Why an Atheist Thinks the Shroud of Turin is the Real Deal

The Purple Room

Born out of wedlock made Constantine’s dynastic ascension questionable. Otherwise, he was, by way of the convoluted rules then in place, the legitimate heir to his uncle Alexander. But Zoe, his mother, who would eventually become Leo’s fourth wife, anticipated the problem and devised an ingenious plan. There was a peculiar rule of succession at the time that stipulated that while the eldest legitimate heir was normally first in line to become emperor, if a younger heir was born in a certain purple room of the royal palace and the older heir was not, the younger heir had precedence. Zoe reasoned, before her son was born, before she even knew that the child she carried would be a boy, that if her son was born in the purple room this would confer an important measure of legitimacy. She conspired to arrange it and it worked beautifully. At the age of two Constantine was symbolically crowned emperor. When Alexander died Constantine was elevated to the throne. But he too young to be regent. The Patriarch of Constantinople, Archbishop Nicholas I Mysticus, assumed that role.