Constantine, surnamed Lardys, () was one of the senior-most officials of the late reign of the

Byzantine emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

Maurice (r. 582–602). Constantine Lardys was one of the leading members of the Byzantine Senate and a ''

patrikios The patricians (from ) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after the Conflict of the Orders (494 BC to 287 B ...

''. He held the powerful post of

praetorian prefect of the East The praetorian prefecture of the East, or of the Orient (, ) was one of four large praetorian prefectures into which the Late Roman Empire was divided. As it comprised the larger part of the Eastern Roman Empire, and its seat was at Constantinop ...

some time during the latter part of Maurice's reign, although by 602 he held the post of curator of the palace of Hormisdas (''curator domus divinae'') and the extensive imperial estates attached to it. Constantine's tenure as praetorian prefect was unpopular due to the stringent financial policies pursued by Maurice. Constantine played an important role in the turmoil that ended Maurice's reign in 602, brought about by the mutiny of the Danubian army. The already tense domestic situation was exacerbated when Constantine incurred the hostility of the influential Green racing faction, which led to the Greens protesting in the

Hippodrome of Constantinople The Hippodrome of Constantinople (; ; ) was a Roman circus, circus that was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. Today it is a square in Istanbul, Turkey, known as Sultanahmet Square (). The word ...

and to subsequent riots against Maurice, during which Constantine's house was burned down.. On the day after the riots, 22 November, Maurice, with his family and closest associates fled the capital before the advancing rebel army under

Phocas Phocas (; ; 5475 October 610) was Eastern Roman emperor from 602 to 610. Initially a middle-ranking officer in the East Roman army, Roman army, Phocas rose to prominence as a spokesman for dissatisfied soldiers in their disputes with the cour ...

, and crossed over to

Chalcedon Chalcedon (; ; sometimes transliterated as ) was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor, Turkey. It was located almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari (modern Üsküdar) and it is now a district of the city of Ist ...

. In a bid to secure the support of the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

shah

Khosrow II Khosrow II (spelled Chosroes II in classical sources; and ''Khosrau''), commonly known as Khosrow Parviz (New Persian: , "Khosrow the Victorious"), is considered to be the last great Sasanian King of Kings (Shahanshah) of Iran, ruling from 590 ...

(r. 590–628), Maurice dispatched his eldest son and co-emperor,

Theodosius Theodosius ( Latinized from the Greek "Θεοδόσιος", Theodosios, "given by god") is a given name. It may take the form Teodósio, Teodosie, Teodosije etc. Theodosia is a feminine version of the name. Emperors of ancient Rome and Byzantium ...

, to the East, and sent Constantine Lardys to accompany him. They were soon recalled, however, and on their return fell into the hands of Phocas's men and were executed at Chalcedon, a few days after the execution of Maurice and his other sons.; .

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lardys, Constantine 6th-century births 602 deaths 7th-century Byzantine people Patricii Praetorian prefects of the East Executed Byzantine people 7th-century executions by the Byzantine Empire