Constantine VII
Constantine VII | |||||||||
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Theodora | |||||||||
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Dynasty | Macedonian dynasty | ||||||||
Father | Leo VI | ||||||||
Mother | Zoe Karbonopsina |
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (
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
The epithet porphyrogenitus alludes to the Purple chamber of the imperial palace, decorated with
Life
Regency
Constantine was born in
In early 913, as his uncle
Patriarch Nicholas was presently forced to make peace with Tsar Simeon of Bulgaria, whom he reluctantly recognized as Bulgarian emperor.[13] 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.[14]
In March 919, she was replaced as regent by the
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, the eldest son of Romanos I Lekapenos.[17][3] 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
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.[23]
In 949, Constantine launched a new fleet of 100 ships (20
On the Eastern frontier things went better, even if with alternate success. In the same year, the Byzantines conquered
Constantine had active diplomatic relationships with foreign courts, including those of the
Constantine VII died at Constantinople on 9 November 959 and was succeeded by his son Romanos II.[25][26] It was rumored that he had been poisoned by his son or his daughter-in-law Theophano.[27]
Madrid Skylitzes' depictions of Constantine
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Baptism of Constantine VII by Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos.
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Constantine VII dining with Simeon of Bulgaria.[c]
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The Bulgarians crush the Byzantine army led by Leo Phokas at Anchialus.
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The supporters of Leo Phokas bow to the usurper Romanos Lekapenos.
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The Saracens of Crete foil a Byzantine attempt at reconquest.
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Leo Phokas the Younger defeats the Hamdanid Emir Sayf al-Dawla.
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Olga of Kiev is received at the emperor's court.
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The Madrid Skylitzes' depiction of Constantine on his deathbed
Literary activity
Constantine VII was recognized as a writer and scholar, surrounding himself with educated people of the Imperial Court.
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.[28]
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 refers to Constantine VII as "The Scholar Emperor".[29] 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.[30]
Family
By his wife
- Leo (c. 939–944), who died young.[32]
- Romanos II (939–963), who succeeded as emperor.[33]
- Zoe, sent to a convent.[34]
- Theodora, who married emperor John I Tzimiskes.[35]
- Agatha, sent to a convent.[36]
- Theophano, sent to a convent.[37]
- Anna, sent to a convent.[38]
Legacy
Constantine VII is still remembered in the Eastern Orthodox liturgy when the transfer of the Holy Mandylion is celebrated on 16 August in the Julian calendar which corresponds to 31 August in the Gregorian calendar. This feast is part of the Nut Feast of the Saviour for Slavs.
Solidi
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Solidus of Constantine VII.
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Zoe Karbonopsina and Constantine VII, 914–919.
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Romanos I Lekapenos and Constantine VII, 920–945.
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Romanos I with Constantine VII[d] and Christopher, 921–931.
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Constantine VII as sole emperor, 945–959.
See also
Notes
- ^ Recorded under the Armenian form and word order as Ogostos Kostandianos in Hovhannes Draskhanakerttsi LIV.26.
- ^ Constantine Lekapenos is not given a regnal number because he never became senior emperor (even though he briefly usurped his father), as per Byzantine historiography.[20]
- ^ The scene is clearly imaginary, as Constantine was only 8 years old at the time.
- ^ Or Constantine Lekapenos, or possibly both.
References
- ^ a b Moravcsik 1967.
- ^ a b Logos 2019a, pp. 10, 10B.
- ^ a b Logos 2019b, pp. 10–12.
- ^ Grumel, V. (1937). Une date historico-liturgique. Revue des études byzantines 36 (185): 52–64.
- ^ a b Ostrogorsky 1969, p. 260.
- ^ John Skylitzes VII.32
- ^ Grierson, P., & Jenkins, R. (1962). "The date of Constantine VII's coronation". Byzantion 32 (1): 133–138.
- ^ Treadgold 1997, p. 473.
- ^ Runciman 1988, pp. 47–48.
- ^ CSHB45)
- ^ Runciman 1988, pp. 49–50.
- ^ Runciman 1988, pp. 49ff..
- ^ Runciman 1930, p. 275.
- ^ Garland 1999, p. 121.
- ^ Garland 1999, p. 123.
- ^ Ostrogorsky 1969, p. 264.
- ^ Logos 2019a, pp. 10, 10B and note 9.
- ^ a b c Theophanes Continuatus 436–441
- ^ John Skylitzes XI.1–2.
- .
- ^ a b John Skylitzes XI.1–3.
- ^ Ostrogorsky 1969, pp. 278–279.
- ^ Norwich, 182–183.
- ISBN 9780915651320.
- CSHB8)
- JSTOR 1291157.
- ^ Ostrogorsky 1956, p. 283.
- ^ Moore, 127.
- ISBN 0-679-45088-2
- ^ Norwich, 181.
- ^ PmbZ, Konstantinos VII. (#23734).
- ^ PmbZ, Leon (#24418).
- ^ Kazhdan 1991, p. 1806.
- ^ PmbZ, Zoe (#28507).
- ^ PmbZ, Theodora (#27604).
- ^ PmbZ, Agathe (#20169).
- ^ PmbZ, Theophano (#28126).
- ^ PmbZ, Anna (#28126).
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), pp. 235–251
- Garland, Lynda (1999). Byzantine Empresses: Women and Power in Byzantium, AD 527–1204. Routledge.
- Constantine VII, Three treatises on Imperial military expeditions, ed. tr. J.F. Haldon (1990).
- Ферјанчић, Божидар (1959). "Константин VII Порфирогенит". Византиски извори за историју народа Југославије. Vol. 2. Београд: Византолошки институт. pp. 1–98.
- Kazhdan, Alexander, ed. (1991). "Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos". The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford University Press. pp. 502–503.
- ISBN 9780884020219.
- Ostrogorsky, George (1956). History of the Byzantine State. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
- ISBN 0-8135-0599-2.
- ISBN 9780521357227.
- Runciman, Steven (1930). A History of the First Bulgarian Empire. G. Bell & sons Ltd.
- ISBN 0-19-215253-X.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ISBN 0-8047-2630-2.
- Živković, Tibor (2006). "Constantine Porhyrogenitus and the Ragusan Authors before 1611" (PDF). Историјски часопис. 53: 145–164. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
- Živković, Tibor (2008). "Constantine Porphyrogenitus' Kastra oikoumena in the Southern Slavs Principalities" (PDF). Историјски часопис. 57: 9–28. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
- Živković, Tibor (2010). "Constantine Porphyrogenitus' Source on the Earliest History of the Croats and Serbs". Radovi Zavoda Za Hrvatsku Povijest U Zagrebu. 42: 117–131.
- Živković, Tibor (2012). De conversione Croatorum et Serborum: A Lost Source. Belgrade: The Institute of History.
- doi:10.1515/pmbz.
- Logos, Aleksandar (2019a), "De administrando imperio: Time of creation and some corrections for translation", academia.edu, retrieved 15 November 2020
- Logos, Aleksandar (2019b). Istorija Srba 1 – Dopuna 4; Istorija Srba 5. Beograd: ATC. ISBN 978-86-85117-46-6.