Constantine VIII
Constantine VIII (Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος Η΄, Kōnstantinos VIII) (960 – 11 November 1028) was reigning Byzantine Emperor from 15 December 1025 until his death in 1028. He was the son of the Emperor Romanos II and Theophano, and the younger brother of the eminent Basil II, who died childless and thus left the rule of the Byzantine Empire in his hands.
Family
As a youth, Constantine VIII had been engaged to a daughter of Emperor Boris II of Bulgaria, but in the end he married a Byzantine aristocrat named Helena, daughter of Alypius. By her he had four daughters: Eudokia, who became a nun, Zoe, Theodora and Irene of Byzantium.
Life
Constantine VIII had been crowned with his brother by their father in 962, when he was still an infant. However, for some 63 out of the 68 years of his life he was eclipsed by other emperors, including Nikephoros II Phokas, John I Tzimiskes, and Basil II. Even when his elder brother became senior emperor, Constantine was perfectly content to enjoy all the privileges of Imperial status without concerning himself with state affairs. On occasion Constantine participated in his brother's campaigns against rebel nobles. In 989, he acted as mediator between Basil II and Bardas Skleros. Otherwise he spent his life in the search of pleasure and entertainment, including spectator sports at the Hippodrome of Constantinople, or amusing himself with riding and hunting.
