Zoe
Am I considered lucky to be born into the purple?
I am the daughter of an emperor in Constantinople.
Actually, I am a prisoner in anguish and pain.
I am forbidden to marry during my father’s reign.
All in the court hail the Emperor Constantine.
As a father, he has been cruel and mean.
Many have called me the most beautiful of our time.
However, a woman in her late forties is past her prime.
My father has been emperor since Uncle Basil’s death.
He is now quite near to taking his last breath.
As a result, he has placed his seal on an edict.
I am to marry Romanus Argyros, the city’s prefect.
This man Romanus had been married previously.
My father made him divorce in order to marry me.
I have no feelings for Romanus at all.
The man catching my fancy is named Michael.
Romanus can only be an emperor of the worst kind.
A way out of this problem is what I must find.
Empress Zoe of the Byzantine Empire lived from 950 to 1022 AD
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