Constantine V
Encyclopedia
Constantine V was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775; ); (he was denigrated by his enemies as Kopronymos or Copronymus meaning the dung-named).
, the son and successor of Emperor Leo III
and Maria
. In August 720 he was associated on the throne by his father, who had him marry Tzitzak
, daughter of the Khazar
khagan Bihar
. His new bride was baptized as Irene (Eirēnē, "peace") in 732. Constantine V succeeded his father as sole emperor on April 19, 741.
to campaign against the Umayyad
Caliph
ate under Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik
on the eastern frontier in June 741 or 742. But during this course Constantine was attacked by the forces of his brother-in-law Artabasdos
, the stratēgos
of the Armeniac theme. Artabasdos was the husband of Anna
, an older sister of Constantine.
Defeated, Constantine sought refuge in Amorion
, while the victor advanced on Constantinople
and was accepted as emperor. While Constantine now received the support of the Anatolic
and Thracesian
themes, Artabasdos secured that of the themes of Thrace
and Opsikion
, in addition to his own Armeniac soldiers.
After the rival emperors had bided their time in military preparations, Artabasdos marched against Constantine, but was defeated in May 743. Three months later Constantine defeated Artabasdos' son Niketas and headed for Constantinople. In early November Constantine was admitted into the capital and immediately turned on his opponents, having them blinded or executed. Perhaps because Artabasdos' usurpation was interconnected with the restoration of veneration of images, Constantine now became perhaps an even more fervent iconoclast
than his father.
Constantine's derogatory epithet Kopronymos ("Dung-named", from kopros ("feces
" or "animal dung
") and onoma, "name
"), was applied to him by his avowed enemies over this extremely emotional issue, the iconodules
. Using the obscene name they spread the rumour that, as an infant, he had defecated in his baptismal font, or the imperial purple cloth with which he was swaddled.
In February 754 Constantine convened a synod at Hieria, which was attended entirely by Iconoclast bishops. The council approved of Constantine's religious policy and secured the election of a new Iconoclast patriarch, but refused to follow in all of Constantine's views. The council confirmed the status of Mary as Theotokos, or Mother of God, reinforced the use of the terms "saint" and "holy" as meet, and condemned the desecration, burning, or looting of churches in the quest to quench Iconophiles. It was followed by a campaign to remove images from the walls of churches and to purge the court and bureaucracy of Iconodules
. Since monasteries tended to be strongholds of Iconophile sentiment, Constantine specifically targeted the monks, pairing them off and forcing them to marry nuns in the Hippodrome
and expropriating monastic property for the benefit of the state or the army. The repressions against the monks (culminating in 766) were largely led by the emperor's general Michael Lachanodrakon
, who threatened resistant monks with blinding and exile.
An iconodule abbot, Stephen Neos, was brutally lynched by a mob at the behest of the authorities. As a result many monks fled to Southern Italy and Sicily
. By the end of Constantine's reign, Iconoclasm had gone as far as to brand relic
s and prayers to the saint
s as heretical
.
Ultimately, iconophiles considered his death a divine punishment. In the 9th century he was disinterred and his remains were thrown into the sea.
ta. This organization was intended to minimize the threat of conspiracies and to enhance the defensive capabilities of the Empire. With this reorganized army he embarked on campaigns on the three major frontiers.
In 746, profiting by the unstable conditions in the Umayyad Caliphate which was falling apart under Marwan II
, Constantine invaded Syria and captured Germanikeia (modern Maraş
, his father's birthplace). He organized the resettlement of a part the local Christian population into imperial territory in Thrace
. In 747 his fleet destroyed the Arab fleet off Cyprus
. In 752 Constantine led an invasion into the new Abbasid
Caliphate under As-Saffah
. Constantine captured Theodosioupolis and Melitene (Malatya
), and again resettled some of the population in the Balkans
. These campaigns failed to secure any concrete gains (apart from additional population employed to strengthen another frontier), but it is important to note that under Constantine V the Empire had gone on the offensive.
