Byzantine emperor from 641 to 668
Constans II
[b]
(
Greek
:
Κ?νστα?
,
translit.
K?nstas
; 7 November 630 ? 15 July 668), also called "
the Bearded
" (
Latin
:
Pogonatus
;
Greek
:
? Πωγων?το?
,
translit.
ho P?g?natos
),
[c]
was the
Byzantine emperor
from 641 to 668. Constans was the last attested emperor to serve as
consul
, in 642,
[9]
[10]
[d]
although the office continued to exist until the reign of
Leo VI the Wise
(r. 886?912).
[13]
His religious policy saw him steering a middle line in disputes between the Orthodoxy and
Monothelitism
by refusing to persecute either and prohibited discussion of the natures of
Jesus Christ
under the
Type of Constans
in 648. His reign coincided with Muslim invasions under, Umar, Uthman, and
Mu'awiya I
in the late 640s to 660s. Constans was the first emperor to visit Rome since the fall of the
Western Roman Empire
in 476, and the last one to visit Rome while the Empire still held it.
Origins and early career
[
edit
]
Constans was born on 7 November 630 in
Constantinople
, the Byzantine capital, to
Gregoria
and
Constantine III
.
Constantine was a son of Emperor
Heraclius
, while his mother Gregoria was a daughter of
Nicetas
, a first cousin of Heraclius.
Heraclius died an February 641 and was succeeded by Constantine III and
Heraclonas
, his younger half-brother through Heraclius' second marriage to
Martina
. Constans was most likely elevated to
caesar
by his father to ease his succession to the throne against Martina and her sons.
[16]
Constantine died suddenly after 3 months of rule, leaving the 15-year old Heraclonas as senior emperor.
In September 641, the 10-year old Constans II was crowned co-emperor due to rumors that Heraclonas and Martina poisoned Constantine III. Later that same year, on or around 5 November, Heraclonas was deposed by
Valentinus
, one of Heraclius’ most trusted generals, and Constans II was left as sole emperor.
[e]
Constans owed his rise to the throne to a popular reaction against his uncle and to the protection of the soldiers led by Valentinus. Although the precocious emperor addressed the senate with a speech blaming Heraclonas and Martina for eliminating his father, he reigned under a
regency
of senators led by Patriarch
Paul II of Constantinople
. In 644, Valentinus attempted to seize power for himself, but failed.
Reign as emperor
[
edit
]
Under Constans, the Byzantines completely withdrew from
Egypt
in 642, and the third
Rashidun
caliph
Uthman
(
r.
644?656
) launched numerous attacks on the islands of the
Mediterranean
and
Aegean Seas
. A Byzantine fleet under the admiral Manuel occupied
Alexandria
again in 645, and the Alexandrians hailed him as a liberator, since the caliphate levied heavier taxes and showed less respect for their religion. However, Manuel squandered his time and popularity in plundering the countryside, and eventually the Arab army managed to force him to embark for home.
[19]
The situation was complicated by the violent opposition to
Monothelitism
by the clergy in the west and the related rebellion of the
Exarch of Carthage
,
Gregory the Patrician
. The latter fell in
battle
against the army of caliph Uthman, and the region remained a vassal state under the
Caliphate
until
civil war
broke out and imperial rule was again restored.
Constans attempted to steer a middle line in the church dispute between Orthodoxy and Monothelitism by refusing to persecute either and prohibiting further discussion of the natures of
Jesus Christ
by decree in 648 (the
Type of Constans
). Naturally, this live-and-let-live compromise satisfied few passionate participants in the dispute.
Meanwhile, the advance of the
Rashidun Caliphate
continued unabated. In 647 they entered
Armenia
and
Cappadocia
and sacked
Caesarea Mazaca
.
In the same year, they raided Africa and killed Gregory.
In 648, the Arabs raided into
Phrygia
, and in 649 they launched their first maritime expedition against
Crete
. A major Arab offensive into
Cilicia
and
Isauria
in 650?651 forced the Emperor to enter into negotiations with Caliph Uthman's governor of
Syria
,
Mu'awiya I
(
r.
656?661
), who later reigned as the first
Umayyad
caliph. The truce that followed allowed a short respite and made it possible for Constans to hold on to the western portions of Armenia.
