Constans II
Constans II (c. 630–668) was Byzantine emperor from 641 until his assassination in 668, ruling during a critical phase of the empire's contraction amid Arab conquests and Slavic migrations.[1]
Grandson of Heraclius I and son of Heraclius Constantine, he ascended the throne as a child after a coup ousted his aunt Martina and half-uncle Heraclonas, inheriting an empire reeling from the loss of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt.[1][2]
His reign featured proactive military responses, including naval engagements against Arab forces—despite a defeat at the Battle of Phoenix in 655—and temporary truces with Muawiya in 651 and 659, alongside campaigns to reclaim Slavic-held territories in the Balkans in 658 and to counter Lombard advances in Italy.[1][2]
Domestically, Constans reorganized provincial defenses into themes such as the Anatolikon and Opsikion, raised taxes, and confiscated church properties to fund defenses, while his enforcement of Monothelitism via the Typos edict of 648—prohibiting debate on Christ's wills and energies—sparked controversy, culminating in the 653 arrest and exile of Pope Martin I for opposition.[1]
In 663, he undertook the last visit to Rome by a Byzantine emperor, aiming to bolster western holdings, before relocating to Sicily and contemplating a capital shift there; his rule ended abruptly when he was murdered in a Syracuse bath by an attendant, with his son Constantine IV succeeding him.[1][2]
Early Life and Ascension to the Throne
Birth, Ancestry, and Early Influences
Constans II was born on November 7, 630, in Constantinople, then the capital of the Byzantine Empire.[3] He was christened Flavius Heraclius Constantine but later known by the diminutive Constans, derived from Constantine.[3] As the eldest son of Constantine III (also called Heraclius Constantine, r. 641) and Gregoria, Constans belonged to the Heraclian dynasty founded by his grandfather, Emperor Heraclius I (r. 610–641).[3] His father, born in 612, was the son of Heraclius I and his first wife, Eudocia, and served as co-emperor briefly before dying of tuberculosis in May 641 at age 28 or 29.[3] Gregoria, his mother, was the daughter of Niketas, a military commander and first cousin of Heraclius I through the emperor's father, Heraclius the Elder; Niketas had governed Egypt and Armenia before his death around 628.[4] The Heraclian family traced its roots to Cappadocia in eastern Anatolia, where Heraclius the Elder, a prominent general and exarch of Africa from c. 595, had risen through imperial service; while often described as of Armenian descent in later traditions, primary sources provide no direct confirmation, with the clan's prominence stemming from administrative and military roles in the empire's eastern provinces rather than ethnic specificity.[5] Details of Constans's early childhood remain sparse, as Byzantine sources focus more on imperial succession than personal development, but he was raised in the imperial palace amid the religious debates over Christology—particularly the Monothelite doctrine promoted by Heraclius I to reconcile Chalcedonians and Monophysites—and the escalating Arab invasions that began during his infancy with the 634 Battle of Ajnadayn.[3] By age 10, following his father's death, Constans was thrust into the political turmoil of 641, where rumors of poisoning by his uncle Heraclonas and step-grandmother Martina elevated public support for his claim, shaping his initial exposure to court intrigues and senatorial influence under regents like the patrician Valentinus.[3]Role in Heraclius' Later Years and Initial Power Struggles
As a child born on November 7, 630, in Constantinople to Heraclius Constantine and Gregoria, Constans II—originally named Flavius Heraclius—held no documented administrative, military, or advisory role during the waning years of his grandfather Emperor Heraclius' reign, which concluded on February 11, 641.[3] At around ten years old, he remained peripheral to the empire's desperate defenses against Arab conquests and internal religious debates over Monothelitism, with governance dominated by Heraclius, his consort Martina, and senior officials.