Romanos II in the context of "Constantine VII"

Basil II Porphyrogenitus (Greek: Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος, romanized: Basíleios Porphyrogénnētos; 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar Slayer (Greek: ὁ Βουλγαροκτόνος, ho Boulgaroktónos, Bulgarian: Българоубиец), 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 (r. 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 Empire, its foremost European foe, after a long struggle. Although the Byzantines had made a truce with the Fatimid Caliphate in 987–988, Basil led a campaign against the Caliphate that ended with another truce in 1000. He also conducted a campaign against the Khazar Khaganate that gained the Byzantine Empire part of Crimea and a series of successful campaigns against the Kingdom of Georgia.

Constantine VIII (Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος, romanized: Kōnstantīnos; 960 – 11/12 November 1028) was de jure Byzantine emperor from 962 until his death. He was the younger son of Emperor Romanos II and Empress Theophano. He was nominal co-emperor from 962, successively with his father; stepfather, Nikephoros II Phokas; uncle, John I Tzimiskes; and brother, Basil II. Basil's death in 1025 left Constantine as the sole emperor. He occupied the throne for 66 years in total, making him de jure the longest-reigning amongst all Roman emperors since Augustus.

Constantine displayed a lifelong lack of interest in politics, statecraft and the military, and during his brief sole reign the government of the Byzantine Empire suffered from mismanagement and neglect. He had no sons and was instead succeeded by Romanos Argyros, husband of his daughter Zoe.

The coronation (Greek: στέψιμον, romanized: stépsimon, or στεφάνωσις, stephánosis) was the main symbolic act of accession to the throne of a Byzantine emperor, co-emperor, or empress. Founded on Roman traditions of election by the Senate or acclamation by the army, the ceremony evolved over time from a relatively simple, ad hoc affair to a complex ritual.

In the 5th–6th centuries the coronation became gradually standardized, with the new emperor appearing before the people and army at the Hippodrome of Constantinople, where he was crowned and acclaimed. During the same time, religious elements, notably the presence of the patriarch of Constantinople, became prominent in what was previously a purely military or civilian ceremony. From the early 7th century on, the coronation ceremony usually took place in a church, chiefly the Hagia Sophia, the patriarchal cathedral of Constantinople. The association of the coronation ceremony with Constantinople and the Hagia Sophia became so close that even emperors who had been proclaimed, and crowned, outside the capital as military rebels or usurpers, usually repeated their coronation in the capital once they had won power.

Basil Lekapenos (Greek: Βασίλειος Λεκαπηνός, romanized: Basíleios Lekapēnós; c. 925 – c. 985), also called the Parakoimomenos (ὁ παρακοιμώμενος) or the Nothos (ὁ Νόθος, "the Bastard"), was an illegitimate child of the Byzantine emperor Romanos I Lekapenos. He served as the grand chamberlain 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).

De Administrando Imperio (lit. 'On imperial administration'; Greek: Πρὸς τὸν ἴδιον υἱὸν Ῥωμανόν, lit. 'to my son Romanos') is a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII. It is a domestic and foreign policy manual for the use of Constantine's son and successor, the Emperor Romanos II. It is a prominent example of Byzantine encyclopaedism.

Theophano (Greek: Θεοφανώ, romanized: Theophanō; c. 941 – after 978) was a Greek woman from the region of Laconia, who became Byzantine empress by marriage to emperors Romanos II and Nikephoros II. In 963, between the deaths of Romanos and her marriage to Nikephoros, she was regent for her sons, Basil II and Constantine VIII. Contemporary sources have depicted Theophano as scheming and adulterous, although some modern scholars have called this into question.