The Emperor Constantine Porphyrogennetos ( r. 945 – 959 ), in his book De Administrando Imperio, admonishes his son and heir, Romanos II ( r. 959 – 963 ), to never reveal the secrets of its construction, as it was " shown and revealed by an angel to the great and holy first Christian emperor Constantine " and that the angel bound him " not to prepare this fire but for Christians, and only in the imperial city ".

In September, he marries the empress Theophano, widow of Romanos II.

* March 15 – Romanos II, Byzantine Emperor ( b. 939 )

Though Otto I preferred Byzantine Princess Anna Porphyrogenita, daughter of former Byzantine Emperor Romanos II, as she was born in the purple, her age ( then only five years old ) prevented serious consideration by the East.

Basil was the son of Emperor Romanos II and Empress Theophano, whose maternal family was of Laconian Greek origin originating in the Peloponnesian region of Laconia, possibly from the city of Sparta.

Because he and his brother, the future Emperor Constantine VIII ( ruled 1025 – 1028 ), were too young to reign in their own right, Basil's mother Theophano married one of Romanos ' leading generals, who took the throne as the Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas several months later in 963.

Seeking to protect the lower and middle classes, Basil II made ruthless war upon the system of immense estates which had grown up in Asia Minor and which his predecessor, Romanos I, had endeavored to check.

He was the son of the Emperor Romanos II and Theophano, and the younger brother of the eminent Basil II, who died childless and thus left the rule of the Byzantine Empire in his hands.

* Joseph Bringas: chief minister of the Byzantine Empire under Romanos II ( 959-963 ).

From the accession of Emperor Romanos II in 959, Nikephoros and his younger brother Leo were placed in charge of the eastern and western field armies, respectively.

On 15 March 963, Emperor Romanos II unexpectedly died at the age of twenty-six.

Romanos had, before his death, already crowned as co-emperors his two sons Basil II and Constantine VIII.

Romanos ( or Romanus ) II ( Greek: Ρωμανός Β ΄, Rōmanos II ) ( 938 – 15 March 963 ) was a Byzantine Emperor.

In November 959 Romanos II succeeded his father on the throne, among rumors that he or his wife had contributed to the death of Constantine VII by poisoning him.

Death of Romanos II

After a lengthy hunting expedition Romanos II took ill and died on March 15, 963.

Romanos II probably never consummated his first marriage to Bertha of Italy ( daughter of Hugh of Italy

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Emperor Romanos IV was himself taken prisoner and conducted into the presence of Alp Arslan, who treated him with generosity, and, terms of peace having been agreed to, dismissed him, loaded with presents and respectfully attended by a military guard.

The following conversation is said to have taken place after Romanos was brought as a prisoner before the Sultan:

Led by a pretender claiming to be Constantine Diogenes, a long-dead son of the Emperor Romanos IV, the Cumans crossed the mountains and raided into eastern Thrace until their leader was eliminated at Adrianople.

The Bulgarian monarch, who had further irritated his Byzantine counterpart by claiming the title " Emperor of the Romans " ( basileus tōn Rōmaiōn ), was eventually recognized, as " Emperor of the Bulgarians " ( basileus tōn Boulgarōn ) by the Byzantine Emperor Romanos I Lakapenos in 924.

His most important theological work of this period was the Commentarii in Epistolam Pauli ad Romanos ( Wittenberg, 1532 ), noteworthy for introducing the idea that " to be justified " means " to be accounted just ," whereas the Apology had placed side by side the meanings of " to be made just " and " to be accounted just.

Skopje surrendered shortly after the battle ; its governor, Romanos, was treated with overt kindness by the Emperor.

Theophylact was the youngest son of Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos by Theodora.

Romanos I planned to make his son Patriarch as soon as Nicholas Mystikos died in 925, but two minor patriarchates and a two-year vacancy passed before Theophylact was considered old enough to discharge his duties as patriarch ( still he was still only sixteen years old ).

Apart from the bastard eunuch Basil Lekapenos, who was appointed parakoimomenos, Theophylact was the only son of Romanos I to retain his high office after the family's fall from power in 945.

Romanos I Lekapenos ( or Romanus I Lecapenus ) ( Greek: Ρωμανός Α ΄ Λακαπήνος, Rōmanos I Lakapēnos ; ) ( circa 870 – June 15, 948 ) was Byzantine Emperor from 920 until his deposition on December 16, 944.

Romanos Lekapenos was the son of an Armenian peasant with the remarkable name of Theophylact the Unbearable.

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.

On September 14, 920, Romanos was invested as kaisar ( Caesar ), and finally on December 17 of the same year he was crowned co-emperor, becoming the effective head of the Byzantine Empire.

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.

Romanos ' rise to power had cut off Simeon I of Bulgaria's plans 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.

* Nikephoros Diogenes, the son of emperor Romanos IV.

* Nikephoros Diogenes general and son to Byzantine emperor Romanos IV Diogenes.

In the early years of his reign, the administration remained in the hands of the eunuch Basil Lekapenos ( an illegitimate son of Emperor Romanos I ), President of the Senate, a wily and gifted man, who hoped that the young emperors would be his puppets.

Gold solidus ( coin ) | solidus of Romanos I with his eldest son, Christopher Lekapenos

In September 927 Peter arrived before Constantinople and married Maria ( renamed Eirene, " Peace "), the daughter of his eldest son and co-emperor Christopher, and thus Romanos ' granddaughter.

In 933 Romanos took advantage of a vacancy on the patriarchal throne to name his young son Theophylaktos patriarch of Constantinople.

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.

Romanos also had an illegitimate son, the eunuch Basil, who remained influential at court, particularly during the period 976 – 985.

On April 6, 945, after the fall of the Lekapenoi, Constantine VII crowned his son Romanos co-emperor.

Romanos Argyros was the son of an unnamed member of the Argyros family and a great-grandson of Emperor Romanos I.

Romanos Diogenes was the son of Constantine Diogenes and a member of a prominent and powerful Cappadocian family, connected by birth to most of the great aristocratic nobles in Asia Minor.

* Romanos IV Diogenes ( died 1072 ), Byzantine emperor 1068 – 1071, son of Constantine Diogenes

* Nikephoros Diogenes, Byzantine general, son of Romanos IV

Constantine's youth had been a sad one for his unpleasant appearance, his taciturn nature and his relegation at the third level of succession behind Christopher Lekapenos, the eldest son of Romanos I Lekapenos.