Constantine IV
Encyclopedia
Constantine IV (c. 652 - September 685), sometimes incorrectly called Pogonatos, "the Bearded", by confusion with his father; was Byzantine emperor from 668 to 685. His reign saw the first serious check to nearly 50 years of uninterrupted Islamic expansion, while his calling of the Sixth Ecumenical Council saw the end of the monothelitism
controversy in the Byzantine Empire
.
, Constantine IV had been named a co-emperor with his father in 654. He had been given the responsibility of managing the affairs at Constantinople
during his father’s extended absence in Italy and became senior emperor when Constans was assassinated in 668. His mother was Fausta
, daughter of patrician Valentinus
.
The first task before the new emperor was the suppression of the military revolt in Sicily
under Mezezius
which had led to his father's death. Within 7 months of his accession, Constantine IV had dealt with the insurgency with the support of Pope Vitalian
. But this success was overshadowed by troubles in the east.
As early as 668 the Caliph
Muawiyah I
, after receiving an invitation from Saborios
, the commander of the troops in Armenia
to help him overthrow the emperor at Constantinople, sent an army under his son Yazid
against the Eastern Roman Empire. Yazid reached as far as Chalcedon
and took the important Byzantine center Amorion
. Although the city was quickly recovered, the Arab
s next attacked Carthage
and Sicily in 669. In 670 the Arabs captured Cyzicus
and set up a base from which to launch further attacks into the heart of the Empire. Their fleet captured Smyrna
and other coastal cities in 672. Finally, in 672, the Arabs sent a large fleet to attack Constantinople
by sea. While Constantine was distracted by this, the Slavs unsuccessfully attacked Thessalonika
.
Then, commencing in 674, the Arabs launched the long awaited siege of Constantinople. The great fleet that had been assembled set sail under the command of Abd ar-Rahman before the end of the year; and during the winter months some of the ships anchored at Smyrna
, the rest off the coast of Cilicia
. Additional squadrons reinforced the forces of Abd ar-Rahman before they proceeded to the Hellespont, into which they sailed in about April 674. From April to September 674 the fleet lay moored from the promontory of Hebdomon, on the Propontis, as far as the promontory of Kyklobios, near the Golden Gate, and throughout those months continued to engage with the Byzantine fleet which defended the harbour continued from morning to evening.
Knowing that it was only a matter of time before Constantinople was under siege, Constantine had ensured that the city was well provisioned. He also constructed a large number of fireships and fast-sailing boats provided with tubes or siphons for squirting fire. This is the first known use of Greek fire
in combat, which was one of the key advantages that the Byzantines possessed. In September, the Arabs having failed in their attempts to take the city, sailed to Cyzicus, which they made their winter quarters. Over the following five years, the Arabs would return each spring to continue the siege of Constantinople, but with the same results. The city survived and finally in 678, the Arabs were forced to raise the siege. The Arabs withdrew, and were almost simultaneously defeated on land in Lycia
in Anatolia
. This unexpected reverse forced Muawiyah I to seek a truce with Constantine. This involved the Arabs evacuating the islands in the Aegean
they had recently taken, as well as an annual tribute to the emperor consisting of fifty slaves, fifty horses and 3,000 pounds of gold. The raising of the siege allowed Constantine to go to the relief of Thessalonika, still under siege from the Slavs.
With the temporary passing of the Arab threat, Constantine had to turn his attention to the Church, torn between Monothelitism
and Orthodoxy. In November 680 Constantine convened the Sixth Ecumenical Council (also known as the Third Council of Constantinople). Constantine presided in person during the formal aspects of the proceedings (the first eleven sittings and then the eighteenth), surrounded by his court officials, but took no active role in the theological discussions. The Council reaffirmed the Orthodox doctrines of the Council of Chalcedon
in 451. This solved the controversy over monothelitism
; conveniently for the empire, most monothelites were now under the control of the Umayyad
Caliph
ate. The council closed in September 681.
