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Romanos I Lakapenos or Lekapenos (Greek: Ῥωμανός Λακαπηνός or Λεκαπηνός, romanized: Rōmanos Lakapēnos or Lekapēnos; c. 870 – 15 June 948),[1] Latinized as Romanus I Lacapenus or Romanus I Lecapenus, was Byzantine emperor from 920 until his deposition in 944, serving as regent for and senior co-ruler of the young Constantine VII.

Key Information

Origin

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Romanos derived his epithet Lekapenos, now usually treated as a family name, from his birthplace of Lakape (later Laqabin) between Melitene and Samosata.[2] It is found mostly as Lakapenos in the sources, although English-language scholarship in particular prefers the form Lekapenos, in large part due to Sir Steven Runciman's 1928 study on the emperor.[3] He was the son of a peasant with the remarkable name of Theophylact "the Unbearable" (Theophylaktos Abaktistos or Abastaktos), who had rescued the Emperor Basil I from the enemy in battle at Tephrike in 872, saving his life, and had been rewarded by a place in the Imperial Guard and received estates as a reward.[4] Theophylaktos is usually identified as Armenian.[5][6] Byzantinist Anthony Kaldellis contests this, saying that Armenian ancestry is not mentioned in the many Byzantine sources which discuss Romanos, and that Theophylaktos' alleged ethnicity is an assumption based on his being born in humble circumstances in the Armeniac Theme.[3] The assumption has been repeated so often in literature that it has acquired the status of a known fact, even though it is based on the most tenuous of indirect connections.[3]

Bulgarian forces rout the Byzantines at Anchialos in 917.

Although he did not receive any refined education (for which he was later abused by his son-in-law Constantine VII), Romanos advanced through the ranks of the army during the reign of Emperor Leo VI the Wise. In 911 he was general of the naval theme of Samos and later served as admiral of the fleet (droungarios tou ploimou). In this capacity he was supposed to participate in the Byzantine operations against Bulgaria on the Danube in 917, but he was unable to carry out his mission. In the aftermath of the disastrous Byzantine defeat at the Battle of Acheloos in 917 by the Bulgarians, Romanos sailed to Constantinople, where he gradually overcame the discredited regency of Empress Zoe Karvounopsina and her supporter Leo Phokas.

The blinding of Leo Phokas on the orders of Romanos Lekapenos.

Rise to power

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On 25 March 919, at the head of his fleet, Lekapenos seized the Boukoleon Palace and the reins of government. Initially, he was named magistros and megas hetaireiarches, but he moved swiftly to consolidate his position: in April 919 his daughter Helena was married to Constantine VII, and Lekapenos assumed the new title basileopator. On 24 September 920, he was named caesar; and on 17 December, Romanos was crowned senior emperor.[7][8]

Leo Phokas' supporters surrender to Romanos Lekapenos.

In subsequent years Romanos crowned his own sons co-emperors, Christopher in 921, Stephen and Constantine in 924, although, for the time being, Constantine VII was regarded as first in rank after Romanos himself. It is notable that, as he left Constantine VII untouched, he was called 'the gentle usurper'.[by whom?] Romanos strengthened his position by marrying his daughters to members of the powerful aristocratic families of Argyros and Mouseles, by recalling the deposed patriarch Nicholas Mystikos, and by putting an end to the conflict with the Papacy over the four marriages of Emperor Leo VI.

His early reign saw several conspiracies to topple him, which led to the successive dismissal of his first paradynasteuontes, John the Rhaiktor and John Mystikos. From 925 and until the end of his reign, the post was occupied by the chamberlain Theophanes.

War and peace with Bulgaria

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Main article: Byzantine–Bulgarian war of 913–927
A feast in honor of Simeon I of Bulgaria and Romanos engaging the Bulgarians, from the 14th century Manasses Chronicle.

The first major challenge faced by the new emperor was the war with Bulgaria, which had been re-ignited by the regency of Zoe. The rise to power of Romanos had curtailed the plans of Simeon I of Bulgaria for a marital alliance with Constantine VII, and Romanos was determined to deny the unpopular concession of imperial recognition to Simeon, which had already toppled two imperial governments. Consequently, the first four years of Romanos' reign were spent in warfare against Bulgaria. Although Simeon generally had the upper hand, he was unable to gain a decisive advantage because of the impregnability of Constantinople's walls. In 924, when Simeon had once again blockaded the capital by land, Romanos succeeded in opening negotiations.

Simeon orders the burning of the Church of St. Mary of the Spring outside the Theodosian Walls.

Meeting Simeon in person at Kosmidion, Romanos criticized Simeon's disregard for tradition and Orthodox Christian brotherhood and supposedly shamed him into coming to terms and lifting the siege. In reality, this was accomplished by Romanos' tacit recognition of Simeon as emperor of Bulgaria. Relations were subsequently marred by continued wrangling over titles (Simeon called himself emperor of the Romans as well), but peace had been effectively established.

