She is best known for her role in the Dioclean civil war, where she violently intervened in a succession crisis following the death of her husband, Constantine Bodin.
The Dioclean king Michael I selected her as wife for his son Constantine Bodin, recently returned from captivity in Antioch, shortly after his coronation in 1077.
Her sons were young (less than 15 or 10 years of age) and thus in a weak position; Jaquinta feared that if Constantine died before they reached majority, Branislav would usurp the throne.
She urged her husband to imprison him, and the opportunity was seized when Branislav arrived to the capital Skadar unattended with his brother and son.
Jaquinta's nephew Vladimir prevailed in 1103, but she continued to intrigue on behalf of her progeny, this time George.
Thus, as soon as the king was dead, Jaquinta had her henchmen enter the jail and castrate and blind Dobroslav, who was then sent to a Skadar monastery.