[6] Heraclius' death triggered a rapid succession crisis, later termed Byzantium's "year of the four emperors." His sons Constantine III (Constans' father) and Heraclonas were co-proclaimed on February 11, 641, but Constantine died on May 26, 641—officially of tuberculosis, though contemporary suspicions pointed to poisoning orchestrated by Martina to favor her son Heraclonas.[6] Heraclonas assumed sole rule, exercising authority under Martina's regency, which alienated the Senate, Constantinopolitan populace, and military factions loyal to the Heraclian line from Heraclius' first marriage, exacerbating tensions amid territorial losses like the evacuation of Alexandria in September 642.[6] Opposition coalesced around the young Constans, prompting a revolt led by the Armenian general Valentinus (Valentine Arsacidus), who leveraged army discontent to demand Constans' elevation.[6] In September 641, Heraclonas yielded to public pressure by crowning his nephew Constans as co-emperor, but this concession failed to quell the unrest.[6] By late September or early October 641, Heraclonas and Martina were deposed; Heraclonas suffered mutilation via nose-slitting, Martina via tongue removal, and both were exiled to Rhodes, where they died soon after.[6] Constans, aged eleven, emerged as sole emperor under a senatorial regency, with Valentinus appointed magister militum per Orientem and wielding de facto control, including arranging Constans' marriage to his daughter Fausta in 642.[3] This fragile consolidation faced ongoing intrigue, as Valentinus' 644 usurpation attempt—aiming to supplant Constans—ended in his execution after military failure.[3]Coup Against Heraclonas and Consolidation (641–642)
In the months following the death of Emperor Constantine III on 5 May 641, which many contemporaries suspected was due to poisoning orchestrated by his stepmother Empress Martina, Heraclonas—Heraclius's son by Martina—assumed sole rule amid widespread discontent in the Senate and army, who favored the legitimate line of Constantine III.[6] The opposition stemmed from Martina's dominant influence as regent and fears that she intended to sideline or eliminate Constantine III's heirs to secure Heraclonas's position.[6] The turning point came in September 641, when Valentinus Arsacidus, the magister militum per Orientem of Armenian origin, mobilized troops from the Asian themes and advanced to Chalcedon opposite Constantinople, demanding that Heraclonas crown his nephew Constans II—Constantine III's son, born 7 November 630 and aged 11—as co-emperor to appease public and military sentiment.[6] Under this pressure, Heraclonas complied, but by month's end, the Senate, reflecting broader elite and popular backlash against Martina's perceived overreach, deposed both Heraclonas and Martina.[6] Heraclonas had his nose slit, Martina's tongue was cut out to prevent intrigue, and both were tonsured and exiled to Rhodes, effectively neutralizing their claims and enforcing dynastic continuity through Constantine III's lineage.[6] With rivals eliminated, Constans II emerged as sole emperor by late 641, initially under the regency of Valentinus, who leveraged his military backing to stabilize the regime against potential unrest in the capital and provinces.[3] Consolidation in 641–642 involved the Senate's formal endorsement of Constans's authority, the last attested imperial consulate held by Constans in 642 signaling continuity with Roman traditions, and efforts to rally loyalty amid external Arab pressures, such as the negotiated evacuation of Alexandria in September 642 per a treaty with Caliph Umar.[3] Valentinus's oversight ensured no immediate counter-coups, though his later ambitions foreshadowed tensions; the young emperor's rule thus pivoted from familial intrigue to survival against existential threats.[3]Military and Foreign Policies
Campaigns Against Arab Invasions (642–654)
