Editing Romanos III Argyros (section)

==Life==

===Family and early career===
[[File:Tetarteron_of_Romanos_III.png|thumb|''[[Tetarteron]]'' of Romanos III.|left]]

Romanos Argyros, born in 968,{{sfn|Cheynet|Vannier|2003|p=68}} was the son of Marianos, a member of the [[Argyros (Byzantine family)|Argyros family]]. Other hypotheses about his father are Pothos Argyros who defeated a [[Hungarians|Magyar]] raid in 958 (identified by some scholars with an [[Pothos Argyros (Domestic of the Schools)|older namesake]]), or Eustathios Argyros, known only for commissioning a poem in honour of [[Romanos II]] in 950.{{sfn|Cheynet|Vannier|2003|pp=64–65}} Romanos' father, Marianos, was the son of another [[Romanos Argyros (10th century)|Romanos Argyros]], who had married Agatha, a daughter of Emperor [[Romanos I Lekapenos]] (r. 919–944).{{sfn|Cheynet|Vannier|2003|pp=63–64, 68}}

Romanos had several siblings: [[Basil Argyros]], who served as general and governor under [[Basil II]] (r. 976–1025);{{sfn|Cheynet|Vannier|2003|pp=72–73}} Leo, who served under Basil and was killed in Italy in 1017;{{sfn|Cheynet|Vannier|2003|p=73}} Pulcheria Argyropoulina, who married the ''[[magistros]]'' [[Basil Skleros]];{{sfn|Cheynet|Vannier|2003|p=68}} a sister who married [[Constantine Karantenos]], who served as ''[[dux|doux]]'' of [[Antioch]] under Romanos;{{sfn|Cheynet|Vannier|2003|p=73}} and [[Maria Argyropoulina]], who married [[Giovanni Orseolo]], son of [[Doge of Venice|Doge]] [[Pietro II Orseolo]].{{sfn|Cheynet|Vannier|2003|p=73}}

He served as ''krites'' (judge) in [[Opsikion]], with the rank of ''[[protospatharios]]'' (one of the highest judicial ranks, usually awarded to senior generals and provincial governors). In this capacity he persecuted heretics at Akmoneia.{{sfn|Cheynet|Vannier|2003|p=69}} He was then promoted to the post of ''[[quaestor sacri palatii|quaestor]]'' (the senior judicial official for the imperial capital, Constantinople) and became one of the judges of the [[Covered Hippodrome|Hippodrome]], the High Court of the Empire. In this role he is mentioned in the ''Peira'', a compendium of legal decisions compiled by the noted jurist [[Eustathios Rhomaios]].{{sfn|Cheynet|Vannier|2003|pp=69–70}} He was promoted further to the rank of ''[[patrikios]]'' and the post of ''[[oikonomos]]'' (administrator) of the [[Hagia Sophia|Great Church]], while continuing to preside over the High Court.{{sfn|Cheynet|Vannier|2003|p=70}} Under Emperor [[Constantine VIII]] he held the post of [[urban prefect]] of [[Constantinople]], which made him the formal head of the Senate and one of the emperor's chief lieutenants.{{sfn|Cheynet|Vannier|2003|p=70}}

===Reign===
Late in 1028, Constantine VIII lay on his deathbed. Wishing to secure the Macedonian dynasty, but having no son, he summoned [[Constantine Dalassenos (duke of Antioch)|Constantine Dalassenos]] from Antioch to marry his oldest daughter, [[Zoë Porphyrogenita|Zoë]]. Dalassenos, the ''doux'' of Antioch, was an experienced military commander, influential patrician, and unswervingly loyal to the ruling house. The emperor's advisors preferred not to have a strong military figure as the new emperor, and persuaded the Emperor to choose Romanos instead, as a potentially more pliable and certainly less travelled candidate.{{sfn|Patlagean|2007|pp=131–132}}{{sfn|Treadgold|1997|p=584}} Constantine VIII forced Romanos to divorce his wife (who was sent to a [[monastery]]) and to marry Zoë, aged 50 at the time; Romanos was 60.{{sfn|Duggan|2002|p=145}} The marriage took place on 9 November 1028, and on the same ceremony Romanos was proclaimed [[caesar (title)|''caesar'']]. Three days later, on 11 November, Constantine died of illness.<ref>''[[Georgius Cedrenus]]'' − ''[[Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae|CSHB]]'' '''9''': [https://books.google.com/books?id=nbkVAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA484 484–485].</ref>{{efn|Some sources give 11 November.<ref>''[[Lupus Protospatharius]]''; [http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/protospatarius.shtml 1029]. "On the eve of [[Martin of Tours]]", that is, the day before 12 November (unless it's referring to the very same day).</ref><ref>The [https://archive.org/details/kleinchroniken1/page/n80/mode/1up Chronicle 15/7] of the ''Chronica byzantina breviora'' gives 11 November, although it also gives [[Basil II]] death as 12 December.</ref>}}

