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49-560: The eldest son of Constans II and Fausta , daughter of patrician Valentinus , Constantine IV had been named a co-emperor with his father in 654, almost certainly in Easter (13 April). His year of birth is unknown, but often given as c. 650. He became emperor in September 668, when news arrived at Constantinople that Constans II had been assassinated in Sicily. The first task before

98-618: A bucket or stabbed with a knife. His son Constantine succeeded him as Constantine IV . A brief usurpation in Sicily by Mezezius was quickly suppressed by the new emperor. The historian Robert Hoyland asserts that Mu'awiya was a significant Islamic challenge for Constans to "deny [the divinity of] Jesus and turn to the Great God who I worship, the God of our father Abraham" and speculates that Mu'awiya's tour of Christian sites in Jerusalem

147-403: A water clock mounted with a golden statue of man. The Byzantine historian Theophylact Simocatta , writing during the reign of Heraclius (r. 610–641), relayed information about China's geography , its capital city Khubdan ( Old Turkic : Khumdan , i.e. Chang'an ), its current ruler Taisson whose name meant " Son of God " (Chinese: Tianzi ), and correctly pointed to its reunification by

196-455: A council he had held in Rome were represented (as was customary at eastern ecumenical councils ) by a few priests and bishops. In its opening session, the council assumed the authority of an ecumenical council. The emperor attended and presided over the first eleven sessions, participated in the discussions, and returned for the closing session on 16 September 681, attended by 151 bishops. During

245-405: A criminal, ultimately being exiled to Cherson , where he died in 655. Constans grew increasingly fearful that his younger brother, Theodosius, could oust him from the throne; he therefore obliged Theodosius to take holy orders and later had him killed in 660. Constans' sons Constantine, Heraclius, and Tiberius had been associated on the throne since the 650s. However, having attracted the hatred of

294-519: A mere 37 bishops and several presbyters convened in the imperial palace, the domed hall called the Trullus. The patriarchs of Constantinople and Antioch participated in person. In contrast, the patriarchates of Alexandria and Jerusalem were represented by Byzantine appointees (because of the Saracen Muslim conquest, there was, at this date, no patriarch in either of these sees). The Pope and

343-622: A short respite and made it possible for Constans to hold on to the western portions of Armenia. In 654, however, Mu'awiya renewed his raids by sea, plundering Rhodes . Constans led a fleet to attack the Muslims at Phoinike (off Lycia ) in 655 at the Battle of the Masts , but he was defeated: 500 Byzantine ships were destroyed in the battle, and the Emperor himself was almost killed. The sea battle

392-540: Is one of the first known uses of Greek fire in combat, which was one of the key advantages that the Byzantines possessed. In September, the Arabs, having failed in their attempts to take the city, sailed to Cyzicus , which they made their winter quarters. Over the following five years, the Arabs returned each spring to continue the siege of Constantinople, but with the same results. The city survived, and finally in 678

441-574: The Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches, and by certain other Western Churches , met in 680–681 and condemned monoenergism and monothelitism as heretical and defined Jesus Christ as having two energies and two wills (divine and human). The council settled a set of theological controversies that went back to the sixth century but had intensified under the emperors Heraclius ( r.  610–641 ) and Constans II ( r.  641–668 ). Heraclius had set out to recover much of

490-533: The Golden Gate , and throughout those months continued to engage with the Byzantine fleet which defended the harbour from morning to evening. Knowing that it was only a matter of time before Constantinople was under siege, Constantine had ensured that the city was well provisioned. He also constructed a large number of fireships and fast-sailing boats provided with tubes or siphons for squirting fire. This

539-695: The Pantheon ) of their ornaments and bronze to be carried back to Constantinople, and in 666 declared the Pope to have no jurisdiction over the Archbishop of Ravenna , since that city was the seat of the Exarch, his immediate representative. His subsequent moves in Calabria and Sardinia were marked by further strippings and request of tributes that enraged his Italian subjects. According to Warren Treadgold ,

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588-586: The Sui dynasty (581–618) as occurring during the reign of Maurice , noting that China had previously been divided politically along the Yangzi River by two warring nations . By his wife Fausta , a daughter of the patrician Valentinus, Constans II had three sons: Sixth Ecumenical Council The Third Council of Constantinople , counted as the Sixth Ecumenical Council by

637-439: The 15-year old Heraclonas as senior emperor. In September 641, the 10-year old Constans II was crowned co-emperor due to rumors that Heraclonas and Martina poisoned Constantine III. Later that same year, on or around 5 November, Heraclonas was deposed by Valentinus , one of Heraclius’ most trusted generals, and Constans II was left as sole emperor. Constans owed his rise to the throne to a popular reaction against his uncle and to

