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Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, and the nephew of his predecessor Alexander.
Most of his reign was dominated by co-regents: from 913 until 919 he was under the regency of his mother, while from 920 until 945 he shared the throne with Romanos Lekapenos, whose daughter
In early 913, as his uncle Alexander lay dying, he appointed a seven-man regency council for Constantine. It was headed by the Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos, the two '' magistroi'' John Eladas and Stephen, the '' rhaiktor'' John Lazanes, the otherwise obscure Euthymius and Alexander's henchmen Basilitzes and Gabrielopoulos. Following Alexander's death (6 June),'' Theophanes Continuatus'
394-398
('' CSHB'' 45) the new and shaky regime survived the attempted usurpation of Constantine Doukas, and Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos quickly assumed a dominant position among the regents.
Patriarch Nicholas was presently forced to make peace with Tsar Simeon of Bulgaria, whom he reluctantly recognized as Bulgarian emperor. Because of this unpopular concession, Patriarch Nicholas was driven out of the regency by Constantine's mother Zoe. She was no more successful with the Bulgarians, who defeated her main supporter, the general Leo Phokas, in 917.
In March 919, she was replaced as regent by the
Helena
Helena may refer to:
People
*Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name)
*Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer
*Helena, mother of Constantine I
Places
Greece
* Helena (island)
Guyana
* ...
he married, and his sons. Constantine VII is best known for the '' Geoponika'' (τά γεοπονικά), an important agronomic treatise compiled during his reign, and three, perhaps four, books; ''De Administrando Imperio
''De Administrando Imperio'' ("On the Governance of the Empire") is the Latin title of a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is ("To yown son Romanos"). It is a domes ...
'' (bearing in Greek the heading Πρὸς τὸν ἴδιον υἱὸν Ῥωμανόν), ''De Ceremoniis
The ''De Ceremoniis'' (fully ''De cerimoniis aulae Byzantinae'') is the conventional Latin name for a Greek book of ceremonial protocol at the court of the Byzantine emperors in Constantinople. Its Greek title is often cited as ("Explanation of th ...
'' (Περὶ τῆς Βασιλείου Τάξεως), '' De Thematibus'' (Περὶ θεμάτων Άνατολῆς καὶ Δύσεως), and '' Vita Basilii'' (Βίος Βασιλείου), though his authorship of the ''Vita Basilii'' is not certain.
The epithet ''porphyrogenitus'' alludes to the Purple chamber of the imperial palace, decorated with porphyry, where legitimate children of reigning emperors were normally born. Constantine was also born in this room, although his mother Zoe had not been married to Leo at that time. Nevertheless, the epithet
An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...
allowed him to underline his position as the legitimate son, as opposed to all others, who claimed the throne during his lifetime. Sons born to a reigning Emperor held precedence in the Eastern Roman line of succession over elder sons not born "in the purple".
Life
Regency
Constantine was born in Constantinople on 17/18 May 905, an illegitimate son of Leo VI before an uncanonical fourth marriage. To help legitimize him, his mother gave birth to him in the Purple Room of the imperial palace, hence his nickname ''Porphyrogennetos''. He was elevated to the throne as a two-year-old child by his father and uncle on 15 May 908 ( Whitsunday).
In early 913, as his uncle Alexander lay dying, he appointed a seven-man regency council for Constantine. It was headed by the Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos, the two '' magistroi'' John Eladas and Stephen, the '' rhaiktor'' John Lazanes, the otherwise obscure Euthymius and Alexander's henchmen Basilitzes and Gabrielopoulos. Following Alexander's death (6 June),'' Theophanes Continuatus'394-398
('' CSHB'' 45) the new and shaky regime survived the attempted usurpation of Constantine Doukas, and Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos quickly assumed a dominant position among the regents.
Patriarch Nicholas was presently forced to make peace with Tsar Simeon of Bulgaria, whom he reluctantly recognized as Bulgarian emperor. Because of this unpopular concession, Patriarch Nicholas was driven out of the regency by Constantine's mother Zoe. She was no more successful with the Bulgarians, who defeated her main supporter, the general Leo Phokas, in 917.
In March 919, she was replaced as regent by the admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
Romanos Lekapenos, who married his daughter Helena Lekapene to Constantine. Romanos used his position to advance to the ranks of '' basileopatōr'' in April 919, to ''kaisar'' (Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caes ...
