Theophanu

Theophanu (956 - 991) (also known as Theophano) was born in Constantinople, the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Romanus II and Theophanu. In 972 Theophanu married Otto II of Saxony, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, to seal a treaty between the Byzantine Empire and the Holy Roman Empire.

Their children were:

• Sophia, Abbess of Gandersheim, born 978
• Adelaide, Abbess of Quedlinburg, born 977
• Matilda of Saxony, born 978, and
• Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor, born 980

When Otto II died in 983 , Theophanu reigned as Empress on behalf of her son Otto III until her death in 991, and was buried in Cologne. Because Otto III was still a child, his grandmother Adelaide of Italy took over the reign until Otto III became old enough to rule on his own.