Constans II[b] (Greek:Κώνστας,romanized: Kōnstās; 7 November 630 – 15 July 668), also called "the Bearded" (Greek:ὁ Πωγωνᾶτος,romanized: ho Pōgōnãtos),[c] was theByzantine emperor from 641 to 668. Constans was the last attested emperor to serve asconsul, in 642,[9][10][d] although the office continued to exist until the reign ofLeo VI the Wise (r. 886–912).[13] His religious policy saw him steering a middle line in disputes between the Orthodox andMonothelites by refusing to persecute either and prohibited discussion of the natures ofJesus Christ under theTypos of Constans in 648. His reign coincided with Arab invasions underUmar,Uthman, andMu'awiya I in the late 640s to 660s. Constans was the first emperor to visit Rome since the fall of theWestern Roman Empire in 476, and the last one to visit Rome while the Empire still held it.
Heraclius died in February 641 and was succeeded by Constantine III andHeraclonas, his younger half-brother through Heraclius' second marriage toMartina. Constans was most likely elevated tocaesar by his father to ease his succession to the throne against Martina and her sons.[16] Constantine III died suddenly after three 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 byValentinus, 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 aregency of senators led by PatriarchPaul II of Constantinople. In 644, Valentinus attempted to seize power for himself, but failed.
Under Constans, the Byzantines completely withdrew fromEgypt in 642, and the thirdRashidun caliphUthman (r. 644–656) launched numerous attacks on the islands of theMediterranean andAegean Seas. A Byzantine fleet under the admiralManuel occupiedAlexandria 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 toMonothelitism by the clergy in the west and the related rebellion of theExarch of Carthage,Gregory the Patrician. The latter fell inbattle against the army of caliph Uthman, and the region remained a vassal state under the Caliphate until theFirst Fitna broke out and imperial rule was 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 ofJesus Christ by decree in 648 (theTypos 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 enteredArmenia andCappadocia and sackedCaesarea Mazaca.[20] In the same year, they raided Africa and killed Gregory.[21] In 648, the Arabs raided intoPhrygia, and in 649 they launched their first maritime expedition againstCrete. A major Arab offensive intoCilicia andIsauria in 650–651 forced the Emperor to enter into negotiations with Caliph Uthman's governor ofSyria,Mu'awiya I (r. 656–661), who later reigned as the firstUmayyad caliph. The truce that followed allowed a short respite and made it possible for Constans to hold the western portions of Armenia.
The Roman fleet engaging the Arabs at the Battle of the Masts off the Lycian coast
In 654, however, Mu'awiya renewed his raids by sea, plunderingRhodes. Constans led a fleet to attack the Muslims atPhoinike (offLycia) in 655 at theBattle 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] According to chroniclerTheophanes the Confessor, before the battle Constans dreamed of being atThessalonica: this dream predicted his defeat because "Thessalonika" is similar to the phrasethes allo niken ("gave victory to another (the enemy)" in Greek).[23] Caliph Uthman was preparing to attackConstantinople, but he did not carry out the plan, as theFirst Fitna broke out in 656.
By order of Constans II, the exarch of Ravenna Theodore Calliopas (right) arrests Pope Martin I in Rome.
Now Constans could turn to church matters once again.Pope Martin I had condemned bothMonothelitism and Constans' attempt to halt debates over it in theLateran Council of 649. The Emperor ordered theExarch of Ravenna to arrest the Pope. ExarchOlympius 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 toCherson, 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 toSyracuse inSicily.
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 theLombardDuchy of Benevento, which then encompassed most ofSouthern Italy. Taking advantage of the fact that Lombard kingGrimoald I of Benevento was engaged against Frankish forces fromNeustria, Constans disembarked atTaranto and besiegedLucera andBenevento. However, the latter resisted and Constans withdrew toNaples. During the journey from Benevento to Naples, Constans II was defeated by Mitolas, Count of Capua, near Pugna. Constans orderedSaburrus, the commander of his army, to attack the Lombards again, buthe was defeated by the Beneventani at Forino, betweenAvellino andSalerno.
