Romanos was emperor until his defeat and capture at the Battle of Mantzikert. It is possible that this defeat was engineered by members of the Doukas family seeking to regain power. The results of the defeat were devastating: within a few years Turkish horsemen had reached the Aegean coast. Although Western and Northern Anatolia were regained, the central region of Anatolia, the former heartland of the Empire, never were. The results were incalculable, but led to a gradual dehellenization of Anatolia, the shift of Greek speaking population centers to
Passages to compare with Skoutariotes
1. Michael Psellos, Chronographia, on Romanos III Argyropoulos
The people was divided in two parts: from one part those honest citizens that they preferred to live simple without any interference in the public life and according to the opinion of the governor they were completely unworthy and from the other part were those that they attempted anything easily and were gain from the misfortunes of the others by putting all their badness as oil in the fire which was lighted by the king. Anger and confusion was everywhere and the most dreadful of all most of the citizens were robbed and stripped by that way but the royal treasuries were not gain any income from these acts and whole rivers of money were directed elsewhere.
2. Michael Psellos, Chronographia, on Michael IV Paphlagon
Though I have not see any of the emperors of my times (and since most of them has been in the power no more than one year, I have count a lot of them during the course of my life) to exercise free his kingship: others were chained by the cruelty, others they were driven by their friends, others they had some bad habits and the one that could be by himself the best emperor damaged the state because of his brothers, truly, it appears that the nature that gave birth to them gave all the advances to Michael and kept any of these for the others.
3. Michael Psellos, Chronographia, on Constantine IX Monomachos
As far as concern the expenses for the army changed direction and they were going without need to other persons (and I mean the whole lot of adulators and the followers of the two empresss), as emperor Basil for these people had gathered money in the royal treasure.
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