Michael V Kalaphates
Michael V Kalaphates - kalaphates meaning caulker after his father's trade - had one of the most dramatic and brief reigns in Byzantine history, lasting only four months before he was overthrown in a popular uprising. He had been adopted by the empress Zoe as heir to Michael IV. When Michael IV died in December 1041, Michael V became emperor. Almost immediately he began to assert his independence from the Orphanotrophos by exiling his uncle John to a monastery. Then he made the catastrophic error of exiling the empress Zoe herself to a convent, removing the Macedonian legitimacy that underpinned his own position. The people of Constantinople erupted in fury. A spontaneous popular uprising began in April 1042, with the Constantinople crowd demanding Zoe's return. The military failed to suppress the riot. Michael V was dragged from sanctuary, blinded, and castrated, then sent to a monastery. His entire imperial career from his adoption to his deposition spanned barely a year.
- Lived: 1015 CE – 1042 CE
- Nationality: byzantine
- Roles: emperor, head_of_state
