Spoke 10: The Biblewheel and The 10th Century - Constantine VII The Purple-Born

Spoke 10: The Biblewheel and The 10th Century

Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos (The Purple-Born)


Just as David committed adultery with his neighbor's wife and had a son, who became sick and died and afterwards he had another son through her and called him Solomon, Leo IV, having married three times already and the wives had deceased, it was unlawful to marry a 4th time as Emperor. However before getting married the 4th time he had begotten a son from the woman he wanted to marry in the palace, who was named Constantine VII.

One thing in common is the number 7 found in the name Bathsheba, meaning the daughter of an oath or the daughter of seven, perhaps pointing to the 7th commandment which forbids the committing of adultery and also that since Bathsheba was married already she had an oath which was broken before God. And this Emperor, being the 7th Constantine was the illegitimate son of Leo IV born and raised in the palace.

Constantine VII was also known to be a writer/scholar like David. The 10th book 2Samuel did include one of David's Psalms (Psalm 18).

Constantine VII

Jump to navigationJump to search

Constantine VII
Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans
Emperor of the Byzantine Empire
Reign	6 June 913 – 9 November 959, Junior co-emperor 908–913 and 920–945, sole emperor 913–920 (under regency) and 945–959
Predecessor	Alexander
Successor	Romanos I Lekapenos Romanos II
Co-emperors	Romanos I Lekapenos (920–944) Christopher Lekapenos (921–931) Stephen Lekapenos (924–945) Constantine Lekapenos (924–945)

Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos or Porphyrogenitus ("the Purple-born", that is, born in the purple marble slab-paneled imperial bed chambers; Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος Ζ΄ Πορφυρογέννητος, translit. Kōnstantinos VII Porphyrogennētos; 17–18 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 913 to 959. He was the son of the emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, and the nephew of his predecessor, the emperor 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 Helenahe married, and his sons. Constantine VII is best known for his 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).

His nickname alludes to the Purple Room 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 legitimized 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".

Reign

Further information: Byzantine–Bulgarian war of 913–927

Constantine was born at Constantinople, an illegitimate son born 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 symbolically elevated to the throne as a two-year-old child by his father and uncle on May 15, 908.

In June 913, as his uncle Alexander lay dying, he appointed a seven-man regency council for Constantine. It was headed by the Patriarch Nicholas I Mystikos, the two magistroi John Eladas and Stephen, the rhaiktor John Lazanes, the otherwise obscure Euthymius and Alexander's henchmen Basilitzes and Gabrielopoulos.^[2] Following Alexander's death, the new and shaky regime survived the attempted usurpation of Constantine Doukas,^[3] and Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos quickly assumed a dominant position among the regents.^[4]

...

Literary and political activity

Gold solidus of Leo VI and Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos, 908–912.

Constantine VII was renowned for his abilities as a writer and scholar. He wrote, or had commissioned, the works De Ceremoniis ("On Ceremonies", in Greek, Περί 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 Προς τον ίδιον υιόν 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.) 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.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_VII