"a break up of the system" and the cause of "a collapse of the military power of the Empire". He ruled for less than three years before his death, on 11 or 12 November 1028. On his deathbed and without a male heir, Constantine named as successor Constantine Dalessenos, Duke of Antioch, a senior aristocrat and member of one of the few powerful patrician families who had been unswervingly loyal to the Macedonian dynasty. Constantine Dalassenos was summoned from his estates in the Armeniac Theme, with the intention that he should certify his position as successor by marrying the emperor's daughter Zoë. Before Dalassenos completed his journey to Constantinople, the situation had changed. The emperor's advisors preferred a different candidate, Romanos Argyros, who showed promise of being a weak ruler whom they could control. Characteristically, Constantine acquiesced to this preference. Romanos was named as the new imperial heir, and compelled to divorce his wife and marry Zoë. The wedding took place on 12 November and Romanos was crowned four days later. Ancestry See also List of Byzantine emperors Notes References Citations Bibliography Primary sources Secondary sources External links Constantine VIII coinage Constantine VIII profile in the Prosopography of the Byzantine World. 1000s in the Byzantine Empire 1010s in the Byzantine Empire 1020s in the Byzantine Empire 1028 deaths 11th-century Byzantine emperors 960 births 960s in the Byzantine Empire 970s in the Byzantine Empire 980s in the Byzantine Empire 990s in the Byzantine Empire Basil II Macedonian dynasty Medieval child monarchs Porphyrogennetoi Sons of Byzantine emperors