These successes made it possible to pursue an aggressive policy in the Balkans. With the resettlement of Christian populations from the East into Thrace, Constantine V aimed to enhance the prosperity and defense of this area which caused concern to the Empire's northern neighbor, Bulgaria
, and the two states clashed in 755. Kormisosh of Bulgaria
raided as far as the Anastasian Wall
, but was defeated in battle by Constantine V, who inaugurated a long series of nine successful campaigns against the Bulgarians in the next year, scoring a victory over Kormisosh's successor Vinekh
at Marcelae. However, three year later he was defeated in the battle of the Rishki Pass
but the Bulgarians did not exploit their success. In 763, he sailed to Anchialus with 800 ships carrying 9,600 cavalry and some infantry. Constantine's victories, including that at Anchialus
in 763 caused considerable instability in Bulgaria, where six monarchs lost their crowns on account of their failures.
In 772, Lombard
king Desiderius
captured Rome
, ending over two centuries of Byzantine rule.
In 775, Constantine was persuaded to reveal to the Bulgarian ruler Telerig
the identities of his agents in Bulgaria. These were promptly eliminated; thus, Constantine began preparations for a new campaign against the Bulgarians – during which he died on September 14, 775.
Constantine's campaigns were costly; during his reign the Byzantine Empire's annual revenues were reduced to about 1,800,000 nomismata due to his various wars and the Arab conquests.
("Irene of Khazaria"), Constantine V had one son:
By his second wife, Maria
, Constantine V is not known to have had children.
By his third wife, Eudokia
, Constantine V had five sons and a daughter, including:
Early life
Constantine was born in ConstantinopleConstantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, the son and successor of Emperor Leo III
Leo III the Isaurian
Leo III the Isaurian or the Syrian , was Byzantine emperor from 717 until his death in 741...
and Maria
Maria, wife of Leo III
-Empress:The throne of the Byzantine Empire was unstable in the early 710s. Justinian II had been deposed and executed in 711. His deposition was followed by the brief reigns of Philippikos , Anastasios II and Theodosios III...
. In August 720 he was associated on the throne by his father, who had him marry Tzitzak
Tzitzak
Tzitzak , baptised Irene , was a Khazar princess, the daughter of khagan Bihar who became the first wife of Byzantine Emperor Constantine V .-Empress:...
, daughter of the Khazar
Khazars
The Khazars were semi-nomadic Turkic people who established one of the largest polities of medieval Eurasia, with the capital of Atil and territory comprising much of modern-day European Russia, western Kazakhstan, eastern Ukraine, Azerbaijan, large portions of the northern Caucasus , parts of...
khagan Bihar
Bihar (Khazar)
Bihar was a Khagan of the Khazars during the 730s. Bihar was the father of Tzitzak, the Khazar princess who married the son of Byzantine Emperor Leo III who later ruled as Constantine V. He is called Viharos in Armenian sources....
. His new bride was baptized as Irene (Eirēnē, "peace") in 732. Constantine V succeeded his father as sole emperor on April 19, 741.
Civil war against Artabasdos and first battles against veneration of images
Constantine was crossing Asia MinorAsia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
to campaign against the Umayyad
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major Arab caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the...
Caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
ate under Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik
Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik
Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik 10th Umayyad caliph who ruled from 723 until his death in 743. When he was born in 691 his mother named him after her father....
on the eastern frontier in June 741 or 742. But during this course Constantine was attacked by the forces of his brother-in-law Artabasdos
Artabasdos
Artavasdos, Latinized as Artabasdos or Artabasdus , was Byzantine Emperor of Armenian descent from June 741 or 742 until November 743...
