Constantine VII
905 – 959 · Generation XXIII · Emperor (r. 913–959) · Macedonian
Constantine (AD 905 – 959). Emperor (r. 913–959). Married Helena around AD 919. Porphyrogennetos; scholar-emperor; long under the senior rule of Romanos I. The learning behind his reputation survives on the page: under Constantine’s direction the agronomic compendium Geoponika was compiled, and he is credited with De Administrando Imperio, addressed to his son Romanos, along with De Ceremoniis and De Thematibus — a paper empire of statecraft, ritual and geography — and perhaps a life of his grandfather Basil. His byname pointed to the porphyry-clad Purple chamber where children of reigning emperors were born; he had indeed been born there, though his mother Zoe Karbonopsina was not yet married to Leo VI, and the title became his standing answer to every rival claim on the throne. His first years passed under his mother’s regency before the Lekapenoi took the palace.
One of 16 people of Macedonian (811–1057) in this archive. The empire’s widest reach — a house of soldier-emperors and scholars.
Line of descent: Basil I → Leo VI → Constantine VII.
Parents
- Leo VI (866 – 912)
- Zoe Karbonopsina (870 – ?)
Partners
- Married Helena Lekapene (910 – 961) in 919 — 2 children together
Children
- Romanos II (938 – 963)
- Theodora (946 – ?)
Life
- 905 — Born
- 919 — Married Helena
- 959 — Died