Misplaced Pages

#454545

46-420: It was written or at least commissioned by Emperor Constantine VII (reigned 913-959), probably around 956-959. The compilation of Rep. I 17 (Leipzig, Universitätsbibliothek) was partially revised later under Nikephoros II (963-969), perhaps under the supervision of Basil Lekapenos , the imperial parakoimomenos , and it also contains earlier descriptions of the 6th century. One of the book's appendices are

92-616: A compilation of agronomic works from earlier Greek and Punic texts that are otherwise lost; De Ceremoniis ("On Ceremonies", in Greek, Περὶ 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 Πρὸς τὸν ἴδιον ὑιὸν Ρωμανόν), giving advice on running

138-526: A godfather to marry his goddaughter. Constantine VII died at Constantinople on 9 November 959 and was succeeded by his son Romanos II . It was rumored that he had been poisoned by his son or his daughter-in-law Theophano . Constantine VII was recognized as a writer and scholar, surrounding himself with educated people of the Imperial Court. He wrote, or had commissioned, the works Geoponika ("On Agriculture", in Greek Τὰ γεωπονικά),

184-441: 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

230-646: A special interest in the administration of justice. By his wife Helena Lekapene , the daughter of Emperor Romanos I , Constantine VII had several children: 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

276-579: A useful summary of the commission by Porphyrogenitus of the Constantine Excerpts: 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

322-466: A very similar composition: (1) religious feasts and the description of palace buildings, (2) secular ceremonies and imperial ordonations, (3) imperial receptions and war festivities at the hippodrome, and later customs instituted by Constantine and his son Romanos. Constantine VII Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : Κωνσταντῖνος Πορφυρογέννητος , Kōnstantinos Porphyrogennētos ; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959)

368-460: Is best known for the Geoponika (τά γεοπονικά), 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

414-526: Is in essence reliable. The historical and antiquarian treatise, which the Emperor had compiled during the 940s, is contained in the chapters 12–40. This treatise contains traditional and legendary stories of how the territories surrounding the Empire came in the past to be occupied by the people living in them in the Emperor's times ( Saracens , Lombards , Venetians , Serbs , Croats , Magyars , Pechenegs ). Chapters 1–8, 10—12 explain imperial policy toward

460-519: Is part of the Nut Feast of the Saviour for Slavs . De Thematibus De Administrando Imperio ( lit.   ' on the governance of the Empire ' ; Greek : Πρὸς τὸν ἴδιον υἱὸν αὐτοῦ Ῥωμανὸν lit.   ' to my own 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

506-412: Is the regular use of technical terms which – being in standard use at the time – may present prima facie hardships to a modern reader. For example, Constantine writes of the regular practice of sending basilikoí ( lit. "royals") to distant lands for negotiations. In this case, it is merely meant that "royal men", i.e. imperial envoys, were sent as ambassadors on a specific mission. In the preamble,

SECTION 10

#1732772448455

552-801: The Three Treatises on Imperial Military Expeditions , a war manual written by Constantine VII for his son and successor, Romanos II . In its incomplete form chapters 1-37 of book I describe processions and ceremonies on religious festivals (many lesser ones, but especially great feasts like the Elevation of the Cross , Christmas, Epiphany, Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Easter and Ascension Day and saint's days like St Demetrius , St Basil etc. often extended over many days), while chapters 38-83 describe secular ceremonies or rites of passage like coronations (38-40), weddings (39,41), births (42), funerals (60), or

598-469: The Kievan Rus' . The reasons for this voyage have never been clarified; but she was baptised a Christian with the name Helena, and sought Christian missionaries to encourage her people to adopt Christianity . According to legends, Constantine VII fell in love with Olga, but she found a way to refuse him by tricking him into becoming her godfather . When she was baptized, she said it was inappropriate for

644-485: The Pechenegs and Turks . Chapter 13 is a general directive on foreign policy coming from the Emperor. Chapters 43—46 are about contemporary policy in the north-east ( Armenia and Georgia ). The guides to the incorporation and taxation of new imperial provinces, and to some parts of civil and naval administration, are in chapters 49–52. These later chapters (and chapter 53) were designed to give practical instructions to

690-564: The Vita Basilii is not certain. The epithet porphyrogenitus alludes to the Purple chamber 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 legitimate son, as opposed to all others, who claimed

736-462: The "Blues" and the "Greens" during the hippodrome's horse races who had an important role during court ceremonies. The following chapters (84-95) are taken from a 6th-century manual by Peter the Patrician . They rather describe administrative ceremonies like the appointment of certain functionaries (ch. 84,85), investitures of certain offices (86), the reception of ambassadors and the proclamation of

782-559: The "On the Themes of East and West" ( Περὶ θεμάτων Ἀνατολῆς καὶ Δύσεως , known in Latin as De Thematibus ), concerning recent events in the imperial provinces. To this combination were added Constantine's own political instructions to his son, Romanus. The book content, according to its preface, is divided into four sections: As to the historical and geographic information, which is often confusing and filled with legends, this information

