Michel was born in 0101, the son of unknown parents. The place is not known.
He died in DEC 2010. The place is not known.
His wife was Zoé de Macedoine, who he married on 11 APR 1034. The place has not been found. They had no known children.
| Event | Date | Details | Source | Multimedia | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth | 0101 |
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| Death | DEC 2010 |
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| Attribute | Date | Description | Details | Source | Multimedia | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nobility Title | FROM 11 APR 1034 TO 10 DEC 1041 | empereur Byzantin |
Note 1
Michael came from a family of Paphlagonian peasants, one of whom, the parakoimomenos John the Eunuch had come to preside over the woman's quarters at the imperial palace. John brought his younger brothers into the court and there the empress Zoe became enamoured of Michael, who became her chamberlain. Zoe and Michael decided to use a slow poison to kill Zoe's husband Romanos III. However, becoming impatient with the poison, they drowned him and Zoe immediately married Michael, on April 11, 1034. Michael IV was also proclaimed emperor and reigned together with Zoe until his death in 1041.
Michael IV was handsome, clever, and generous, but he was uneducated and suffered from epileptic fits. Therefore he left the government in the hands of his brother John, who had already become an influential minister of Constantine VIII and Romanos III. John's reforms of the army and financial system revived for a while the strength of the Empire, which held its own successfully against its foreign enemies. But the increase in taxation caused discontent among both nobles and commoners. John's monopoly of the government led to several failed conspiracies against him in 1034, 1037, 1038, and 1040 one of which was led by the Empress Zoe herself. The last conspiracy involved the patrician Michael Keroularios, who became a monk to save his life and was later elected as patriarch of Constantinople.