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Lekapenos
Lekapenos () or Lakapenos (), usually Latinization of names, Latinized as Lecapenus or Lacapenus, feminine form Lekapene () or Lakapene (), Latinized as Lecapene or Lacapene, was the name of a prominent, assumed, Byzantine-Armenians, Armenian family of humble background which intermarried with and almost managed to usurp the throne from the Macedonian dynasty in the first half of the 10th century. The family was founded by Theophylact, surnamed Abaktistos or Abastaktos (the Unbearable), who had rescued the Emperor Basil I from the enemy in battle at Tephrike in 872, saving his life, and had been rewarded by a place in the Imperial Guard and received estates as a reward. The family surname derives from the locality of Lakape; possibly these estates were located there. Theophylact's son Romanos I Lekapenos, Romanos became commander-in-chief of the Byzantine navy, Imperial Fleet and eventually senior emperor in 920 after marrying his daughter Helena Lekapene, Helena to the legitimate e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Romanos I
Romanos I Lakapenos or Lekapenos (; 870 – 15 June 948), Latinisation of names, Latinized as Romanus I Lacapenus or Romanus I Lecapenus, was Byzantine emperor from 920 until his deposition in 944, serving as regent for and senior co-ruler of the young Constantine VII. Origin Romanos derived his epithet Lekapenos, now usually treated as a family name, from his birthplace of Lakape (later Laqabin (West Syriac diocese), Laqabin) between Melitene and Samosata. It is found mostly as Lakapenos in the sources, although English-language scholarship in particular prefers the form Lekapenos, in large part due to Sir Steven Runciman's 1928 study on the emperor. He was the son of a peasant with the remarkable name of Theophylact "the Unbearable" (''Theophylaktos Abaktistos'' or ''Abastaktos''), who had rescued the Emperor Basil I from the enemy in battle at Tephrike in 872, saving his life, and had been rewarded by a place in the Imperial Guard and received estates as a reward.} Theophyla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Romanos Lekapenos (grandson Of Romanos I)
Christopher Lekapenos or Lecapenus (; died August 931) was the eldest son of Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos () and co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 921 until his death in 931. Christopher was given the position of (commander of the palace guard) in spring 919, after Romanos assumed guardianship of the underage Emperor Constantine VII. Romanos, who made himself co-emperor in 920, raised Christopher to co-emperor on 21 May 921 to give his family precedence over Constantine VII's Macedonian line. In 928 Christopher's father-in-law, Niketas, unsuccessfully attempted to incite Christopher to usurp his father, resulting in Niketas being banished. Christopher died in August 931, succeeded by his father and two brothers, Stephen Lekapenos and Constantine Lekapenos, and Constantine VII. In December 944 his brothers overthrew and exiled their father, but they themselves were exiled in January 945 after attempting to oust Constantine VII. Early life Christopher Lekapenos was the e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constantine Lekapenos
Constantine Lekapenos or Lecapenus () was the third son of the Byzantine emperor Romanos I Lekapenos (), and co-emperor from 924 to 945. With his elder brother Stephen, he deposed Romanos I in December 944, but was overthrown and exiled by the co-emperor Constantine VII () a few weeks later. Constantine Lekapenos was exiled to the island of Samothrace, where he was killed while attempting to escape sometime between 946 and 948. Biography Family Constantine was one of the youngest sons of Romanos I and his wife Theodora. The chronicler Theophanes Continuatus mentions him as the youngest son of the imperial couple, while the 11th-century chronicler George Kedrenos mentions as the third of four known sons. His older brothers were Christopher Lekapenos (co-emperor 921–931) and Stephen Lekapenos (co-emperor 924–945). It is unclear if his brother Theophylact ( Patriarch of Constantinople in 933–956) was younger or slightly older than Constantine. His sisters included H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constantine VII
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Byzantine emperor of the Macedonian dynasty, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, and the nephew of his predecessor Alexander. Most of his reign was dominated by co-regents: from 913 until 919 he was under the regency of his mother, while from 920 until 945 he shared the throne with Romanos Lekapenos, whose daughter Helena he married, and his sons. Constantine VII is best known for the '' Geoponika'' (τά γεοπονικά), an important agronomic treatise compiled during his reign, and three, perhaps four, books; (bearing in Greek the heading Πρὸς τὸν ἴδιον υἱὸν Ῥωμανόν), (Περὶ τῆς Βασιλείου Τάξεως), '' De Thematibus'' (Περὶ θεμάτων Άνατολῆς καὶ Δύσεως), and '' Vita Basilii'' (Βίος Βασιλείου), though his authorship of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Lekapenos
Stephen Lekapenos or Lecapenus (; died 18 April 963) was the second son of the Byzantine emperor Romanos I Lekapenos (r. 920–944), and co-emperor from 924 to 945. With his younger brother Constantine, he deposed Romanos I in December 944, but they were overthrown and exiled a few weeks later by their brother in law, the legitimate emperor Constantine VII (r. 913–959). Stephen lived out his life in exile on the island of Lesbos, where he died on Easter 963. Family Stephen was the second son of Romanos I and his wife Theodora. His older siblings were Christopher (co-emperor from 921 until his death in 931) and his sisters Helena, who married Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos (r. 913–959), and Agatha, who married Romanos Argyros. His younger brothers were Constantine (co-emperor 924–945) and Theophylact ( Patriarch of Constantinople in 933–956). He probably also had at least two unnamed younger sisters, known only because of their marriages to the '' magistroi'' Ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theodora, Wife Of Romanos I
