Constantine VI
Encyclopedia
Constantine VI (771–802) was Byzantine Emperor from 780 to 797.

Constantine VI was the only child of Emperor Leo IV
Leo IV the Khazar
Leo IV the Khazar was Byzantine Emperor from 775 to 780 CE.Leo was the son of Emperor Constantine V by his first wife, Irene of Khazaria , the daughter of a Khagan of the Khazars...

 and Irene
Irene (empress)
Irene Sarantapechaina , known as Irene of Athens or Irene the Athenian was a Byzantine empress regnant from 797 to 802, having previously been empress consort from 775 to 780, and empress dowager and regent from 780 to 797. It is often claimed she called herself "basileus" , 'emperor'...

. Constantine was crowned co-emperor by his father in 776, and succeeded as sole emperor at the age of nine under the regency of Irene in 780.

In 782 he was betrothed to Rotrude
Rotrude
Rotrude was the second daughter of Charlemagne from his marriage to Hildegard.-Early life:...

, a daughter of the Frankish
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...

 King Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...

 by his third wife Hildegard. Irene herself broke off the engagement in 788. In 787 Constantine had signed the decrees of the Second Council of Nicaea
Second Council of Nicaea
The Second Council of Nicaea is regarded as the Seventh Ecumenical Council by Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Catholic Churches and various other Western Christian groups...

, but he appears to have had iconoclast sympathies. By then Constantine had turned 16 years old, but his mother did not relinquish executive authority to him.

After a conspiracy against Irene was suppressed in the spring of 790 she attempted to get official recognition as empress. This backfired and with military support Constantine finally came to actual power in 790, after the Armeniacs rebelled against Irene. Nevertheless, she was allowed to keep the title of Empress, which was confirmed in 792.

The weakness of Constantine caused dissatisfaction among his supporters. He showed unheroic behaviour after the defeats at the hands of Kardam of Bulgaria
Kardam of Bulgaria
Kardam was the ruler of Bulgaria .The name of Kardam is first encountered in the Byzantine sources in 791, when Emperor Constantine VI embarked on an expedition against Bulgaria, in retaliation for Bulgarian incursions in the Struma valley since 789. Kardam pre-empted the Byzantine invasion and...

 in 791 and 792. A movement developed in favor of his uncle, the Caesar
Caesar (title)
Caesar is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator...

 Nikephoros
Nikephoros (Caesar)
Nikephoros , also Latinized as Nicephorus or Nicephoros, was the second son of the Byzantine emperor Constantine V and Caesar of the Byzantine Empire. He was engaged in a plot against his half-brother, Leo IV Nikephoros , also Latinized as Nicephorus or Nicephoros, was the second son of the...

. Constantine had his uncle's eyes put out and the tongues of his father's four other half-brothers cut off. His former Armenian supporters revolted after he had blinded their general Alexios Mosele
Alexios Mosele (general)
Alexios Mosele or Mousoulem/Mousele was a late 8th-century Byzantine general of Armenian origin.Alexios is the first known member of the Mosele/Mousele family of Armenian origin. In 790, he was the droungarios of the Vigla guard regiment...

. He crushed this revolt with extreme cruelty in 793.

He then divorced his wife Maria of Amnia
Maria of Amnia
Maria of Amnia was the first Empress consort of Constantine VI of the Byzantine Empire.-Family:Maria was born in Amnia, Paphlagonia. The name of her father is unknown. Her mother has been identified as Hypatia by Christian Settipani. Her maternal grandfather was Saint Philaretos, a magnate from...

, who had failed to provide him with a male heir, and married his mistress Theodote
Theodote
Theodote was the second Empress consort of Constantine VI of the Byzantine Empire.-Family:Theodote was a member of a distinguished family of Constantinople. Her brother Sergios was mentioned as a hypatos. Their mother Anna was a sister of Theoktiste and her brother Platon...

, an unpopular and possibly illegal act, although the Patriarch
Patriarch Tarasios of Constantinople
Saint Tarasios was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from December 25, 784 until his death in 806.-Background:...

 ignored it. By his actions Constantine had lost all support, both of the ruling orthodox and the iconoclast opposition.

In 797 Constantine was captured and blinded by the supporters of his mother, who had organized a conspiracy. According to most contemporary accounts, he died from his wounds a few days later, leaving Irene to be crowned as first Empress regnant of Constantinople. Pretenders to the throne claiming to be Constantine VI later appeared during the reign of Michael II
Michael II
Michael II , surnamed the Amorian or the Stammerer , reigned as Byzantine emperor from December 820 to his death on 2 October 829, and the first ruler of the Phrygian or Amorian dynasty....

.

Family

By his first wife Maria of Amnia
Maria of Amnia
Maria of Amnia was the first Empress consort of Constantine VI of the Byzantine Empire.-Family:Maria was born in Amnia, Paphlagonia. The name of her father is unknown. Her mother has been identified as Hypatia by Christian Settipani. Her maternal grandfather was Saint Philaretos, a magnate from...

, Constantine VI had two daughters:
  • Euphrosyne
    Euphrosyne (9th century)
    Euphrosyne , a daughter of Byzantine emperor Constantine VI, the last representative of the Isaurian dynasty, and Maria of Amnia.- Life :...

    , who married Emperor Michael II
    Michael II
    Michael II , surnamed the Amorian or the Stammerer , reigned as Byzantine emperor from December 820 to his death on 2 October 829, and the first ruler of the Phrygian or Amorian dynasty....

  • Irene

By his mistress and then second wife Theodote
Theodote
Theodote was the second Empress consort of Constantine VI of the Byzantine Empire.-Family:Theodote was a member of a distinguished family of Constantinople. Her brother Sergios was mentioned as a hypatos. Their mother Anna was a sister of Theoktiste and her brother Platon...

, Constantine VI had a son:
  • Leo, who died in 797.
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