Constans II the Bearded. 641-668. Æ Follis,Byzantine Empire.NGC Certified

Description: Constans II the Bearded. 641-668. Follis,Byzantine Empire.NGC Certified. Constans II(Greek:,translit.Knstas; 7 November 630 15 July 668), nicknamed "the Bearded" (Latin:Pogonatus;Greek: ,translit.ho Pgntos), was theByzantine emperorfrom 641 to 668. Constans was the last attested emperor to serve asconsul, in 642, although the office continued to exist until the reign ofLeo VI the Wise(r. 886912).His religious policy saw him steering a middle line in disputes between the Orthodoxy andMonothelitismby refusing to persecute either and prohibited discussion of the natures ofJesus Christunder theType of Constansin 648. His reign coincided with Muslim invasions underMu'awiya Iin the late 640s to 650s. Constans was the first emperor to visit Rome since the fall of theWestern Roman Empirein 476, and the last one to visit Rome while it was still held by the Empire.Origins and early career Constans was born on 7 November 630 inConstantinople, the East-Roman capital. His fatherConstantine IIIwas son of EmperorHeraclius. After the death ofHeraclius, Constantine III co-ruled withHeraclonas, his half-brother through Heraclius' second marriage toMartina, but died after three months. Constans was most likely elevated tocaesarby his father in order to secure his succession to the throne against Martina and her sons.Constans' motherGregoriawas a daughter ofNicetas, a first cousin of Heraclius. Following his father's death in May 641, the 10-year old Constans II was named co-emperor due to rumors that Heraclonas and Martina poisoned Constantine III. Later that same year, Heraclonas was deposed byValentinus, 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 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 aregencyof senators led by PatriarchPaul II of Constantinople. In 644, Valentinus attempted to seize power for himself, but failed. Reign as emperor Under Constans, the Byzantines completely withdrew fromEgyptin 642, and the thirdRashiduncaliphUthman(r.644656) launched numerous attacks on the islands of theMediterraneanandAegean Seas. A Byzantine fleet under the admiral Manuel occupiedAlexandriaagain 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 the countryside, and eventually the Arab army managed to force him to embark for home.The situation was complicated by the violent opposition toMonothelitismby the clergy in the west and the related rebellion of theExarch of Carthage,Gregory the Patrician. The latter fell inbattleagainst the army of caliph Uthman, and the region remained a vassal state under theCaliphateuntilcivil warbroke out and imperial rule was again restored. Byzantine Empire in 650 under Constans II 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 ofJesus Christby decree in 648 (theType of Constans). Naturally, this live-and-let-live compromise satisfied few passionate participants in the dispute. Meanwhile, the advance of theRashidun Caliphatecontinued unabated. In 647 they enteredArmeniaandCappadociaand sackedCaesarea Mazaca.In the same year, they raided Africa and killed Gregory.In 648, the Arabs raided intoPhrygia, and in 649 they launched their first maritime expedition againstCrete. A major Arab offensive intoCiliciaandIsauriain 650651 forced the Emperor to enter into negotiations with Caliph Uthman's governor ofSyria,Mu'awiya I(r.656661), who later reigned as the firstUmayyadcaliph. The truce that followed allowed a short respite and made it possible for Constans to hold on to the western portions of Armenia. The Eastern Roman fleet is defeated by the Arabs off the Lycian coast. In 654, however, Mu'awiya renewed his raids by sea, plunderingRhodes. Constans led a fleet to attack the Muslims atPhoinike(offLycia) in 655 at theBattle 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 was so devastating that the emperor escaped only by trading clothes with one of his men.Before the battle, chroniclerTheophanes the Confessorsays, the Emperor dreamed of being atThessalonika; 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 attackConstantinople, but he did not carry out the plan, as thefirst Fitnabroke out in 656. In 658, with the eastern frontier under less pressure, Constans defeated theSlavsin theBalkans, temporarily reasserting some notion of Byzantine rule over them andresettled some of them in Anatolia(ca. 649 or 667). In 659 he campaigned far to the east, taking advantage of a rebellion against the Caliphate inMedia. The same year he concluded peace with the Arabs. Atremissiscoin of Constans II Now Constans could turn to church matters once again.Pope Martin Ihad condemned bothMonothelitismand Constans' attempt to halt debates over it in theLateran Council of 649. The