Theodora (, ; died 20 February 922) was a humble Greek woman who became Byzantine empress consort by marriage to Romanos I Lekapenos.Adelbert Davids (2002). ''The Empress Theophano: Byzantium and the West at the Turn of the First Millennium''. Cambridge University PressP. 73 Empress Nothing is known of her background except for the fact that she was born into a family of Greeks, Greek peasants. She became the mother-in-law to Constantine VII in May or June, 919 with the marriage of the young Emperor to her daughter Helena Lekapene. Her husband Romanos was originally the Droungarios of the Fleet, ''Droungarios'' of the Fleet, before rising to become the ''de facto'' regent of the Empire after the marriage, when he was proclaimed ''basileopator, basileopatōr''. In September 920, Romanos was invested as ''Caesar (title), kaisar''. On 17 December 920, Romanos was crowned co-emperor and in effect became the senior of the two associate emperors. Theodora was crowned as ''Augusta (honori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basil Lekapenos
Basil Lekapenos (; – ), also called the Parakoimomenos () or the Nothos (, "the Bastard"), was an illegitimate child of the Byzantine emperor Romanos I Lekapenos. He served as the '' parakoimomenos'' and chief minister of the Byzantine Empire for most of the period 947 to 985, under emperors Constantine VII (his brother-in-law), Romanos II (his nephew), Nikephoros II Phokas, John I Tzimiskes, and Basil II (his great nephew). Biography Origin and early career Basil was the illegitimate son of the emperor Romanos I Lekapenos (ruled 920–944) by a concubine. It is reported that his mother was a slave woman of "Scythian" (possibly implying Slavic) origin, but according to Kathryn Ringrose "this may just be a pejorative topos". The exact date of his birth is unknown; the ''Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'' suggests ca. 925, while the Dutch scholar W. G. Brokaar suggested sometime between 910 and 915. Later Byzantine chroniclers like John Skylitzes, Zonaras, and Kedrenos, claim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basil II
Basil II Porphyrogenitus (; 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar Slayer (, ), was the senior Byzantine emperor from 976 to 1025. He and his brother Constantine VIII were crowned before their father Romanos II died in 963, but they were too young to rule. The throne thus went to two generals, Nikephoros Phokas (963–969) and John Tzimiskes (r. 969–976) before Basil became senior emperor, though his influential great-uncle Basil Lekapenos remained as the '' de facto'' ruler until 985. His reign of 49 years and 11 months was the longest of any Roman emperor. The early years of Basil's reign were dominated by civil wars against two powerful generals from the Byzantine Anatolian aristocracy: first Bardas Skleros and later Bardas Phokas, which ended shortly after Phokas' death and Skleros' submission in 989. Basil then oversaw the stabilization and expansion of the eastern frontier of the Byzantine Empire and the complete subjugation of the First Bulgarian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helena Lekapene
Helena Lekapene () (c. 910 – 19 September 961) was the empress consort of Constantine VII, known to have acted as his political adviser and '' de facto'' co-regent. She was a daughter of Romanos I LekapenosAnne Commire, Deborah Klezmer (1994). ''Historic World Leaders: Africa, Middle East, Asia, Pacific''. Gale Research Incorporated. and Theodora. Background The deaths of Emperor Leo VI the Wise in 912 and his brother and successor Alexander in 913 left the throne of the Byzantine Empire to Constantine VII. Constantine was only seven years old when he assumed the throne. The empire was placed in the care of regents. Nicholas Mystikos, ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople, was the principal regent until March 914. He was displaced by Zoe Karbonopsina, mother of the young emperor. Zoe reigned with the support of influential general Leo Phocas until 919. However, Leo led the Byzantine army into a series of lost battles against Simeon I of Bulgaria in one campaign of the Byzant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macedonian Dynasty
The Macedonian dynasty () Byzantine Empire under the Macedonian dynasty, ruled the Byzantine Empire from 867 to 1056, following the Byzantium under the Amorian dynasty, Amorian dynasty. During this period, the Byzantine state reached its greatest extent since the Early Muslim conquests, and the Macedonian Renaissance in letters and arts began. The dynasty was named after its founder, Basil I the Macedonian who came from the theme (Byzantine district), theme of Macedonia (theme), Macedonia. Origins The dynasty's ethnic origin is unknown, and has been a subject of debate. During Basil's reign, an elaborate genealogy was produced that purported that his ancestors were not mere peasants, as everyone believed, but descendants of the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia, Arsacid (Arshakuni) kings of Armenia, Alexander the Great and also of Constantine the Great. Some Persian writers such as Hamza al-Isfahani or Al-Tabari, called Basil a ''Saqlabi'', an ethnogeographic term that usually denoted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
