Constantine Angelos Doukas, Latinized as Constantine Angelus Ducas , was a usurper who attempted to overthrow Byzantine emperor Isaac II Angelos

Isaac II Angelos

Isaac II Angelos was Byzantine emperor from 1185 to 1195, and again from 1203 to 1204....

 in 1193.

Career

Constantine Angelos Doukas was the cousin of emperor Isaac II Angelos, and he was entrusted by the emperor with the Bulgarian War against the Vlach (1185–1197) during its later stages. Although he was still a young man and quite impetuous, he quickly turned around a situation that had been growing steadily worse for the empire. Training his troops to obey him without question, his native aggression saw the Vlach insurgents fear his approaches. His exuberance was at first kept in check by his military advisors, but a string of successes over Peter IV of Bulgaria

Peter IV of Bulgaria

Peter IV ruled as emperor of Bulgaria 1185–1197. Together with his brother Asen he managed to restore the Bulgarian Empire after nearly 170 years of Byzantine domination.-Name:...

 went to his head and he declared himself emperor over their objections. He marched towards Adrianople but was imprisoned by his former comrades-in-arms who handed Constantine over to Isaac. Isaac II blinded

Political mutilation in Byzantine culture

Mutilation in the Byzantine Empire was a common method of punishment for criminals of the era but it also had a role in the Empire's political life. The mutilation of political rivals by the Emperor was deemed an effective way of sidelining from the line of succession a person who was seen as a...

 him, and Constantine's absence saw the Second Bulgarian Empire

Second Bulgarian Empire

The Second Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state which existed between 1185 and 1396 . A successor of the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II before gradually being conquered by the Ottomans in the late 14th-early 15th century...

 once again gain the upper hand in the war against the Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

.

Sources

• Niketas Choniatēs, Harry J. Magoulias, O city of Byzantium: annals of Niketas Choniatēs, 1984