On the death of Simeon in May 927, Bulgaria's new emperor, Peter I, made a show of force by invading Byzantine Thrace, but he showed himself ready to negotiate for a more permanent peace. Romanos seized the occasion and proposed a marriage alliance between the imperial houses of Byzantium and Bulgaria, at the same time renewing the Serbian-Byzantine alliance with Časlav of Serbia, returning independence the same year. In September 927 Peter arrived before Constantinople and married Maria (renamed Eirene, "Peace"), the daughter of Romanos' eldest son and co-emperor Christopher, and thus his granddaughter. On this occasion Christopher received precedence in rank over his brother-in-law Constantine VII, something which compounded the latter's resentment towards the Lekapenoi, the Bulgarians, and imperial marriages to outsiders (as documented in his composition De Administrando Imperio). From this point on, Romanos' government was free from direct military confrontation with Bulgaria. Although Byzantium would tacitly support a Serbian revolt against Bulgaria in 931, and the Bulgarians would allow Magyar raids across their territory into Byzantine possessions, Byzantium and Bulgaria remained at peace for 40 years, until Sviatoslav's invasion of Bulgaria.

Campaigns in the East

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Romanos appointed the brilliant general John Kourkouas commander of the field armies (domestikos ton scholon) in the East. John Kourkouas subdued a rebellion in the theme of Chaldia and intervened in Armenia in 924. From 926 Kourkouas campaigned across the eastern frontier against the Abbasids and their vassals, and won an important victory at Melitene in 934. The capture of this city is often considered the first major Byzantine territorial recovery from the Muslims.

The army under general John Kourkouas takes the city of Melitene.

In 941, while most of the army under Kourkouas was absent in the East, a fleet of 15 old ships under the protovestiarios Theophanes had to defend Constantinople from a Kievan raid. The invaders were defeated at sea, through the use of Greek fire, and again at land, when they landed in Bithynia, by the returning army under Kourkouas. In 944 Romanos concluded a treaty with Prince Igor of Kiev. This crisis having passed, Kourkouas was free to return to the eastern frontier.

The Byzantine fleet under Theophanes repels the Rus' in 941. Miniature from the Madrid Skylitzes.

In 943 Kourkouas invaded northern Mesopotamia and besieged the important city of Edessa in 944. As the price for his withdrawal, Kourkouas obtained one of Byzantium's most prized relics, the mandylion, the holy towel allegedly sent by Jesus Christ to King Abgar V of Edessa.

In exchange for sparing Edessa, its inhabitants gift the Mandylion to the Byzantines.

John Kourkouas, although considered by some of his contemporaries "a second Trajan or Belisarius," was dismissed after the fall of the Lekapenoi in 945. Nevertheless, his campaigns in the East paved the way for the even more dramatic reconquests in the middle and the second half of the 10th century.

Internal policies

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The palace church at Myrelaion, commissioned by Romanos I as a family shrine in 922 in Constantinople.

Romanos I Lekapenos attempted to strengthen the Byzantine Empire by seeking peace everywhere that it was possible—his dealings with Bulgaria and Kievan Rus' have been described above. To protect Byzantine Thrace from Magyar incursions (such as the ones in 934 and 943), Romanos paid them protection money and pursued diplomatic avenues. The Khazars were the allies of the Byzantines until the reign of Romanos, when he started persecuting the Jews of the empire. According to the Schechter Letter, the Khazar ruler Joseph responded to the persecution of Jews by "doing away with many Christians", and Romanos retaliated by inciting Oleg of Novgorod (called Helgu in the letter) against Khazaria.[9]

Similarly, Romanos re-established peace within the church and overcame the new conflict between Rome and Constantinople by promulgating the Tomos of Union in 920. In 933 Romanos took advantage of a vacancy on the patriarchal throne to name his young son Theophylaktos patriarch of Constantinople. The new patriarch did not achieve renown for his piety and spirituality, but he added theatrical elements to the Byzantine liturgy and was an avid horse-breeder, allegedly leaving mass to tend to one of his favorite mares when she was giving birth.

Romanos was active as a legislator, promulgating a series of laws to protect small landowners from being swallowed up by the estates of the land-owning nobility (dynatoi). The legislative reform may have been partly inspired by hardship caused by the famine of 927 and the subsequent semi-popular revolt of Basil the Copper Hand. The emperor also managed to increase the taxes levied on the aristocracy and established the state on a more secure financial footing. Romanos was also able to effectively subdue revolts in several provinces of the empire, most notably in Chaldia, the Peloponnese, and Southern Italy.

He incorporated the Armenian fortress of Citharizum into the empire in 942 and renamed it Romanopolis (Ρωμανούπολις). In Constantinople, he built his palace in the place called Myrelaion, near the Sea of Marmara. Beside it Romanos built a shrine which became the first example of a private burial church of a Byzantine emperor. Moreover, he erected a chapel devoted to Christ Chalkites near the Chalke Gate, the monumental entrance to the Great Palace.

