Byzantine Emperor. Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans; Founder of Doukid Dynasty. He first achieved prominence following his marriage to the noblewoman Eudokia Makrembolitissa, and was a supporter of Isaac I's successful uprising in 1057. While believing himself to be dying in 1059, Isaac was pressured into naming Constantine as his successor, and when Isaac abdicated soon afterwards he took the throne as Constantine X. After taking power he raised members of his own family to important positions and favored the church and bureaucracy at the expense of the military. This left the Byzantine army dangerously weakened at a time when the Seljuk Turks were beginning to advance into the West. In 1061 he survived an assassination attempt but his tax increases made him unpopular with the common people. His reign saw the loss of the majority of Byzantine territory in Italy and also attacks on Asia Minor and the Balkans by the Sultan Alp Arslan. After his death in 1067 he was succeeded by his sons, Michael VII and Konstantios, who ruled under the regency of his widow, Eudokia Makrembolitissa.
Byzantine Emperor. Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans; Founder of Doukid Dynasty. He first achieved prominence following his marriage to the noblewoman Eudokia Makrembolitissa, and was a supporter of Isaac I's successful uprising in 1057. While believing himself to be dying in 1059, Isaac was pressured into naming Constantine as his successor, and when Isaac abdicated soon afterwards he took the throne as Constantine X. After taking power he raised members of his own family to important positions and favored the church and bureaucracy at the expense of the military. This left the Byzantine army dangerously weakened at a time when the Seljuk Turks were beginning to advance into the West. In 1061 he survived an assassination attempt but his tax increases made him unpopular with the common people. His reign saw the loss of the majority of Byzantine territory in Italy and also attacks on Asia Minor and the Balkans by the Sultan Alp Arslan. After his death in 1067 he was succeeded by his sons, Michael VII and Konstantios, who ruled under the regency of his widow, Eudokia Makrembolitissa.
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