Following the consolidation of Arab control over Egypt by Amr ibn al-As in 642, Constans II organized a major expedition to reclaim the province, dispatching the sakellarios Manuel with a fleet and army in 645. The Byzantine forces initially retook Alexandria after a brief siege, expelling the Arab garrison. However, Amr swiftly returned from Tripoli with reinforcements numbering around 15,000 men, pursuing the Byzantines inland and engaging them at Nikiou in May 646, where the imperial army suffered a catastrophic defeat; chroniclers report the near-total annihilation of the Byzantine troops, with survivors either drowned in the Nile or enslaved, compelling Manuel to flee by sea to Constantinople.[7] This failure shifted Byzantine efforts toward defending Asia Minor against escalating raids by Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan, the governor of Syria under Caliph Uthman. Muawiya's forces conducted annual incursions into Anatolia, targeting Cilicia, Cappadocia, and Lycia, while in 649 his fleet invaded Cyprus, overcoming local resistance after prolonged fighting and establishing semi-permanent bases that enabled further plundering until at least 650. Constans II countered by reorganizing frontier defenses, creating the precursors to the Anatolikon and Opsikion themata—military districts manned by soldier-farmers to sustain garrisons against persistent Arab pressures—marking an early step in the thematic system's evolution.[1] In the Caucasus, Arab expansion under commanders like Habib ibn Maslama eroded Byzantine influence in Armenia by the early 650s, with key fortresses such as Dvin falling despite imperial support for local Armenian princes against both Arab armies and internal rebels. Constans II dispatched reinforcements and sought alliances with steppe nomads, including the Khazars, but these measures failed to prevent the effective Arab subjugation of the region by 654, stripping Byzantium of a vital buffer. By 654, Muawiya launched a large-scale invasion of Cappadocia with tens of thousands of troops, prompting Constans II to mobilize a combined land and naval counteroffensive. The emperor avoided pitched land battles, employing scorched-earth tactics to deny supplies, while assembling a fleet of approximately 500 ships to strike at Arab coastal bases in Syria; this culminated in a naval confrontation off Lycia in late 654, where Byzantine forces initially held advantage before facing decisive Arab resistance.[8][9]Slavic and Balkan Defenses
During Constans II's reign, Slavic tribes, particularly the Sklavenoi, intensified their raids and settlements across the Balkans, exploiting Byzantine commitments elsewhere, such as the Arab fronts in the east. These incursions included assaults on key urban centers like Thessalonica, which faced repeated threats amid the empire's overstretched resources.[10] In response, Constans II initiated a major offensive campaign in 657–658, targeting Slavic-held territories in Thrace, Macedonia, and Sclavinia following a lull in Arab pressures after the assassination of Caliph Uthman in 656.[11][12] The emperor personally led imperial forces, subduing multiple Slavic groups and compelling local chieftains to acknowledge Byzantine suzerainty, particularly in Macedonia.[13] The campaign yielded numerous prisoners, estimated in the thousands by contemporary chroniclers, many of whom were deported and resettled in Anatolia to reinforce depleted provincial armies and garrisons.[11][14] This resettlement policy aimed to neutralize the Slavic threat internally while addressing manpower shortages from eastern losses, though it did not eradicate Slavic autonomy in the interior Balkans.[15] These actions temporarily reasserted Byzantine control over coastal and lowland regions, enabling renewed tax collection and fortification efforts, but the gains proved ephemeral as Slavic migrations resumed after Constans shifted focus westward in 662.[11][13] The campaign highlighted a strategic pivot toward offensive defense, prioritizing weakening invaders over static fortifications amid fiscal constraints.[16]Western Reconquests and Interventions in Italy and Africa
In 662, Constans II personally led a military expedition to Italy, disembarking at Tarentum and advancing against Lombard-held territories in the south, where he captured cities, ravaged Apulia, and besieged Benevento.[11] The campaign encountered fierce resistance from Lombard king Grimoald and duke Romuald of Benevento, culminating in a skirmish near Capua that forced Constans to lift the siege and retreat to Naples.[11] While achieving temporary reconquests in southern Italy, the effort failed to secure permanent gains due to supply shortages and sustained Lombard counterattacks, reflecting broader logistical strains on Byzantine forces.[3] In July 663, Constans entered Rome—the first Byzantine emperor to visit since the deposition of Romulus Augustulus in 476—where he reaffirmed the city's senatorial privileges and papal authority under Pope Vitalian but also stripped bronze decorations from public buildings to fund ongoing operations.