The new emperor was eager to make his mark as a ruler, but was mostly ineffectual in his enterprises. He idealised [[Marcus Aurelius]], aspiring to be a new [[philosopher king]], and similarly sought to imitate the military prowess of [[Trajan]].{{sfn|Ostrogorsky|1969|p=322}}  He spent large sums on new buildings and in endowing churches and monasteries.{{sfn|Ostrogorsky|1969|p=322}} He endeavoured to relieve the pressure of taxation on the aristocracy, which undermined the finances of the state. Previous emperors had attempted to control the privileges of the nobles over the common people.  Coming from the aristocracy himself, Romanos III abandoned this policy. This failure to stand up to the aristocrats allowed them to exploit the rural mass of landed peasantry, who increasingly fell into a condition of serfdom. This in turn undermined the traditional recruiting base of the Byzantine army. The combination of a reduced tax base and fewer native-born troops had long-term consequences. As revenue declined, the subsequent impoverishment of the state weakened the military's recruitment power still further.{{sfn|Ostrogorsky|1957|p=286}}

In 1030 he resolved to lead an army in person against the [[Mirdasids]] of [[Aleppo]], despite their having accepted the Byzantines as overlords, with disastrous results.{{sfn|Shepard|2010|p=102}} The army camped at a waterless site and its scouts were ambushed. An attack by the Byzantine cavalry was defeated.{{sfn|Wortley|2010|pp=359–360}} That night Romanos held an imperial council at which the demoralised Byzantines resolved to abandon the campaign and return to Byzantine territory. Romanos also ordered his siege engines to be burned.{{sfn|Zakkar|1971|p=116}} On 10{{nbs}}August 1030 the army departed its camp and made for Antioch. Discipline broke down in the Byzantine army, with Armenian mercenaries using the withdrawal as an opportunity to pillage the camp's stores.{{sfn|Zakkar|1971|p=116}} The Emir of Aleppo launched an attack and the [[Battle of Azaz (1030)|imperial army broke and fled]]. Only the imperial bodyguard, the ''[[Hetaireia]]'', held firm, but Romanos was nearly captured.{{sfn|Norwich|1991|p=273}} Accounts vary on the battle losses: [[John Skylitzes]] wrote that the Byzantines suffered a "terrible rout" and that some troops were killed in a chaotic stampede by their fellow soldiers,{{sfn|Wortley|2010|pp=359–360}} [[Yahya of Antioch]] wrote that the Byzantines suffered remarkably few casualties.<ref name="Dictionary">Kazhdan, p. 1807.</ref>{{sfn|Sewter|1966|p=43}}{{sfn|Wortley|2010|pp=359–360}} According to Yahya, two high ranking Byzantine officers were among the fatalities, and another officer was captured by the Arabs.{{sfn|Wortley|2010|pp=359–360}} After this defeat the army became a "laughing-stock".{{sfn|Norwich|1991|p=273}}{{sfn|Shepard|2010|p=102}}

Despite his victory, the Emir of Aleppo opened negotiations and signed a treaty that made Aleppo an Imperial tributary and allowed for a Greek governor to preside over the city.{{sfn|Stevenson|1968|p=256}} In 1032 the capture and successful defence of [[Edessa, Mesopotamia|Edessa]] by [[George Maniaces|George Maniakes]]{{sfn|Angold|2004|p=224}} and the sound defeat of a [[Saracen]] fleet in the [[Adriatic Sea|Adriatic]] did little to restore Romanos' early popularity.

