1. General

The Paphlagonians were a family of Asia Minor that hailed from Paphlagonia. Its representatives were of humble origins and were never included among the upper echelons of Byzantine aristocracy. They owed their success to the position of the eunuch John, known by the monicker Orphanotrophos, who since the time of Basil II (976-1025) had been occupying important offices at court in Constantinople. Two Byzantine emperors, Michael IV the Paphlagonian and Michael V Kalaphates, came from this family. However, the attempt of the Paphlagonians to create a dynasty failed after the overthrow and blinding of Michael V in 1042. Following these events, the members of the family of Paphlagonians lost their social positions and soon disappeared from the forefront of history.

2. The appearance of the family

The Paphlagonians owed their family name to the fact that they hailed from the theme of Paphlagonia. It is impossible to make a detailed reference to their activities in that region, since the first specific information on the family deals with the period after the first quarter of the eleventh century, when its members are shown to be active in Constantinople. Nevertheless, there is certain evidence in the sources that could define more fully the position these family members held in the social scale before John Orphanotrophos found himself among Basil II’s courtiers and became a man of great influence.

In the first place, it must be stated that this was a family of many members. The earliest and best-known generation of Paphlagonians comprised John, Constantine, George, the future emperor Michael and Niketas―five brothers of which the first three were eunuchs. It is known that they also had a sister, Maria, whose son was the future emperor Michael V, representing the second generation of the family. Apart from the aforementioned family members, we can deduce from the sources that the Paphlagonians had other relatives as well,¹ but in most cases their name, position and relation to the five brothers is not mentioned.

The Paphlagonians came from the lower social strata and had no upper-class ties. It is known that they were involved in banking and usury, activities that assisted them in becoming rich.² However, the family owed its rise primarily to the skills of the eunuch John Orphanotrophos and his ability to take advantage of the prevalent political circumstances of the time in order to elevate his brother to the imperial throne.

3. The role of John Orphanotrophos

The earliest concrete evidence on the Paphlagonians dates from the period when members of the family settled in Constantinople, a time that saw the beginning of the rise of John the eunuch, eldest of the five brothers. According to Michael Psellos, the eunuch John was one of emperor Basil II’s confidants at court, even though the latter had not entrusted him with any higher office.³ Later on, in the reign of Constantine VIII (1025-1028), John the eunuch was appointed to the service of Romanos Argyros, eparch of Constantinople. When in 1028 Argyros ascended the throne, John was given the opportunity to fill the most important position in the imperial court. It is known that in 1029 he was a praepositos and later, around 1033-1034, he was appointed overseer of the newly-founded orphanage, hence the monicker by which he became known. Even though no other of his official titles is known, the fact remains that during the time of Romanos III Argyros he was one of the most powerful personages at court and very quickly asserted his authority and gained significant influence.

During the reign of Romanos III other members of the family were also given access to the palace, John’s younger brother Michael being the first and foremost. Thanks to his physical appearance, Michael the Paphlagonian made an impression on the empress Zoe, wife of Romanos III, and soon became her lover. This fact gave the Paphlagonians the ability to exploit their influence and take over power in the state. There is no doubt that it was John Orphanotrophos who added political tint to this love affair. Since as a eunuch he was not eligible for the imperial office himself, it was natural that this part fell on young Michael.

John Orphanotrophos’ plan for his family’s rise to power met with success. During the night of Charcoal Thursday or the early hours of Good Friday, April 11-12, 1034, Romanos Argyros died suddenly in his bath.⁴ On the same day Zoe married Michael, who thus ascended the throne of Constantinople, as the second husband of Constantine VIII’s daughter.

4. The apogee of Paphlagonian power: Michael IV

Because Michael’s rise to the throne was sudden and under suspicious circumstances, the Paphlagonians were forced to take measures for safeguarding their newly-acquired place. The fact that the new emperor was of humble origin and his family had no ties to any illustrious family in Byzantium forced the Paphlagonians into seeking to secure the support of members of the upper social strata of the capital and the provinces.

Immediately after the enthronement, Michael IV lavished high honors on the members of the Senate. For many reasons, it seems that securing support inside Constantinople was accomplished by the Paphlagonians without difficulty, since by their marriage Zoe, a member of the Macedonian dynasty, had imparted legitimacy to this fait accompli change-over. Zoe’s support, in conjunction with the emperor’s generosity, was enough to ensure the support of the people of the capital.