End of the reign

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Follis of Romanos I, marked: "RωMAN(ός) BASILЄVS RωM(αῖων)"

Romanos' later reign was marked by the old emperor's heightened interest in divine judgment and his increasing sense of guilt for his role in the usurpation of the throne from Constantine VII. On the death of Christopher, by far his most competent son, in 931, Romanos did not advance his younger sons in precedence over Constantine VII. Fearing that Romanos would allow Constantine VII to succeed him instead of them, his younger sons Stephen and Constantine arrested their father on 20[7] (or 16)[10] December 944, carried him off to the Princes' Islands and compelled him to become a monk. When they threatened the position of Constantine VII, however, the people of Constantinople revolted, and Stephen and Constantine were likewise stripped of their imperial rank and sent into exile to their father. Romanos died on 15 June 948,[7][11] and was buried as the other members of his family in the church of Myrelaion.

Stephanos and Constantine are deposed during lunch with Constantine VII and exiled to a monastery.

Having lived long under constant threat of deposition—or worse—by the Lekapenoi family, Constantine VII was extremely resentful of them. In his De Administrando Imperio manual written for his son and successor, Romanos II, he minces no words about his late father-in-law: "the lord Romanus the Emperor was an idiot and an illiterate man, neither bred in the high imperial manner, nor following Roman custom from the beginning, nor of imperial or noble descent, and therefore the more rude and authoritarian in doing most things ... for his beliefs were uncouth, obstinate, ignorant of what is good, and unwilling to adhere to what is right and proper."[12]

Family

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Gold solidus of Romanos I with his eldest son, Christopher Lekapenos
See also: Lekapenos

Romanos I's only named wife is Theodora, who died in 922.[13] However, genealogical and chronological considerations have led to the hypothesis that his three eldest children may have been born from an otherwise unattested first marriage.[14] Romanos had at least eight legitimate and at least one illegitimate children, leading to numerous aristocratic descendants and connections in the Middle Byzantine period, including every emperor for the next century.

  • Christopher, co-emperor from 921 to 931 (foremost co-emperor from 927);[15] he married the augusta Sophia (died after 944), daughter of the magistros and patrikios Niketas Helladikos;[16] they were parents of:
    • Maria (renamed Eirene, "Peace"), died before 967 (963?);[17] she married 927 Emperor Peter I of Bulgaria; they were parents, among others, of:
      • Boris II, emperor of Bulgaria, died 977; he married and left issue
      • Roman, emperor of Bulgaria, died 997
    • Romanos, crowned co-emperor around 924, died in childhood before 927. Only briefly mentioned by Michael Psellos and Joannes Zonaras.[18]
    • Michael Porphyrogennetos, born after 921, possibly given quasi-imperial honors before 945, subsequently magistros and raiktor, died after 963;[19] he married and was the father of:
      • Helene;[20] she married Konstantinos Radenos, protospatharios; left issue
      • Sophia;[21] she married Pankratios Taronites, patrikios; left issue
  • unnamed daughter, who died after 961;[22] she married Romanos Saronites, magistros;[23] they were the parents of two unnamed children
  • unnamed daughter; she married (Alexios?) Mousele, who died in 922;[24] they were the parents of:
    • Romanos Mousele, magistros;[25] left issue
  • Theophylaktos, born 913, castrated as child, patriarch of Constantinople from 933 to 956.[26]
  • Stephen Porphyrogennetos, born c. 920, co-emperor from 923 to 945, died 963;[27] he married (in 934?) Anna, daughter of Gabalas;[28] they were the parents of:
    • Romanos, sebastophoros, logothete of the envoys, castrated 945, died 975[29]
  • Constantine Porphyrogennetos, born c. 921, co-emperor from 923 to 945, died between 945 and 948;[30] he married (1) Helena, daughter of the patrikios Adrianos,[31] and (2), 941? Theophano Mamas;[32] he and his first wife were the parents of:
    • Romanos, patrikios and praipositos, born after 934, castrated 945, died 971[33]
  • Helena, b. c. 907, died 961;[34] she married Emperor Constantine VII; they were the parents of:
  • Agatha, born c. 908?;[52] she married in 921-922 Romanos Argyros;[53] they were the parents of:
  • Basil, illegitimate son by a "Scythian" mistress, eunuch, protobestiarios, parakoimomenos, paradynasteuon, proedros, who remained influential at court, dominating it in 976–985, before being set aside; he died after 986.[63]

See also

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References

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Sources

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Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Romanos I Lekapenos

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Romanos I Lekapenos (c. 870 – 15 June 948) was a Byzantine emperor of Armenian descent who seized effective control of the empire from 920 until his deposition in 944, serving initially as regent and senior co-emperor alongside the young Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos. Born to peasant parents near Melitene, he advanced through the military ranks as strategos of the Samos theme and droungarios of the fleet, capitalizing on the empire's instability following the disastrous Battle of Achelous in 917. In 919, he arranged the marriage of his daughter Helen to Constantine VII, which propelled him to the positions of basileopater and Caesar before his coronation as co-emperor on 17 December 920, sidelining prior regents. Despite his illiteracy and non-noble origins, Romanos proved an adept administrator, issuing novellae in 928 and 934 to safeguard small landowners from aristocratic encroachment and founding the Myrelaion monastery around 922. Militarily, his reign saw defensive successes, including a 927 peace treaty with secured through dynastic marriage after repelling I's invasions, and eastern campaigns led by that recaptured territories like Melitene in 934 and facilitated the transfer of the Holy Mandylion relic to in 944. Ecclesiastically, he reconciled factions via the 920 Tomos of Union, addressing disputes over imperial marriages. To consolidate power, he elevated his sons—, , and Constantine—as co-emperors, but this backfired when and Constantine deposed him in 944, forcing his monastic on the island of Prote; he died there in 948 and was interred at Myrelaion.

