Editing Constantine VII (section)

{{short description|Byzantine emperor from 913 to 959}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Constantine VII
| image        = Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (2).jpeg
| caption      = Constantine VII crowned by Christ, detail of an ivory plaque, [[Pushkin Museum]], AD 945
| succession   = [[Byzantine emperor]]
| reign        = {{nowrap|6 June 913 – 9 November 959}}<br />(alone from 27 January 945)
| full name    = Konstantinos Porphyrogennetos<br />("the [[Born in the purple|Purple-born]]")
| regnal name  = 
| predecessor  = [[Alexander (Byzantine emperor)|Alexander]]
| successor    = [[Romanos II]]
| regent       = [[Romanos I Lekapenos|Romanos I]] (920–944)<br/>[[Christopher Lekapenos|Christopher]] (921–931)<br/>[[Stephen Lekapenos|Stephen]] and<br/>[[Constantine Lekapenos|Constantine]] (924–945)<br/>Romanos II (945–959)
| reg-type     = {{nowrap|Co-emperors}}
| spouse       = [[Helena Lekapene]]
| issue        = [[Romanos II]]<br />[[Theodora, daughter of Constantine VII|Theodora]]
| coronation   = 15 May 908
| cor-type     = [[Coronation of the Byzantine emperor|Coronation]]
| dynasty      = [[Macedonian dynasty]]
| father       = [[Leo VI the Wise|Leo VI]]
| mother       = [[Zoe Karbonopsina]]
| birth_date   = 17 May 905
| birth_place  = [[Constantinople]]
| death_date   = 9 November 959 (aged 54)
| death_place  = [[Constantinople]]
| date of burial = 
| place of burial = 
| title        = [[List of Byzantine emperors|Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans]]
}}
'''Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus''' ({{Langx|grc-x-medieval|Κωνσταντῖνος Πορφυρογέννητος|Kōnstantīnos 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 (Byzantine 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 [[Helena Lekapene|Helena]] he married, and his sons. Constantine VII is best known for the ''[[Geoponika]]'' (τά γεοπονικά), an important [[Agronomy|agronomic]] treatise compiled during his reign, and three, perhaps four, books; {{Lang|la|[[De Administrando Imperio]]}} (bearing in Greek the heading Πρὸς τὸν ἴδιον υἱὸν Ῥωμανόν),{{sfn|Moravcsik|1967|p=}} {{Lang|la|[[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.{{sfn|Logos|2019a|pp=10, 10B}}{{sfn|Logos|2019b|pp=10–12}}

The epithet ''porphyrogenitus'' alludes to the Purple chamber of the imperial palace, decorated with [[porphyry (geology)|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 [[Legitimation#Family law|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|born "in the purple"]].