After a planned marriage to Holy Roman Emperor Otto III in 996 failed to materialise, Zoe spent subsequent years in the imperial palace.

This action sparked a popular revolt which dethroned him and installed Zoe and her sister Theodora as joint empresses.

After a two-month joint reign, Zoe married a former lover who was installed as Constantine IX, transferring power to him.

[5] His brother Basil II, the senior co-ruler, prevented his nieces from marrying any of the Byzantine nobility, as this would have given their husbands a claim on the imperial throne.

[7] As an eligible imperial princess Zoe was considered a possible bride for the Holy Roman Emperor, Otto III, in 996.

[8] A second embassy sent in 1001, headed by Arnulf II, Archbishop of Milan,[9] was tasked with selecting Otto's bride from among Constantine's three daughters.

[3] In January 1002 she accompanied Arnulf back to Italy, only to discover when the ship reached Bari that Otto had died, forcing her to return home.

[4] Another opportunity for Zoe to marry arose in 1028 when an embassy from the Holy Roman Empire arrived in Constantinople with a proposal for an imperial marriage.

Constantine and Zoe rejected the idea out of hand when it was revealed that the intended groom, Henry, the son of Conrad II, was only ten years old.

[15] Shortly afterwards, Theodora was accused of plotting to usurp the throne, first with Presian in 1030, followed by Constantine Diogenes, the governor of Sirmium, in 1031.

[24][25] His abrupt rise to power had left him unprepared to rule, and he delegated much of the business of governing to his brother, the eunuch John the Orphanotrophos.

[28] Eager to ensure that power remained in his hands, John the Eunuch forced Zoe to adopt his nephew Michael Kalaphates.

Michael V, desperate to keep his throne, brought Zoe back from Principus and displayed her to the people,[35] but his insistence that he continue to rule alongside her was in vain.

[36] A delegation headed by Patrician Constantine Cabasilas[37] went to the monastery at Petrion to convince Theodora to become co-empress alongside her sister.

Theodora had become accustomed to a life of religious contemplation and tried to refuse the proposal, but the delegates brought her forcibly back to the capital.

[39] Zoe immediately assumed power and tried to force Theodora back to her monastery, but the Senate and the people demanded that the sisters should jointly reign.

[41] Officially Zoe was the senior empress,[32] and her throne was situated slightly in front of Theodora's on all public occasions.

The sisters proceeded to administer the empire, focusing on curbing the sale of public offices and on the administration of justice.

[43] Theodora and Zoe appeared together at meetings of the Senate and gave public audiences, but it was soon apparent that their joint reign was under strain.

He was brought for an audience before the Empress, but during their conversation his independent and forceful manner displeased Zoe,[32] and he was dismissed from her presence.

[47] Not content with bringing her to court, he insisted that he be allowed to publicly share his life with her, and that she obtain some official recognition.

[50] It is said that Zoe was stunningly beautiful, and Michael Psellos in his Chronographia commented that "every part of her was firm and in good condition".

[51] Recognising her own beauty and its use as a tool of statecraft, Zoe attempted to maximise and prolong its effect with a variety of treatments.