nun the convent of St. Euphemia in Petrion.
Helena Porphyrogenita. A nun the convent of St. Euphemia in Petrion.
Maria Porphyrogenita. A nun the convent of St. Euphemia in Petrion.

Assassinated with his father Theudebert II.