, the stratēgos
Strategos
Strategos, plural strategoi, is used in Greek to mean "general". In the Hellenistic and Byzantine Empires the term was also used to describe a military governor...
of the Armeniac theme. Artabasdos was the husband of Anna
Anna, wife of Artabasdos
Anna was the wife of Artabasdos, one of two rival Byzantine Emperors in a civil war which lasted from June, 741 to November, 743. The other Emperor was her brother, Constantine V.-Family:...
, an older sister of Constantine.
Defeated, Constantine sought refuge in Amorion
Amorium
Amorium was a city in Phrygia, Asia Minor which was founded in the Hellenistic period, flourished under the Byzantine Empire, and declined after the Arab sack of 838. Its ruins are located near the village of Hisarköy, Turkey....
, while the victor advanced on Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
and was accepted as emperor. While Constantine now received the support of the Anatolic
Anatolic Theme
The Anatolic Theme , more properly known as the Theme of the Anatolics was a Byzantine theme in central Asia Minor...
and Thracesian
Thracesian Theme
The Thracesian Theme , more properly known as the Theme of the Thracesians , was a Byzantine theme in western Asia Minor , comprising the ancient regions of Ionia, Lydia and parts of Phrygia and Caria....
themes, Artabasdos secured that of the themes of Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
and Opsikion
Opsikion
The Opsician Theme or simply Opsikion was a Byzantine theme located in northwestern Asia Minor . Created from the imperial retinue army, the Opsikion was the largest and most prestigious of the early themes, being located closest to Constantinople...
, in addition to his own Armeniac soldiers.
After the rival emperors had bided their time in military preparations, Artabasdos marched against Constantine, but was defeated in May 743. Three months later Constantine defeated Artabasdos' son Niketas and headed for Constantinople. In early November Constantine was admitted into the capital and immediately turned on his opponents, having them blinded or executed. Perhaps because Artabasdos' usurpation was interconnected with the restoration of veneration of images, Constantine now became perhaps an even more fervent iconoclast
Iconoclasm
Iconoclasm is the deliberate destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major political or religious changes...
than his father.
Constantine's derogatory epithet Kopronymos ("Dung-named", from kopros ("feces
Feces
Feces, faeces, or fæces is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus or cloaca during defecation.-Etymology:...
" or "animal dung
Feces
Feces, faeces, or fæces is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus or cloaca during defecation.-Etymology:...
") and onoma, "name
Name
A name is a word or term used for identification. Names can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. A personal name identifies a specific unique and identifiable individual person, and may or may not include a middle name...
"), was applied to him by his avowed enemies over this extremely emotional issue, the iconodules
Iconodules
An iconodule is someone who espouses iconodulism, i.e. who supports or is in favor of religious images or icons and their veneration, and is in opposition to an iconoclast, someone against the use of religious images...
. Using the obscene name they spread the rumour that, as an infant, he had defecated in his baptismal font, or the imperial purple cloth with which he was swaddled.
Iconoclasm
Constantine's position about iconoclasm was clear:In February 754 Constantine convened a synod at Hieria, which was attended entirely by Iconoclast bishops. The council approved of Constantine's religious policy and secured the election of a new Iconoclast patriarch, but refused to follow in all of Constantine's views. The council confirmed the status of Mary as Theotokos, or Mother of God, reinforced the use of the terms "saint" and "holy" as meet, and condemned the desecration, burning, or looting of churches in the quest to quench Iconophiles. It was followed by a campaign to remove images from the walls of churches and to purge the court and bureaucracy of Iconodules
Iconodules
An iconodule is someone who espouses iconodulism, i.e. who supports or is in favor of religious images or icons and their veneration, and is in opposition to an iconoclast, someone against the use of religious images...
