Constantine Doukas ( usurper ) Constantine Doukas ( or Doux ) ( ) ( died 913 ) was a prominent Byzantine general . In 904 , he stopped the influential eunuch court official Samonas from defecting to the Arabs . In return , Samonas manipulated his father , Andronikos Doukas , into rebelling and fleeing to the Abbasid court in 906 / 907 . Constantine followed his father , but soon escaped and returned to Byzantium , where he was restored by Leo VI the Wise ( r . 886 – 912 ) to favour and entrusted with high military offices . Upon the death of the Emperor Alexander ( r . 912 – 913 ) , Constantine with the support of several aristocrats unsuccessfully tried to usurp the throne from the young Constantine VII ( r . 913 – 959 ) , but was killed in a clash with supporters of the legitimate emperor . Life . Early life and career . He was the son of Andronikos Doukas , a prominent general under Emperor Leo VI the Wise and the first prominent member of the Doukas family . Constantine first appears in 904 , during the attempted flight of the Arab - born eunuch Samonas , one of the emperor ' s most trusted aides , to his native lands . Constantine captured Samonas at the holy shrine of Siricha and escorted him back to Constantinople , where an enquiry into the matter was held before the Senate . Leo , who was still attached to his servant , enjoined Constantine to maintain that Samonas had in fact been making for the shrine where he was captured , and not the Arab frontier . When the senators however asked Constantine to verify the truth of this claim by swearing on " God and the emperor ' s head " , he refused to do so . Samonas was punished by house arrest , and although he was soon pardoned by Leo , he had conceived a deep enmity towards the Doukai . This grudge came to the fore in 906 , when Samonas tricked Andronikos into refusing to participate in an imperial expedition . Afraid that he would be punished for his disobedience , Andronikos with his family and retainers fled to the fortress of Kabala , near Iconium , and thence across the border into exile in the Abbasid Caliphate . Constantine and his father ended up in Baghdad , where Andronikos , again through the machinations of Samonas , was confined to house arrest and forced to convert to Islam . He died there in ca . 910 . Constantine however managed to escape in ca . 908 , journeyed through Armenia and was warmly welcomed back by Leo in a ceremony in the throne room of the Chrysotriklinos . Despite his father ' s revolt , the Doukai remained very popular due to their military successes , and prophecies apparently circulated that predicted Constantine ' s rise to the throne . Leo warned the young man from trying to become emperor , but quickly entrusted him with senior military positions : in ca . 909 Constantine was " strategos " of the Charsianon theme and he had risen to Domestic of the Schools by 913 . From both positions he fought victoriously against the Arabs . Attempted usurpation . Leo VI died in May 912 and was succeeded by his brother Alexander , who reigned for little over a year before dying in June 913 . Leo ' s empress , Zoe Karbonopsina , and his son and titular co - emperor , Constantine VII , were sidelined during the reign of Alexander , who also restored Zoe ' s old adversary , Nicholas Mystikos , as Patriarch of Constantinople . Thus , at the death of Alexander , with Constantine VII not even eight years old , a power struggle ensued between Zoe and Patriarch Nicholas , who headed the regency council . It was at this point that Constantine Doukas launched a rebellion aiming for the throne . The chroniclers insinuate that Patriarch Nicholas was also involved . Unaware that he would be appointed regent ( Alexander named him to the regency council on his deathbed ) , fearful of losing his pre - eminent position and anxious about the threat posed by the Bulgarian Tsar Simeon , the Patriarch apparently summoned Doukas to assume the throne . Doukas , enjoying wide support among both the aristocrats and the populace , accepted the Patriarch ' s summons and headed to Constantinople with a few trusted friends . He entered the capital in secret through a postern during the night , and hid in the house of his father - in - law , Gregory Iberitzes . On the following morning , his supporters opened the gates to his army , hailing him as emperor . Constantine was duly proclaimed emperor before the people at the Hippodrome , and headed in triumph towards the Chalke gate of the imperial palace . There however he was opposed by the soldiers of the " Hetaireia " guard and armed oarsmen of the imperial fleet , assembled by the " magistros " John Eladas , a member of the regency council . An armed clash followed , in which many were killed , including Constantine ' s son Gregory , his nephew Michael and his friend Kourtikes . Disheartened , Constantine turned and tried to flee , but his horse slipped and fell . Constantine was killed by an arrow , allegedly cursing the Patriarch Nicholas as he died ; his head was cut off and presented to the young emperor . The numerous supporters of the usurper were likewise harshly punished ; some were blinded and exiled , others were tonsured and confined to monasteries , while many of the common folk were affixed to stakes on the eastern shore of the Bosporus . Constantine Doukas ' wife was exiled to Paphlagonia and his younger son Stephen was castrated . Along with the deaths of Constantine ' s son and nephew , this meant the extinction of this branch of the Doukas family : the relation of the later bearers of the Doukas name with Andronikos and Constantine is unclear . Legacy . Despite his failure at seizing the throne , Constantine Doukas ' popularity meant that his memory was preserved both among the people and the aristocracy of Asia Minor : in the 930s , Basil the Copper Hand assumed his identity and led a peasant revolt , while among the aristocracy he was glorified as a hero . Elements of this found their way into the epic poem " Digenes Akrites " , as well as the hagiography of St . Basil the Younger .