Romanus III



         


Romanus III (Argyrus), (in Greek Romanos Argyros, written Ρωμανός Αργυρός, lived 968 - April 11, 1034). His family name, Argyros, means "silver." Romanus, Byzantine emperor from November 15, 1028 to April 11, 1034, was an undistinguished Byzantine patrician, who was compelled by the dying emperor Constantine VIII to marry his daughter Zoë and to become his successor.

He showed great eagerness to make his mark as a ruler, but was mostly unfortunate in his enterprises. He spent large sums upon new buildings and in endowing the monks, and in his endeavour to relieve the pressure of taxation disorganized the finances of the state.

In 1030 he resolved to retaliate upon the incursions of the Muslims on the eastern frontier by leading a large army in person against Aleppo, but by allowing himself to be surprised on the march sustained a serious defeat at Azaz near Antioch. Though this disaster was retrieved by the successful defence of Edessa by George Maniaces and by the defeat of a Saracen fleet in the Adriatic, Romanus never recovered his popularity. His early death was supposed to have been due to poison administered by his wife.

This is a list of Byzantine Emperors.

Note: It is difficult to determine when exactly the Roman Empire ends and the Byzantine Empire begins; Diocletian split the Roman Empire into eastern and western halves for administrative purposes in 284. Candidates for the "first" Byzantine emperor include Constantine I (the first Christian emperor, who moved the capital to Constantinople), Valens (the Battle of Adrianople (378) provides one of the traditional cut-off events to mark the start of the medieval period), Arcadius (treating Theodosius I as the last emperor of a single Roman Empire), and Zeno I (as the last western emperor Romulus Augustus was deposed during his reign). Others date the beginning of the Empire even as late as Heraclius (who replaced the traditional Roman imperial title of "Augustus" with "Basileus", the Greek word for "Emperor", and discontinued the use of Latin by making Greek the official language). Numismatists note the monetary reforms of Anastasius I in 498, which used the Greek numbering system. Of course, the Byzantines themselves continued to think of their empire as "Roman" for over a millennium.

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Constantinian dynasty

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Non-dynastic

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Valentinian-Theodosian dynasty

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Dynasty of Leo

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Justinian dynasty

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Non-dynastic

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Heraclian dynasty

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Non-dynastic

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Isaurian dynasty

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Non-dynastic

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Amorian (or Phrygian) dynasty

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Macedonian dynasty

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Non-dynastic

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Ducaian-Comnenan dynasty

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Angelan dynasty

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Lascaran dynasty (in exile in the Empire of Nicaea during the time of the Latin Empire)

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Palaeologan Dynasty (restored at Constantinople)

In 1453 Mehmed II overthrew the Byzantine Empire and claimed the title of Caesar; his successors continued this claim. See Osmanli for the complete list of Ottoman sultans.

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This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.






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