In 663 Constans visitedRome for twelve days—the first emperor since the fall of theWestern Roman Empire in 476 and, along withJohn 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 byPope Vitalian (657–672). Although on friendly terms with Vitalian, he stripped buildings (including thePantheon) of their ornaments and bronze to be carried back to Constantinople, and in 666 declared the Pope to have no jurisdiction over theArchbishop of Ravenna, since that city was the seat of the Exarch, his immediate representative. His subsequent moves inCalabria andSardinia were marked by further strippings and request of tributes that enraged his Italian subjects.
According toWarren Treadgold, the firstthemes 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]
The death of Constans II from the bookHutchinson's History of the Nations (c. 1920)
On 15 July 668,[27][14] he wasassassinated in his bath by hischamberlain, either killed with abucket[28] or stabbed with a knife.[29] His son Constantine succeeded him asConstantine IV. A brief usurpation in Sicily byMezezius was quickly suppressed by the new emperor.
HistorianRobert G. Hoyland asserts that Mu'awiya posed a significant Islamic challenge to Constans: "deny [the divinity of] Jesus and turn to the Great God who I worship, the God of our father Abraham". He 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".[30]
643 inChang'an. Meeting of the ambassadors of Constans II with EmperorTaizong ofTang China. The subject of negotiations was cargo delays on theSilk Road due to tribal conflict in theWestern Turkic Khaganate, which was responsible for the safety of goods on theSilk Road. To restore order, Taizong supported the election of the head of the khaganate toIrbis and it was necessary to inform the authorities of the Byzantium Empire, which was the main recipient of the goods. Illustration from the early 20th century.[31]
^Recorded under theArmenian form and word order asOgostos Kostandin inMovses Kaghankatvatsi II.20, where an Armenian translation of a letter from this emperor appears. The wordsConstantinus 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.[1] Constans II is most commonly enumerated afterConstans I (r. 337–340), but has also sometimes been enumerated asConstans III, also counting the co-emperorConstans (r. 409–411).[2][3][4] "Constans" is a nickname given to the Emperor, who had been baptizedHeraclius (Herakleios) (Greek:Ἡράκλειος,romanized: Hērákleios) and reigned officially as "Constantine" (Greek:Κωνσταντῖνος,romanized: Kōnstantīnos,lit.'Constantinus'). The nickname established itself in Byzantine texts and has become standard in modern historiography. It was apparently well known during his lifetime, asConstantine IV sometimes called himself "Constantinos Constantos", i.e. "Constantine, son of Constans".[5][6] The emperor has also rarely been designatedConstantine III, a name typically reserved for his fatherHeraclius Constantine.[1][7]
^Some sources call him "Constantine the Bearded". The nickname was previously attributed to his sonConstantine 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 thePBW, date the deposition of Heraclonas on 9 November.[17] The date is unsourced and unexplained, but it's probably a mistake for 5 November.[18]
^This type is sometimes mistaken for Heraclonas.[35]
^Theophanes the Confessor (1997).The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor: Byzantine and Near Eastern History, AD 284-813. Cyril A. Mango, Roger Scott, Geoffrey Greatrex. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 491.ISBN0-19-822568-7.OCLC34704963.
Wikimedia Commons has media related toConstans II.
Biermann, Felix (2009). "Byzantine Coin Finds from the 6th to the 8th Century Between Elbe and Oder and their Meaning for Settlement History". In Wołoszyn, M. (ed.).Byzantine Coins in Central Europe between the 5th and 10th Century. Kraków: Institute of Archaeology University of Rzeszów.ISBN978-8376760087.
Browning, Robert (1992).The Byzantine Empire. The Catholic University of America Press.
Bury, John Bagnell (1889).A History of the Later Roman Empire from Arcadius to Irene (395 A. D. to 800 A.D.). Vol. II. Macmillan and Co.
Lilie, Ralph-Johannes; Ludwig, Claudia; Pratsch, Thomas; Zielke, Beate (2013). "Konstans II".Prosopographie der mittelbyzantinischen Zeit Online. Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Nach Vorarbeiten F. Winkelmanns erstellt (in German). Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter.
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