Evdokia Makremvolitissa

Evdokia - the daughter of the nobleman Evmatia Macremvolita , who played a significant role in the reign of Emperor Michael IV of Paphlagon ; famous for beauty, scholarship and sophisticated education; was the second wife of Konstantin Duki, who later (in 1059 ) under the name of Konstantin X occupied the Byzantine throne . From this marriage six children were born.

Before his death in 1067, Constantine X appointed her ruler, taking from her a written promise never to marry, and passed it into the hands of Patriarch John VIII Ksifilin .

When, shortly after, the position of the state required a strong leader, Evdokia, who fell in love with Roman Diogenes , convicted of ambitious views of the throne and pardoned by her, on the pretext of wanting to marry the brother of the patriarch, Vardu Ksifilina ( Greek Βάρδας Ξιφιλίνος ), (at the age of forty) married Roman and gave him a place on the throne.

When in 1071, Roman was defeated in Armenia and captured by the Seljuk Sultan Alp Arslan , the hostile party at court demanded that her eldest son, Mikhail VII Duka , be considered co-ruler of Eudokia. When the sultan returned freedom to Roman for minor concessions, the enemies of the latter ( Mikhail Psell and others) demanded that Evdokia declare Roman deprived of rule. She refused and was tonsured a nun in 1071 in the St. Mary’s monastery on the Bosphorus , where she lived for another 25 years in scientific studies. She died in 1096 .

She has long been credited with a historical and mythological dictionary known as “Ionia” (or “Violarium”), but modern critics do not even attribute it to her time ^[5] .

Family

From the first marriage with Konstantin X were born:

• Michael VII Duca
• Andronic Duca , co-emperor from 1068 to 1078
• Konstantin Duca , co-emperor from 1060 to 1078, died 1081
• Anna Dukinya, nun
• Theodora Ducina, married Dominico Selvo , Doge of Venice
• Zoya Dukinia, married Adrian Komnin, brother of Emperor Alexei I Komnin

From the second marriage with Roman Diogenes were born:

• Nicephorus Diogenes
• Leo Diogenes

Michael Psell was very close to her family, Evdokia called him uncle. According to him, she was a very smart and beautiful woman.

• Buganov R. B. Evdokia Makremvolitissa // Orthodox Encyclopedia . - M .: Church and Scientific Center "Orthodox Encyclopedia" , 2008. - T. XVII. - S. 132-133. - 752 s. - 39,000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-89572-030-1 .
• Evdokia Macrembolitissa // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.