Due to the ongoing concerns with the Arabs during the 670s, in the west, Constantine had been forced to conclude treaties with the Lombards
, who had captured Brindisi
and Taranto
. As well, in 670 the Bulgars
under Asparukh
crossed the Danube
into nominally imperial territory and began to subject the local communities and Slavic tribes. In 680, Constantine IV led a combined land and sea operation against the invaders and besieged their fortified camp in Dobruja
. Suffering from bad health, the emperor had to leave the army, which allowed itself to panic and be defeated by the Bulgars. In 681, Constantine was forced to acknowledge the Bulgar state
in Moesia
and to pay protection money to avoid further inroads into Byzantine Thrace
. Consequently, Constantine created the Theme of Thrace.
His brothers Heraclius
and Tiberius
had been crowned with him as Augusti
during the reign of their father, and this was confirmed by the demand of the populace, but in 681 Constantine had them mutilated
so they would be ineligible to rule. At the same time he associated on the throne his own young son Justinian II
. Constantine died of dysentery
in September 685.
, Constantine IV had at least two sons:
Monothelitism
Monothelitism is a particular teaching about how the divine and human relate in the person of Jesus, known as a Christological doctrine, that formally emerged in Armenia and Syria in 629. Specifically, monothelitism teaches that Jesus Christ had two natures but only one will...
controversy in 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...
.
Early career
The eldest son of Constans IIConstans II
Constans II , also called Constantine the Bearded , was Byzantine emperor from 641 to 668. He also was the last emperor to become consul in 642, becoming the last Roman consul in history....
, Constantine IV had been named a co-emperor with his father in 654. He had been given the responsibility of managing the affairs at Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
during his father’s extended absence in Italy and became senior emperor when Constans was assassinated in 668. His mother was Fausta
Fausta, wife of Constans II
Fausta was the Empress consort of Constans II of the Byzantine Empire-Family:Fausta was a daughter of Valentinus, a general of Armenian origins, reputedly a descendant of the Arsacids....
, daughter of patrician Valentinus
Valentinus (usurper)
Valentinus was a Byzantine general and usurper.According to Sebeos, Valentinus was of Armenian origin, being descended from the royal Arsacid clan...
.
The first task before the new emperor was the suppression of the military revolt in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
under Mezezius
Mezezius
Mezezius was an Armenian noble who served as a general of Byzantium, later usurping the Byzantine throne in Sicily from 668 to 669.According to a letter from Pope Gregory II to Emperor Leo III, he was Count of the Opsikion, the imperial retinue , and a later Syriac chronicle describes him as a...
which had led to his father's death. Within 7 months of his accession, Constantine IV had dealt with the insurgency with the support of Pope Vitalian
Pope Vitalian
Pope Saint Vitalianus was Pope of the Catholic Church from July 30, 657, until January 27, 672.He was born in Segni, Lazio, the son of Anastasius.-Reign:...
. But this success was overshadowed by troubles in the east.
As early as 668 the Caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
Muawiyah I
Muawiyah I
Muawiyah I was the first Caliph of the Umayyad Dynasty. After the conquest of Mecca by the Muslims, Muawiyah's family converted to Islam. Muawiyah is brother-in-law to Muhammad who married his sister Ramlah bint Abi-Sufyan in 1AH...
, after receiving an invitation from Saborios
Saborios
Saborios or Saborius was a Byzantine general who rose in revolt against Emperor Constans II in 667–668. He sought and obtained the aid of the Caliph Muawiyah I Saborios or Saborius was a Byzantine general who rose in revolt against Emperor Constans II (r. 641–668) in 667–668. He sought and...
, the commander of the troops in Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
to help him overthrow the emperor at Constantinople, sent an army under his son Yazid
Yazid I
Yazīd ibn Mu‘āwiya ibn Abī Sufyān , commonly known as Yazid I, was the second Caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate . He ruled for three years from 680 CE until his death in 683 CE. Many Muslims condemn Yazid's rule as contentious and unjust...
against the Eastern Roman Empire. Yazid reached as far as Chalcedon
Chalcedon
Chalcedon , sometimes transliterated as Chalkedon) was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor, almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari . It is now a district of the city of Istanbul named Kadıköy...
and took the important Byzantine center Amorion
Amorium
Amorium was a city in Phrygia, Asia Minor which was founded in the Hellenistic period, flourished under the Byzantine Empire, and declined after the Arab sack of 838. Its ruins are located near the village of Hisarköy, Turkey....