686-524: The Arabs ( Da shi 大食) sent their commander "Mo-yi" ( Chinese : 摩拽伐之, Pinyin : Mó zhuāi fá zhī ), to besiege the Byzantine capital , Constantinople , and forced the Byzantines to pay them tribute. This Arab commander "Mo-yi" was identified by historian Friedrich Hirth as Muawiyah I (r. 661–680), the governor of Syria before becoming the Umayyad caliph . The same books also described Constantinople in some detail as having massive granite walls and

735-684: The Arabs were forced to raise the siege. The Arabs withdrew and were almost simultaneously defeated on land in Lycia in Anatolia . This unexpected reverse forced Muawiyah I to seek a truce with Constantine. The terms of the concluded truce required the Arabs to evacuate the islands they had seized in the Aegean , and for the Byzantines to pay an annual tribute to the Caliphate consisting of fifty slaves, fifty horses, and 300,000 nomismata . The raising of

784-551: The Arabs. Now Constans could turn to church matters once again. Pope Martin I had condemned both Monothelitism and Constans' attempt to halt debates over it in the Lateran Council of 649 . The Emperor ordered the Exarch of Ravenna to arrest the Pope. Exarch Olympius excused himself from this task, but his successor, Theodore I Calliopas , carried it out in 653. Pope Martin was brought to Constantinople and condemned as

833-692: The Bearded " ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : ὁ Πωγωνᾶτος , translit.   ho Pōgōnãtos ), was the Byzantine emperor from 641 to 668. Constans was the last attested emperor to serve as consul , in 642, although the office continued to exist until the reign of Leo VI the Wise (r. 886–912). His religious policy saw him steering a middle line in disputes between the Orthodoxy and Monothelitism by refusing to persecute either and prohibited discussion of

882-542: The Emperor and the other from the bishops of the Rome synod to those gathered in Constantinople. In the meantime, Constantine summoned Patriarch George I of Constantinople and all bishops of his jurisdiction of Constantinople to a council. He also summoned Patriarch Macarius of Antioch , a Byzantine appointee permanently resident in Constantinople because of the Muslim occupation of his see. On 7 November 680,

931-798: The Lombards again, but he was defeated by the Beneventani at Forino , between Avellino and Salerno . In 663 Constans visited Rome for twelve days—the first emperor since the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and, along with John V Palaiologos , one of only two Eastern Roman emperors since the division of the Roman empire in 395 to set foot in Rome—and was received with great honor by Pope Vitalian (657–672). Although on friendly terms with Vitalian, he stripped buildings (including

980-702: The West so that legates could present the tradition of the Western Church. There was a synod in Milan under Archbishop Mausuetus; another synod was held in 680 at Hatfield, over which Theodore , Archbishop of Canterbury presided. Pope Agatho then convened a synod at Rome at Easter 680, with representatives from the regional synods. Then he sent a delegation to meet the Easterners at Constantinople. The delegates set out bearing two letters, one from Pope Agatho to

1029-662: The citizens of Constantinople, Constans decided to leave the capital and to move to Syracuse in Sicily . On his way, he stopped in Macedonia and fought the Slavs at Thessalonica with success. Then, in the winter of 662–663, he made his camp at Athens. From there, in 663, he continued to Italy. He launched an assault against the Lombard Duchy of Benevento , which then encompassed most of Southern Italy . Taking advantage of

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1078-593: The council, a letter by Pope Agatho was read, which asserted the traditional belief of the Church that Christ was of two wills, divine and human. Most of the bishops present accepted the letter, proclaiming that Peter spoke through Agatho, though this council also proclaimed another historical pope as anathema. Macarius of Antioch defended monothelitism but was condemned and deposed, along with his partisans. The council, in keeping with Agatho's letter, defined that Jesus Christ possessed two energies and two wills but that

1127-602: The countryside, and eventually the Arab army managed to force him to embark for home. The situation was complicated by the violent opposition to Monothelitism by the clergy in the west and the related rebellion of the Exarch of Carthage , Gregory the Patrician . The latter fell in battle against the army of caliph Uthman, and the region remained a vassal state under the Caliphate until civil war broke out and imperial rule

1176-416: The decrees were sent to Rome where they were accepted by Agatho's successor, Pope Leo II . In his letter of confirmation of the council, Leo accuses, "Honorius who did not attempt to sanctify this Apostolic Church with the teaching of Apostolic tradition, but by profane treachery permitted its purity to be polluted". At some point during the council's proceedings, a Monothelite priest claimed he could raise

1225-484: The doctrine. Pope Martin I and the monk Maximus , the foremost opponents of monothelitism (which they interpreted as denying a human faculty of will to Christ), held a synod in Rome in 649 that condemned monoenergism and monothelitism. At Constantinople in around 653, some accused the Pope of supporting revolution; this was regarded as high treason, and Martin was accordingly arrested, tried, condemned and sent into exile, where he soon died. Martin and Maximus's position