The situation in the provinces developed differently. Information contained in contemporary sources⁵ shows that that in certain regions (in the Armeniakon theme and the duchy of Antioch) there were reactions against the new rule, led by the patrikiosConstantine Dalassenos. Those mentioned among his followers included his son-in-law, the future emperor Constantine Doukas, and other potentates of Asia Minor (Goudeles, Baianos, and Probatas), while the leader of the opposition in Antioch was the patrikios Elpidios. The reports that mention a part of Byzantine aristocracy offering resistance and not recognizing Michael IV as emperor, because the latter did not belong to an illustrious family, are indicative.⁶ It may be said that checking the opposition that had rallied round Dalassenos was the main issue of domestic policy that Michael IV had to face during his reign. The new emperor’s uncertain position is also evident from the fact the Paphlagonians were constrained to deal with Constantine Dalassenos and his followers not directly, but gradually and with caution. Thus, during the first months of his reign Michael IV was forced to negotiate constantly with the disgruntled grandees of Byzantium, trying to win them over by bestowing honors on them. After a few months, however, when his authority was firmly secured, he was able to take harsher measures and so he began banishing and imprisoning his opponents, as well as confiscating their properties.

Michael IV and John Orphanotrophos utilized delegation of authority among family members in order to compensate for the lack of family ties between the Paphlagonians and representatives of the upper social strata. In this way, Michael IV’s relatives became the mainstay of his power. In actual fact, the state was run by John Orphanotrophos, because Michael suffered from epilepsy.⁷ A share in the exercise of authority was also given to two of the emperor’s brothers: in 1034 Niketas was appointed doux of Antioch, but, because he died shortly afterwards, this important post was given to the emperor’s other brother, the eunuch Constantine. The latter went on to become domestic of the Schools of the East. The last brother, George, later received the rank of protovestiarios. Their sister Maria’s husband, Stephen, father of future emperor Michael V, was appointed droungarios tou ploimou and took part in the expedition of George Maniakes against the Arabs of Sicily.

Apart from offices and titles, the emperor’s relatives were given the chance to get rich. Thanks to the confiscation of the estates of their political adversaries, the Paphlagonians were able to become great landowners themselves in certain Byzantine themes.⁸

5. An attempt at creating a dynasty

Regardless of the difficulties that Michael IV faced after he rose to the throne, the fact that he was succeeded by his nephew, Michael V, bears witness to the Paphlagonians as a family having consolidated their position to a significant degree during the period 1034-1041.

Given the fact the emperor suffered from epilepsy and could not father any children by his marriage to Zoe, it was natural that from the outset the question of succession arose among his relatives. The way by which they had come to power in 1034 demanded an urgent solution to the question of the prospective succession, since in case Michael died suddenly the Paphlagonians would be hard-pressed to protect their family’s interests. Already in 1034 Niketas, who was the only one of the brothers, except Michael, who was not a eunuch, had been earmarked as heir. However, since he died in the same year, it was agreed that Michael, son the emperor’s sister Maria, would be named heir. John Orphanotrophos and the emperor managed to convince Zoe first to adopt Michael and then to invest him with the rank of caesar.⁹ In this way the legitimacy of Michael as heir apparent to the throne was assured.

The great degree of consolidation of the Paphlagonian dynasty’s position during the period 1034-1041 is best evidenced by the fact that, after the death of Michael IV (December 1041), Michael V Kalaphates¹⁰ took over power without anyone offering resistance, either in the capital or in the provinces. This time the emperor’s humble origins caused no reaction in the Byzantine aristocracy, a fact that in itself shows the success of the policies of John Orphanotrophos and Michael IV.

6. The uprising of 1042 and the end of Paphlagonian rule

The peaceful transition of power notwithstanding, the new emperor ruled for only a few months―by April 1042 he had been overthrown and blinded. This turn of events came about mainly because Michael V destroyed his reign’s two supports: first he turned against his family and then he attempted to bypass the dynastic rights of the empress Zoe.

When he ascended the throne, Michael Kalaphates tried to distance himself from his relatives. For this reason, first he banished the powerful John Orphanotrophos and then his two uncles, Constantine and George.¹¹ Even though he soon recalled Constantine from exile and honored him with the high rank of nobelissimos, Byzantine historiographers stress the fact that his policy towards his relatives was completely different from that followed by his predecessor. While Michael IV sought and found his authority’s mainstay among his relatives, Michael V saw in them the main obstacle to the independent rule towards which he tended and he decided to castrate them, thereby depriving himself of the assistance they could have offered him.¹²