CONSTANTINE IX. Monomachus, emperor 1042-54, owed his elevation to Zoe, the empress who, in order to secure her position, married Constantine, with whom she shared the throne till her death in 1050. In his old age, Constantine, who had once been a famous warrior, utterly neglected the defences of the empire and reduced his army by disbanding 5o,000 of his best troops; on the other hand, he spent extravagant sums on luxuries and the erection of magnificent buildings. Rebellions broke out at home and abroad ; the Normans conquered Lombardy, which subsequently (105 5) became the duchy of Apulia, and thus Italy was lost to the empire ; the Petchenegs (Patzinaks) crossed the Danube and at tacked Thrace and Macedonia ; and the Seljuk Turks made their appearance on the Armenian frontier.