Constantine VII

Born 17 May 905 in the Purple Chamber to Leo VI and his fourth wife Zoe Karbonopsina, Constantine VII wore the title porphyrogenitus - "born in the purple" - as proof of legitimacy his whole life. He became emperor at seven in 913, but his mother ruled as regent until 919, and then Romanos Lekapenos, whose daughter Helena he married, held power alongside his own sons from 920 to 945. Constantine spent twenty-five years as a ceremonial figure. When he finally ruled alone after 945, his legacy came not from conquest but from the works produced under his name: the agronomic Geoponika, the administrative manual De Administrando Imperio, the court ceremonial guide De Ceremoniis, the provincial survey De Thematibus, and possibly the biography Vita Basilii. He died 9 November 959, having reigned forty-six years but governed for fourteen.