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Source Description
Romanus III Argyrus (968–April 11, 1034) was Byzantine emperor from November 15, 1028, until his death. He was husband of Zoe, the daughter of Constantine VII, the man Romanus was to succeed as emperor three days after wedding the daughter. He appears to have thought a lot of himself and his abilities, but in fact was inept, corrupt, and self-absorbed. His government was filled with corruption and mismanagement. He made the mistake of ignoring his wife Zoe and limiting her expenses in an effort to reduce expenditures. This would prove fatal to him as he was either poisoned or drowned (accounts differ) by the hand or order of his wife.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
169356
label
Histamenon of Romanus III
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
169356
contentType
object
title
Histamenon of Romanus III
description
Romanus III Argyrus (968–April 11, 1034) was Byzantine emperor from November 15, 1028, until his death. He was husband of Zoe, the daughter of Constantine VII, the man Romanus was to succeed as emperor three days after wedding the daughter. He appears to have thought a lot of himself and his abilities, but in fact was inept, corrupt, and self-absorbed. His government was filled with corruption and mismanagement. He made the mistake of ignoring his wife Zoe and limiting her expenses in an effort to reduce expenditures. This would prove fatal to him as he was either poisoned or drowned (accounts differ) by the hand or order of his wife.
date
1028–34
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80076563
genreSpecific
Coins
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Diameter: 2.4 cm (15/16 in.)
cul
Byzantium
accession
2011.213
Source extras
tec
gold
tombstone
Histamenon of Romanus III, 1028–34. Byzantium. Gold; diameter: 2.4 cm (15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Dr. Norman Zaworski, 2011.213
collection
MED - Byzantine
inscriptions
inscription
IhS XIS R?X R?GNANTInm
inscription_remark
obverse
inscription
?C? ?ON? R?MAn?
inscription_remark
reverse
didYouKnow
On one side is a seated figure of Christ enthroned, on the other the Virgin is shown touching the head of emperor Romanus III.
creditline
Gift of Dr. Norman Zaworski
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:42:24.226000
sourceId
169356
dept
Medieval Art
coll
MED - Byzantine
med
gold
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
e657691bbe77a993