) on 24 September 920, and finally to co-emperor on 17 December 920. Thus, just short of reaching nominal majority
A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from #Related terms, related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-Webster
Constantine's youth had been a sad one due to his unpleasant appearance, his taciturn nature, and his relegation to the third level of succession, behind
436-441
/ref> Romanos spent the last years of his life in exile on the Island of Prote as a monk and died on 15 June 948. With the help of his wife, Constantine VII succeeded in removing his brothers-in-law, and on 27 January 945, Constantine VII became sole emperor at the age of 39, after a life spent in the shadow. John Skylitzesbr>XI.1-3.
/ref> Several months later, on 6 April ( Easter), Constantine VII crowned his own son Romanos II co-emperor. Having never exercised executive authority, Constantine remained primarily devoted to his scholarly pursuits and delegated his authority to bureaucrats and generals, as well as to his energetic wife Helena Lekapene. In 947, Constantine VII ordered the immediate restitution of all peasant lands, without compensation; by the end of his reign, the condition of the landed peasantry, which formed the foundation of the whole economic and military strength of the Empire, was better off than it had been for a century. In 949, Constantine launched a new fleet of 100 ships (20 '' dromons'', 64 ''chelandia'', and 10 galleys) against the Arab corsairs hiding in Crete, but like his father's attempt to retake the island in 911, this attempt also failed.
On the Eastern frontier things went better, even if with alternate success. In the same year, the Byzantines conquered Germanicea, repeatedly defeated the enemy armies, and in 952 they crossed the upper 
Constantine had active diplomatic relationships with foreign courts, including those of the caliph of Cordoba Abd ar-Rahman III and of 
Constantine VII died at Constantinople on 9 November 959 and was succeeded by his son Romanos II. It was rumored that he had been poisoned by his son or his daughter-in-law Theophano.
Constantine VII was recognized as a writer and scholar, surrounding himself with educated people of the Imperial Court. He wrote, or had commissioned, the works '' Geoponika'' ("On Agriculture", in Greek Τὰ γεοπονικά), a compilation of agronomic works from earlier Greek and Punic texts that are otherwise lost; ''
Also amongst his historical works is a history eulogizing the reign and achievements of his grandfather, Basil I (''Vita Basilii'', Βίος Βασιλείου). These books are insightful and of interest to the historian, sociologist, and anthropologist as a source of information about nations neighbouring the Empire. They also offer a fine insight into the Emperor himself.
In his book, ''A Short History of Byzantium'',
File:Solidus of Leo VI with Constantine VII (reverse).jpg, Gold solidus depicting Leo VI and Constantine VII, 908–913.
File:Solidus of Constantine VII with Zoe (reverse).jpg, Zoe Karbonopsina and Constantine VII, 914–919.
File:Constantine VII with Romanos I (reverse).jpg, Romanos I Lekapenos and Constantine VII, 920–945.
File:Romanos I, Constantine VII & Christopher.jpg, Romanos I with Constantine VII and
The Book of Ceremonies
accompanying the Greek text in 2 volumes by Ann Moffatt and Maxeme Tall, Canberra 2012 (Byzantina Australiensia 18). * Constantine VII, 'Story of the Image of Edessa', tr. B. Slater, J. Jackson, in I. Wilson, ''The Turin Shroud'' (1978), p. 235-51 * * Constantine VII, ''Three treatises on Imperial military expeditions'', ed. tr. J.F. Haldon (1990). * * * * * * * 275 * * * * * * * * *
* ttps://archive.org/details/earlyhistoryofsl00consrich De administrando Imperio chapters 29–36at the Internet Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Constantine 07 905 births 959 deaths 10th-century Byzantine emperors 10th-century Byzantine writers Macedonian dynasty Byzantine hymnographers Patrons of literature Medieval child rulers Porphyrogennetoi 910s in the Byzantine Empire 920s in the Byzantine Empire 930s in the Byzantine Empire 940s in the Byzantine Empire 950s in the Byzantine Empire 960s in the Byzantine Empire 970s in the Byzantine Empire Sons of Byzantine emperors
Christopher Lekapenos
Christopher Lekapenos or Lecapenus ( gr, Χριστόφορος Λακαπηνός, Christóphoros Lakapenōs) was the eldest son of Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos () and co-emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire from 921 until his death in 931. Chris ...
, the eldest son of Romanos I Lekapenos. Nevertheless, he was a very intelligent young man with a large range of interests, and he dedicated those years to studying the court's ceremony.
Senior emperor
Romanos kept and maintained power until 16/20 December 944, when he was deposed by his sons, the co-emperors Stephen and Constantine.'' Theophanes Continuatus'436-441
/ref> Romanos spent the last years of his life in exile on the Island of Prote as a monk and died on 15 June 948. With the help of his wife, Constantine VII succeeded in removing his brothers-in-law, and on 27 January 945, Constantine VII became sole emperor at the age of 39, after a life spent in the shadow. John Skylitzesbr>XI.1-3.
