Romanos III.

Miliaresion of Romanos III.

The death of Romanos

Romanos III. Argyros ( Middle Greek Ρωμανὸς Γʹ ὁ Ἀργυρός ; * 968 ; † April 11, 1034 ) was Byzantine emperor from 1028 to 1034 and the first husband of Empress Zoe .

Life

Romanos came from a noble Byzantine family and was prefect of Constantinople . He himself ascended the throne after the dying Emperor Constantine VIII forced him to marry his daughter Zoe, with Constantine Dalassenus losing out. The marriage took place on November 12, 1028, three days later Romanus III. the regency. He showed great ambition to pursue independent politics as regent , but was mostly unsuccessful in his endeavors. He spent large sums of money building buildings and supporting monasteries. His attempt to cut taxes resulted in a budget deficit.

In 1030 he decided to retaliate for the Arab invasions on the eastern border of the empire and led a large army to Aleppo . On the march he was surprised by the enemy and suffered a heavy defeat at Azaz near Antioch . Although the disaster was mitigated by Georg Maniakes and his successful defense of Edessa, as well as a victory over the Arab fleet in the Adriatic , Romanos did not regain his popularity . His wife is said to have been actively involved in his decline.

swell

• Johannes Skylitzes , Romanos III. Argyros ( English translation in limited preview )

literature

• Ralph-Johannes Lilie : Byzantium. The second Rome. Siedler, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-88680-693-6 .
• Ralph-Johannes Lilie, Claudia Ludwig, Thomas Pratsch, Beate Zielke, Harald Bichlmeier, Bettina Krönung, Daniel Föller, Alexander Beihammer , Günter Prinzing : Prosopography of the Middle Byzantine Period . 2nd department: (867-1025). Volume 5: Niketas (# 25702) - Sinapes (# 27088). Created after preliminary work by F. Winkelmann . Published by the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences. De Gruyter, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-11-016670-5 , pp. 602-604 No. 26835.

Web links

Commons : Romanos III.  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Romanos III. Argyros in the Prosopography of the Byzantine World

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Romanus III Argyrus - biography - Byzantine emperor . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . ( online ).
2. ↑ Georg Ostrogorsky : History of the Byzantine State (= Handbook of Classical Science . Vol. 12,1,2). CH Beck, Munich 1963, ISBN 3-406-01414-3 , p. 266.
3. ↑ Histamenon (Coin) of Romanus III Argyrus with Christ Enthroned. In: artic.edu. The Art Institute of Chicago, accessed August 21, 2015 . 

predecessor	Office	successor
Constantine VIII	Emperor of Byzantium 1028-1034	Michael IV.