Constans III

## Constantine (Constans III)

Emperor of the Romans
 King of Kings

A solidus of Constans III, dated from the early 650's. It reads "DN CONSTANTINUS PP AV" (Dominus Noster Constantinus Perpetuus Augustus)

* Life
* Names
* Reign

### Born

7 November 630
 Constantinople

### Died

15 July 668 (aged 37)
 Syracuse

### Issue

Constantine IV
 Heraclius
 Tiberius

### Greek

Κωνσταντῖνος (Κώνστας)
 *Kōnstantînos (Kōnstas)*

### Co-emperors

Heraclius III (641)
 David Tiberius (641)
 Constantine IV (654–668)
 Heraclius (659–668)
 Tiberius (659–668)

### Caesars

Marinus (641)
 Valentinus (641–645)

**Constans III** (Greek: Κώνστας, *translit.* *Kōnstas*; Constantinople, 7 November 630 – Syracuse, 15 July/September 668), known by the epithet **"the Bearded"** (Latin: *Barbatus* or *Pogonatus*; Greek: ὁ Πωγωνᾶτος, *translit.* *ho Pōgōnãtos* or ὁ Βαρβάτος, *translit.* *ho Barbátos*), was Eastern Roman emperor from 641 to 668. The eldest son of Heraclius II, Constans was installed on the Roman throne, at the cost of the children of Heraclius I with his second wife Martina, by the general Valentinus, in September 641. At the time, he was only ten years old, and so he was placed under the regency of the Senate. He became of age in 645, after the downfall of Valentinus. "Constans" was actually a byname for the emperor, which became standardized in historiography after his death; he was born as **Flavius Heraclius** (Greek: Φλάβιος Ἡράκλειος, *translit.* *Phlábios Hērákleios*) and known by his contemporaries under the regnal name **Constantine** (Latin: *Constantinus*; Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος, *translit.* *Kōnstantînos*).

Constans's reign started with several setbacks, including the loss of Egypt by 646, Arab advances in the eastern frontiers and the Maghreb, Slavic disturbances in the Balkans, and conflicts between Chalcedonian Orthodox Christians and Monothelite Christians. He tried to fix the latter with the Type of Constans, which failed to solve the dispute; and in 655, Constans was decisively defeated at sea in the Battle of the Masts, where he barely escaped with his life. Despite this difficult situation, Constans managed to redeem his rule. He established the groundwork for the *theme* system, reconquered Armenia and parts of the Maghreb, and acquired a truce with the Rashidun Caliphate, which was going through a civil war. Next, Constans successfully defeated the Slavs in Greece, forced the Lombards in the south of Italy to become his vassals, and briefly visited Rome; meanwhile, the patrician Severus recovered the Dalmatian coast. He aimed to establish Syracuse and Rome as auxiliary capitals, but faced opposition from Greek aristocrats who feared losing their influence. Subsequently, Constans wound up assassinated in Syracuse by his chamberlain, and his son Constantine IV succeeded him.

## Footnotes

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Alternatively given as 15 September.
2. ↑ Constans was completely indifferent to the ongoing debate between the Chalcedonian Christians and the Monothelites, to the point of issuing an edict that prohibited the debate from being had altogether; neither denomination seems to have strictly enjoyed his favour.
3. ↑ His full name is sometimes given as *Flavius Heraclius Constans*, but this seems unlikely, since Constans used the name *Constantinus* on all coinage and official documents.
4. ↑ Appointed *caesar* earlier that year by his father.
5. ↑ "Constans" is a byname for the emperor (who was baptized as Heraclius and ruled as Constantine), which became the standard way to refer to him in historical texts. He is most commonly enumerated as **Constans II** (and sometimes known by the longer name **Constans II Heraclius**), but there is already a Western Roman emperor with that name; to accomodate for this, other sources (as well as this wiki) instead use **Constans III**. Much more rarely, he is referred to as **Constantine III** or as **Heraclius II**; both of these names are usually reserved for other emperors.

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