In 654, however, Mu'awiya renewed his raids by sea, plundering
Rhodes
. Constans led a fleet to attack the Muslims at
Phoinike
(off
Lycia
) in 655 at the
Battle of the Masts
, but he was defeated: 500 Byzantine ships were destroyed in the battle, and the Emperor himself was almost killed. The sea battle was so devastating that the emperor escaped only by trading clothes with one of his men.
[22]
Before the battle, chronicler
Theophanes the Confessor
says, the Emperor dreamed of being at
Thessalonica
; this dream predicted his defeat against the Arabs because the word Thessalonika is similar to the sentence "thes allo niken", which means "gave victory to another (the enemy)".
[23]
Caliph Uthman was preparing to attack
Constantinople
, but he did not carry out the plan, as the
first Fitna
broke out in 656.
In 658, with the eastern frontier under less pressure, Constans defeated the
Slavs
in the
Balkans
, temporarily reasserting some notion of Byzantine rule over them and
resettled some of them in Anatolia
(
c.
649
or 667). In 659 he campaigned far to the east, taking advantage of a rebellion against the Caliphate in
Media
. The same year he concluded peace with the Arabs.
Now Constans could turn to church matters once again.
Pope Martin I
had condemned both
Monothelitism
and Constans' attempt to halt debates over it in the
Lateran Council of 649
. The Emperor ordered the
Exarch of Ravenna
to arrest the Pope. Exarch
Olympius
excused himself from this task, but his successor,
Theodore I Calliopas
, carried it out in 653. Pope Martin was brought to Constantinople and condemned as a criminal, ultimately being exiled to
Cherson
, where he died in 655.
Constans grew increasingly fearful that his younger brother, Theodosius, could oust him from the throne; he therefore obliged Theodosius to take holy orders and later had him killed in 660. Constans' sons Constantine, Heraclius, and Tiberius had been associated on the throne since the 650s. However, having attracted the hatred of the citizens of Constantinople, Constans decided to leave the capital and to move to
Syracuse
in
Sicily
.
On his way, he stopped in Macedonia and fought the Slavs at Thessalonica with success. Then, in the winter of 662?663, he made his camp at Athens.
[24]
From there, in 663, he continued to Italy. He launched an assault against the
Lombard
Duchy of Benevento
, which then encompassed most of
Southern Italy
. Taking advantage of the fact that Lombard king
Grimoald I of Benevento
was engaged against Frankish forces from
Neustria
, Constans disembarked at
Taranto
and besieged
Lucera
and
Benevento
. However, the latter resisted and Constans withdrew to
Naples
. During the journey from Benevento to Naples, Constans II was defeated by Mitolas, Count of Capua, near Pugna. Constans ordered Saburrus, the commander of his army, to attack the Lombards again, but
he was defeated
by the Beneventani at
Forino
, between
Avellino
and
Salerno
.
In 663 Constans visited
Rome
for twelve days?the first emperor since the fall of the
Western Roman Empire
in 476 and, along with
John V Palaiologos
, one of only two Eastern Roman emperors since the division of the Roman empire in 395 to set foot in Rome?and was received with great honor by
Pope Vitalian
(657?672). Although on friendly terms with Vitalian, he stripped buildings (including the
Pantheon
) of their ornaments and bronze to be carried back to Constantinople, and in 666 declared the Pope to have no jurisdiction over the
Archbishop of Ravenna
, since that city was the seat of the Exarch, his immediate representative. His subsequent moves in
Calabria
and
Sardinia
were marked by further strippings and request of tributes that enraged his Italian subjects.
According to
Warren Treadgold
, the first
themes
were created between 659 and 661, during the reign of Constans II.
[25]
However,
John Haldon
states that this idea is not supported by a "a shred of evidence", although redistribution of the armies across the Anatolian provinces did take place, and likely resulted in administrative changes.
[26]
Death and succession
[
edit
]
On 15 July 668,
[27]
he was
assassinated
in his bath by his
chamberlain
, either killed with a
bucket
[28]
or stabbed with a knife.
[29]
His son Constantine succeeded him as
Constantine IV
. A brief usurpation in Sicily by
Mezezius
was quickly suppressed by the new emperor.
