Constantine Doukas or Ducas (; 1074 – 12 August 1094) was

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

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 (), nicknamed Parapinakes (, , a reference to the devaluation of the Byzantine currency under his rule), was the senior Byzantine emperor from 1071 to 1078. He was known as incompetent as an emperor and reliant on ...

and Empress Maria of Alania 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 (; 1002–1081), Romanization of Greek, Latinized as Nicephorus III Botaniates, was Byzantine Empire, Byzantine List of Byzantine Emperors, Emperor from 7 January 1078 to 1 April 1081. He became a general du ...

. Because Constantine was not made junior emperor under Nikephoros III, his betrothal to

Olympias Olympias (; c. 375–316 BC) was a Ancient Greeks, Greek princess of the Molossians, the eldest daughter of king Neoptolemus I of Epirus, the sister of Alexander I of Epirus, the fourth wife of Philip of Macedon, Philip II, the king of Macedonia ...

, the daughter of

Robert Guiscard Robert Guiscard ( , ; – 17 July 1085), also referred to as Robert de Hauteville, was a Normans, Norman adventurer remembered for his Norman conquest of southern Italy, conquest of southern Italy and Sicily in the 11th century. Robert was born ...

, was broken, which Robert Guiscard used as a pretext to invade the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

. John Doukas forced Nikephoros to abdicate in favor of

Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos (, – 15 August 1118), Latinization of names, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus, was Byzantine Emperor, Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. After usurper, usurping the throne, he was faced with a collapsing empire and ...

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

Anna Komnene Anna Komnene (; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine Greek historian. She is the author of the '' Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos. Her work constit ...

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

John II Komnenos John II Komnenos or Comnenus (; 13 September 1087 – 8 April 1143) was List of Byzantine emperors, Byzantine emperor from 1118 to 1143. Also known as "John the Beautiful" or "John the Good" (), he was the eldest son of Emperor Alexio ...

. Constantine died in 1095.

Life

Constantine Doukas was born in about 1074 to Byzantine Emperor

Michael VII Michael VII Doukas or Ducas (), nicknamed Parapinakes (, , a reference to the devaluation of the Byzantine currency under his rule), was the senior Byzantine emperor from 1071 to 1078. He was known as incompetent as an emperor and reliant on ...

and his wife Maria of Alania, as a '' porphyrogennetos'', 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

, the daughter of

, the Norman duke of Apulia. 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 (: ''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 r ...

. 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 (, ''Selcuk'') or Saljuq (, ''Saljūq'') 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 * S ...

s or Nikephoros Melissenos, 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 favored heir by Alexios' son,

, in 1087, shortly after his birth to Alexios and

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

. Constantine died on 12 August 1094. ''PBW'' (2016
Konstantinos 62

In arts

Constantine Doukas is thought to be engraved on the

Holy Crown of Hungary The Holy Crown of Hungary ( , ), also known as the Crown of Saint Stephen, named in honour of Saint Stephen I of Hungary, was the coronation crown used by the Kingdom of Hungary for most of its existence; kings were crowned with it since the tw ...

, which was given to Hungarian King

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

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

Konstantios Doukas Konstantios Doukas (; 1060 – 18 October 1081), Latinized as Constantius Ducas, was a junior Byzantine emperor from 1060 to 1078. Konstantios was the son of Emperor Constantine X Doukas and Empress Eudokia Makrembolitissa. Upon his birth, he ...

Ancestry

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Doukas, Constantine 1070s births Constantine Constantine Porphyrogennetoi Byzantine junior emperors Sons of Byzantine emperors Sons of emperors 1094 deaths