Prior to being appointed Exarch, Romanus won a victory against the future Sassanid ruler Bahram Chobin in 589, provoking his revolt and usurpation of Hormizd IV.
[2] In his first year Romanus recovered the cities of Modena, Reggio, Parma, Piacenza, Altinum, and Mantua from the Lombards.
[3] In 592 Pope Gregory I appealed to the Exarch for help in assisting Naples, then under Lombard attack, but Romanus thought it more prudent to remain in central Italy.
[4] Shortly afterwards, the Lombards occupied Perugia, causing Romanus to send an army to retake Umbria.
Frustrated with the lack of support he received from the Exarch (R.A. Markus describes him as a "large thorn in Gregory's side"),[6] the Pope tried to circumvent Romanus' authority by appealing to the Byzantine Emperor Maurice in 595, but this proved fruitless, given the fact that Maurice saw more value in maintaining a link between Ravenna and the Balkans, where he kept the Avars and Slavs at bay.