Byzantine Emperor. He was born in 866 AD and was crowned co-emperor by his father, Basil I, in approximately 879 AD. When his elder brother, the intended heir Leo VI, died in 912 AD he came to power as senior Emperor, and took his nephew, Constantine VII, as his junior co-ruler. He announced the start of his reign by using the term "autocrator" on his coinage, becoming the first Emperor to take this title. Among his first actions as ruler was his dismissal of most of Leo's advisors and appointees, and banishment of the influential Empress Zoe Karbonopsina, Constantine's mother, to a nunnery. His refusal to pay tribute to Simeon I provoked a war with Bulgaria, and the Empire also faced invasion by Al Muqtadir of the Abbasid Caliphate during his reign. He is recorded in contemporary sources as being lazy, lecherous and malignant, and it was rumoured during his life time that he intended to castrate Constantine so as to exclude him from the succession. If this was indeed his plan he was unable to carry it out, he died of exhaustion in 913 AD after competing in a polo match.
Byzantine Emperor. He was born in 866 AD and was crowned co-emperor by his father, Basil I, in approximately 879 AD. When his elder brother, the intended heir Leo VI, died in 912 AD he came to power as senior Emperor, and took his nephew, Constantine VII, as his junior co-ruler. He announced the start of his reign by using the term "autocrator" on his coinage, becoming the first Emperor to take this title. Among his first actions as ruler was his dismissal of most of Leo's advisors and appointees, and banishment of the influential Empress Zoe Karbonopsina, Constantine's mother, to a nunnery. His refusal to pay tribute to Simeon I provoked a war with Bulgaria, and the Empire also faced invasion by Al Muqtadir of the Abbasid Caliphate during his reign. He is recorded in contemporary sources as being lazy, lecherous and malignant, and it was rumoured during his life time that he intended to castrate Constantine so as to exclude him from the succession. If this was indeed his plan he was unable to carry it out, he died of exhaustion in 913 AD after competing in a polo match.
Bio by: js
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