Byzantine Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus

Constantine Porphyrogenitus was the son of Leo VI by his fourth wife, Zoe Carbonopsina, and shared the status of co-emperor with his uncle Alexander from the age of four. Following the death of Leo in 912, Constantine retained his status under Alexander until the latter's death the following year. As Constantine was by now only the age of seven, the government was assumed by his mother Zoe for the next six years. In 919 Constantine married Helena, the daughter of his admiral Romanus Lecapenus, who assumed the regency and became Augustus the following year. For almost a quarter of a century, Constantine was to be allowed no part in government and relegated in the line of succession behind the sons of Romanus: Christopher, Stephen and Constantine.

The unexpected deposition of Romanus in December 944 at the hands of his two surviving sons, Stephen and Constantine, finally gave the legitimate emperor the opportunity to seize power for himself. Both the Lecapeni were quickly overthrown on 27 January 945 and Constantine finally became sole ruler at the age of 39. This solidus was struck during the first few months of Constantine's sole reign and proudly boasts the title autokrator [sole ruler] on the reverse. Whilst the individual portrait of Constantine signifies the end of nearly three decades lived in the shadow of regents and rival emperors, it also marks a departure from the double-portraits depicting emperors and their heirs typically found on the coinage and seals of the Macedonian dynasty since the reign of Basil I. It was short-lived however, as Constantine waited only ten weeks before raising his son, Romanus II, to the rank of co-emperor on 6 April 945.