/ref> Several months later, on 6 April ( Easter), Constantine VII crowned his own son Romanos II co-emperor. Having never exercised executive authority, Constantine remained primarily devoted to his scholarly pursuits and delegated his authority to bureaucrats and generals, as well as to his energetic wife Helena Lekapene. In 947, Constantine VII ordered the immediate restitution of all peasant lands, without compensation; by the end of his reign, the condition of the landed peasantry, which formed the foundation of the whole economic and military strength of the Empire, was better off than it had been for a century. In 949, Constantine launched a new fleet of 100 ships (20 '' dromons'', 64 ''chelandia'', and 10 galleys) against the Arab corsairs hiding in Crete, but like his father's attempt to retake the island in 911, this attempt also failed.
On the Eastern frontier things went better, even if with alternate success. In the same year, the Byzantines conquered Germanicea, repeatedly defeated the enemy armies, and in 952 they crossed the upper Euphrates
The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...
. But in 953, the Hamdanid ''amir'' Sayf al-Dawla retook Germanicea and entered the imperial territory. The land in the east was eventually recovered by Nikephoros Phokas, who conquered Adata, in northern Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, in 958, and by the general John Tzimiskes, who one year later captured Samosata, in northern Mesopotamia. An Arab fleet was also destroyed by Greek fire
Greek fire was an incendiary weapon used by the Eastern Roman Empire beginning . Used to set fire to enemy ships, it consisted of a combustible compound emitted by a flame-throwing weapon. Some historians believe it could be ignited on contact w ...
in 957. Constantine's efforts to retake themes lost to the Arabs were the first such efforts to have any real success.
Constantine had active diplomatic relationships with foreign courts, including those of the caliph of Cordoba Abd ar-Rahman III and of Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Francia, East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the olde ...
. In the autumn of 957 Constantine was visited by Olga of Kiev, regent of the Kievan Rus'. The reasons for this voyage have never been clarified; but she was baptised a Christian with the name Helena, and sought Christian missionaries to encourage her people to adopt Christianity. According to legends, Constantine VII fell in love with Olga, but she found a way to refuse him by tricking him into becoming her godfather. When she was baptized, she said it was inappropriate for a godfather to marry his goddaughter.
Constantine VII died at Constantinople on 9 November 959 and was succeeded by his son Romanos II. It was rumored that he had been poisoned by his son or his daughter-in-law Theophano.
Literary activity
Constantine VII was recognized as a writer and scholar, surrounding himself with educated people of the Imperial Court. He wrote, or had commissioned, the works '' Geoponika'' ("On Agriculture", in Greek Τὰ γεοπονικά), a compilation of agronomic works from earlier Greek and Punic texts that are otherwise lost; ''De Ceremoniis
The ''De Ceremoniis'' (fully ''De cerimoniis aulae Byzantinae'') is the conventional Latin name for a Greek book of ceremonial protocol at the court of the Byzantine emperors in Constantinople. Its Greek title is often cited as ("Explanation of th ...
'' ("On Ceremonies", in Greek, Περὶ τῆς βασιλείου τάξεως), describing the kinds of court ceremonies (also described later in a more negative light by Liutprand of Cremona); ''De Administrando Imperio
''De Administrando Imperio'' ("On the Governance of the Empire") is the Latin title of a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is ("To yown son Romanos"). It is a domes ...
'' ("On the Administration of the Empire", bearing in Greek the heading Πρὸς τὸν ἴδιον ὑιὸν Ρωμανόν), giving advice on running the Empire internally and on fighting external enemies; a history of the Empire covering events following the death of the chronographer Theophanes the Confessor in 817; and '' Excerpta Historica'' ("Excerpts from the Histories"), a collection of excerpts from ancient historians (many of whose works are now lost) in four volumes (1. De legationibus. 2. De virtutibus et vitiis. 3. De insidiis. 4. De sententiis). In ''The Manuscript Tradition of Polybius'', John Michael Moore (CUP, 1965) provides a useful summary of the commission by Porphyrogenitus of the Constantine Excerpts:
He felt that the historical studies were being seriously neglected, mainly because of the bulk of the histories. He therefore decided that a selection under fifty-three titles should be made from all the important historians extant in Constantinople; thus he hoped to assemble in a more manageable compass the most valuable parts of each author. ... Of the fifty-three titles into which the excerpts were divided, only six have survived: ''de Virtutibus et Vitiis; de Sententiis; de Insidiis; de Strategematis; de Legationibus Gentium ad Romanos; de Legationibus Romanorum ad Gentes''. The titles of only about half the remaining forty-seven sections are known.
