Romanos III Argyros

Romanos III Argyros (; Latinized Romanus III Argyrus; 968 – 11 April 1034), or Argyropoulos was Byzantine Emperor from 1028 until his death. He was a Byzantine noble and senior official in Constantinople when the dying Constantine VIII forced him to divorce his wife and marry the emperor's daughter Zoë. Upon Constantine's death three days later, Romanos took the throne. Romanos has been recorded as a well-meaning but ineffective emperor. He disorganised the tax system and undermined the military, personally leading a disastrous military expedition against Aleppo. He fell out with his wife and foiled several attempts on his throne, including two which revolved around his sister-in-law Theodora. He spent large amounts on the construction and repair of churches and monasteries. He died after six years on the throne, allegedly murdered, and was succeeded by his wife's young lover, Michael IV. Life Family and early career Romanos Argyros, born in 968, was the son of Mariano, a member of the Argyros family. Other hypotesis about his father are Pothos Argyros who defeated a Magyar raid in 958 (identified by some scholars with an older namesake), or Eustathios Argyros, known only for commissioning a poem in honour of Romanos II in 950. Romanos' father, Marianos, was the son of another Romanos Argyros, who had married Agatha, a daughter of Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos (r. 919–944).