Romanos IV Diogenes
Romanos IV Diogenes was Byzantine emperor from 1068 to 1071. Determined to halt the decline of the Byzantine military and to stop Turkish incursions into the empire, he is nevertheless best known for his defeat and capture in 1071 at the Battle of Manzikert, which played a major role in undermining Byzantine authority in Anatolia and allowed for its gradual Turkification.
Son of the general Constantine Diogenes and a prominent member of the Cappadocian Greek military aristocracy, Romanos rose to fame as a successful Akritai commander, serving in Syria and on the Danubian frontier. In 1068, he was crowned Byzantine emperor following his marriage to the dowager empress Eudokia Makrembolitissa. Early in his reign, Romanos campaigned with limited success against the Seljuk Turks in Anatolia and Syria. Domestically, his rule was marked by a series of unpopular policies as well as clashes with the rival Doukas family. In 1071, Romanos undertook another major campaign against the Seljuks. His Byzantine army, beset by years of neglect and poor tactics, was decisively defeated by the forces of Alp Arslan at Manzikert. Romanos himself was taken prisoner.
Taking advantage of his capture, members of the Doukas family declared Romanos deposed and proclaimed Michael VII Doukas as emperor in a palace coup. When released, he was ultimately defeated by the Doukai in Cilicia and forced to surrender. Despite receiving a promise that he would be spared, Romanos was blinded and exiled to a monastery on Prote in the Sea of Marmara, where he died of his wounds in 1072.
Accession to the throne
Romanos Diogenes was the son of Constantine Diogenes and a member of a prominent and powerful Byzantine Greek family from Cappadocia, the Diogenai, connected by birth to most of the great aristocratic nobles in Asia Minor. His mother was a daughter of Basil Argyros, brother of the emperor Romanos III. Courageous and generous, but also impetuous, Romanos rose with distinction in the army due to his military talents, and he served in Syria and on the Danubian frontier. At that time some parts from the theme of Bulgaria were organized as a new province with the centre at Serdica, and he became a duke of that province in 1067. However, he was eventually convicted of attempting to usurp the throne of the sons of Constantine X Doukas in 1067. While waiting to receive his sentence from the regent Eudokia Makrembolitissa, he was summoned into her presence and advised that she had pardoned him and that she had furthermore chosen him to be her husband and the guardian of her sons as emperor. She took this course of action primarily due to her concern that unless she managed to find a powerful husband, she could easily lose the regency to any unscrupulous noble, and also because she was infatuated with the popular Romanos. Her decision was met with little protest as the Seljuk Turks had overrun much of Cappadocia and had even taken the important city of Caesarea, meaning that the army needed to be placed under the command of an able and energetic general.After a written oath promising never to remarry, extracted from Eudokia by Constantine X, had been set aside by the Patriarch of Constantinople, John Xiphilinos, and the approval of the senate obtained, on 1 January 1068 Romanos married the empress and was crowned Emperor of the Romans.
Physical appearance and personality
Byzantine Empress Eudokia Makrembolitissa was infatuated with Romanos; for according to Attaleiates, “The man not only surpassed others in his good qualities but he was also pleasant to look at in all respects.” He was, however, “very harsh and violent in his judgments,” says Michael the Syrian, and he once ordered the nose of a soldier to be cut off for stealing the donkey of a Muslim after the emperor had given his peace. "One thing alone satisfied him: that he marched against his foes". He was said to have been very brave, and would often go unarmed and without escort to fight with his enemies which would cause his worried generals to complain. Psellus confirms that Romanus “exposed himself to danger without a thought of the consequences”.Romanos grew contemptuous of the empress Eudokia for trying to control him.
Campaigns against the Turks
Romanos IV was now the senior emperor and guardian of his stepsons and junior co-emperors, Michael VII, Konstantios, and Andronikos Doukas. However, his elevation had antagonised not only the Doukas family, in particular the Caesar, John Doukas who led the opposition of the palace officials to Romanos' authority, but also the Varangian Guard, who openly expressed their discontent at the marriage of Eudokia. Romanos therefore decided that he could only exercise his authority by placing himself at the head of the army in the field, thereby focusing the whole government's attention on the war against the Turks.By 1067, the Turks had been making incursions at will into Mesopotamia, Melitene, Syria, Cilicia, and Cappadocia, culminating with the sack of Caesarea and the plundering of the Church of St Basil. That winter they camped on the frontiers of the empire and waited for the next year's campaigning season. Romanos was confident of Byzantine superiority on the field of battle, looking on the Turks as little more than hordes of robbers who would melt away at the first encounter. He did not take into account the degraded state of the Byzantine forces, which had suffered years of neglect from his predecessors, in particular Constantine X Doukas. His forces, mostly composed of Sclavonian, Armenian, Bulgarian, and Frankish mercenaries, were ill-disciplined, disorganised, and uncoordinated, and he was not prepared to spend time in upgrading the arms, armour, or tactics of the once-feared Byzantine army.
