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). The historical and antiquarian treatise, which the Emperor had compiled during the 940s, is contained in the chapters 12-40.
a comprehensive geographic and historical survey of most of the surrounding nations and.a lesson in the diplomacy to be pursued in dealing with the nations of the same area.a key to the foreign policy in the most dangerous and complicated area of the contemporary political scene, the area of northerners and Scythians,.The book content, according to its preface, is divided into four sections: To this combination were added Constantine's own political instructions to his son, Romanus. The work combines two of Constantine's earlier treatises, 'On the Governance of the State and the various Nations' ( Περί Διοικήσεως τοῦ Κράτους βιβλίον καί τῶν διαφόρων Έθνῶν), concerning the histories and characters of the nations neighbouring the Empire, including the Turks, Pechenegs, Kievan Rus', South Slavs, Arabs, Lombards, Armenians, and Georgians and the 'On the Themes of East and West' ( Περί θεμάτων Άνατολῆς καί Δύσεως, known in Latin as De Thematibus), concerning recent events in the imperial provinces. It contains advice on running the heterogeneous empire as well as fighting foreign enemies. De Administrando Imperio was written between 948 and 952. A circle educated people formed around Constantine VII written three unfinished books ( De Administrando Imperio, De Ceremoniis and On the Themes) and finished a biography of his grandfather, Basil I. Emperor Constantine VII gathered a group of educated people and dedicated himself to writing books about the administration, ceremonies, and history of the Eastern Roman Empire. Author and background Ĭonstantine was a scholar-emperor, who sought to foster learning and education in the Eastern Roman Empire.
#CONSTANTINE VII DE ADMINISTRANDO IMPERIO MANUAL#
It is a domestic and foreign policy manual for the use of Constantine's son and successor, the Emperor Romanos II.
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus in a 945 carved ivory.ĭe Administrando Imperio ('On the Governance of the Empire') is the Latin title of a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII.