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On the death of Constantine X
in May 1067, the throne was occupied by his widow, Eudocia. The empire was under virtual seige, however, and a firm hand was needed at the top. Consequently, Eudocia married the general Romanus Diogenes in December 1067, and he ascended the throne on 1st January 1068 as Romanus IV. He was a competant soldier and his campaigns against the Seljuk Turks initially met with some success, but at the battle of Manzikert in 1071, the Seljuks under the Sultan Alp Arslan won a devastating victory over the Byzantines. Romanus himself was captured, but treated with great courtesy by the sultan, who saw the political advantage of having a well-disposed Romanus on the throne of Constantinople. In Constantinople, however, there were different ideas, and Romanus was deposed
in absentia. Michael VII was crowned senior emperor and his brother, the Caesar John Ducas, was sent to deal with Romanus. When he gave himself up, he was treated with typical Byzantine savagery, being brought home on a
donkey with his eyes gouged out and his head seething with maggots. He died very shortly afterwards. |