828-530: The Empire . This edition was published six years later with no changes. The next edition – which belongs to the A. Bandur (1711) – is collated copy of the first edition and manuscript P . Banduri's edition was reprinted twice: in 1729 in the Venetian collection of the Byzantine Historians , and in 1864 Migne republished Banduri's text with a few corrections. Constantine himself had not given

874-613: 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). In The Manuscript Tradition of Polybius , John Michael Moore (CUP, 1965) provides

920-542: The Themes) and finished a biography of his grandfather, Basil I . The text known as De Administrando Imperio was written by emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, but he had at least one educated "Anonymous Collaborator". Constantine VII's direct appeals to his son Romanus II and Constantine's first-person commentaries are located both at the beginning of the treatise in the Proem and in chapter 13, as well as at

966-583: The Western Emperor (87,88), the reception of Persian ambassadors (89,90), Anagorevseis of certain Emperors (91-96), the appointment of the senate's proedros (97). The "palace order" prescribes the conveyances required for movement (i.e. on foot, mounted, by boat), as well as the participants’ costumes and acclamations, some of which were debased Latin , which had not been an administrative language for more than three centuries. The second book follows

SECTION 20

#1732772448455

1012-537: The celebration of war triumphs during feasts at the Hippodrome like Lupercalia (73). These protocols gave rules for imperial progresses to and from certain churches at Constantinople and the imperial palace, with fixed stations and rules for ritual actions and acclamations from specified participants (the text of acclamations and processional troparia or kontakia , but also heirmoi and stichera are mentioned), among them also ministers, senate members, leaders of

1058-421: The emperor Romanus II, and are probably added during the year 951–52, in order to mark Romanus' fourteenth birthday (952). There are four surviving copies: The Greek text in its entirety was published seven times. The editio princeps , which was based on V , was published in 1611 by Johannes Meursius , who gave it the Latin title by which it is now universally known, and which translates as On Administering

1104-452: The emperor makes a point that he has avoided convoluted expressions and "lofty Atticisms " on purpose, so as to make everything "plain as the beaten track of common, everyday speech" for his son and those high officials with whom he might later choose to share the work. It is probably the extant written text that comes closest to the vernacular employed by the imperial palace bureaucracy in 10th-century Constantinople. In 1892 R. Vari planned

1150-465: The end of the text, in chapter 51. In this text his son Romanus II is never designated as a self-sustained ruler. Thus, the whole De Administrando Imperio must have been written while Constantine VII was still alive. It is said that De Administrando Imperio was written between 948 and 952. Chapters 27, 29, and 45 of the work support that view. Chapter 29 says, "now (today) is the VII indiction,

1196-509: 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. 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

1242-401: The general John Tzimiskes , who one year later captured Samosata , in northern Mesopotamia . An Arab fleet was also destroyed by Greek fire in 957. Constantine had active diplomatic relationships with foreign courts, including those of the caliph of Cordoba Abd ar-Rahman III and of Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor . In the autumn of 957 Constantine was visited by Olga of Kiev , regent of

1288-618: The heterogeneous empire as well as fighting foreign enemies. The work combines two of Constantine's earlier treatises, "On the Governance of the State and the various Nations" ( Περὶ Διοικήσεως τοῦ Κράτους βιβλίον καὶ τῶν διαφόρων Ἐθνῶν ), concerning the histories and characters of the nations neighbouring the Empire, including the Hungarians , Pechenegs , Kievan Rus' , South Slavs , Arabs , Lombards , Armenians , and Georgians ; and

1334-465: 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". 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

1380-563: 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. In 949, Constantine launched a new fleet of 100 ships (20 dromons , 64 chelandia , and 10 galleys) against the Arab corsairs hiding in Crete , but like his father's attempt to retake

1426-596: The imperial authorities; until December 944, when the sons of Emperor Romanos I suddenly rebelled and cloistered their father. Constantine VII, with the help of his supporters, cloistered his brothers-in-law, and personally ruled by the Eastern Roman Empire from January 945 to his death in November 959. Constantine's father, Leo was known for his learning and writings, and, correctly or not, Constantine VII also believed that his mother, Zoe Karbonopsina ,

De Ceremoniis - Misplaced Pages Continue

1472-666: The island in 911, this attempt also failed. On the Eastern frontier things went better, even if with alternate success. In the same year, the Byzantines conquered Germanicea , repeatedly defeated the enemy armies, and in 952 they crossed the upper Euphrates . But in 953, the Hamdanid amir Sayf al-Dawla retook Germanicea and entered the imperial territory. The land in the east was eventually recovered by Nikephoros Phokas , who conquered Adata , in northern Syria , in 958, and by

