I had largely finished the outline of this blog by the time I found Clive Foss’ numismatic-based look at ‘Emperors called Constantine’ Revue Numismatique 161 (2005) 93-102; I was glad to find that not only did he have a couple of possibilities that I did not, but also that I had a couple of possible ‘Constantines’ that he did not.
What constitutes being a Roman emperor? Do you have to hold independent supreme power? Or is it enough to have been named co-emperor, even at a very, very young age, and therefore reign but not rule? It is doubtful that such questions were in the mind of Constantine XI on 29 May 1453 when he took off his imperial regalia and charged headlong into the melee of the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks. Well, actually, he could very well have been thinking about how it constituted part of his duty as Roman emperor to fight and die for his city, but which number of Constantine he was to have sat on the imperial throne (apart from the likelihood that he was to be the last...) was surely far from his thoughts. Plus, the Romans did not use regnal numbers, with perhaps the only differentiation between emperors of the same name coming with individuals receiving a ‘nickname’ – so Leo III became known as ‘the Isaurian’, Leo IV was ‘the Khazar’, Leo V ‘the Armenian’ and Leo VI ‘the Wise’. As we shall see, this trend extended to some, although not all of the emperors Constantine.
As you can see, the last Roman emperor is usually given the regnal name and number of ‘Constantine XI’; however, he is occasionally given the regnal number XII, while Edward Gibbon regarded him as ‘Constantine XIII’. This demonstrates that there are subjective choices made on the validity of whether certain individuals are to be regarded as ‘emperors Constantine’. What follows takes the most all-encompassing view of what being the Roman emperor was – anyone who was said to have been on the throne at all, ruling in their own right or as a co-emperor or junior emperor, is taken as being an ‘emperor Constantine’.
Constantine I
He may not have been the first of his family to reign, but he was the ‘first of his name’ to do so... and surely the most famous for his 30 years on the throne and his conversion to Christianity.
Constantine II
While not as successful or long-lived as his father, this is also a straightforward identification and acceptance, even if the circumstances of his death have recently been questioned.
Constantine III (west)
But here is where the fun begins... the man known to the western part of the Roman Empire as ‘Constantine III’ was a usurping general stationed in Britain in the first decade of the fifth century. In crossing to Gaul to press his claim, he actually won recognition from the western emperor, Honorius. That he was not universally recognised as the third emperor Constantine is because the authorities in Constantinople at the time did not accept his elevation to co-emperor. It is this refusal to recognise the western Constantine III that throws the lists of ‘emperors Constantine’ out of sync with regnal numbers... and it is only going to get worse.
This ‘Constantine III’ also had a son crowned ‘Constans II’ which as we shall see soon can hide an individual actually called ‘Constantine’, but looking at his coinage, much like the third son of Constantine I, this son of Constantine III (west) was actually called ‘Constans’.
Tiberius II Constantine
Some of the coins of this sixth century emperor list him as ‘Constantine’, at least on one side. However, while this is a somewhat questionable attribution that he was named solely Constantine, for our purposes, he was widely known by a name containing ‘Constantine’ – as well as ‘Tiberius II’, he was also recorded as ‘Tiberius II Constantine’ and ‘Tiberius Constantine’.
Heraclius Constantine III
The ‘actual’ third imperial Constantine according to Constantinopolitan reckoning. It seems likely that as his father and grandfather were both Heraclius, this emperor was baptised as Heraclius and then reigned officially as Constantine. This dual naming further muddies the waters for while he is most frequently named in modern times as ‘Heraclius Constantine III’, he is also seen as merely ‘Heraclius Constantine’ and even occasionally as ‘Heraclius II’, as well as the contemporary ‘Constantine’.
Constantine Caesar
This overlooked imperial Constantine was seemingly the first son of Heraclius and his second wife/niece Martina. Born in 615, Constantine was proclaimed Caesar in 617, only to die soon after, so soon in fact that there are no coins bearing his name or face.
Heraklonas ‘Constantine’
While named ‘Heraclius’ in official documents, meaning that he should be known as ‘Heraclius II’ rather than the diminutive of his name. However, there are some coins occasionally attributed to him which refer to an ‘IMPER CONST’, although many of these are now thought to belong to Constans II. It must be said though that as it became something of a family tradition to have a son christened as ‘Heraclius’ and then take the throne as ‘Constantine’, it would not be surprising to find ‘Constantine’ attached to Heraklonas’ name in some way beyond some misidentified coins.
