The general's last dance

 

In autumn 944, at the height of his career, John Curcuas was suddenly dismissed from his post. 

He owed his downfall to the two sons of the emperor Romanos Lekapanos, Stephen and Constantine. They were jealous of Curcuas for his popularity and success, and alarmed by their father's plans to marry his grandson, the future Romanos II, to Curcuas's daughter Euphrosyne. 

The brothers had previously tried to undermine Curcuas's position at court, but without success. This time they persuaded the emperor, now old and in poor health, to remove the greatest military commander the Empire had produced for generations. 

Soon afterwards. Romanos himself was deposed by his scheming sons, and quietly packed off into exile. The brothers, who meant to rule as co-emperors, now only had one last obstacle to remove. This was Constantine Porphryogentius ('born in the purple', so-called because he was born in the Purple Chamber of the imperial palace), son of the late emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe. 

Constantine was said to be a delicate child, interested in painting and music. Romanos, to his credit, had allowed the boy to live unmolested, and grow up in the palace. The Lekapeni must have thought he was easy meat, but Constantine turned out to be made of sterner stuff. Before they could move against him, Constantine had both men arrested at dinner and sent off to distant monasteries, where they were forced to become monks. The young man then ruled in his own right as Constantine VII. 

Although he had hated his father-in-law, Romanos, Constantine bore no grudge against the old general, John Curcuas. One of his first acts was to reinstate Curcuas to the office of Magister and order the repair of his palace in Constantinople, which had been damaged by the Lekapeni. Curcuas was not, however, restored to his old military command. Perhaps he was considered too old, and the emperor preferred to appoint younger generals, such as John Tzimiskes.

Two years later, in 946, he performed one last service for the Empire. He and his fellow Magister, Kosmas, were sent to negotiate an important prisoner exchange with the Arabs. The two sides met on the banks of the river Lamos (now Limonlu in Mersin province, Turkey). Curcuas, described as 'wise and very experienced', successfully negotiated the return of Roman prisoners, captured in the recent wars. Afterwards. he and Kosmas returned to the emperor, who received them 'with great affection'.

Constantine certainly admired the general. In his work, De Administrando Imperio (On the Governance of the Empire), the emperor refers to Curcuas as 'of blessed memory'. This would imply Curcuas was dead by the time of writing. Since Constantine is thought to have written De Administrando between 948-952, it seems Curcuas died within a few years of his last mission. 

There is nothing to suggest that the faithful old soldier died anything other than a natural death, probably at his palace in Constantinople. Like Belisarius before him, he quietly faded out of the picture, full of years and honours. 

(Attached is an image of Constantine VII on his deathbed, from the Madrid Skylitzes)