Assessments and legacy
[
edit
]
The historian
Robert Hoyland
asserts that Mu'awiya was a significant Islamic challenge for Constans to "deny [the divinity of] Jesus and turn to the Great God who I worship, the God of our father Abraham" and speculates that Mu'awiya's tour of Christian sites in Jerusalem was done to demonstrate "the fact that he, and not the Byzantine emperor, was now God's representative on earth".
[31]
Record in Chinese sources
[
edit
]
The
Chinese dynastic histories
of the
Old Book of Tang
and
New Book of Tang
mention
several embassies made by
Fu lin
(拂?), which they equated with
Daqin
(the
Roman Empire
).
[32]
These are recorded as having begun in the year 643 with an embassy sent by the king
Boduoli
(波多力, Constans II Pogonatos) to
Emperor Taizong of Tang
, bearing gifts such as
red
glass
and green
gemstones
.
[32]
Other contacts are reported taking place in 667, 701, and perhaps 719, sometimes through Central Asian intermediaries.
[33]
[
verification needed
]
These histories also record that
the Arabs
(
Da shi
大食) sent their commander "Mo-yi" (
Chinese
: 摩?伐之,
Pinyin
:
Mo zhu?i fa zh?
), to
besiege the Byzantine capital
,
Constantinople
, and forced the Byzantines to pay them tribute.
[32]
This Arab commander "Mo-yi" was identified by historian
Friedrich Hirth
as
Muawiyah I
(r. 661?680), the
governor of Syria
before becoming the
Umayyad caliph
.
[32]
The same books also described Constantinople in some detail as having
massive granite walls
and a
water clock
mounted with a golden statue of man.
[32]
The Byzantine historian
Theophylact Simocatta
, writing during the reign of
Heraclius
(r. 610?641), relayed information about
China's geography
, its capital city
Khubdan
(
Old Turkic
:
Khumdan
, i.e.
Chang'an
), its current ruler
Taisson
whose name meant "
Son of God
" (Chinese:
Tianzi
), and correctly pointed to its reunification by the
Sui dynasty
(581?618) as occurring during the reign of
Maurice
, noting that China had previously been divided politically along the
Yangzi River
by
two warring nations
.
[34]
Family
[
edit
]
By his wife
Fausta
, a daughter of the patrician Valentinus, Constans II had three sons:
Coinage gallery
[
edit
]
-
Solidus
of Constans II,
c.
642 (aged 12)
[f]
-
Solidus minted
c.
647 (aged 17)
-
A solidus minted in
Carthage
, 652 (aged 22).
-
Solidus minted
c.
662 (aged 32) depicting Constans alongside his sons and co-emperors
-
Coin of the
Rashidun Caliphate
with Constans II,
c.
647?670.
Ancestry
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Recorded under the
Armenian
form and word order as
Ogostos Kostandin
in
Movses Kaghankatvatsi
II.20, where an Armenian translation of a letter from this emperor appears. The words
Constantinus Avg
were also used on his solidi.
- ^
The Byzantines themselves did not use regnal numbers, which are instead applied to the emperors by modern historians.
Constans II is most commonly enumerated after
Constans I
(
r.
337?340), but has also sometimes been enumerated as
Constans III
, also counting the co-emperor
Constans
(
r.
409?411).
"Constans" is a nickname given to the Emperor, who had been baptized
Heraclius
(
Herakleios
) and reigned officially as "Constantine". The nickname established itself in Byzantine texts and has become standard in modern historiography. It was apparently well known during his lifetime, as
Constantine IV
sometimes called himself "Constantinos Constantos", i.e. "Constantine, son of Constans".
[5]
[6]
The emperor has also rarely been designated
Constantine III
, a name typically reserved for his father
Heraclius Constantine
.
[7]
- ^
Some sources call him "
Constantine the Bearded
". The nickname was previously attributed to his son
Constantine IV
, who was known by his contemporaries as "Constantine the Younger".
[8]
- ^
His inauguration as consul is sometimes dated to 632, but this is likely a mistake, as the consular inauguration was usually celebrated on January of the first regnal year.
[11]
[12]
- ^
Some sources, such as the
PBW
, date the deposition of Heraclonas on 9 November.
The date is unsourced and unexplained, but it's probably a mistake for 5 November.
