Elena Lakapina

The death of Emperor Leo VI the Wise in 912 and his brother and successor Alexander in 913 elevated Constantine VII to the throne of the Byzantine Empire. Konstantin was only seven years old when he became emperor. The regents ruled the empire.

Patriarch of Constantinople Nicholas Mystic was the main regent until 914. He was deposed by Zoe Carbonopsina , the mother of the young emperor. Zoya ruled with the support of the influential General Leo Foki until 919. However, Leo led the Byzantine army to defeat in several battles with Simeon I of Bulgaria in one of the Bulgarian-Byzantine wars . This strengthened the opposition to the regent and her beloved general.

In 919, a coup d'etat occurred , as a result of which Zoe was removed from power. The new regent was Roman Lakapin, drungari (admiral) of the Byzantine fleet . The novel arranged the marriage of his daughter Helen with Constantine VII to secure an alliance with the legitimate Macedonian dynasty .

The Chronicle of the Theophanes Continuer is a continuation of the annals of Theophanes the Confessor by other chroniclers who were active during the reign of her husband. According to the annals, the wedding took place in April or May 919. The groom was not even 14 years old, and Elena was probably even less. They would not have children until the 930s.

The novel was proclaimed Vasileopator ("father of the emperor") on the occasion of marriage. In September 920, Roman became Caesar . On December 17, 920 he was crowned as co-regent and in fact became the eldest of the two co-emperors.

Elena was now married to a junior co-ruler. Her mother Theodore was crowned in August in January 921 and dominated Elena until her death on February 20, 922. After the death of her mother, Elena actually became the senior co-empress. Her brother Christopher Lakapin became co-emperor in 921. Before his accession to the throne, Christopher was married to Sofia, daughter of the master Nikita. Sofia was crowned by the Empress in February 922. They had three children.

By 924 in Byzantium were: the senior emperor (Roman), two younger emperors (Konstantin VII and Christopher) and two empresses (Elena and Sofia). However, Roman crowned his two more sons as co-emperors - Stefan Lakapin and Konstantin Lakapin . By 933, Stefan married Anna, the daughter of Gabala. Children are not mentioned in the annals. By 939, Konstantin Lakapin married another Elena, daughter of the patrician Hadrian. Elena died on January 14, 940, and subsequently Konstantin married Theophanes Mamas on February 2, 940. Konstantin had a son, but his mother’s name is not known.

With the support of Roman, Christopher took a leading position among the four younger co-emperors. He was the heir to the throne, while Constantine VII, Stephen and Constantine were to remain junior co-rulers. However, Christopher died in 931. The novel did not exalt its younger sons over Constantine VII. His son-in-law became an heir in place of his sons. Elena was to become the main empress after the death of her father.

This continued until December 16, 944. Fearing that Roman would allow Konstantin VII to take the throne in their place, his younger sons Stefan and Konstantin arrested his father and took him to the Princes' Islands , forcing him to become a monk.

Constantine VII was reinstated as senior emperor after 24 years as a junior co-ruler. On January 27, 945, his sons-in-law and co-rulers Stephen and Constantine were also overthrown. They were sent into exile, and Constantine VII remained the only emperor. Elena by that time was already the only empress. In fact, never directly involved in the affairs of the state, Konstantin remained mainly occupied with his scientific research and transferred his authority to the bureaucrats and generals, as well as to his active wife Elena.

Roman II was an NGO co-ruler and heir. When Constantine VII died on November 9, 959, Roman became the next emperor. His own wife Feofano convinced her husband to send all of his five sisters to Canikleion Monastery. Apparently, after this, Elena retired from the yard. She died on September 19, 961.

With Konstantin VII:

• Leo - died in childhood.
• Roman II - Emperor of Byzantium in the years 959–963.
• Zoya - sent to the monastery.
• Theodora is the wife of Emperor John I of Tzimischos .
• Agathia - sent to the monastery.
• Feofano - sent to the monastery.
• Anna - sent to the monastery.

• Her profile in "Worldwide Guide to Women in Leadership" among other women of the period 750-1000