A pyramid in Constantinople? Not a true pyramid but sort of. Being purple-born, a porphyrogeneti, meant one was born royal inside a famous room in the Great Palace of Constantinople. Referring to the sons of Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes, Anna Komnene described it:
“They had been born in the porhyra after their father’s elevation to the throne ad for that reason had the title porphyrogeneti. This porphyry is a room in the Palace built in the form of a complete square from floor to ceiling, but the latter ends in a pyramid. The room affords a view of the sea and harbor where the stone oxen and the lions stand. Its floor is paved with marble and the walls are covered with marble panels. The stone used was not of the ordinary kind, nor marble which can be more easily obtained but at greater expense; it was in fact casually acquired in Rome by former emperors. This particular marble (porphyry) is generally of a purple colour throughout, but with white spots like sand sprinkled over it. It was for this, I suppose, that our forefathers called the room porphyra.”
SOURCE:
The Alexiad by Anna Komnene
shadowsofconstantinople.com 