Romanus I Lecapenus (Romanos I Lakapenos, 870 - 948), who shared the throne of the Byzantine Empire with Constantine VII and exercised all the real power from 919 to 944, was admiral of the Byzantine fleet on the Danube River when, hearing of the defeat of the army at the Battle of Anchialus (917), he resolved to sail for Constantinople.

After the marriage of his daughter Helena to Constantine he was first proclaimed basileopator ("father of the emperor") in 919 and soon after, crowned colleague of his son-in-law. His reign was uneventful, except for an attempt to check the accumulation of landed property. It was terminated by his own sons, Stephen and Constantine, who in 944 carried him off to the Prince's Islands and compelled him to become a monk. Instead of taking power for themselves, his sons then recognized Constantine VII as sole emperor. Romanus died in 948.

Bibliography

• Runciman, Steven. The Emperor Romanus Lecapenus and his Reign. Cambridge: University Press, 1990. (Originally published 1929.) ISBN 0-521-35722-5