Zoe Porfirogenetka i Waregowie
Zoe Porphyrogenita and the Varangians

Summary/Abstract: The main aim of the article is to present the relations of Empress Zoe Porphyrogenita (978–1050) with the world of Varangians, from the point of view of Byzantine and Scandinavian sources. Zoe was one of the heirs of the Macedonian dynasty, which left its mark on the history of Byzantium in the 9th-11th centuries. Her connections with Scandinavia are mostly presented in correlation with Harald Hardrada, king of Norway’s sojourns in the Byzantine Empire. We mainly owe this point of view to the sagas, which are not as credible as the materials written by Byzantine authors from the 11th century, in particular: Michaels Psellos, Michaels Attaliates, John Skylitzes, and Kekaumenos. The accounts of these authors were confronted with information about Zoe from the sagas, in order to present her role in building the legend of a power-hungry empress in the northern frontiers of Europe.

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