Constans II
If we were regnally counting all instances ‘emperors Constans’, this one would in fact be ‘Constans III’ after the youngest son of Constantine I and the son of the western Constantine III; however, the designation of this emperor as ‘Constans’ is actually a diminutive nickname, likely reflecting his minority upon assuming the throne. He was instead, like his father (Heraclius Constantine III), baptised as ‘Heraclius’ and then reigned officially as ‘Constantine’,
His other non-regnal nickname was ‘Pognatos’, meaning ‘the Bearded’, taken from his rather impressive beard, as seen on his coinage.
Showing how messy some of this can get, as well as how repetitive certain names were, both the men recorded as ‘Constans II’ were sons of ‘Constantine III’... And to make matters worse, this emperor is very occasionally called ‘Constantine III’...
Constantine IV
Given previous Heraclian examples, it would not be surprising to find that this Constantine was initially christened ‘Heraclius’, but the records from his early life are very poor, so much so that we are uncertain when he was born. There is some occasional mis-nicknaming of this Constantine as ‘Pognatos’, but he is nowhere near as impressively bearded (and sometimes not at all) as his father. While he is most frequently called just ‘Constantine’, occasionally he receives the nickname ‘Constantine the Younger’, further highlighting that his father Constans II was actually a ‘Constantine’ as well.
Theodosius III ‘Constantine’
This is a really tenuous one... The eighth century section of the Zuqnin Chronicle records the shortlived emperor, Theodosius III, as having the regnal name of ‘Theodosius Constantine’. As this seems to be a unique attribution, it is almost certainly an error. No other source mentions Theodosius having changed his name upon his elevation in 715, although it is not impossible.
Constantine V
Back to more straightforward Constantines. Constantine V had this name from his baptism and throughout his extended period as Roman emperor, junior and senior; however, his baptism reputedly spawned another name that he is known by... ‘Copronymus’ – ‘the Dung-named’, after he supposedly defecated in the baptismal font. This is almost certainly an apocryphal story which reflects the religious opposition Constantine V faced due to his promotion of Iconoclasm.
Constantine VI
Similarly straightforward is the grandson of the previous entry, Constantine VI, who also had this regnal name from his baptism through his junior and senior reigns, until his deposition, orchestrated by his mother, Irene.
Constantine Symbatios
Born Smbat, which is usually Hellenised as Symbatios (although he is also listed as Sabbatios or Sambates in some of the sources), this ‘Constantine’ took that name when his father, Leo V the Armenian usurped the imperial throne from Michael I following the disastrous Battle of Versinikia. While Leo’s eldest son, it is not entirely certain how old Constantine Symbatios was at the time of his elevation to co-emperor in 813, although he was regarded as a child. This would suggest that he had only just entered majority when Leo V was deposed in 820 and Constantine, along with his brothers, was castrated, tonsured and exiled to the island of Prote.
Constantine, son of Theophilos
Similar dating uncertainty comes with the young son of the emperor Theophilos. It would seem that he was born sometime between 831 and 834, although some have suggested that a date in the late 820s, which would be impossible as his parents did not meet until 831. His coronation took place in 834, only for him to die suddenly in 836, possibly falling into a cistern and drowning.
Constantine, son of Basil I
Not only does this next Constantine have dating issues, it is also not certain who his parents were... Basil I and his first wife Maria, Basil I and his second wife Eudokia Ingerina, or Eudokia and Michael III. However, there is no issue with his name and this Constantine served as co-emperor with Basil I from early 868 until his untimely death of fever in 879.
Constantine VII
While there was no ambiguity with his name, there were some legitimacy issues for Constantine VII as well. His mother was Leo VI’s fourth wife, which was considered uncanonical, rendering Constantine VII illegitimate in the eyes of some. To combat this, it was made sure that Constantine was born in the Purple Room of the imperial palace, leading to his nickname of Porphyrogennetos – ‘born in the purple’, and he was elevated to co-emperor with his father and uncle Alexander at just 2 years old. While his subsequent reign would be dominated by numerous other co-emperors and the un-canonicity of his birth, there was never really any questioning of his right to rule.
Constantine Lekapenos
One of the co-emperors to rule alongside Constantine VII not only shared his throne, but also his name. The youngest legitimate son of the regent-turned-emperor Romanos I Lekapenos was Constantine Lekapenos. While a subordinate co-emperor for twenty years, when his father looked to re-elevate Constantine VII as senior emperor, Constantine Lekapenos and his imperial brother Stephen deposed their father in late 944 and sought to rule as senior co-emperors in their own right. However, Constantine VII was too popular across the empire and the brothers were soon forced to accept him into an imperial ‘triumvirate’. This precarious arrangement lasted just 40 days, with the Lekapenos brothers deposed in another coup. Exiled to various islands, Constantine was killed attempting to escape.
