When Harald Hardrada arrived in Constantinople to enlist in the Varangian guard, he would have expected to find the new emperor, Michael IV, in charge. What he found instead was Michael was in a state of near open war with his wife, the empress Zoe, who had also been the wife of the previous emperor Romanos.
The Empress Zoe is a remarkable historical figure despite being almost unknown to popular history. She should be talked about in the same breath as Queen Cleopatra of Egypt or Elizabeth 1 of England as one of the incredibly few women who took and held power in pre-industrial Europe in major countries. Zoe, at the height of her power, was perhaps the most powerful person in Europe. Nor was that power merely given to her, she had to fight every step of the way to rule in an empire that previously would never have accepted a female ruler, and against a myriad of foes who sought to control her, silence her, or kill her.
But in 1034 she was in danger of being sidelined and quietly murdered, much in the way she had helped in the plot to sideline and murder her husband Romanos earlier that very year. She had plotted with John to murder Romanos and put her lover Michael on the throne, only to see Michael and John immediately betray her. Such were the games of power in the empire.
So when Harald arrived, with his almost insatiable desire for wealth and power, a remarkable relationship with Zoe was all but inevitable. In the young prince Harald, Zoe saw a chance for a powerful new ally, someone she could possibly control and who could protect her and remove her enemies. In the striking and ruthless Zoe, Harald saw someone who could propel him to positions of power and wealth.
Over the next 8 years the two were entwined in a whirlwind of plots, murders, intrigue, exiles, imprisonments and outright warfare. They would be at various times allies, enemies, rivals and even lovers, two great leaders locked together in a relentless quest for power in a world where only one could eventually hold it, and neither could survive unscathed.
The story of Harald and Zoe is one for the ages, and it begins in Raven Lord, published today!