ROMANUS II  . succeeded his father Constantine VII. in 959 at the age of twenty-one, and died—poisoned, it was believed, by his wife, Theophano-in 963 . He was a pleasure-loving sovereign, but showed judgment in the selection of his ministers . The great event of his reign was the conquest of Crete by Nicephorus Phocas . RoMAxus III . (Argyrus), emperor 1028-1034, was an undistinguished Byzantine patrician, who was compelled by the dying emperor Constantine IX. to marry his daughter Zoe and to become his successor . He showed great eagerness to make his mark as a ruler, but was mostly unfortunate in his enterprises . He spent large sums upon new buildings and in endowing the monks, and in his endeavour to relieve the pressure of taxation disorganized the finances of the state . In 1030 he resolved to retaliate upon the incursions. of the Moslems on the eastern frontier by leading a large army in person against Aleppo, but by allowing himself to be surprised on the march sustained a serious defeat at Azaz near Antioch . Though this disaster was retrieved by the successful defence of Edessa by George Maniakes and by the defeat of a Saracen fleet in the Adriatic, Romanus never recovered his popularity . His early death was supposed to have been due to poison administered by his wife . See J . B .

Bury in the English Historical Review (1889), pp . 53-57; G . Schlumberger, L'Epopee byzantine (Paris, 1905), iii. pp . 56-158 .