Romanos faced several conspiracies, mostly centred on his sister-in-law Theodora. In 1029 she planned to marry the Bulgarian prince [[Presian (son of Ivan Vladislav)|Presian]] and to usurp the throne. The plot was discovered, Presian was [[Political mutilation in Byzantine culture|blinded]] and [[tonsure]]d as a monk but Theodora was not punished.{{sfn|Garland|1999|pp=161–162}} In 1031 she was implicated in another conspiracy, this time with Constantine Diogenes, the [[Archon]] of [[Sirmium]],<ref name="Dictionary" /> and was forcibly confined in the [[monastery]] of Petrion.{{sfn|Finlay|1853|p=471}}

In a vain attempt to reduce expenditure, Romanos limited his wife's expenses, which merely exacerbated the alienation between the two.{{sfn|Ostrogorsky|1957|p=286}} Romanos took a mistress. Zoë in turn fell in love with [[Michael IV the Paphlagonian|Michael]], the brother of high-ranking court eunuch [[John the Orphanotrophos]]. Romanos, unaware, allowed Michael to become one of his personal servants.{{sfn|Norwich|1991|p=276}} Having survived the attempts on his throne by Theodora, his death on 11 April 1034 was supposed to have been due to poison administered by his wife.{{sfn|Duggan|2002|p=145}}<ref name=":1">Schreiner, Peter (1977). [[iarchive:kleinchroniken2/page/151|''Die byzantinischen Kleinchroniken'' '''2'''.]] [[Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae]] '''XII'''(2). p. 142. "It was [[Holy Thursday]]... [[Skylitzes]]' ''History'', which [[Kedrenos]] used, erroneously gives 15 April, although it actually fell on 11 April, as the ''[[Lupus Protospatharius]]'' correctly reports."</ref> There is also speculation that he was drowned in a bath on his wife's orders.{{sfn|Duggan|2002|p=145}} He was buried in the [[Church of St. George of Samatya|Church of St. Mary Peribleptos]], which he built.{{sfn|Norwich|1991|pp=279–280}}

Zoë and Michael were married on the same day that Romanos III died.<ref name="Garland, Zoë Porphyrogenita"/> The next day the couple summoned the [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople|Patriarch]] [[Alexius I of Constantinople|Alexios I]] to officiate in the coronation of the new emperor.<ref>Norwich, p. 279</ref>  Although he initially refused to co-operate, the payment of 50 pounds of gold helped change his mind.<ref name="Garland, Zoë Porphyrogenita">Garland, ''Zoë Porphyrogenita''</ref> He proceeded to crown Michael IV as the new emperor of the Romans.<ref name="Treadgold, pg. 586">Treadgold, p. 586</ref><ref>Finlay, p. 478</ref>

<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
File:Zoe_mosaic_Hagia_Sophia.jpg|Mosaic of Zoë at the [[Hagia Sophia]].{{efn|Zoë's mosaic originally portrayed her alongside Romanos III, but was later reworked to portray [[Constantine IX Monomachos]].{{sfn|Duggan|2002|pp=141–142}}}}
File:Georgios_Maniakes_sends_the_letter_of_Christ_to_Romanos_III.jpg|[[George Maniakes]] sends the letter of Christ to Romanos III.
File:The_Arabs_drive_the_Byzantines_to_flight_at_Azazion.jpg|Arab cavalry pursue fleeing Byzantines after the [[Battle of Azaz (1030)|Battle of Azaz]]
File:The seizure of Edessa in Syria by the Byzantine army and the Arabic counterattack from the Chronicle of John Skylitzes.jpg|After capturing Edessa, the army under George Maniakes defends the city from a counter-attack by the Saracens.
File:Empress Zoe tonsures her sister Theodora.jpg|Empress Zoe tonsures [[Theodora Porphyrogenita|Theodora]] after another failed conspiracy.
File:The_murder_of_Romanos_III_in_his_bath.jpg|The murder of Romanos III Argyros in a bath, from the ''Chronicle'' of [[John Skylitzes]].
</gallery>