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It is no mistery that Basil II is often considered one of the very best Byzantine emperors. However, his greatest failure was perhaps not arranging his succession, which eventually proved itself a disaster and tarnished his legacy with the constant political instability of Zoe's later reign. In addition to personal asceticism, it is said that Basil II never married in order not to empower any of the Byzantine aristocratic families, which could pose a threat to him and his dynasty in the future.

However, what if Basil II had married one of his nieces by Constantine VIII in their nubile years? Theodora apparently enjoyed imperial favor, but Zoe was regarded as the more beautiful one and was older, so it could be any of the two. Would he be able to pull this off legitimately, in the religious sense? What would be the implications of such a marriage? If he has a son (let's call him Romanos), what role could Zoe play in later life, considering she lived until 1050 (and her sister even longer)?

Scenarios like these always discuss the ramifications of Basil II having a capable heir, but that's overdone. I'm more interested in the consequences of Basil II marrying Zoe/Theodora and their future status, and what that could mean for the wider status of women and the hereditariness of the Macedonian dynasty. Could we see a tradition of imperial quasi-incest arising, following Basil's precedent? Would this further legitimize or jeopardize Macedonian hereditary rule? How does Romanos III's reign look like with either Zoe or Theodora as potentially influent, but not decisionmaking, empresses mother?
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