[3] These actions underscored interventions aimed at reasserting imperial control amid Lombard encroachments and local unrest, though no formal peace treaty emerged until later under his successor.[11] The Italian campaign prioritized securing the central Mediterranean against Arab naval threats over total expulsion of the Lombards, with Constans subsequently establishing Syracuse in Sicily as a strategic base for western defenses.[3] In North Africa, Constans faced challenges from both rebellion and Arab incursions within the Exarchate of Carthage. Exarch Gregory the Patrician, appointed to the post amid fiscal pressures, rebelled in 646, proclaiming himself emperor possibly in opposition to imperial religious policies or taxation demands.[3] The uprising was curtailed when Arab forces under Abd Allah ibn Sa'd and Uqba ibn Nafi invaded in 647, defeating and killing Gregory at the Battle of Sufetula (modern Sbeitla, Tunisia), after which they sacked Carthage and imposed an annual tribute of 300,000 nomismata.[3] Imperial authority was restored post-rebellion without direct reconquest campaigns by Constans, though reinforcements and naval preparations from Sicily aimed to bolster defenses against further Arab raids.[11] These interventions maintained nominal Byzantine hold on coastal enclaves but shifted toward tribute-based stabilization rather than offensive recovery, as Arab pressure intensified after the First Muslim Civil War.[3]Internal Reforms and Religious Policies
Administrative and Thematic Reforms
Constans II implemented administrative reforms centered on the reorganization of the Byzantine military and provincial governance in response to territorial losses from Arab conquests in the 640s and 650s. The core innovation was the development of the thema (theme) system, which fused military command with civil administration in designated districts to enable rapid local mobilization and reduce the logistical burdens of centrally maintained armies. Each thema was led by a strategos (general), who held authority over both troops and fiscal resources, allowing for decentralized decision-making suited to frontier defense.[1][17] Historians date the formal emergence of the initial themes to the period 659–661, during a lull in Arab invasions caused by the First Muslim Civil War (656–661), when Constans could redirect resources from offensive campaigns to internal restructuring. The Opsikion theme, carved from the remnants of the imperial Opsikion tagma (guard unit) and placed in northwestern Asia Minor with its headquarters at Nicaea, served as a strategic reserve near the capital. Complementing it, the Anatolikon theme covered eastern Anatolia, absorbing surviving field armies to counter incursions across the Taurus Mountains. These early themes granted soldiers (stratiotai) hereditary land parcels (stratia) in lieu of cash salaries, tying military obligation to agrarian tenure and promoting self-sufficiency amid fiscal strain from lost tax bases in Syria, Egypt, and Mesopotamia.[17] Further themes, such as the Armeniakon in the northeast and Thrakesion in the west, followed by the mid-660s, extending the model across Anatolia and adapting it to Balkan pressures from Slavic incursions. This evolution reflected pragmatic adaptation rather than a singular decree, building on Heraclian precedents like exarchates but emphasizing thematic governors' fiscal autonomy to equip and sustain troops locally. Scholarly consensus, while noting gradual development, attributes to Constans the pivotal consolidation that stabilized defenses, as evidenced by sustained resistance to Umayyad raids post-661. The system's emphasis on thematic strategoi diminished the role of traditional civilian prefects (praetores or anthypatoi), streamlining authority but risking local warlordism, a tension evident in later revolts.[1][17]| Early Themes under Constans II (ca. 659–668) | Location | Key Function |
|---|---|---|
| Opsikion | NW Anatolia (Nicaea) | Imperial reserve; guard reorganization |
| Anatolikon | E Anatolia | Eastern frontier defense against Arabs[1] |
| Armeniakon | NE Anatolia/Armenia | Northern raids and Armenian themes[17] |
| Thrakesion | W Anatolia | Western consolidation and naval support |