Heraclius Constantine ( la, Heraclius novus Constantinus; grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος Κωνσταντῖνος, Herakleios Konstantinos; 3 May 612 – 25 May 641), often enumerated as Constantine III, was one of the shortest reigning
Byzantine emperors
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as ...
, ruling for three months in 641. He was the eldest son of Emperor
Heraclius
Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, led a revol ...
and his first wife
Eudokia.
Reign
Constantine was crowned co-emperor by his father on 22 January 613 and shortly after was betrothed to his cousin,
Gregoria, a daughter of his father's first cousin,
Nicetas. As the couple were second cousins, the marriage was technically
incest
Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity ( marriage or stepfamily), ado ...
uous, but this consideration must have been outweighed by the advantages of the match to the family as a whole. Furthermore, its illegality paled into insignificance beside Heraclius' marriage to his niece
Martina the same year. In comparison, Constantine's marriage was far less scandalous than that of his father. Constantine assumed an honorary
consulship
A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...
on 1 January 632, and on the same ceremony his brother
Heraclonas
Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Herakleios; 626 – 642), known by the diminutive Heraclonas or Heracleonas ( gr, Ἡρακλ νᾶς), and sometimes called Heraclius II, was the son of Heraclius and his niece Martina. His father ...
was raised to the rank of ''
caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...
''.
[ Theophanes]
AM 6108
(n.2)
Constantine became senior emperor when his father died on 11 February 641. He reigned together with his younger half-brother
Heraclonas
Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Herakleios; 626 – 642), known by the diminutive Heraclonas or Heracleonas ( gr, Ἡρακλ νᾶς), and sometimes called Heraclius II, was the son of Heraclius and his niece Martina. His father ...
, the son of Martina. His supporters feared action against him on the part of Martina and Heraclonas, and the treasurer Philagrius advised him to write to the army, informing them that he was dying and asking for their assistance in protecting the rights of his children. He also sent a vast sum of money, more than two million ''
solidi
The ''solidus'' (Latin 'solid'; ''solidi'') or nomisma ( grc-gre, νόμισμα, ''nómisma'', 'coin') was a highly pure gold coin issued in the Late Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire. Constantine introduced the coin, and its weigh ...
'' (gold coins), to
Valentinus, an adjutant of Philagrius, to distribute to the soldiers to persuade them to secure the succession for his sons after his death. He died of
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, ...
after only three months, on 25 May, leaving Heraclonas sole emperor. A rumor that Martina had him poisoned led first to the imposition of
Constans II
Constans II ( grc-gre, Κώνστας, Kōnstas; 7 November 630 – 15 July 668), nicknamed "the Bearded" ( la, Pogonatus; grc-gre, ὁ Πωγωνᾶτος, ho Pōgōnãtos), was the Eastern Roman emperor from 641 to 668. Constans was the last ...
as co-emperor and then to the deposition, mutilation, and banishment of Martina and her sons.
Family
In 629 or 630, Constantine married
Gregoria, the daughter of Niketas. They had two sons:
*
Constans II
Constans II ( grc-gre, Κώνστας, Kōnstas; 7 November 630 – 15 July 668), nicknamed "the Bearded" ( la, Pogonatus; grc-gre, ὁ Πωγωνᾶτος, ho Pōgōnãtos), was the Eastern Roman emperor from 641 to 668. Constans was the last ...
, who succeeded as emperor
* Theodosius
Notes
See also
*
List of Byzantine emperors
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, to Fall of Constantinople, its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. On ...
References
Literature
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Constantine 03 (Byzantine emperor)
612 births
641 deaths
640s in the Byzantine Empire
7th-century Byzantine emperors
7th-century deaths from tuberculosis
Heraclian dynasty
Heraclius
Porphyrogennetoi
Tuberculosis deaths in the Byzantine Empire
Sons of Byzantine emperors