(1054-1132) Roman was the son of
Sviatoslav Iaroslavich,
Prince of Chernigov and his first wife, Killikiya. The order of seniority of Sviatoslav's four sons by Killikiya is uncertain: Roman might have been the second or fourth among them. According to historian Martin Dimnik, he was born around 1052. He was named after his father's saintly uncle,
Boris whose baptismal name was Roman. The starting year of Roman's reign in
Tmutarakan cannot certainly be determined. According to Martin, he seems to have succeeded his brother
Oleg who moved to
Vladimir after their father became
Grand Prince of Kiev in 1073. However, no source makes mention of Oleg's or Roman's reign in Tmutarakan in this period. The
Russian Primary Chronicle writes that
Boris Vyacheslavich "fled to join Roman in Tmutorakan" after reigning in Chernigov for eight days in May 1077. In less than a year, Roman's brother, Oleg also settled in Tmutarakan. Boris and Oleg allied with the
Cumans against their uncle,
Vsevolod, who had seized Chernigov. However, they were defeated on 25 August. In the summer of 1079, Roman made an alliance with the Cumans against Vsevolod. They advanced as far as the confluence of the rivers
Sula and Dnieper, but Vsevolod made a peace with the Cumans, forcing Roman to withdraw. While he was returning to Tmutarakan, the Cumans murdered him on 2 August. No source makes mention of Roman's marriage or his descendants, implying that he never married and died childless. The ''
Lay of Igor's Campaign'' mentions him as "handsome Roman, son of Sviatoslav". ==References==