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Constantine III (Byzantine emperor)

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Reign
  
February 641 – May 641

Father
  
Heraclius

Spouse
  
Gregoria

Predecessor
  
Heraclius

Name
  
Constantine III

Children
  
Constans II

Successor
  
Heraklonas

Role
  
Byzantine emperor

Parents
  
Fabia Eudokia, Heraclius

Dynasty
  
Heraclian Dynasty

Died
  
641 AD, Constantinople


Constantine III (Byzantine emperor) fracademicrupicturesfrwiki50220pxSolidusHe

Issue
  
Constans II Theodosius Manyanh

Grandchildren
  
Constantine IV, Heraclius, Tiberius

Similar People
  
Heraclius, Constans II, Constantine IV, Phocas, Constantine XI Palaiologos

Constantine iii byzantine emperor


Constantine III (Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος Γ΄ Latin: Heraclius Novus Constantinus Augustus) (3 May 612 – 20 April or 24/26 May 641) was Eastern Roman Emperor for four months in 641. He was the eldest son of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius and his first wife Eudokia.

Contents

Constantine III (Byzantine emperor) Constantine III Byzantine emperor Wikipedia

Constantine's birth name was Heraclius Novus Constantinus, (Greek: Ἡράκλειος νέος Κωνσταντῖνος), which was also the official name under which he reigned. The name Constantine became established in later Byzantine texts as short for the Emperor and has become standard in modern historiography. In terms of official imperial nomenclature, the style "Constantine III" would be more appropriate for his son Constans II (r. 641–668).

Constantine III (Byzantine emperor) Constantine III Byzantine emperor YouTube

Constantine was crowned co-emperor by his father on 22 January 613 and shortly after was betrothed to his cousin, Gregoria, a daughter of his father's first cousin, Nicetas. As the couple were second cousins, the marriage was technically incestuous, but this consideration must have been outweighed by the advantages of the match to the family as a whole. Furthermore, its illegality paled into insignificance beside Heraclius' marriage to his niece Martina the same year. In comparison, Constantine's marriage was far less scandalous than that of his father's.

Constantine III (Byzantine emperor) httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Constantine and Gregoria married in 629 or perhaps early 630 and in that year their first child, Constans II was born. Their second child was another son, Theodosius. They also had a daughter named Manyanh who later married the last Sassanid King of Persia, Yazdgerd III and had issue.

Constantine became senior Emperor when his father died in 641. He reigned together with his younger half-brother Heraklonas, the son of Martina. His supporters feared action against him on the part of Martina and Heraklonas, and the treasurer Philagrius advised him to write to the army, informing them that he was dying and asking for their assistance in protecting the rights of his children. He also sent a vast sum of money, more than two million solidi (gold coins), to Valentinus, an adjutant of Philagrius, to distribute to the soldiers to persuade them to secure the succession for his sons after his death. Indeed, he died of tuberculosis after only four months, leaving Heraklonas sole emperor. A rumor that Martina had him poisoned led first to the imposition of Constans II as co-emperor and then to the deposition, mutilation, and banishment of Martina and her sons.

Family

By his wife Gregoria, the daughter of Niketas, Constantine III had two sons and a daughter:

  • Constans II, who succeeded as emperor
  • Theodosius
  • Manyanh, who married Yazdgerd III, last Sassanid Emperor of Persia
  • Literature

  • Ostrogorsky, George (1956). History of the Byzantine State. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. 
  • The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, Oxford University Press, 1991.
  • References

    Constantine III (Byzantine emperor) Wikipedia