[18]
- ^
This type is sometimes mistaken for Heraclonas.
[35]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Laurent, V. (1939).
"Notes de titulature byzantine"
.
Echos d'Orient
.
38
(195?196): 355?370.
- ^
Academia Republicii Populare Romine
, ed. (1981).
Revue roumaine d'histoire: Volume 20
. Editions de l'Academie de la Republique socialiste de Roumanie. p. 626.
- ^
Warwick, Wroth (1908).
Catalogue of the Imperial Byzantine Coins in the British Museum
. Longman. pp. v, 184, 255.
ISBN
978-5-87507-093-8
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- ^
Grumel, Venance (1996). "
Quel est l'empereur Constantin le nouveau commemore dans le Synaxaire au 3 septembre?
."
Analecta Bollandiana
84
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- ^
Shahi?d, I. (1972).
The Iranian Factor in Byzantium during the Reign of Heraclius
.
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26
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- ^
Cameron, A., & Schauer, D. (1982).
The Last Consul: Basilius and His Diptych
.
The Journal of Roman Studies
72
: 126?145.
- ^
Hendy, Michael F. (2008).
Studies in the Byzantine Monetary Economy
.
Cambridge University Press
. p. 193.
ISBN
9781316582275
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- ^
Salzman, Michele R. (2021).
The Falls of Rome
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ISBN
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- ^
Riedel, Meredith (2018).
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ISBN
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.
- ^
Zuckerman, Constantin (2010): "
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: pp. 869?874. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^
Treadgold, Warren (1990).
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.
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83
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.
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- ^
Treadgold, Warren. (1997).
A History of the Byzantine State and Society
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- ^
Bennett, Judith M. (20 January 2010).
Medieval Europe: a short history
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ISBN
9780073385501
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- ^
"θ?? ?λλ? ν?κην", see Bury, John Bagnell (1889),
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ISBN
1-4021-8368-2
- ^
Cheetham, Nicolas.
Mediaeval Greece
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- ^
Treadgold, Warren.
Byzantium and Its Army: 284?1081
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- ^
Haldon, John (2016).
The Empire That Would Not Die: The Paradox of Eastern Roman Survival, 640?740
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doi
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10.4159/9780674969193
.
ISBN
978-0-674-08877-1
.
- ^
Grierson, Philip (1962).
"The Tombs and Obits of the Byzantine Emperors (337?1042)"
.
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doi
:
10.2307/1291157
.
JSTOR
1291157
.
- ^
Theophanes the Confessor (1997).
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ISBN
0-19-822568-7
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OCLC
34704963
.
- ^
ODB
, "
Constans II
", p. 496
- ^
Hutchinson's Story of the Nations
. London: Hutchinson & Co. n.d. p. 94.
- ^
Hoyland 2015
, p. 135?136, 266 n. 30..
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Hirth, Friedrich (2000) [1885]. Jerome S. Arkenberg (ed.).
"East Asian History Sourcebook: Chinese Accounts of Rome, Byzantium and the Middle East, c. 91 B.C.E. ? 1643 C.E."
Fordham.edu
.
Fordham University
. Archived from
the original
on 10 September 2014
. Retrieved
10 September
2016
.
- ^
Mutsaers, Inge (2009). Marlia Mundell Mango (ed.).
Byzantine Trade, 4th?12th Centuries
. Retrieved
10 September
2016
.
- ^
Yule, Henry
(1915), Henri Cordier (ed.),
Cathay and the Way Thither: Being a Collection of Medieval Notices of China, Vol I: Preliminary Essay on the Intercourse Between China and the Western Nations Previous to the Discovery of the Cape Route
, vol. 1, London: London: Hakluyt Society, pp. 29?31, see also footnote #4 on p. 29, footnote #2 on p. 30, and footnote #3 on page 31
, retrieved
21 September
2016
- ^
Bates, George
(1971).
"Constans II or Heraclonas?"
.
Museum Notes (American Numismatic Society)
.
17
: 141?161.
JSTOR
43573491
.
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[
edit
]
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Byzantine Coins in Central Europe between the 5th and 10th Century
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978-8376760087
.
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.
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:
10.3406/numi.2005.2594
.
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Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection
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.
ISBN
9780884020240
.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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, Book V
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