Constantine VII crowned by Christ, detail of an ivory plaque, Pushkin Museum, AD 945
Byzantine emperor
Reign
6 June 913 – 9 November 959 (alone from 27 January 945)
Coronation
15 May 908
Predecessor
Alexander
Successor
Romanos II
Co-emperors
Romanos I (920–944) Christopher (921–931) Stephen and Constantine (924–945) Romanos II (945–959)
Born
17 May 905 Constantinople
Died
9 November 959 (aged 54) Constantinople
Spouse
Helena Lekapene
Issue
Romanos II Theodora
Names
Konstantinos Porphyrogennetos ("the Purple-born")
Regnal name
Constantinus Augustus[a]
Dynasty
Macedonian dynasty
Father
Leo VI
Mother
Zoe Karbonopsina
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος Πορφυρογέννητος, Kōnstantinos Porphyrogennētos; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Byzantine emperor of the Macedonian dynasty, 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 Helena 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 (bearing in Greek the heading Πρὸς τὸν ἴδιον υἱὸν Ῥωμανόν),[1]De Ceremoniis (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.[2][3]
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 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".
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ConstantineVII Porphyrogenitus (Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος Πορφυρογέννητος, Kōnstantinos Porphyrogennētos; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Byzantine...
Constantine VIII (Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος, Kōnstantinos; 960 – 11/12 November 1028) was de jure Byzantine emperor from 962 until his death. He was the younger...
and later retired to a monastery. Michael VII was born c. 1050 in Constantinople, the eldest son of Constantine X Doukas and Eudokia Makrembolitissa. He...
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Constantine I (27 February c. 272 – 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor...
the rank of patrikios and who stood in as godfather to Leo's son, ConstantineVII. His attempts to control the great aristocratic families (e.g., the...
deposition in 944, serving as regent for and senior co-ruler of the young ConstantineVII. Romanos, born in Lakape (later Laqabin) between Melitene and Samosata...
overthrown and exiled by the legitimate emperor ConstantineVII (r. 913–959) a few weeks later. Constantine Lekapenos was exiled to the island of Samothrace...
963) was Byzantine Emperor from 959 to 963. He succeeded his father ConstantineVII at the age of twenty-one and died suddenly and mysteriously four years...
ConstantineVII as sole emperor upon the latter's death in 959. Basil's father crowned him as co-emperor on 22 April 960, and his brother Constantine...
November and Constantine X was crowned emperor on the following day. The new emperor quickly associated two of his young sons in power, Michael VII Doukas and...
Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor ConstantineVII. The Greek title of the work is Πρὸς τὸν ἴδιον υἱὸν αὐτοῦ Ῥωμανὸν ("To...
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is sometimes named Constantine's Obelisk (Konstantin Dikilitaşı) after the inscription added by the Roman emperor ConstantineVII Porphyrogenitus, who...
marriage—Zoe Karbonopsina, who took over as regent for their son, ConstantineVII, in 914 and ruled the empire until 919 Alexander (Αλέξανδρος) (870–913...
Constantine IX Monomachos (Medieval Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος Μονομάχος, romanized: Kōnstantinos Monomachos; c. 980/c. 1000 – 11 January 1055) reigned as Byzantine...
Constantine V Constantine VI ConstantineVII Porphyrogenitus Constantine VIII Constantine IX Monomachos Constantine X Doukas Constantine XI Palaiologos Tiberius...
Pecheneg tribe Βορο-ταλμάτ < *Boru-Tolmaç mentioned by Byzantine emperor ConstantineVII). In an 11th-century Arabic translation of Josippon by a Yemenite Jew:...
Guild Publishing., p. 311 Kazhdan, Alexander; Cutler, Anthony (1991). "ConstantineVII Porphyrogennetos". In Kazhdan, Alexander (ed.). The Oxford Dictionary...
Emperor Otto III, Pope Sylvester II, and possibly the Byzantine Emperor ConstantineVII,[further explanation needed] to fabricate the Anno Domini dating system...
mother of nuns at the convent of St. Euphemia in Petrion. Leo VI's son ConstantineVII wrote a biography of his grandfather, the Vita Basilii, around 950...
during the 10th century in Constantinople for the Byzantine emperor ConstantineVII Porphyrogenitus. The Greek word Geoponica signifies "agricultural pursuits"...
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