A pair of male twins joined from the armpit to the hip, originally from Armenia, arrives in Constantinople during the reign of Romanos I Lekapenos (919-944), where they are initially exhibited as a curiosity and later expelled, considered a bad omen. They return to the city during the reign of Constantine VII (944-959), where they are received with more curiosity than hostility. When one of the twins dies, experienced Byzantine physicians attempt to surgically separate the surviving brother from the body of his deceased brother, skillfully cutting along the line of union. The surviving twin lives three more days before also dying. Despite the fatal outcome, the operation leaves a lasting impression on the chroniclers of the time: it is recounted by historians Leo Grammaticus and Theodore Daphnopates, and mentioned a century and a half later by John Skylitzes, whose manuscript — preserved at the National Library of Spain, in Madrid — includes a miniature illustrating the operation. It is the first written documented case of an attempt at surgical separation of conjoined twins; the next recorded case would not occur until 1689, in Germany.