Constantine VIII
The grandson of Constantine VII had a similarly long but frequently powerless reign. Constantine VIII was nominally co-emperor with his father, Romanos II, and his (slightly) older brother, Basil II, from the age of 2. He would be de jure emperor for 66 years, which makes him the longest reigning Roman emperor in history, although he would be considered senior emperor from the last three years of his life between 1025 and 1028, after being junior emperor under Romanos II, Nikephorus II, John I and Basil II.
On his deathbed and being without an heir, Constantine VIII initially chose the duke of Antioch to be his successor – this was another Constantine, Constantine Dalessenos; however the Roman court felt that this duke was too militarily successful and so persuaded Constantine VIII to chose to more malleable Romanos Argyros instead.
Constantine IX
Son of a prominent bureaucrat from the Monomachos family, Constantine IX rose to the throne by catching the eye of the empress Zoe. After the death of her first two imperial husbands, Romanos III and Michael IV, and rather than risk losing power to her co-empress sister Theodora, Zoe married Constantine IX.
Interestingly, Zoe’s initial choice for her third husband (as Constantine Monomachus became) was a katepan by the name of... you guessed it... Constantine Artoklines, only for his current wife to poison him before he could divorce her to marry the empress!
Constantine X
Possibly the son of a strategos, Constantine X Doukas rose in prominence at court in Constantinople through his second marriage to a niece of the patriarch and then by supporting the usurpation of Isaac I Komnenus. While the new emperor and Constantine did not always see eye-to-eye on reform, when the son-less Isaac thought he was dying, he chose Constantine Doukas to succeed him, reputedly under the advice of the historian Michael Psellos (who may have exaggerated his role in encouraging Isaac to abdicate and then preventing his reneging on the nomination of Constantine). It must be said that, despite some appearances, other contemporary sources, including those writing under Isaac’s dynastic successors, do not claim any sort of coup in favour of Constantine X.
Konstantios Doukas
Back on more tenuous ground, we have the fourth son of and junior emperor to Constantine X, who is usually thought to have been called ‘Konstantios Doukas’; however, on some of the coins his mother and stepfather Romanos IV, his name appears in the abbreviated form κων. This lack of clarity along with varying sources calling him either ‘Constantius’ or ‘Constantine’ has raised some ambiguity.
Due to the limited sources for Konstantios’ life and perhaps this historiographic/numismatic unclarity, he is often confused with...
Constantine Doukas
...his nephew, Constantine Doukas. Born during the reign of his father, Michael VII, this Constantine was crowned as junior emperor soon after his birth. He lost this position after just four years upon the abdication of his father in 1078; he was then re-elevated to junior emperor upon the ascension of Alexios I Komnenos in 1081, only to then be replaced by Alexios’ newly-born son and heir, John II, in 1087. As Foss (2005) 98 points out, despite his two stints as co-emperor, Constantine Doukas never appeared on any imperial coinage.
Constantine Laskaris
As the soldiers of the Fourth Crusade forced their way into Constantinople, a meeting of Roman citizens and a remnant of the Varaganian Guard met in Hagia Sophia to elect a new emperor in the face of Alexios V’s flight. Their choice fell upon a certain Constantine Laskaris, but it was usually thought that he refused to take the crown. And if he did accede to the proto-Nicaean imperial position, Laskaris did not last long as emperor, likely dying in battle or being captured and executed at theBattle of Adramyttion. It would be his brother Theodore Laskaris who would do the heavy work in founding the Laskarid dynasty in Nicaea.
Again, interestingly, the other candidate for the throne from amongst those who met in Hagia Sophia was another Constantine Doukas...
Constantine Doukas Angelos Komnenos Palaeologos
This Constantine of many family names was the half-brother of Michael VIII Palaeologos. While blessed with numerous children, Michael VIII needed adult members of his dynasty and so elevated Constantine to Caesar and then sebastokrator – junior emperor. Constantine led Roman armies in the Balkans against Latin and Epirote forces, with mixed success. These failures or the approaching majority of Michael’s sons may have led to Constantine entering a monastery.
Constantine Palaeologos
Michael VIII’s third son was named Constantine and through fortunate timing was born in Constantinople in the autumn of 1261, mere months after the imperial capital had been reclaimed from the Latins. This made him a full porphyrogennetos – ‘born-in-the-purple’ and he was seemingly treated as such by his father, placed in a position of co-emperor that was higher than a despot and only lower than the basileus. He served both his father and his brother, Andronikos II, as a general, only for the latter to deprive him of his imperial position and confine him to a monastery. Had this Constantine been too successful?