1274-533: The end of the year; during the winter months some of the ships anchored at Smyrna , the rest off the coast of Cilicia . Additional squadrons reinforced the forces of Abd ar-Rahman before they proceeded to the Hellespont , into which they sailed in about April 674. From April to September 674 the fleet lay moored from the promontory of Hebdomon , on the Propontis , as far as the promontory of Kyklobion , near

1323-418: The fact that Lombard king Grimoald I of Benevento was engaged against Frankish forces from Neustria , Constans disembarked at Taranto and besieged Lucera and Benevento . However, the latter resisted and Constans withdrew to Naples . During the journey from Benevento to Naples, Constans II was defeated by Mitolas, Count of Capua, near Pugna. Constans ordered Saburrus , the commander of his army, to attack

1372-464: The first themes were created between 659 and 661, during the reign of Constans II. However, John Haldon states that this idea is not supported by a "a shred of evidence", although redistribution of the armies across the Anatolian provinces did take place, and likely resulted in administrative changes. On 15 July 668, he was assassinated in his bath by his chamberlain , either killed with

1421-699: The formal aspects of the proceedings (the first eleven sittings and then the eighteenth), surrounded by his court officials, but he took no active role in the theological discussions. The Council reaffirmed the Orthodox doctrines of the Council of Chalcedon in 451. This solved the controversy over monothelitism ; conveniently for the Empire, most monothelites were now under the control of the Umayyad Caliphate . The council closed in September 681. Due to

1470-490: The heart of the Empire. Their fleet captured Smyrna and other coastal cities in 672. Also, in 672, the Arabs sent a large fleet to attack Constantinople by sea. While Constantine was distracted by this, the Slavs laid siege to Thessalonica . Commencing in 674, the Arabs launched the long-awaited siege of Constantinople. The great fleet that had been assembled set sail under the command of Abdul-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr before

1519-464: The human will was 'in subjection to his divine and all-powerful will'. The council carefully avoided any mention of Maximus the Confessor , who was still regarded with suspicion. It condemned both monoenergism and monothelitism as heretical and included those who had supported this heresy, including Pope Honorius I and four previous patriarchs of Constantinople. When the council had concluded,

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1568-746: The invaders and besieged their fortified camp in Dobruja . Suffering from bad health, the Emperor had to leave the army, which panicked and was defeated by the Bulgars. In 681, Constantine was forced to acknowledge the Bulgar state in Moesia and to pay tribute/protection money to avoid further inroads into Byzantine Thrace . Consequently, Constantine created the Theme of Thrace . His brothers Heraclius and Tiberius had been crowned with him as augusti during

1617-578: The natures of Jesus Christ under the Type of Constans in 648. His reign coincided with Muslim invasions under, Umar, Uthman, and Mu'awiya I in the late 640s to 660s. Constans was the first emperor to visit Rome since the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, and the last one to visit Rome while the Empire still held it. Constans was born on 7 November 630 in Constantinople , the Byzantine capital, to Gregoria and Constantine III . Constantine

1666-468: The new Emperor was the suppression of the military revolt in Sicily under Mezezius which had led to his father's death. Within seven months of his accession, Constantine IV had dealt with the insurgency with the support of Pope Vitalian , but this success was overshadowed by troubles in the east. As early as 668 the Caliph Muawiyah I received an invitation from Saborios , the commander of

1715-576: The ongoing conflicts with the Arabs during the 670s, Constantine had been forced to conclude treaties in the west with the Lombards , who had captured Brindisi and Taranto . Also in 680, the Bulgars under Khan Asparukh crossed the Danube into nominally Imperial territory and began to subjugate the local communities and Slavic tribes. In 680, Constantine IV led a combined land and sea operation against

1764-575: The part of his empire lost to the Persians and had attempted to bridge the controversy with monophysitism , which was particularly strong in Syria and Egypt, by proposing a moderate theological position that had as good support in the tradition as any other. The result was first monoenergism , i.e., that Christ, though existing in two natures (divine and human), had one energy; the second was monothelitism , i.e., that Christ had one will (that is, that there

1813-590: The plan, as the first Fitna broke out in 656. In 658, with the eastern frontier under less pressure, Constans defeated the Slavs in the Balkans , temporarily reasserting some notion of Byzantine rule over them and resettled some of them in Anatolia ( c.  649 or 667). In 659 he campaigned far to the east, taking advantage of a rebellion against the Caliphate in Media . The same year he concluded peace with

1862-409: The protection of the soldiers led by Valentinus. Although the precocious emperor addressed the senate with a speech blaming Heraclonas and Martina for eliminating his father, he reigned under a regency of senators led by Patriarch Paul II of Constantinople . In 644, Valentinus attempted to seize power for himself, but failed. Under Constans, the Byzantines completely withdrew from Egypt in 642, and