Early Life

Origins and Upbringing

Romanos I Lekapenos was born circa 870 in the village of Lakape (also spelled Lekapene or Laqabin), located between Melitene and Samosata in the Byzantine , a region with significant Armenian populations; his derived directly from this birthplace. He was of Armenian ethnic origin, a heritage common among many soldiers and officers in the during this period. His father, Theophylaktos Abastaktos (often rendered as "the Unbearable" or Avestaktos in sources), was an Armenian from humble rural stock who gained military standing by rescuing Emperor from peril in battle, thereby securing a position in the imperial forces and elevating the family's prospects beyond typical peasant circumstances. While some accounts emphasize the father's initial low status, his service under indicates access to the opportunities of Byzantine merit-based military advancement rather than entrenched . Little direct evidence survives regarding Romanos' childhood or formal , consistent with the scarcity of for non-elite provincials. Contemporary and later Byzantine writers, including Emperor Porphyrogennetos in De Administrando Imperio, characterized him as an idiotes kai agrammatos—a common, illiterate individual—highlighting his lack of scholarly training and roots outside Constantinopolitan . His upbringing likely involved practical skills suited to a in a frontier theme, fostering resilience and familiarity with warfare amid ongoing Arab-Byzantine conflicts, though he began his recorded career in the imperial fleet rather than land forces. This trajectory underscores the empire's reliance on capable outsiders for naval and administrative roles during the late 9th century.

Initial Military Service

Romanos I Lekapenos, born around 870 to a family of Armenian peasants from the region of Lakape near , entered Byzantine as a common in his youth, rising through the ranks based on merit rather than noble birth. His early career reflected the opportunities for advancement available to capable individuals in the thematic armies, where provincial recruits could gain promotion through demonstrated competence in campaigns against Arab raiders and internal threats. Lacking formal education and described by contemporaries as illiterate, Lekapenos compensated with practical skills honed in frontline duties. By the early 10th century, Lekapenos had advanced to command positions within the naval themes, serving as strategos of the Theme of Samos, a key Aegean maritime district responsible for defending against Muslim corsairs, around 911. In this role, he oversaw fleet operations and coastal fortifications, contributing to the stabilization of Byzantine naval power during a period of renewed Arab incursions. His success in these capacities led to further elevation, culminating in his appointment as droungarios tou stolou (admiral of the imperial fleet) circa 917, a prestigious office involving direct oversight of the Constantinopolitan navy and logistics for major expeditions. Primary accounts, such as those in Theophanes Continuatus, emphasize Lekapenos's progression from obscurity to high command as emblematic of meritocratic elements in the Byzantine military, though later imperial critics like Porphyrogennetos downplayed his achievements by highlighting his rustic origins. No major battles are explicitly tied to his initial service in surviving sources, but his naval expertise positioned him to influence imperial strategy against Bulgarian advances by the 910s. This phase laid the groundwork for his later political maneuvers, as provided leverage near the capital.

Rise to Power

Romanos Lekapenos, born circa 870 to an Armenian peasant family, entered Byzantine military service under Emperor (r. 886–912), initially serving in minor capacities before rising through the ranks on land and sea to the position of tourmarches (division commander). By 911, he had been appointed strategos of the Samian theme, a key Aegean naval district responsible for defending against Arab corsairs and maintaining imperial shipping lanes. In this role, Lekapenos oversaw local fleet operations, contributing to the repulsion of persistent Arab raids that had plagued Byzantine waters since the late , though specific engagements under his direct command remain sparsely documented in surviving records. The empire's catastrophic defeat by Bulgarian forces at the Battle of Achelous on 20 August 917, which decimated the field army and heightened fears of invasion toward , prompted Lekapenos's elevation to droungarios tēs ploïmēs (commander of the fleet) circa 919. As , he commanded the core imperial navy of approximately 100–150 warships, focusing on rapid mobilization to transport reinforcements and secure the capital's seaward approaches amid the power vacuum following Emperor Alexander's death in 913 and the ineffective regency of . His naval expertise proved instrumental in restoring confidence in Byzantine maritime power, deterring immediate Bulgarian advances via the and enabling logistical support for land campaigns. Politically, Lekapenos leveraged his naval authority to navigate the factional strife between regent Leo Phokas the Elder and his opponents, including Patriarch Nicholas I Mystikos, whose correspondence emphasized Lekapenos's proven military reliability as a counterweight to Phokas's ambitions. In September 919, he sailed the fleet into the , effectively isolating Phokas's forces and positioning himself as guardian of the underage Emperor Porphyrogenitus (r. 913–959). This maneuver culminated in the betrothal of Lekapenos's daughter Helena to on 4 November 919, securing his familial ties to the and elevating him to basileopator (emperor-father), a title that formalized his regency and paved the way for his co-emperorship. These steps reflected Lekapenos's strategic acumen in blending naval command with court intrigue, transforming a provincial officer into a pivotal without immediate usurpation.