Constantine Doukas Komnenos Palaeologos
The second son of Andronikos II, this Constantine was also a porphyrogennetos, being born after his father’s coronation as co-emperor in 1272. However, despite this lofty rank, Constantine was overshadowed by his elder brother, Michael IX, who was also a porphyrogennetos. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, despite his imperial pedigree, this Constantine may not have been any sort of junior emperor, although his elevation to despot may have been an indicator that he was an heir-apparent.
Constantine Palaeologos (first son of Manuel II)
Another Constantine Palaeologos to be a porphyrogennetos was the first son of the emperor Manuel II. Information about him is scant, largely because he died before he reached majority, and probably significantly earlier. It is not clear if he was ever officially elevated to junior/co-emperor, although his death taking place in Monemvasia and the eventual positions of his younger brothers, Theodore, Constantine, Demotrios and Thomas, as despotes in the Morea could suggest that even in his earliest years Constantine Palaeologos was established in the despotic court of his uncle, Theodore I, possibly either ‘serving’ as a despot or being groomed to succeed Theodore at the time of his death.
Constantine XI
A definite eventual successor of Theodore as Despot of the Morea was another of his nephews: the sixth (of eight) son of Manuel II and more famous for being not only the last emperor Constantine but also the last ruling Roman emperor – Constantine XI.
Having five older brothers, this last Constantine assuming the throne required some ‘good fortune’. Three of his older brothers – the first son of Manuel II called Constantine mentioned above, Andronikos and Michael – either died young or before their opportunity to inherit the throne arrive upon the death of the eldest surviving brother, John VIII. But Constantine still had an older brother – Theodore.
John’s (and Manuel II) preference for Constantine over Theodore as heir may be due to the former’s service during the siege of Constantinople in 1422, his service in the Morea against Latin and Turkish opponents and his stints as regent when first Manuel and then John were in the west trying to drum up support for the empire against the Ottomans. Theodore also perished before John, leaving Constantine the more obvious although not completely undisputed successor as Demetrios appears to have tried to claim the throne, only for their mother, Helena Dragas, to invoke her right as regent to prevent any subversion of John’s intention for Constantine’s accession.
If Constantine regretted having to lead the Roman Empire in its final days, he did not let it show, bravely leading the ultimately forlorn hope of the defence of Constantinople in the face of the immense army and cannons of the Ottoman army of Mehmed II in 1453. He died in the melee of the great city’s fall.
Post-Imperial?
But while Constantine XI was the last reigning Roman emperor of that name, it must be said that there was the potential for more as the Palaeologan dynasty did not die with him. Two sons of Manuel II survived the fall of Constantinople and while Demetrios only had a daughter, who became a consort of the Ottoman sultan, Thomas Palaeologos, the youngest of the eight brothers, had two daughters and two sons. The former were married off to the rulers of Serbia and Moscow, while the latter kept up some imperial pretence, seeking aid from the papacy. The actual imperial line was considered to have passed through the older brother, Andreas Palaeologos, who may have had a son called… again, you guessed it… Constantine Palaeologos.
He served in the papal military, eventually becoming commander of the Papal Guard, although the connection to Andreas is uncertain and there is no suggestion that this Constantine ever claimed the imperial title before he died in Rome in 1508.
‘Regnal Number’ Name Period on the Throne
Constantine I Constantine I 306-337
Constantine II Constantine II 317-340
Constantine III Constantine III (west) 407-411
Constantine IV Tiberius II Constantine 574-582
Constantine V Heraclius Constantine III 613-641
Constantine VI Constantine Caesar 617?
Constantine VII Heraklonas ‘Constantine’ 638-641
Constantine VIII Constans II 641-668
Constantine IX Constantine IV 654-685
Constantine X Theodosius III ‘Constantine’ 715-717
Constantine XI Constantine V 720-775
Constantine XII Constantine VI 776-797
Constantine XIII Constantine Symbatios 813-820
Constantine XIV Constantine, son of Theophilos c.833-836
Constantine XV Constantine, son of Basil I 868-879
Constantine XVI Constantine VII 908-959
Constantine XVII Constantine Lekapenos 924-945
Constantine XVIII Constantine VIII 962-1028
Constantine XIX Constantine IX 1042-1055
Constantine XX Constantine X 1059-1067
Constantine XXI Konstantios Doukas 1060s-1078
Constantine XXII Constantine Doukas 1074-1078, 1081-1087
Constantine XXIII Constantine Laskaris 1204-1205
Constantine XXIV Constantine Doukas Angelos Komnenos Palaeologos 1259-c.1271
Constantine XXV Constantine Palaeologos c.1261-1293
Constantine XXVI Constantine Doukas Komnenos Palaeologos c.1278/81-1322
Constantine XXVII Constantine Palaeologos, first son of Manuel II c.1393-1405
Constantine XXVIII Constantine XI 1449-1453
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