Campaign of 1068
The first military operations of Romanos did achieve a measure of success, reinforcing his opinions about the outcome of the war. Antioch was exposed to the Saracens of Aleppo who, with help from Turkish troops, began an attempt to reconquer the Byzantine province of Syria. Romanos began marching to the southeastern frontier of the empire to deal with this threat, but as he was advancing towards Lykandos, he received word that a Seljuk army had made an incursion into Pontus and had plundered Neocaesarea. Immediately he selected a small mobile force and quickly raced through Sebaste and the mountains of Tephrike to encounter the Turks on the road, forcing them to abandon their plunder and release their prisoners, though a large number of the Turkish troops managed to escape.Returning south, Romanos rejoined the main army, and they continued their advance through the passes of Mount Taurus to the north of Germanicia and proceeded to invade the Emirate of Aleppo. Romanos captured Hierapolis, which he fortified to provide protection against further incursions into the south-eastern provinces of the empire. He then engaged in further fighting against the Saracens of Aleppo, but neither side managed a decisive victory. With the campaigning season reaching its end, Romanos returned north via Alexandretta and the Cilician Gates to Podandos. Here he was advised of another Seljuk Turkish raid into Asia Minor in which they sacked Amorium but returned to their base so fast that Romanos was in no position to give chase. He eventually reached Constantinople by January 1069.
Campaign of 1069
Plans for the following year's campaigning were initially thrown into chaos by a rebellion by one of Romanos' Norman mercenaries, Robert Crispin, who led a contingent of Frankish troops in the pay of the empire. Possibly due to Romanos not paying them on time, they began plundering the countryside near where they were stationed at Edessa, and attacking the imperial tax collectors. Although Crispin was captured and exiled to Abydos, the Franks continued to ravage the Armeniac Theme for some time. In the meantime, the land around Caesarea was again overrun by the Turks, forcing Romanos to spend precious time and energy in expelling the Turks from Cappadocia. Desperate to begin his campaign proper, he ordered the execution of all prisoners, even a Seljuk chieftain who offered to pay an immense ransom for his life. Having brought a measure of peace to the province, Romanos marched towards the Euphrates via Melitene, and crossed the river at Romanopolis, hoping to take Akhlat on Lake Van and thus protect the Armenian frontier.Romanos placed himself at the head of a substantial body of troops and began his march towards Akhlat, leaving the bulk of the army under the command of Philaretos Brachamios with orders to defend the Mesopotamian frontier. Philaretos was soon defeated by the Turks, whose sack of Iconium forced Romanos to abandon his plans and return to Sebaste. He sent orders to the Dux of Antioch to secure the passes at Mopsuestia, while he attempted to run down the Turks at Heracleia. The Turks were soon hemmed in in the mountains of Cilicia, but they managed to escape to Aleppo after abandoning their plunder. Romanos once again returned to Constantinople without the great victory he was hoping for.
Affairs at Constantinople
Romanos was detained at Constantinople in 1070, while he dealt with many outstanding administrative issues, including the imminent fall of Bari into Norman hands. They had been besieging it since 1068, but it had taken Romanos two years to respond. He ordered a relief fleet to set sail, containing sufficient provisions and troops to enable them to hold out for much longer. The fleet was intercepted, however, and defeated by a Norman squadron under the command of Roger, the younger brother of Robert Guiscard, forcing the final remaining outpost of Byzantine authority in Italy to surrender on 15 April 1071.Meanwhile, Romanos was undertaking a number of unpopular reforms at home. He reduced a great deal of unnecessary public expenditure on court ceremonials and beautifying the capital. He reduced the public salaries paid to much of the court nobility, as well as reducing the profits of tradesmen. His preoccupation with the military had also made him unpopular with the provincial governors and the military hierarchy, as he was determined to ensure they could not abuse their positions, especially through corrupt practices. He incurred the displeasure of the mercenaries by enforcing much needed discipline. Romanos was also deeply unpopular with the common people, as he neglected to entertain them with games at the hippodrome, nor did he alleviate the burdens of the peasants in the provinces.
Nevertheless, he did not forget his principal target, the Turks. Being unable to go on campaign himself, he entrusted the imperial army to one of his generals, Manuel Komnenos, nephew of the former emperor Isaac I, and elder brother to the future emperor Alexios. He managed to engage the Turks in battle, but was defeated and taken prisoner by a Turkish general named Khroudj. Manuel convinced Khroudj to go to Constantinople and see Romanos in person to conclude an alliance, which was soon completed. This act motivated the Seljuk Sultan Alp Arslan to attack the Byzantine Empire, besieging and capturing the important Byzantine fortresses of Manzikert and Archesh. Romanos, in return, offered to officially exchange Manzikert and Archesh for Hieropolis in Syria, which Romanos had taken three years previously.