Zoe Zaoutzaina (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: Ζωὴ Ζαούτζαινα; died May 899) was a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

empress consort as the second wife of the Byzantine emperor

Leo VI the Wise Leo VI, called the Wise ( gr, Λέων ὁ Σοφός, Léōn ho Sophós, 19 September 866 – 11 May 912), was Byzantine Emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty (although his parentage is unclear), he was very well r ...

. She was the daughter of

Stylianos Zaoutzes Stylianos Zaoutzes ( el, ) was a high Byzantine official of Armenian origin. Rising to high rank under Byzantine emperor Basil I (reigned 867–886), he then rose further to prominence under Basil's successor Emperor Leo VI the Wise (r. 886–912) ...

(Στυλιανὸς Ζαούτζης), a high-ranking

bureaucrat A bureaucrat is a member of a bureaucracy and can compose the administration of any organization of any size, although the term usually connotes someone within an institution of government. The term ''bureaucrat'' derives from "bureaucracy", ...

during the reign of her husband.

Royal mistress

The work ''

Theophanes Continuatus ''Theophanes Continuatus'' ( el, συνεχισταί Θεοφάνους) or ''Scriptores post Theophanem'' (, "those after Theophanes") is the Latin name commonly applied to a collection of historical writings preserved in the 11th-century Vat. g ...

'' was a continuation of the chronicle of

Theophanes the Confessor Theophanes the Confessor ( el, Θεοφάνης Ὁμολογητής; c. 758/760 – 12 March 817/818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler. He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before taking u ...

by other writers, active during the reign of

Constantine VII Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Kar ...

. 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 the Metaphrast Symeon, called Metaphrastes or the Metaphrast (; ; died c. 1000), was a Byzantine writer and official. He is regarded as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church and his feast day falls on 9 or 28 November. He is best known for his 10-volume Gree ...

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.Leon, car Bizantskog Carstva
"''ZOE Zautzina, widow of THEODOROS Gouniatzizes, daughter of STYLIANOS Zautzes & his wife''..." Their marriage had been arranged by his father

Basil I Basil I, called the Macedonian ( el, Βασίλειος ὁ Μακεδών, ''Basíleios ō Makedṓn'', 811 – 29 August 886), was a Byzantine Emperor who reigned from 867 to 886. Born a lowly peasant in the theme of Macedonia, he rose in the ...

. 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

Blachernae Blachernae ( gkm, Βλαχέρναι) was a suburb in the northwestern section of Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine Empire. It is the site of a water source and a number of prominent churches were built there, most notably the great ...

suburb of

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

. 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 declared 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 899. 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 Ceremoniis The ''De Ceremoniis'' (fully ''De cerimoniis aulae Byzantinae'') is the conventional Latin name for a Greek book of ceremonial protocol at the court of the Byzantine emperors in Constantinople. Its Greek title is often cited as ("Explanation of th ...

'' 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 The Church of the Holy Apostles ( el, , ''Agioi Apostoloi''; tr, Havariyyun Kilisesi), also known as the ''Imperial Polyándreion'' (imperial cemetery), was a Byzantine Eastern Orthodox church in Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman E ...

where Leo VI, Theophano and third wife

Eudokia Baïana Eudokia Baïana (Greek: Εὐδοκία Βαϊανή; died 12 April 901) was a Byzantine Empress consort as the third wife of Leo VI the Wise. Biography The work '' Theophanes Continuatus'' was a continuation of the chronicle of Theophanes the Co ...

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 ''

'' 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 Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 12 ...

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 written by

Nicholas Mystikos Nicholas I Mystikos or Nicholas I Mysticus ( el, Νικόλαος Α΄ Μυστικός, ''Nikolaos I Mystikos''; 852 – 11 May 925) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from March 901 to February 907 and from May 912 to his death ...

mentions negotiations to betroth the second daughter to

Louis the Blind Louis the Blind ( 880 – 5 June 928) was the king of Provence from 11 January 887, King of Italy from 12 October 900, and briefly Holy Roman Emperor, as Louis III, between 901 and 905. His father was a Bosonid and his mother was a Carolingia ...

. Whether negotiations were ever completed and whether the marriage ever occurred is not known. However, some genealogists consider

Charles Constantine of Vienne Charles-Constantine (died 962) was a Count of Vienne. His father, Louis the Blind, was King of Provence and Holy Roman Emperor. Life When Charles' father Louis died in 929, Hugh of Arles, who was already king of Italy, took over Provence and gav ...

to be the result of this marriage.

References

Sources

*Theophanes Continuatus, ''Chronicle''. *Symeon Metaphrastes, ''Chronicle''. *Constantine VII, ''De Ceremoniis''.

External links

Her listing along with her husband in "Medieval lands" by Charles Cawley. The project "involves extracting and analysing detailed information from primary sources, including contemporary chronicles, cartularies, necrologies and testaments."
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaoutzaina, Zoe 9th-century births 899 deaths Macedonian dynasty 9th-century Byzantine empresses Burials at the Church of the Holy Apostles Mistresses of Byzantine royalty Augustae