1911-711: The reign of their father, and this was confirmed by the demand of the populace, but in late 681 Constantine had them mutilated by slitting their noses so they would be considered ineligible to rule. Some argue that he then associated Justinian II to the throne, but all contemporary evidence indicates that he became emperor only after Constantine's death on 10 July 685. By his wife Anastasia , Constantine IV had at least two sons: Laurent, V. (1939). "Notes de titulature byzantine" . Échos d'Orient . 38 (195–196): 355–370. Constans II Constans II ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : Κώνστας , translit.   Kōnstas ; 7 November 630 – 15 July 668), also called "

1960-439: The same year, they raided Africa and killed Gregory. In 648, the Arabs raided into Phrygia , and in 649 they launched their first maritime expedition against Crete . A major Arab offensive into Cilicia and Isauria in 650–651 forced the Emperor to enter into negotiations with Caliph Uthman's governor of Syria , Mu'awiya I ( r.  656–661 ), who later reigned as the first Umayyad caliph. The truce that followed allowed

2009-536: The siege allowed Constantine to go to the relief of Thessalonica , still under siege from the Sclaveni . With the temporary passing of the Arab threat, Constantine turned his attention to the Church, which was torn between Monothelitism and Orthodoxy. In November 680 Constantine convened the Sixth Ecumenical Council (also known as the Third Council of Constantinople). Constantine presided in person during

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2058-543: The third Rashidun caliph Uthman ( r.  644–656 ) launched numerous attacks on the islands of the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas . A Byzantine fleet under the admiral Manuel occupied Alexandria again in 645, and the Alexandrians hailed him as a liberator, since the caliphate levied heavier taxes and showed less respect for their religion. However, Manuel squandered his time and popularity in plundering

2107-581: The troops in Armenia , to help overthrow the Emperor at Constantinople. He sent an army under his son Yazid against the Byzantine Empire . Yazid reached Chalcedon and took the important Byzantine center Amorion . While the city was quickly recovered, the Arabs next attacked Carthage and Sicily in 669. In 670 the Arabs captured Cyzicus and set up a base from which to launch further attacks into

2156-528: Was a son of Emperor Heraclius , while his mother Gregoria was a daughter of Nicetas , a first cousin of Heraclius. Heraclius died in February 641 and was succeeded by Constantine III and Heraclonas , his younger half-brother through Heraclius' second marriage to Martina . Constans was most likely elevated to caesar by his father to ease his succession to the throne against Martina and her sons. Constantine died suddenly after three months of rule, leaving

2205-589: Was again restored. Constans attempted to steer a middle line in the church dispute between Orthodoxy and Monothelitism by refusing to persecute either and prohibiting further discussion of the natures of Jesus Christ by decree in 648 (the Type of Constans ). Naturally, this live-and-let-live compromise satisfied few passionate participants in the dispute. Meanwhile, the advance of the Rashidun Caliphate continued unabated. In 647 they entered Armenia and Cappadocia and sacked Caesarea Mazaca . In

2254-789: Was done to demonstrate "the fact that he, and not the Byzantine emperor, was now God's representative on earth". The Chinese dynastic histories of the Old Book of Tang and New Book of Tang mention several embassies made by Fu lin (拂菻), which they equated with Daqin (the Roman Empire ). These are recorded as having begun in the year 643 with an embassy sent by the king Boduoli (波多力, Constans II Pogonatos) to Emperor Taizong of Tang , bearing gifts such as red glass and green gemstones . Other contacts are reported taking place in 667, 701, and perhaps 719, sometimes through Central Asian intermediaries. These histories also record that

2303-548: Was no opposition in Christ between his human and divine volition). This doctrine was accepted in most of the Byzantine world. Still, it was opposed in Jerusalem and Rome and started a controversy that persisted even after the loss of the reconquered provinces and the death of Heraclius. When Heraclius' grandson Constans II took the throne, he saw the controversy as threatening the stability of the Empire and attempted to silence discussion by outlawing speaking either in favor or against

2352-460: Was so devastating that the emperor escaped only by trading clothes with one of his men. Before the battle, chronicler Theophanes the Confessor says, the Emperor dreamed of being at Thessalonica ; this dream predicted his defeat against the Arabs because the word Thessalonika is similar to the sentence "thes allo niken", which means "gave victory to another (the enemy)". Caliph Uthman was preparing to attack Constantinople , but he did not carry out

2401-562: Was supported by others at the Council of Constantinople. After Constans' son and successor, Constantine IV had overcome the Muslim siege of Constantinople in 678 , he immediately set his sights on restoring communion with Rome: he wrote to Pope Donus suggesting a conference on the matter. When the letter reached Rome, Donus had died. Still, his successor, Pope Agatho , agreed to the Emperor's suggestion and ordered councils held throughout

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