Seizure of the Regency and Coronation

In early 919, the faced internal instability under the regency of Empress Dowager and her ally, the Domestic of the Schools Leo Phokas the Elder, who governed on behalf of the young Porphyrogennetos. Romanos Lekapenos, serving as drungarios tou ploïmou (commander of the imperial fleet), exploited this weakness by leveraging naval loyalty to challenge the regime. On 25 March 919, Romanos sailed the fleet into the and seized the , effectively capturing control of and arresting Leo Phokas, thereby ending the prior regency. Following the coup, Romanos was appointed basileopator (emperor-father) in April 919, positioning himself as guardian to while securing his influence through dynastic ties. To legitimize his authority, he arranged the marriage of his daughter Helen to on 4 May 919, binding the Lekapenoi to the . Leo Phokas, though initially imprisoned, attempted resistance through supporters, but their surrender to Romanos solidified the transition, with Phokas ultimately blinded to neutralize any threat. Romanos progressively elevated his status: named kaisar (caesar) on 24 September 920, reflecting growing acceptance among the and . His coronation as senior co-emperor occurred on 17 December 920 in the , where he assumed the imperial title while nominally preserving Constantine VII's position, though effectively ruling as the dominant authority until 944. This maneuver maintained dynastic continuity while establishing Lekapenid rule, averting broader amid external pressures like Bulgarian threats.

Military Campaigns

Conflicts with Bulgaria

Upon ascending as senior emperor in 920, Romanos I Lekapenos inherited a precarious situation on the frontier, where I had seized much of following victories over Byzantine forces in prior years, including the capture of Adrianople in 913 and repeated incursions threatening itself. , styling himself as " of the and Romans" and aspiring to the Byzantine throne, renewed hostilities in 924 by advancing through with a large army, reaching the by . Rather than risking a siege, Romanos opted for direct negotiation, meeting aboard ships in the on 9 924; the tsar accepted the title basileus Bulgarōn ( of the Bulgarians), an annual tribute payment, and promises of further territorial cessions in Macedonia, though he failed to secure recognition as or marriage into the imperial family. This truce, while temporary, halted immediate Bulgarian advances and preserved Byzantine resources amid internal instability. Simeon's sudden death on 27 May 927 shifted the dynamics, as his successor Peter I, less militarily assertive, sought stability amid internal Bulgarian challenges. Romanos swiftly dispatched envoys, including the imperial secretary Theodore Daphnopates, to Preslav, culminating in the Byzantine-Bulgarian Treaty of 927. The agreement formalized peace by recognizing Peter's imperial title (basileus Bulgarōn), granting autocephaly to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church under its own patriarch (initially Damian), and increasing annual tribute to approximately 3,000 pounds of gold alongside silk deliveries; in exchange, Peter pledged non-aggression and returned some border captives. To cement the alliance, Romanos arranged the marriage of Peter to his granddaughter Maria (also called Irene) Lekapena in late 927 or early 928, performed in Constantinople with lavish ceremonies, effectively binding Bulgaria as a nominal Byzantine client state. This diplomatic resolution averted prolonged conflict, enabling Romanos to reallocate troops and funds to eastern campaigns against forces, a strategic pivot that stabilized the empire's core territories. Border skirmishes persisted sporadically into the 930s, including Bulgarian raids prompting Byzantine retaliation in 931, but the treaty's framework held until Peter's later reign, underscoring Romanos' preference for pragmatic concessions over decisive military confrontation given Bulgaria's proven battlefield superiority in prior engagements.

Eastern Frontiers and Arab Wars

Romanos I prioritized stabilizing and expanding the eastern frontier against Arab incursions by appointing the capable general as domestikos ton scholon of the eastern armies around 923. Kourkouas initiated a series of aggressive annual campaigns from approximately 926, targeting Abbasid vassals and independent Arab emirs along the border, which marked a shift from defensive postures to offensive operations that gradually weakened Arab raiding capabilities into . A pivotal achievement occurred in the prolonged effort against Melitene (modern ), a key Arab-held stronghold that had served as a base for raids into Byzantine . After initial submissions and renewed assaults beginning in 927, Kourkouas captured the city in 934 following a decisive , incorporating it into Byzantine territory and enhancing security for the Armenian themes and central Anatolian districts. This conquest disrupted Arab supply lines and provided a forward base for further incursions, demonstrating the effectiveness of Romanos' strategy of sustained pressure over sporadic engagements. Kourkouas extended operations deeper into Mesopotamia in subsequent years, conducting raids that reached major centers like Nisibis and Amida by 943, compelling temporary tributes from local Arab rulers and forcing the Abbasid caliph to negotiate. In 944, during the final major campaign of Romanos' reign, Kourkouas besieged Edessa, securing the relic known as the Mandylion—believed to bear Christ's image—through diplomatic means without fully conquering the city, which further bolstered Byzantine prestige against Arab opponents. These actions collectively reclaimed border regions, reduced the frequency of Arab invasions, and laid groundwork for later expansions, though permanent holdings beyond Melitene remained limited due to logistical constraints and internal dynastic rivalries that prompted Kourkouas' dismissal later in 944.

