Constantine Doukas or Ducas ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Δούκας, ''Kōnstantinos Doukas'', 1074 – 1095) was

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

junior emperor from 1074 to 1078, and again from 1081 to 1087. He was born to Emperor

Michael VII Doukas Michael VII Doukas or Ducas ( gr, Μιχαήλ Δούκας), nicknamed Parapinakes ( gr, Παραπινάκης, lit. "minus a quarter", with reference to the devaluation of the Byzantine currency under his rule), was the senior Byzantine e ...

and Empress

Maria of Alania Maria of Alania (born Martha; ka, მართა; 1053–1118) was Byzantine empress by marriages to emperors Michael VII Doukas and Nikephoros III Botaneiates. Her status as empress was considered a significant success for a newly unified Ki ...

in about 1074, and elevated to junior emperor probably in the same year. He was junior emperor until 1078, when Michael VII was replaced by

Nikephoros III Botaneiates Nikephoros III Botaneiates, Latinized as Nicephorus III Botaniates ( el, Νικηφόρος Βοτανειάτης, 1002–1081), was Byzantine emperor from 7 January 1078 to 1 April 1081. He was born in 1002, and became a general du ...

. Because Constantine was not made junior emperor under Nikephoros III, his betrothal to Olympias, the daughter of Robert Guiscard, was broken, which Robert Guiscard used as a pretext to invade the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. John Doukas forced Nikephoros to abdicate in favor of

Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during ...

in 1081, and shortly afterwards Alexios elevated Constantine to junior emperor. Constantine married Alexios's daughter

Anna Komnene Anna Komnene ( gr, Ἄννα Κομνηνή, Ánna Komnēnḗ; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine princess and author of the ''Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, the Byzantine emperor, ...

, and remained junior emperor until 1087, when Alexios had a son,

John II Komnenos John II Komnenos or Comnenus ( gr, Ἱωάννης ὁ Κομνηνός, Iōannēs ho Komnēnos; 13 September 1087 – 8 April 1143) was Byzantine emperor from 1118 to 1143. Also known as "John the Beautiful" or "John the Good" (), he ...

. Constantine died in 1095.

Life

Constantine Doukas was born in about 1074 to Byzantine Emperor Michael VII and his wife

, as a

porphyrogennetos Traditionally, born in the purple (sometimes "born to the purple") was a category of members of royal families born during the reign of their parent. This notion was later loosely expanded to include all children born of prominent or high-ranking ...

, meaning he was born during his father's reign. Constantine was crowned co-emperor by his father shortly after his birth, and was betrothed to Olympias, the daughter of Robert Guiscard, the Norman Duke of Sicily. This arrangement was cancelled after Michael abdicated in 1078, whereupon Maria and Constantine retired to the Monastery of Petrion. Maria married

, who seized power after Michael's abdication, at the urging of Michael's uncle John Doukas, but was unable to convince him to elevate Constantine to junior emperor, thereby breaking the betrothal. Robert Guiscard therefore launched an invasion of the

, using the broken betrothal as a

pretext A pretext (adj: pretextual) is an excuse to do something or say something that is not accurate. Pretexts may be based on a half-truth or developed in the context of a misleading fabrication. Pretexts have been used to conceal the true purpose or rat ...

. In order to combat this invasion,

was given a large force to repel the Norman army led by Guiscard. John Doukas, who had previously urged Nikephoros to seize power, conspired against Nikephoros, intending to overthrow him and replace him with Alexios. Nikephoros, unable to form an alliance with either the

Seljuk Seljuk or Saljuq (سلجوق) may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * Seljuk (warlord) (di ...

s or

Nikephoros Melissenos Nikephoros Melissenos ( el, Νικηφόρος Μελισσηνός, – 17 November 1104), Latinized as Nicephorus Melissenus, was a Byzantine general and aristocrat. Of distinguished lineage, he served as a governor and general in the Balkans ...

, was forced to abdicate to Alexios in 1081. After Alexios ascended the throne in 1081, he elevated Constantine to junior emperor, and betrothed his daughter

to him in 1083, shortly after her birth. However, he was replaced as junior emperor and imperial heir by

, in 1087, shortly after his birth to Alexios and

Irene Doukaina Irene Doukaina or Ducaena ( el, , ''Eirēnē Doukaina''; – 19 February 1138) was a Byzantine Greek empress by marriage to the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos. She was the mother of Emperor John II Komnenos and the historian Anna Komn ...

. Constantine died in 1095.

In media

Constantine Doukas is thought to be engraved on the

Holy Crown of Hungary The Holy Crown of Hungary ( hu, Szent Korona; sh, Kruna svetoga Stjepana; la, Sacra Corona; sk, Svätoštefanská koruna , la, Sacra Corona), also known as the Crown of Saint Stephen, named in honour of Saint Stephen I of Hungary, was the c ...

, which was given to Hungarian King

Géza I of Hungary Géza I (; hu, I. Géza; 104025 April 1077) was King of Hungary from 1074 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Béla I. His baptismal name was Magnus. With German assistance, Géza's cousin Solomon acquired the crown when his fathe ...

by Constantine's father Michael VII, depicted alongside King Geza I and Michael VII; although the figure may actually be Konstantios Doukas.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Doukas, Constantine 1070s births 1090s deaths

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

Porphyrogennetoi Byzantine junior emperors Sons of Byzantine emperors Sons of emperors