Seven romantic stories or seven tales of love with direct and indirect, short-term and long-term effects on the course of Byzantium. In each of these, the protagonists, emperors or high officials (Theodosius II, magistrate Paulinus, Justinian, Heraclius, Constantine VI, Leo VI, Michael IV, Romanus IV Diogenes) and empresses (Athenais-Eudocia, Theodora, Martina, Theodote, Zoe Zaoutzi, Zoe Porphyrogenita, Eudocia Makrembolitissa), acted influenced by feelings of love and emotions sparked by their romantic partners.

Important sectors of the state, such as administration and legislation, as well as institutions, notably the imperial one, faced the consequences of the choices made by those in power. In what is recounted and analyzed on the occasion of loves, marriages, and divorces in the environment of the Sacred Palace, the contribution of decisions regarding the personal matters of the leading figures in the evolution of the empire is clearly evident.

The contributors to the identity and history of Byzantium, namely its Roman state origins, the spirit of Greek and Hellenistic antiquity, combined with the new religion, Christianity, constituted an environment in which, until the end of the eleventh century, ascending to the throne was not merely the result of political designs and dynastic marriage strategies.

For monarchs of both sexes, there was room for expressing preferences and sensitivities regarding their companions, and consequently, their actions significantly contributed to shaping the characteristics of the empire. Their romantic feelings and emotions impacted state institutions, such as "hereditary" succession and female power, influenced political developments, religious and ecclesiastical directions, led to legislative interventions, and caused upheavals in political groups and alignments, even leading to a redesign of the state's foreign policy.