. Although the city was quickly recovered, the Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
s next attacked Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
and Sicily in 669. In 670 the Arabs captured Cyzicus
Cyzicus
Cyzicus was an ancient town of Mysia in Anatolia in the current Balıkesir Province of Turkey. It was located on the shoreward side of the present Kapıdağ Peninsula , a tombolo which is said to have originally been an island in the Sea of Marmara only to be connected to the mainland in historic...
and set up a base from which to launch further attacks into the heart of the Empire. Their fleet captured Smyrna
Smyrna
Smyrna was an ancient city located at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Thanks to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence. The ancient city is located at two sites within modern İzmir, Turkey...
and other coastal cities in 672. Finally, in 672, the Arabs sent a large fleet to attack Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
by sea. While Constantine was distracted by this, the Slavs unsuccessfully attacked Thessalonika
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
.
The Siege of Constantinople: 674-678
Smyrna
Smyrna was an ancient city located at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Thanks to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence. The ancient city is located at two sites within modern İzmir, Turkey...
, the rest off the coast of Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
. Additional squadrons reinforced the forces of Abd ar-Rahman before they proceeded to the Hellespont, into which they sailed in about April 674. From April to September 674 the fleet lay moored from the promontory of Hebdomon, on the Propontis, as far as the promontory of Kyklobios, near the Golden Gate, and throughout those months continued to engage with the Byzantine fleet which defended the harbour continued from morning to evening.
Knowing that it was only a matter of time before Constantinople was under siege, Constantine had ensured that the city was well provisioned. He also constructed a large number of fireships and fast-sailing boats provided with tubes or siphons for squirting fire. This is the first known use of Greek fire
Greek fire
Greek fire was an incendiary weapon used by the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantines typically used it in naval battles to great effect as it could continue burning while floating on water....
in combat, which was one of the key advantages that the Byzantines possessed. In September, the Arabs having failed in their attempts to take the city, sailed to Cyzicus, which they made their winter quarters. Over the following five years, the Arabs would return each spring to continue the siege of Constantinople, but with the same results. The city survived and finally in 678, the Arabs were forced to raise the siege. The Arabs withdrew, and were almost simultaneously defeated on land in Lycia
Lycia
Lycia Lycian: Trm̃mis; ) was a region in Anatolia in what are now the provinces of Antalya and Muğla on the southern coast of Turkey. It was a federation of ancient cities in the region and later a province of the Roman Empire...
in Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
. This unexpected reverse forced Muawiyah I to seek a truce with Constantine. This involved the Arabs evacuating the islands in the Aegean
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
they had recently taken, as well as an annual tribute to the emperor consisting of fifty slaves, fifty horses and 3,000 pounds of gold. The raising of the siege allowed Constantine to go to the relief of Thessalonika, still under siege from the Slavs.
Later Reign
Monothelitism
Monothelitism is a particular teaching about how the divine and human relate in the person of Jesus, known as a Christological doctrine, that formally emerged in Armenia and Syria in 629. Specifically, monothelitism teaches that Jesus Christ had two natures but only one will...
and Orthodoxy. In November 680 Constantine convened the Sixth Ecumenical Council (also known as the Third Council of Constantinople). Constantine presided in person during the formal aspects of the proceedings (the first eleven sittings and then the eighteenth), surrounded by his court officials, but took no active role in the theological discussions. The Council reaffirmed the Orthodox doctrines of the Council of Chalcedon
Council of Chalcedon
The Council of Chalcedon was a church council held from 8 October to 1 November, 451 AD, at Chalcedon , on the Asian side of the Bosporus. The council marked a significant turning point in the Christological debates that led to the separation of the church of the Eastern Roman Empire in the 5th...
in 451. This solved the controversy over monothelitism
Monothelitism
Monothelitism is a particular teaching about how the divine and human relate in the person of Jesus, known as a Christological doctrine, that formally emerged in Armenia and Syria in 629. Specifically, monothelitism teaches that Jesus Christ had two natures but only one will...