1518-438: The new and shaky regime survived the attempted usurpation of Constantine Doukas , and Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos quickly assumed a dominant position among the regents. Patriarch Nicholas was presently forced to make peace with Tsar Simeon of Bulgaria , whom he reluctantly recognized as Bulgarian emperor. Because of this unpopular concession, Patriarch Nicholas was driven out of the regency by Constantine's mother Zoe . She

1564-547: The ruler of Constantinople, but Alexander died in 913. Constantine VII was too young to rule on his own, and the governorship was created. Later in May 919 Constantine VII married Helena Lekapene , daughter of Romanos Lekapenos. In December 920, Romanos I Lekapenos (920–944) was crowned a co-emperor, but he really took over the imperial reign in Constantinople . From 920, Constantine VII become increasingly distant from

1610-559: 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" . Constantine was born in Constantinople on 17/18 May 905, an illegitimate son of Leo VI 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

1656-531: The use of Constantine's son and successor, the Emperor Romanos II . It is a prominent example of Byzantine encyclopaedism . The emperor Constantine VII "Porphyrogenitus" (905–959) was only surviving son of the emperor Leo VI the Wise (886–912). Leo VI gave the crown to young Constantine VII in 908 and he became the co-emperor. Leo VI died in May 912, and his brother and co-emperor Alexander became

1702-696: The work a name, preferring instead to start the text with the standard formal salutation: "Constantine, in Christ the Eternal Sovereign, Emperor of the Romans, to [his] own son Romanos, the Emperor crowned of God and born in the purple ". The language Constantine uses is rather straightforward High Medieval Greek , somewhat more elaborate than that of the Canonic Gospels , and easily comprehensible to an educated modern Greek. The only difficulty

1748-473: The work were written in the period 948-952 CE. According to other researchers, De Administrando Imperio was compiled at some point after 952 and before November 959 when Constantine VII died. Still others believe the book just an unfinished manuscript written between about 926 and November 959. In the beginning of the De Administrando Imperio , Constantine VII wrote that the work

1794-416: The year 6457 from the creation of the world," and Byzantine year 6457 from the creation of the world corresponds with 948/949 CE. Chapter 45 says, "now (today) is the X indiction, the year from the creation of the world 6460 in the reign of Constantine [VII] and Romanus [II] ," and Byzantine year 6460 from the creation of the world corresponds with 951/952 CE. From this, it would appear that some parts of

1840-565: Was elevated to the throne as a two-year-old child by his father and uncle on 15 May 908 ( Whitsunday ). In early 913, as his uncle Alexander lay dying, he appointed a seven-man regency council for Constantine. It was headed by the Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos , the two magistroi John Eladas and Stephen , the rhaiktor John Lazanes , the otherwise obscure Euthymius and Alexander's henchmen Basilitzes and Gabrielopoulos. Following Alexander's death (6 June),

1886-567: Was a relative of the chronicler Theophanes the Confessor , one of the Middle Byzantine Historians. Constantine VII was a scholar-emperor, who sought to foster learning and education in the empire. He gathered a group of educated people and dedicated himself to writing books about the administration, ceremonies, and history of the empire. A circle of educated people formed around Constantine VII wrote three unfinished books ( De Administrando Imperio , De Ceremoniis and On

De Ceremoniis - Misplaced Pages Continue

1932-500: Was a set of knowledge which his son Romanos II (born in 938, and ruled 959–963) will need. The intention of Emperor Constantine VII to write a manual for his successor, Romanos II, reduces the possibility that large untruths have been written. Therefore, De Administrando Imperio is one of the most important sources for the study of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium) and its neighbors. It contains advice on ruling

1978-803: Was deposed by his sons, the co-emperors Stephen and Constantine . Romanos spent the last years of his life in exile on the Island of Prote as a monk and died on 15 June 948. With the help of his wife, Constantine VII succeeded in removing his brothers-in-law, and on 27 January 945, Constantine VII became sole emperor at the age of 39, after a life spent in the shadow. Several months later, on 6 April ( Easter ), Constantine VII crowned his own son Romanos II co-emperor. Having never exercised executive authority, Constantine remained primarily devoted to his scholarly pursuits and delegated his authority to bureaucrats and generals, as well as to his energetic wife Helena Lekapene. In 947, Constantine VII ordered

2024-477: Was eclipsed by a senior emperor. 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. 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. Romanos kept and maintained power until 16/20 December 944, when he

2070-599: Was no more successful with the Bulgarians, who defeated her main supporter, the general Leo Phokas , in 917. In March 919, she was replaced as regent by the admiral Romanos Lekapenos , who married his daughter Helena Lekapene to Constantine. Romanos used his position to advance to the ranks of basileopatōr in April 919, to kaisar ( Caesar ) on 24 September 920, and finally to co-emperor on 17 December 920. Thus, just short of reaching nominal majority , Constantine

2116-534: 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

#454545