. Since monasteries tended to be strongholds of Iconophile sentiment, Constantine specifically targeted the monks, pairing them off and forcing them to marry nuns in the Hippodrome
Hippodrome of Constantinople
The Hippodrome of Constantinople was a circus that was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. Today it is a square named Sultanahmet Meydanı in the Turkish city of Istanbul, with only a few fragments of the original structure surviving...
and expropriating monastic property for the benefit of the state or the army. The repressions against the monks (culminating in 766) were largely led by the emperor's general Michael Lachanodrakon
Michael Lachanodrakon
Michael Lachanodrakon was a distinguished Byzantine general and fanatical supporter of Byzantine Iconoclasm under Emperor Constantine V . As a result of his iconoclast zeal, in 766 he rose to high office as governor of the Thracesian Theme, and instigated a series of repressive measures against...
, who threatened resistant monks with blinding and exile.
An iconodule abbot, Stephen Neos, was brutally lynched by a mob at the behest of the authorities. As a result many monks fled to Southern Italy and Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. By the end of Constantine's reign, Iconoclasm had gone as far as to brand relic
Relic
In religion, a relic is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial...
s and prayers to the saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
s as heretical
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
.
Ultimately, iconophiles considered his death a divine punishment. In the 9th century he was disinterred and his remains were thrown into the sea.
Campaigns against the Arabs and Bulgaria
Constantine was also an able general and administrator. He reorganized the themes, the military districts of the empire, and created new field army divisions called tagmaTagma (military)
The tagma is a term for a military unit of battalion or regiment size. The best-known and most technical use of the term however refers to the elite regiments formed by Byzantine emperor Constantine V and comprising the central army of the Byzantine Empire in the 8th–11th centuries.-History and...
ta. This organization was intended to minimize the threat of conspiracies and to enhance the defensive capabilities of the Empire. With this reorganized army he embarked on campaigns on the three major frontiers.
In 746, profiting by the unstable conditions in the Umayyad Caliphate which was falling apart under Marwan II
Marwan II
Marwan ibn Muhammad ibn Marwan or Marwan II was an Umayyad caliph who ruled from 744 until 750 when he was killed. He was the last Umayyad ruler to rule from Damascus.In A.H. 114 Caliph Hisham appointed Marwan governor of Armenia and Azerbaijan. In A.H...
, Constantine invaded Syria and captured Germanikeia (modern Maraş
Maras
In ancient Latvia, Māras or Māras diena was a festival, celebrated on August 15, held in honor of Māra, the Latvian goddess. It marked the midpoint between Jāņi and Miķeļi...
, his father's birthplace). He organized the resettlement of a part the local Christian population into imperial territory in Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
. In 747 his fleet destroyed the Arab fleet off Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
. In 752 Constantine led an invasion into the new Abbasid
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....
Caliphate under As-Saffah
As-Saffah
Abu al-`Abbās `Abdu'llāh ibn Muhammad as-Saffāh, or Abul `Abbas al-Saffah , was the first Abbasid caliph .As-Saffah was the head of one branch of the Banu Hashim, who traced their lineage to Hashim, a great-grandfather of...
. Constantine captured Theodosioupolis and Melitene (Malatya
Malatya
Malatya ) is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of its eponymous province.-Overview:The city site has been occupied for thousands of years. The Assyrians called the city Meliddu. Following Roman expansion into the east, the city was renamed in Latin as Melitene...
), and again resettled some of the population in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
. These campaigns failed to secure any concrete gains (apart from additional population employed to strengthen another frontier), but it is important to note that under Constantine V the Empire had gone on the offensive.
These successes made it possible to pursue an aggressive policy in the Balkans. With the resettlement of Christian populations from the East into Thrace, Constantine V aimed to enhance the prosperity and defense of this area which caused concern to the Empire's northern neighbor, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, and the two states clashed in 755. Kormisosh of Bulgaria
Kormisosh of Bulgaria
Kormisosh was a ruler of Bulgaria during the 8th century.The Namelist of Bulgarian Rulers states that he belonged to the Ukil clan and ruled for 17 years. According to the chronology developed by Moskov, Kormisosh would have reigned from 737 to 754...
raided as far as the Anastasian Wall
Anastasian Wall
The Anastasian Wall or the Long Walls of Thrace is an ancient, stone and turf fortification located west of Istanbul, Turkey built by the Byzantines during the late 5th century...