Emperor ordered theExarch of Ravennato arrest the Pope. ExarchOlympiusexcused himself from this task, but his successor,Theodore I Calliopas, carried it out in 653. Pope Martin was brought to Constantinople and condemned as a criminal, ultimately being exiled toCherson, 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 the citizens of Constantinople, Constans decided to leave the capital and to move toSyracuseinSicily. On his way, he stopped in Greece and fought the Slavs at Thessalonica with success. Then, in the winter of 662663, he made his camp at Athens. From there, in 663, he continued to Italy. He launched an assault against theLombardDuchy of Benevento, which then encompassed most ofSouthern Italy. Taking advantage of the fact that Lombard kingGrimoald I of Beneventowas engaged against Frankish forces fromNeustria, Constans disembarked atTarantoand besiegedLuceraandBenevento. However, the latter resisted and Constans withdrew toNaples. 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 the Lombards again, buthe was defeatedby the Beneventani atForino, betweenAvellinoandSalerno. In 663 Constans visitedRomefor twelve daysthe first emperor since the fall of theWestern Roman Empirein 476 and, along withJohn VIII Palaiologos, one of only two Eastern Roman emperors since the division of the Roman empire in 395 to set foot in Romeand was received with great honor byPope Vitalian(657672). Although on friendly terms with Vitalian, he stripped buildings (including thePantheon) of their ornaments and bronze to be carried back to Constantinople, and in 666 declared the Pope to have no jurisdiction over theArchbishop of Ravenna, since that city was the seat of the Exarch, his immediate representative. His subsequent moves inCalabriaandSardiniawere marked by further strippings and request of tributes that enraged his Italian subjects. According toWarren Treadgold, the firstthemeswere created between 659 and 661, during the reign of Constans II. Death and succession On 15 July 668,he wasassassinatedin his bath by hischamberlain, either killed with abucketor stabbed with a knife. His son Constantine succeeded him asConstantine IV. A brief usurpation in Sicily byMezeziuswas quickly suppressed by the new emperor. Assessments and legacy 643 CE inChang'an. Meeting of the ambassadors of Constans II with EmperorTaizongofTang China. The subject of negotiations was cargo delays on theSilk Roaddue to tribal conflict in theWestern Turkic Khaganate, which was responsible for the safety of goods on theSilk Road. To restore order, Taizong supported the election of the head of the khaganate toIrbisand it was necessary to inform the authorities of the Byzantium Empire, which was the main recipient of the goods. Illustration from the early 20th century. The historianRobert Hoylandasserts 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 was done to demonstrate "the fact that he, and not the Byzantine emperor, was now God's representative on earth". Record in Chinese sources Sino-Roman relationsandEuropeans in Medieval China TheChinese dynastic historiesof theOld Book of TangandNew Book of Tangmentionseveral embassies made byFu lin(), which they equated withDaqin(theRoman Empire).These are recorded as having begun in the year 643 with an embassy sent by the kingBoduoli(, Constans II Pogonatos) toEmperor Taizong of Tang, bearing gifts such asredglassand greengemstones.Other contacts are reported taking place in 667, 701, and perhaps 719, sometimes through Central Asian intermediaries.These histories also record thatthe Arabs(Da shi) sent their commander "Mo-yi" (Chinese: ,Pinyin:M zhui f zh), tobesiege the Byzantine capital,Constantinople, and forced the Byzantines to pay them tribute. This Arab commander "Mo-yi" was identified by historianFriedrich HirthasMuawiyah I(r. 661680), thegovernor of Syriabefore becoming theUmayyad caliph.The same books also described Constantinople in some detail as havingmassive granite wallsand awater clockmounted with a golden statue of man.The Byzantine historianTheophylact Simocatta, writing during the reign ofHeraclius(r. 610641), relayed information aboutChina's geography, its capital cityKhubdan(Old Turkic:Khumdan, i.e.Chang'an), its current rulerTaissonwhose name meant "Son of God" (Chinese:Tianzi), and correctly pointed to its reunification by theSui Dynasty(581618) as occurring during the reign ofMaurice, noting that China had previously been divided politically along theYangzi Riverbytwo warring nations. Family By his wifeFausta, a daughter of the patrician Valentinus, Constans II had three sons: Constantine IV, who succeeded him as Emperor Heraclius, co-emperor from 659 to 681 Tiberius, co-emperor from 659 to 681

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