Constantine VII, surnamed Porphyrogeni-tus ("born in the purple," or properly, in the imperial apartment called Porphyra), emperor of the East, born in 905, died Nov. 15, 959. He was the son of Leo VI., and in 911 succeeded him, his uncle Alexander being his acting colleague. On the death of Alexander in 912 Constantine became emperor under a council of regency. He had a great fondness for literature, which he cultivated, while his father-in-law, the usurping Romanus Lecapenus, who was proclaimed emperor Dec. 17, 919, administered the affairs of the empire. In 945 he became sole emperor, but he still devoted himself to literature, leaving the cares of state to his wife Helena. He is said to have been poisoned by his son Romanus, who succeeded him. Constantine occupies an important position in literature. His own works treat of subjects relating to his times, of which without them we should be in almost entire ignorance. They are all written in Greek. The most important are: a life of his grandfather, Basil I.; a description of the provinces of the empire; Be Administrando Imperio, a work without a Greek title, written to instruct his son in the political state of the empire, and containing much information in relation to the geography, ethnology, and politics of the time; and two treatises on the art of war; and " » which gives a detailed account of the ceremonies at the court of Constantinople. He wrote several smaller treatises on religious and other matters, and caused many works to be compiled by the most able scholars of the time.