Domestic Administration

Land Reforms and Economic Measures

Romanos I Lekapenos initiated a series of legislative measures aimed at curbing the acquisition of small holdings by wealthy landowners known as dynatoi, which had eroded the empire's rural base and from soldier-farmers (stratiotai). In April 922, he promulgated a granting small proprietors a right of pre-emption (protimesis) over adjacent lands sold by fellow peasants, thereby prioritizing sales within local communities to prevent fragmentation and absorption into large estates. This reform targeted the systemic pressure on freeholders, who often lost property through indebtedness or coercive sales, preserving the thematic system's fiscal-military structure where was tied to obligations for taxes and service. Further enactments, including one in 934, reinforced protections for vulnerable rural populations (penetes) against usurious lending and land engrossment, reflecting Lekapenos' recognition that unchecked aristocratic expansion diminished state revenues and provincial defenses. These policies marked the first sustained imperial intervention in since the thematic reorganization, prioritizing the stability of small-scale over elite interests, though enforcement challenges persisted due to local power imbalances. Economically, the reforms sought to sustain and imperial income by maintaining a broad class of taxable cultivators, countering depopulation and fiscal decline in overexploited regions. Lekapenos' approach drew on pragmatic assessment of causal links between land concentration, reduced soldiery, and weakened frontiers, initiating a tradition of anti-dynatoi legislation later intensified under the Macedonian dynasty. While primary sources like the novels emphasize protective intent, their limited success highlights the entrenched influence of provincial elites, as subsequent rulers faced similar circumventions.

Administrative and Judicial Changes

Romanos I Lekapenos sought to bolster the integrity of Byzantine provincial administration by curbing the potential for corruption among officials through targeted legislation. In his novel of 934, he defined the dynatoi (powerful) to encompass not only aristocrats but also key administrative figures such as magistroi, patrikioi, governors (strategoi), judges (kritai), and tax collectors, prohibiting them from acquiring lands or tenants from smallholders at undervalued prices or under duress. This measure aimed to prevent officials from exploiting their authority to consolidate personal estates, which could erode the empire's fiscal base and military manpower by displacing free peasants reliant on theme-based obligations. Judicial enforcement played a central role in these reforms, as the novels directed provincial judges to scrutinize transactions and protect vulnerable parties from coercive practices by the powerful. By explicitly regulating judicial personnel as potential abusers, Romanos emphasized in the courts, countering tendencies where office-holders leveraged their positions for private advantage—a recurring issue in tenth-century . Such provisions built on earlier edicts, like the 922 novel, extending oversight to ensure administrative decisions aligned with imperial fiscal and social stability rather than individual gain. These changes reflected a pragmatic approach to , prioritizing systemic resilience over unchecked elite expansion.

Ecclesiastical Policies

Tetragamy Dispute and Church Reconciliation

The tetragamy dispute stemmed from Emperor Leo VI's fourth marriage to in 906 CE, which violated Byzantine permitting at most three marriages and provoked opposition from I Mystikos, who excommunicated the emperor and refused to baptize their son Constantine. Mystikos was deposed in 907 CE and exiled, with Euthymius I installed as , but the schism deepened as Euthymius' supporters (Eustathians) refused communion with Nicholas' faction even after Nicholas' brief restoration under Emperor in 912 CE following Leo's death. This ecclesiastical division undermined the legitimacy of , born of the contested union, and persisted amid political instability during his minority. Romanos I Lekapenos, upon securing power as co-emperor and for in May 920 CE, addressed the as one of his initial priorities to consolidate authority and legitimize the young ruler's position. He mediated between Nicholas Mystikos, restored as in 912 CE but facing ongoing factional resistance, and the Eustathians loyal to the deceased Euthymius, facilitating negotiations that emphasized oikonomia—a doctrinal principle allowing dispensations for the church's greater good—to retroactively validate Leo VI's tetragamy without altering . In 920 CE, Romanos promulgated the Tomos of Union, a synodal decree that reconciled the rival parties by condemning neither side's prior actions, restoring , and affirming Constantine VII's orthodoxy through ecclesiastical pardon rather than doctrinal revision. This act ended the decade-long rift, with accepting the validity of Euthymius' tenure and sacraments, thereby unifying the Byzantine church hierarchy under imperial oversight. The reconciliation bolstered Romanos' regime by aligning the with his regency, reducing internal dissent that could exploit Constantine's tainted lineage, and demonstrating the emperor's role as arbiter between state and church—a causal dynamic where political stability necessitated pragmatic compromise over rigid legalism. Nicholas retained the until his death in 925 CE, after which Romanos appointed his own Theophylact, further embedding Lekapenoi influence in church affairs.

