onstantine VII, called Constantine Porphyrogenitus (905-59), Byzantine emperor (913-59). Constantine was dominated by his father-in-law and co-emperor, Romanus I, and he continued Romanus's policies—protection of the small landholders of Anatolia and aggression against the Muslim states of Mesopotamia and Syria—even after Romanus was banished from Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) in 944. He also maintained contact with the Russians and encouraged their conversion to Christianity. Constantine is mainly remembered as a scholar and patron of scholarship. His own works include De Thematibus (On the Provinces), a history of the various territories of the Byzantine Empire; De Administrando Imperio (On Imperial Administration), a treatise on foreign policy containing valuable information on the peoples of eastern Europe in the 10th century; and De Ceremoniis Aulae Byzantinae (Byzantine Court Ceremonies). [Microsoft Encarta 98 Encyclopedia]

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