, but was defeated in battle by Constantine V, who inaugurated a long series of nine successful campaigns against the Bulgarians in the next year, scoring a victory over Kormisosh's successor Vinekh
Vinekh of Bulgaria
Vinekh was ruler of Bulgaria in the mid-8th century.According to the Namelist of Bulgarian Rulers, Vinekh reigned for 7 years and was a member of the Uokil clan . According to the chronology developed by Moskov, Vinekh would have reigned 754–762...
at Marcelae. However, three year later he was defeated in the battle of the Rishki Pass
Battle of the Rishki Pass
The Battle of the Rishki Pass took place in the pass of the same name, in Stara Planina, Bulgaria in 759. It was fought between the Bulgarian Empire and the Byzantine Empire...
but the Bulgarians did not exploit their success. In 763, he sailed to Anchialus with 800 ships carrying 9,600 cavalry and some infantry. Constantine's victories, including that at Anchialus
Battle of Anchialus (763)
The battle of Anchialus occurred in 763, near the town of Pomorie on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast . The result was a Byzantine victory.- Origins of the conflict :...
in 763 caused considerable instability in Bulgaria, where six monarchs lost their crowns on account of their failures.
In 772, Lombard
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
king Desiderius
Desiderius
Desiderius was the last king of the Lombard Kingdom of northern Italy...
captured Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, ending over two centuries of Byzantine rule.
In 775, Constantine was persuaded to reveal to the Bulgarian ruler Telerig
Telerig of Bulgaria
Telerig was the ruler of Bulgaria 768–777.Although Telerig is first mentioned in the Byzantine sources in 774, he is considered the immediate successor of Pagan, who was murdered in 768...
the identities of his agents in Bulgaria. These were promptly eliminated; thus, Constantine began preparations for a new campaign against the Bulgarians – during which he died on September 14, 775.
Constantine's campaigns were costly; during his reign the Byzantine Empire's annual revenues were reduced to about 1,800,000 nomismata due to his various wars and the Arab conquests.
Family
By his first wife, TzitzakTzitzak
Tzitzak , baptised Irene , was a Khazar princess, the daughter of khagan Bihar who became the first wife of Byzantine Emperor Constantine V .-Empress:...
("Irene of Khazaria"), Constantine V had one son:
- Leo IVLeo IV the KhazarLeo IV the Khazar was Byzantine Emperor from 775 to 780 CE.Leo was the son of Emperor Constantine V by his first wife, Irene of Khazaria , the daughter of a Khagan of the Khazars...
, who succeeded as emperor.
By his second wife, Maria
Maria, wife of Constantine V
Maria was the second Empress consort of Constantine V of the Byzantine Empire.-Empress:Constantine V was Emperor since 741. His first wife Tzitzak gave birth to their only known son, Leo IV the Khazar, on 25 January 750. There is no further mention of her and by the following year, Constantine was...
, Constantine V is not known to have had children.
By his third wife, Eudokia
Eudokia, wife of Constantine V
-Family:According to the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor, Eudokia was a sister-in-law of Michael Melissenos, strategos of the Anatolikon Theme. Her sister and brother-in-law were parents to Patriarch Theodotos I of Constantinople.-Empress:...
, Constantine V had five sons and a daughter, including:
- Christopher, CaesarCaesar (title)Caesar is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator...
- NikephorosNikephoros (Caesar)Nikephoros , also Latinized as Nicephorus or Nicephoros, was the second son of the Byzantine emperor Constantine V and Caesar of the Byzantine Empire. He was engaged in a plot against his half-brother, Leo IV Nikephoros , also Latinized as Nicephorus or Nicephoros, was the second son of the...
, Caesar - Niketas, Nobelissimos
- Eudokimos, Nobelissimos
- Anthimos, Nobelissimos
- Anthousa