; conveniently for the empire, most monothelites were now under the control of the Umayyad
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major Arab caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the...
Caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
ate. The council closed in September 681.
Due to the ongoing concerns with the Arabs during the 670s, in the west, Constantine had been forced to conclude treaties with the Lombards
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
, who had captured Brindisi
Brindisi
Brindisi is a city in the Apulia region of Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, off the coast of the Adriatic Sea.Historically, the city has played an important role in commerce and culture, due to its position on the Italian Peninsula and its natural port on the Adriatic Sea. The city...
and Taranto
Taranto
Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....
. As well, in 670 the Bulgars
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
under Asparukh
Asparukh of Bulgaria
Asparuh was ruler of a Bulgar tribe in the second half of the 7th century and is credited with the establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire in 680/681...
crossed the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
into nominally imperial territory and began to subject the local communities and Slavic tribes. In 680, Constantine IV led a combined land and sea operation against the invaders and besieged their fortified camp in Dobruja
Dobruja
Dobruja is a historical region shared by Bulgaria and Romania, located between the lower Danube river and the Black Sea, including the Danube Delta, Romanian coast and the northernmost part of the Bulgarian coast...
. Suffering from bad health, the emperor had to leave the army, which allowed itself to panic and be defeated by the Bulgars. In 681, Constantine was forced to acknowledge the Bulgar state
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
in Moesia
Moesia
Moesia was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans, along the south bank of the Danube River. It included territories of modern-day Southern Serbia , Northern Republic of Macedonia, Northern Bulgaria, Romanian Dobrudja, Southern Moldova, and Budjak .-History:In ancient...
and to pay protection money to avoid further inroads into Byzantine Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
. Consequently, Constantine created the Theme of Thrace.
His brothers Heraclius
Heraclius (son of Constans II)
Heraclius was Byzantine co-emperor from 659 to 681. He was the focus of a military revolt and was eventually dethroned by his brother, the senior emperor Constantine IV.-Life:...
and Tiberius
Tiberius (son of Constans II)
Tiberius was Byzantine co-emperor from 659 to 681. He was the focus of a military revolt and was eventually dethroned by his brother, the senior emperor Constantine IV.-Life:...
had been crowned with him as Augusti
Augustus (honorific)
Augustus , Latin for "majestic," "the increaser," or "venerable", was an Ancient Roman title, which was first held by Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus , and subsequently came to be considered one of the titles of what are now known as the Roman Emperors...
during the reign of their father, and this was confirmed by the demand of the populace, but in 681 Constantine had them mutilated
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...
so they would be ineligible to rule. At the same time he associated on the throne his own young son Justinian II
Justinian II
Justinian II , surnamed the Rhinotmetos or Rhinotmetus , was the last Byzantine Emperor of the Heraclian Dynasty, reigning from 685 to 695 and again from 705 to 711...
. Constantine died of dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
in September 685.
Family
By his wife AnastasiaAnastasia, wife of Constantine IV
Anastasia was the Empress consort of Constantine IV of the Byzantine Empire.-Empress:Anastasia enters historical record when her husband Constantine IV succeeds to the throne in 668. On September 15, 668, her father-in-law Constans II was assassinated in his bath by his chamberlain...
, Constantine IV had at least two sons:
- Justinian IIJustinian IIJustinian II , surnamed the Rhinotmetos or Rhinotmetus , was the last Byzantine Emperor of the Heraclian Dynasty, reigning from 685 to 695 and again from 705 to 711...
, who succeeded as emperor - Heraclius
Secondary Sources
- Moore, R. Scott, "Constantine IV (668 -685 A.D.)", De Imperatoribus Romanis (1997)
- Warren Treadgold, A History of the Byzantine State and Society (Stanford University Press, 1997) ISBN 08047 26302
- Bury, J.B., A History of the Later Roman Empire from Arcadius to Irene, Vol. II, MacMillan & Co., 1889