Romanos Argyros (Greek: Ῥωμανός Ἀργυρός) was a Byzantine aristocrat and son-in-law of Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos.

Life

He was a son of the distinguished general Leo Argyros, and had at least one brother, Marianos Argyros, who also occupied high military posts.[1] Romanos on the other hand is chiefly known for having married Agathe, a daughter of Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos (reigned 919–944). The sources disagree on when the marriage took place: the 11th-century historian Yahya of Antioch asserts that the marriage took place before Lekapenos' rise to power, while the late 10th-century chronicler Theophanes Continuatus records that it took place in 921. In either case, the marriage represented an effort by Lekapenos, a provincial upstart, to solidify his position by linking his family to one of the most prestigious aristocratic families of the Empire.[2][3]

As such, Romanos became the brother-in-law of Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos, who had married another of Lekapenos' daughters, Helena Lekapene.[4] His great-grandson was Emperor Romanos III Argyros (r. 1028–34), who became emperor by marrying Empress Zoe, the great-granddaughter of Constantine VII.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Cheynet & Vannier 2003, pp. 62–63.
  2. ↑ Cheynet & Vannier 2003, pp. 63–64.
  3. ↑ Runciman 1988, p. 64.
  4. ↑ Cheynet & Vannier 2003, p. 64.
  5. ↑ Cheynet & Vannier 2003, pp. 68–69.

Sources

  • Cheynet, J.-C.; Vannier, J.-F. (2003). "Les Argyroi" (PDF). Zbornik Radova Vizantološkog Instituta (in French). 40: 57–90. doi:10.2298/ZRVI0340057C. ISSN 0584-9888. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-23.
  • Runciman, Steven (1988) [1929]. The Emperor Romanus Lecapenus and His Reign: A Study of Tenth-Century Byzantium. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-35722-5.
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