Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus in the context of "De Ceremoniis"

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⭐ Core Definition: Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus

Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (Medieval Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος Πορφυρογέννητος, romanizedKōnstantīnos Porphyrogénnētos; 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 γεωπονικά), 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.

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Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus in the context of De Administrando Imperio

De Administrando Imperio (lit.'On imperial administration'; Greek: Πρὸς τὸν ἴδιον υἱὸν Ῥωμανόν, lit.'to my son Romanos') is a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII. It is a domestic and foreign policy manual for the use of Constantine's son and successor, the Emperor Romanos II. It is a prominent example of Byzantine encyclopaedism.

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Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus in the context of Paris Psalter

The Paris Psalter (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, MS. gr. 139) is a Byzantine illuminated manuscript, 38 x 26.5 cm in size, containing 449 folios and 14 full-page miniatures. The Paris Psalter is considered a key monument of the so-called Macedonian Renaissance, a 10th-century renewal of interest in classical art closely identified with the emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (909–959) and his immediate successors.

In the classification of Greek biblical manuscripts, it is designated by siglum 1133 (Rahlfs).

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Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus in the context of Porphyrogennetos

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 parents. The parents must be prominent at the time of the child's birth so that the child is always in the spotlight and destined for a prominent role in life. A child born before their parents became prominent would not be "born in the purple". This color purple came to refer to Tyrian purple, restricted by law, custom, and the expense of creating it to royalty.

Porphyrogénnētos (Greek: Πορφυρογέννητος, lit.'purple-born'), Latinized as Porphyrogenitus, was an honorific title in the Byzantine Empire given to a son, or daughter (Πορφυρογέννητη, Porphyrogénnētē, Latinized Porphyrogenita), born after the father had become emperor.

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Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus in the context of John Doukas (Caesar)

John Doukas (or Ducas) (Greek: Ιωάννης Δούκας, Iōannēs Doukas) (died c. 1088) was the son of Andronikos Doukas, a Paphlagonian nobleman who may have served as governor of the theme of Bulgaria (Moesia), and the older brother of Emperor Constantine X Doukas. John Doukas was the paternal grandfather of Irene Doukaina, wife of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos.

He was the original owner of Codex Parisinus graecus 2009, i.e. the oldest known and preserved manuscript of De Administrando Imperio written by Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, and copied by one of Doukas' scribes, a well-known encyclopedic Byzantine source on foreign nations from the 10th century.

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