Romanos IV
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Romanos IV. |
Romanos IV Diogenes or
Romanus IV Diogenes (
Greek: Ρωμανός "΄ "ιογένης,
Rōmanos IV Diogen"s),
Byzantine emperor from
1068 to
1071.
Romanos Diogenes was the son of
Constantine Diogenes and a member of a distinguished
Cappadocian family. He had risen to distinction in the army, until he was convicted of conspiracy to seize the throne from the sons of
Constantine X Doukas in 1067. While waiting for his execution he was summoned into the presence of the empress regent,
Eudokia Makrembolitissa, whom he so fascinated that she granted him a free pardon and married him on
January 1,
1068.
With this Romanos IV Diogenes became the senior emperor alongside
Michael VII, Konstantios Doukas, and
Andronikos Doukas. After his coronation he carried on three successful campaigns against the
Seljuk Turks, whom he drove beyond the
Euphrates in 1068–1069. In 1071 Romanos IV prepared a large-scale expedition against the Seljuk stronghold of
Manzikert. Although his forces were numerous, they were not equally well-trained and contained various mercenary units.
After initial successes in his campaign, Romanos IV fought in the
Battle of Manzikert on
August 26,
1071. He became isolated from the bulk of his army, which turned to flight, believing that the emperor had been killed. The disorderly withdrawal of the Byzantine army allowed the Seljuk Sultan
Alp Arslan to capture Romanos IV and inflict a disastrous defeat on his forces.
Romanos IV was treated with respect by his captor, who at first had difficulty believing the dusty and tattered warrior brought before him was the Roman Emperor. But then he treated him with extreme kindness, never saying a cruel word to him in the Emperor's eight day stay in his camp, and who then released him in exchange for a treaty and the promise of a hefty ransom.
Gibbon in "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" recorded that Alp Arslan and Romanos IV Diogenes had a most interesting conversation at their meeting. According to Gibbon, when the Sultan asked the Emperor what he should do with him, the Emperor replied "if you are cruel, you will take my life; if you listen to pride, you will drag me at your chariot wheels; if you consult your interest, you will accept a ransom and restore me to my country." When the Sultan asked the Emperor what treatment he could have expected had he been the one vanquished, the Emperor's fierce nature made him reply ""Had I vanquished, I would have inflicted on thy body many a stripe." Gibbon records the Sultan then lecturing the Emperor on Christian forgiveness, and then nobly declared he would not follow an example, the Emperor's, which he abhorred. He then forgave the Emperor, gave him generous terms, put him in a robe reserved for Seljuk royalty, loaded him with presents, and set him free. [
1] Norwich states in "Byzantium: The Apogee" that some form of this famous conversation has been recorded by every chronicler of the period and the battle. A full account of this conversation is also preserved in Scylitzes (842, p. 700). The Sultan asked Romanus what be would have done if the Romans had won and the Turkish ruler had been captured. The emperor, without any dissimulation, replied, "I would have flogged you to death!" "But I," said Arslan, "will not imitate you. I have been told that your Christ teaches gentleness and forgiveness of wrong. He resists the proud and gives grace to the humble." [
2] Matthew of Edessa, an Armenian historian, also recorded this conversation between Emperor and Sultan.
In the meantime the opposition against Romanos IV decided to exploit the situation. The
Caesar John Doukas and
Michael Psellos relegated Eudokia to a monastery and easily prevailed upon Michael VII to declare Romanos IV deposed. Before Romanos could gather support, he was attacked and defeated by Constantine and
Andronikos Doukas, the sons of the Caesar John Doukas. Besieged by Andronikos Doukas in a fortress in
Cilicia, Romanos surrendered after a promising to resign his claims to the throne and enter a monastery. While being brought back to Constantinople, Romanos was nevertheless blinded (
June 29,
1072) and was sent into exile to the island of
Proti. His blinding was carried out so brutally that he soon died because of the injury and subsequent infection.
It was during his reign that the forces of
Robert Guiscard captured
Bari in
1071, and the
Byzantine Empire lost its last holdings in
Italy. Unable to stem this process, Romanos IV had turned his attention to affairs in the east.
By his first wife, a daughter of
Alusian of Bulgaria, Romanos IV Diogenes had at least one son:
* Constantine Diogenes, who died before 1068
By his second wife, the Empress
Eudokia Makrembolitissa, he had:
* Nikephoros Diogenes
* Leo Diogenes
*(primary source)
Michael Psellus,
Chronographia.
*
The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, Oxford University Press, 1991.
*
Edward Gibbon Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire*
John Julius Norwich,
Byzantium: The Apogee (Vol. II).
*
*
Romanus IV Diogenes
