Byzantine Emperor. He was a nephew of the emperor Michael IV, and his one time occupation as a caulker gave him the nick-name "Kalaphates" or "The Caulker". He owed his position as heir to throne to the influence of another of his uncles, John the Eunuch, and the empress Zoë, who together ensured his adoption by the emperor, and, soon afterwards, his succession to the throne. He soon began to assert his new found power, banishing John to a monastery and recalling those nobles and courtiers exiled during his uncle's reign. In 1042 he also banished Zoë, who had been acting as his co-ruler, but the popular uprising this provoked forced him to permit her return, this time as joint ruler with her sister Theodora. Not long afterwards Theodora announced his deposition, forcing him to flee to the Monastery of Stoudios, where, in spite of having taken monastic vows, he was later arrested, blinded and castrated. He died at the monastery a few months later.

Byzantine Emperor. He was a nephew of the emperor Michael IV, and his one time occupation as a caulker gave him the nick-name "Kalaphates" or "The Caulker". He owed his position as heir to throne to the influence of another of his uncles, John the Eunuch, and the empress Zoë, who together ensured his adoption by the emperor, and, soon afterwards, his succession to the throne. He soon began to assert his new found power, banishing John to a monastery and recalling those nobles and courtiers exiled during his uncle's reign. In 1042 he also banished Zoë, who had been acting as his co-ruler, but the popular uprising this provoked forced him to permit her return, this time as joint ruler with her sister Theodora. Not long afterwards Theodora announced his deposition, forcing him to flee to the Monastery of Stoudios, where, in spite of having taken monastic vows, he was later arrested, blinded and castrated. He died at the monastery a few months later.

Bio by: js