Also amongst his historical works is a history eulogizing the reign and achievements of his grandfather, Basil I (''Vita Basilii'', Βίος Βασιλείου). These books are insightful and of interest to the historian, sociologist, and anthropologist as a source of information about nations neighbouring the Empire. They also offer a fine insight into the Emperor himself.
In his book, ''A Short History of Byzantium'', John Julius Norwich
John Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich, (15 September 1929 – 1 June 2018), known as John Julius Norwich, was an English popular historian, travel writer, and television personality.
Background
Norwich was born at the Alfred House Nursing ...
refers to Constantine VII as "The Scholar Emperor". Norwich describes Constantine:
He was, we are told, a passionate collector—not only of books and manuscripts but works of art of every kind; more remarkable still for a man of his class, he seems to have been an excellent painter. He was the most generous of patrons—to writers and scholars, artists and craftsmen. Finally, he was an excellent Emperor: a competent, conscientious and hard-working administrator and an inspired picker of men, whose appointments to military, naval, ecclesiastical, civil and academic posts were both imaginative and successful. He did much to develop higher education and took a special interest in the administration of justice.Norwich, 181.
Family
By his wife Helena Lekapene, the daughter of EmperorRomanos I
Romanos I Lekapenos ( el, Ρωμανός Λεκαπηνός; 870 – 15 June 948), Latinized as Romanus I Lecapenus, was Byzantine emperor from 920 until his deposition in 944, serving as regent for the infant Constantine VII.
Origin
Romanos ...
, Constantine VII had several children:
* Leo ( 939–944), who died young.
* Romanos II (939–963), who succeeded as emperor.
* Zoe, sent to a convent.
* Theodora, who married emperor John I Tzimiskes.
*Agatha, sent to a convent.
*Theophano, sent to a convent.
*Anna, sent to a convent.
Legacy
Constantine VII is still remembered in the Eastern Orthodox liturgy when the transfer of the Holy Mandylion is celebrated on August 16 in the Julian calendar which corresponds to August 31 in the Gregorian calendar. This feast is part of theNut Feast of the Saviour
The Nut Feast of the Saviour is the third ''spas'' feast of the Saviour which celebrates the Holy Mandylion of the Lord. It is celebrated as the afterfeast of the solemnity of the Dormition. After the Honey Feast of the Saviour and the Apple Fea ...
for Slavs
Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...
.Gallery
Christopher
Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...
, 921–931.
File:Constantine VII s1747.jpg, Constantine VII as sole emperor, 945–959.
File:Krisztus megkoronázza VII. Konsztantinosz Porphürogennétoszt, elefántcsont, 945.,.jpg, Constantine VII crowned by Christ, Pushkin Museum
The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (russian: Музей изобразительных искусств имени А. С. Пушкина, abbreviated as ) is the largest museum of European art in Moscow, located in Volkhonka street, just oppo ...
.
File:Triptych Leaf with St. Constantine - Google Art Project.png, Constantine VII represented as Constantine I the Great
Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterranea ...
.
File:114 - Constantine VII, 1st portrait (Mutinensis - color).png, Depiction of Constantine VII in a 15th-century codex.
See also
*List of Byzantine emperors
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...
Notes
References
Sources
* Constantine VII, ''De ceremoniis'', ed. J. Reiske (2 vols., 1829, 1830). English translationThe Book of Ceremonies
accompanying the Greek text in 2 volumes by Ann Moffatt and Maxeme Tall, Canberra 2012 (Byzantina Australiensia 18). * Constantine VII, 'Story of the Image of Edessa', tr. B. Slater, J. Jackson, in I. Wilson, ''The Turin Shroud'' (1978), p. 235-51 * * Constantine VII, ''Three treatises on Imperial military expeditions'', ed. tr. J.F. Haldon (1990). * * * * * * * 275 * * * * * * * * *
External links
** ttps://archive.org/details/earlyhistoryofsl00consrich De administrando Imperio chapters 29–36at the Internet Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Constantine 07 905 births 959 deaths 10th-century Byzantine emperors 10th-century Byzantine writers Macedonian dynasty Byzantine hymnographers Patrons of literature Medieval child rulers Porphyrogennetoi 910s in the Byzantine Empire 920s in the Byzantine Empire 930s in the Byzantine Empire 940s in the Byzantine Empire 950s in the Byzantine Empire 960s in the Byzantine Empire 970s in the Byzantine Empire Sons of Byzantine emperors