Constantine VII

Porphyrogenitus Traditionally, born in the purple (sometimes "born to the purple") was a category of members of royal families born during the reign of their parent. This notion was later loosely expanded to include all children born of prominent or high-ranking ...

(; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...

of the Macedonian dynasty of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

, 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 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 * H ...

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), '' 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. 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".

Life

Regency

Constantine was born in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

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). Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos baptizes Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos

Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos baptizes Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos

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 The ( grc-x-byzantine, ῥαίκτωρ, the Hellenized form of la, rector) was a high-ranking court position of the middle Byzantine Empire. History and functions J. B. Bury assumed that the post was created either under Leo VI the Wise () or ...

John Lazanes John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Seco ...

, the otherwise obscure Euthymius and Alexander's henchmen Basilitzes and Gabrielopoulos. Following Alexander's death (6 June),'' Theophanes Continuatus'
394-398
(''

CSHB The ''Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae'' (CSHB; en, text corpus, Corpus of Byzantine history writers, italic=yes), also referred to as the Bonn Corpus, is a monumental fifty-volume series of primary sources for the study of Byzantine hist ...

'' 45) the new and shaky regime survived the attempted usurpation of

Constantine Doukas Constantine X Doukas or Ducas ( el, Κωνσταντῖνος Δούκας, ''Kōnstantinos X Doukas'', 1006 – 23 May 1067), was Byzantine emperor from 1059 to 1067. He was the founder and first ruling member of the Doukid dynasty. Dur ...

, and Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos quickly assumed a dominant position among the regents. Constantine VII dining with Tsar Symeon of Bulgaria

Patriarch Nicholas was presently forced to make peace with Tsar Simeon of

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

, 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. Bulgarians defeat the Byzantines at Anchialos

Bulgarians defeat the Byzantines at Anchialos

In March 919, she was replaced as regent by the admiral 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) 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, 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

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 Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...

), 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 The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

corsairs hiding in

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

, but like his father's attempt to retake the island in 911, this attempt also failed. Saracens of Crete defeat the Byzantine army

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 Nikephoros II Phokas (; – 11 December 969), Latinized Nicephorus II Phocas, was Byzantine emperor from 963 to 969. His career, not uniformly successful in matters of statecraft or of war, nonetheless included brilliant military exploits whi ...

, 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 Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

. An Arab fleet was also destroyed by Greek fire in 957. Constantine's efforts to retake themes lost to the Arabs were the first such efforts to have any real success. Leo Phokas defeats the Arabs in 950, escape of Chalkoutzes

Leo Phokas defeats the Arabs in 950, escape of Chalkoutzes

Constantine had active diplomatic relationships with foreign courts, including those of the

caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

of Cordoba Abd ar-Rahman III and of Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor. In the autumn of 957 Constantine was visited by Olga of Kiev, regent of the

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas o ...

. 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 Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

. 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. Reception by Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus of Princess Olga and her entourage

Reception by Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus of Princess Olga and her entourage

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_(Roman_emperor),_deathbed

Constantine_VII_(Roman_emperor),_deathbed

Literary activity

Geoponika 12 1 MS Laur Plut 59 32 f 171v

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'' ("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'' ("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 Theophanes the Confessor ( el, Θεοφάνης Ὁμολογητής; c. 758/760 – 12 March 817/818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler. He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before taking ...

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 Emperor Romanos I, 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 Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...

liturgy when the transfer of the Holy Mandylion is celebrated on August 16 in the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandri ...

which corresponds to August 31 in the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years d ...

. This feast is part of the Nut Feast of the Saviour for Slavs.

Gallery

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 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 ...

and Constantine VII, 920–945. File:Romanos I, Constantine VII & Christopher.jpg, Romanos I with Constantine VII and

Christopher Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or " Anointed", and φέρε� ...

, 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. File:Triptych Leaf with St. Constantine - Google Art Project.png, Constantine VII represented as Constantine I the Great. File:114 - Constantine VII, 1st portrait (Mutinensis - color).png, Depiction of Constantine VII in a 15th-century codex.

Notes

References

Sources

* Constantine VII, ''De ceremoniis'', ed. J. Reiske (2 vols., 1829, 1830). English translation
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 * * * * * * * * *

External links

*

* ttps://archive.org/details/earlyhistoryofsl00consrich De administrando Imperio chapters 29–36at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

{{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