Relations with Patriarchs and Monastic Support

Romanos I Lekapenos established cooperative relations with Patriarch I Mystikos early in his , convening a with him in 920 to resolve lingering disputes from the tetragamy controversy of Leo VI's reign, thereby stabilizing church authority under his influence. , previously a regent himself, mediated conflicts that bolstered Romanos' position, including efforts that integrated Mystikos' faction into the new . Following ' death on 15 May 925, Romanos consolidated control over the by sidelining interim figures and elevating his own family members. To secure dynastic leverage, Romanos deposed acting Tryphon in 933, reportedly by inducing him to sign a blank document converted into a , and installed his youngest son Theophylact, aged approximately 16, as on 2 February. This appointment, prioritizing loyalty over traditional qualifications, exemplified Romanos' strategy to align the church hierarchy with Lekapenid interests, as Theophylact retained the office until 956 despite limited theological engagement. Such maneuvers reflected a pattern of imperial intervention in patriarchal successions, ensuring ecclesiastical support for Romanos' policies amid potential opposition from aristocratic or Macedonian loyalists. Romanos extended patronage to monastic institutions, founding the Myrelaion Monastery in around 920 as a palace chapel complex intended as a family mausoleum and . Built on a platform incorporating earlier Roman rotunda remains in the city's ninth region, the monastery received imperial endowments that underscored Romanos' role in fostering monastic communities during a period of fiscal recovery. This initiative, among his earliest architectural projects post-coronation, aligned with broader efforts to legitimize his rule through pious benefaction, including shrines like the Chapel of Christ Antiphonetes, thereby cultivating monastic allegiance independent of patriarchal politics.

Family and Dynastic Ambitions

Marriages and Offspring

Romanos I Lekapenos married Theodora, a woman whose family background remains unknown in surviving records. This marriage produced his known legitimate offspring before her death in 922, soon after his elevation to senior emperor. His sons included Christopher (born circa 905, died 931), whom he crowned co-emperor in May 921 to secure dynastic succession; Christopher married Sophia and fathered at least one daughter, Maria. (or Stephanos) and Constantine were elevated as co-emperors in 924 alongside ; later became involved in court intrigues, while Constantine served as admiral of the imperial fleet. Theophylact was appointed of in 933, holding the position until 956 despite his lay origins, reflecting Romanos' influence over ecclesiastical appointments. The principal daughter, Helena (born circa 904, died 961), was married to Porphyrogennetos around 919 as a to legitimize Romanos' usurpation; she became augusta and mother to . Some chronicles suggest additional daughters used for diplomatic marriages, such as one betrothed to Bulgarian rulers to enforce peace treaties, though primary accounts like Skylitzes confirm primarily Helena's role in imperial ties. Romanos also acknowledged an illegitimate son, , who was castrated young and rose as a powerful influencing later reigns. These offspring were central to Romanos' efforts to supplant the through familial elevation and alliances.

Elevation of Sons as Co-Emperors

Romanos I Lekapenos elevated his eldest son, , to the rank of co-emperor on 20 May 921, positioning him ahead of the legitimate Macedonian heir, Porphyrogennetos, to bolster the Lekapenoi dynasty's claim to precedence. This ceremony, conducted in , reflected Romanos's strategy to legitimize his usurpation through familial advancement, as evidenced by contemporary coinage types depicting Christopher alongside his father and . Christopher, previously holding the office of megas hetaireiarches, assumed a senior role in imperial protocol, further underscored by seals and tesserae issued during his tenure from 921 to 931. In December 924, Romanos extended this dynastic consolidation by crowning his younger sons, Stephen and Constantine Lekapenos, as co-emperors on 25 December, aligning the elevation with the Christmas feast for symbolic resonance. These appointments, though junior to Christopher and Constantine VII in initial precedence, ensured broader familial representation on imperial coinage and seals post-931, following Christopher's death. The moves were driven by Romanos's aim to entrench Lekapenoi influence amid ongoing threats from Bulgarian incursions and internal rivals, drawing on Byzantine traditions of multi-emperor rule to distribute power while maintaining control. By 927, during negotiations with Bulgarian Tsar I, Christopher's status was publicly elevated over in ceremonial displays, such as at the Pege church, reinforcing the family's dominance through visual and diplomatic assertion. However, these elevations sowed seeds of rivalry; and Constantine later exploited their positions to depose Romanos in 944, highlighting the precarious balance between dynastic security and fraternal ambition in Byzantine imperial politics. Primary accounts, including those in Theophanes Continuatus, document these events as calculated responses to the instability of the post-Macedonian .

Downfall

Internal Conspiracies and Deposition

In the later years of Romanos I Lekapenos's reign, tensions arose within the imperial family following the death of his eldest son and co-emperor in 931, which prompted Romanos to show greater favor toward the legitimate heir Porphyrogennetos, raising fears among his remaining sons and that their own positions were precarious. This dynastic insecurity culminated in a orchestrated by and Constantine against their father, motivated by a desire to eliminate any prospect of assuming sole rule and to consolidate power within the Lekapenoi line. On December 20, 944, and Constantine executed their plot by armed supporters into the Great Palace in , where they confronted Romanos in his private chambers and compelled him to abdicate under duress, forcing him to take monastic vows and exiling him to a monastery on the . The deposition was swift and lacked broader military or popular backing, reflecting the internal nature of the intrigue rather than widespread discontent with Romanos's rule, which had otherwise stabilized the empire after earlier usurpations. Primary accounts, such as those derived from Byzantine chroniclers like , portray the event as a familial betrayal driven by ambition, with the sons briefly assuming co-rule alongside before their own rapid overthrow.

