Romanos IV Diogenes

Son of a general and born into Cappadocia's Greek military elite around 1030, Romanos made his name as a frontier commander fighting along the Syrian and Danube borders. He became emperor in 1068 by marrying the dowager empress Eudokia Makrembolitissa, inheriting an army hollowed by neglect and a state bleeding territory to Seljuk incursions. His early campaigns against the Turks brought limited gains and his domestic policies sparked clashes with the powerful Doukas family. In 1071 he led a major expedition against Alp Arslan's forces, but poor tactics and years of military decay caught up wi…