Constantine VI

Not to be confused with Ecumenical Patriarch Constantine VI of Constantinople.

Constantine VI
Emperor of the Romans
Constantine VI – gold solidus. The inscription reads constantinos basiΘ.
Byzantine emperor
Reign	8 September 780 – 19 August 797
Coronation	14 April 776 (as co-emperor)
Predecessor	Leo IV
Successor	Irene
Co-ruler	Irene (780–90, regent; 792–97, co-empress)
Born	14 January 771
Died	before 805
Spouse	Maria of Amnia Theodote
Issue Detail	Euphrosyne
Dynasty	Isaurian
Father	Leo IV
Mother	Irene of Athens

Constantine VI (Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος, romanized: Kōnstantīnos, 14 January 771 – before 805), sometimes called the Blind, was a Byzantine Emperor from 780 to 797. The only child of Emperor Leo IV, Constantine was named co-emperor with him at the age of five in 776 and took over as only Emperor in 780, aged nine. His mother Irene had control over him as ruler in his place until 790, helped by her main assistant Staurakios. This ended when Constantine became an adult, but Irene wanted to stay involved in ruling. After a short time ruling alone, Constantine named his mother empress in 792, making her his official partner.

Constantine lost battles and made decisions that caused problems, such as blinding his loyal general Alexios Mosele and wrongly marrying his girlfriend, Theodote. Taking advantage of her son's unpopularity, Irene had Constantine removed, blinded, and locked up in 797, and took power for herself, becoming the first woman to rule the Empire alone. Constantine probably died not long after.

Constantine VI was the last ruler to be fully accepted as Roman emperor, being accepted as such by both the Empire he ruled in the east, the pope, and the Western European powers the pope had control over. The Byzantines' ability to protect the Pope had become weaker after the Arab Conquests, causing the Pope to look more and more to the Franks for help. This led to the year 800 when Pope Leo III, who owed his power and position to the Franks, crowned Charlemagne as 'Emperor of the Romans'. Based on the idea that a woman could not rule as Empress alone, this started a new government, separate from the East, that would become the Holy Roman Empire.

According to Byzantine writings, the rebel Thomas the Slav (around 760–823) claimed to be Constantine VI to get support against Michael II. However, most modern experts believe this was made up later.

Early life and the regency of Irene

Constantine VI was the only child of Emperor Leo IV and Irene. Constantine was crowned co-emperor by his father in 776, and became the only emperor in 780, at the age of nine. Because he was still a child, Irene and her main assistant Staurakios ruled for him.

In 787, Constantine, then sixteen years old, had signed the decisions of the Second Council of Nicaea, but he seems to have had some support for iconoclasm (the belief that religious images should not be used). In 788, Irene herself ended the planned marriage of Constantine with Rotrude, a daughter of Charlemagne. Turning against Charlemagne, the Byzantines now supported Lombard prince Adalgis, who had been forced to run away after the Frankish takeover of Italy. Adalgis was put in charge of a Roman army group, landing in Calabria near the end of 788, but was defeated by the joined armies of the Lombard leaders Hildeprand of Spoleto and Grimoald III of Benevento, along with Frankish troops led by Winiges.

After a secret plan against Irene was stopped in the spring of 790, she tried to get official approval as empress. This failed, and with support from the army, Constantine finally took real power in 790, after the Armeniacs rose up against Irene. Still, after failing in a military campaign in the Balkans, Constantine brought his mother back in 792 after just two years out of power and made her co-ruler.

Reign

Once in control of the state, Constantine proved unable to govern well. Constantine himself suffered an embarrassing defeat by Kardam of Bulgaria in the 792 Battle of Marcellae. A plan was made to support his uncle, Caesar Nikephoros. Constantine had his uncle’s eyes removed and had the tongues of his father’s four other half-brothers cut off. His former supporters from the Armeniac army rose up against him after he blinded their general Alexios Mosele because of suspected involvement in the plan. They also did not like Irene being co-ruler. Constantine crushed this uprising with great cruelty in 793.

He then divorced his wife Maria of Amnia, who had not given him a son, and married his girlfriend Theodote. This act was unpopular and not allowed by church law, starting what is called the “Moechian controversy.” Although Patriarch Tarasios of Constantinople did not speak out against it in public, he refused to lead the marriage ceremony. The public showed its disapproval through Theodote’s uncle, Plato of Sakkoudion, who even cut ties with Tarasios for not taking a strong stand. Plato’s stubbornness led to his arrest, while his monk followers were punished and sent away to Thessalonica. The “Moechian controversy” cost Constantine what little support he had left, especially among church leaders, whom Irene made sure to support loudly against her son.

On 19 August 797, Constantine was caught, blinded, and locked up by his mother’s supporters, who had planned secretly to remove him. This left Irene to be crowned as the first woman to rule Constantinople alone. It is not known exactly when Constantine died; it was definitely before 805, though he may have died from his injuries shortly after being blinded (the act may have even been “done in a very violent way to make sure he would not live”). He was buried in the Monastery of St. Euphrosyne, which Irene had built.

Economy

Although the eighth century was a time when the population shrank and many areas became more countryside than city, there is proof of some level of wealth. For example, a written record shows that Constantine paid a very large amount—7,200 nomismata (100 pounds of gold)—for the fair of St John at Ephesus in 795. This seems to show that the farming people were hard-working at the time.

Family

By his first wife Maria, Constantine VI had two daughters:

• Euphrosyne (790 – after 836), who married Emperor Michael II
• Irene (789 – after July 796), who became a nun

By his girlfriend and then second wife Theodote, Constantine VI had two sons, both of whom died young:

Leo (7 October 796 – 1 May 797)

Gallery

• 
  Leo IV with his son and co-emperor Constantine VI.
• 
  Leo III, Constantine V and Leo IV (left), with Constantine VI and Irene (right).
• 
  Seal of Constantine VI, c. 791.
• 
  The 2nd Council of Nicaea depicted in a Bulgarian miniature of the 12th century Manasses Chronicle.

Notes

Constantine VI Isaurian dynasty Born: 14 January 771 Died: before 805
Regnal titles
Preceded by Leo IV	Byzantine Emperor 8 September 780 – 19 August 797 (with Irene)	Succeeded by Irene
Political offices
Preceded by Leo IV in 776, then lapsed	Roman consul 780	Succeeded by Lapsed, Nikephoros I in 803