Exile and Death

Following his deposition on 16 December 944 by his sons Stephen and Constantine Lekapenos, Romanos I was forcibly d as a and banished to a on the in the . This act of , a common Byzantine practice to disqualify deposed rulers from reclaiming power by rendering them clerics ineligible for secular office, marked the end of his political influence. Romanos spent the remaining years of his life in monastic , dying on 15 June 948 at approximately 78 years of age. His remains were later transported from the island monastery to the Myrelaion Monastery in , an institution he had founded and endowed during his reign as a family mausoleum. The Myrelaion, originally a palace complex converted into a church and monastery around 922, served as the burial site for several Lekapenos family members, underscoring Romanos's enduring ties to the capital despite his fall.

Legacy and Historical Evaluation

Achievements in Stabilization and Expansion

Romanos I secured the empire's northern frontier through , negotiating a with in 927 after the death of Tsar I, which was reinforced by the marriage of Simeon’s successor Peter I to Romanos' granddaughter Maria, renamed Eirene. This accord ended protracted warfare initiated in 913, averting a potential Bulgarian-Arab alliance by diverting Arab attention with gifts, and allowed Byzantine resources to shift eastward despite involving tribute payments to . To stabilize the internal military base, Romanos enacted legislation via imperial novels, including one in 922 restricting monastic purchases without imperial approval and another in 934 prohibiting alienation of to powerful entities that undermined smallholders' holdings, thereby preserving the economic viability of thematic soldier-farmers essential for the provincial armies. These measures countered the encroachment by dynatoi and institutions, sustaining the tax base and recruitment pool amid fiscal pressures. On the eastern front, Romanos promoted to Domestic of the Schools in 923, empowering sustained offensives against Arab emirs that yielded territorial gains, such as the capitulation of Melitene in 934 and incursions into , initiating a phase of expansion in and . These operations exploited post-927 Bulgarian respite, weakening Muslim border states and recovering frontier cities through systematic sieges and raids. Naval defenses under Romanos repelled external threats effectively; in 941, a fleet of 15 dromons armed with projectors annihilated a Rus' armada of over 1,000 vessels approaching , preventing plunder of the capital and while demonstrating the strategic potency of incendiary weaponry. Such victories, combined with Aegean patrols against Arab corsairs, maintained and trade routes critical to imperial revenue.

Criticisms of Usurpation and Dynastic Failure

Romanos I's ascension involved the suppression of potential rivals through mutilation, notably the blinding of the general Leo Phokas the Elder on June 11, 920, after Phokas's failed bid for power, an act decried in Byzantine chronicles as a brutal consolidation of by a low-born outsider. This event underscored criticisms of his regime as founded on rather than consensus, with Phokas's defeat at the hands of Romanos's forces enabling the latter's marriage of his daughter Helen to the underage on May 4, 919, and subsequent elevation to co-emperor in September 920. Patriarch Nicholas I Mystikos reluctantly sanctioned this arrangement to avert , but later historians like portrayed Romanos as a temporary guardian who overreached, exploiting the minority of the Macedonian heirs—Alexander and Constantine—while sidelining the legitimate dynasty. The failure of Romanos's dynastic project stemmed from the inherent fragility of his family's claim, lacking the sacred aura of the Macedonian line, which fueled aristocratic opposition and military disloyalty. Despite crowning his sons— in August 921, and and Constantine in 924—as co-emperors to supplant the legitimate heirs, these elevations bred resentment, as 's aggressive maneuvering to marginalize alienated key factions. The Lekapenoi's rule collapsed in a coup on January 16, 944, orchestrated by the the chamberlain, who restored sole rule to ; Romanos and his sons were tonsured and exiled to monasteries, with and dying in obscurity by 946. Scholars attribute this rapid downfall to the regime's , which prioritized family over merit, failing to cultivate enduring loyalty among the thematic armies and Constantinopolitan elite, who viewed the Lekapenoi as interlopers rather than rightful successors. Romanos's initial pledges to uphold Macedonian continuity proved hollow, as his sons' incompetence and plots against Constantine eroded any provisional legitimacy, ensuring the dynasty's extinction within a generation. Western observers like amplified these critiques, depicting Romanos as a deceitful whose usurpation invited divine disfavor, evidenced by military setbacks such as the Rus' raid of 941, though Byzantine sources tempered such views with acknowledgment of his stabilizing policies. Ultimately, the Lekapenoi's inability to transcend their origins—Romanos's Armenian background and naval career—contrasted with the Macedonian dynasty's cultivated mystique, rendering their bid for permanence unsustainable amid recurrent elite revolts.

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