Heraclius Constantine ( la, Heraclius novus Constantinus; grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος Κωνσταντῖνος, Herakleios Konstantinos; 3 May 612 – 25 May 641), often enumerated as Constantine III, was one of the shortest reigning Byzantine emperors, ruling for three months in 641. He was the eldest son of Emperor

Heraclius Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was List of Byzantine emperors, Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exa ...

and his first wife Eudokia.

Reign

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 Nicetas or Niketas () is a Greek given name, meaning "victorious one" (from Nike " victory"). The veneration of martyr saint Nicetas the Goth in the medieval period gave rise to the Slavic forms: '' Nikita, Mykyta and Mikita'' People with the na ...

. 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. Constantine assumed an honorary consulship on 1 January 632, and on the same ceremony his brother Heraclonas was raised to the rank of ''

caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caes ...

''. Theophanes
AM 6108
(n.2) Constantine became senior emperor when his father died on 11 February 641. He reigned together with his younger half-brother Heraclonas, the son of Martina. His supporters feared action against him on the part of Martina and Heraclonas, 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 Valentinus is a Roman masculine given name derived from the Latin word "valens" meaning "healthy, strong". It may refer to: People Churchmen *Pope Valentine (died 827) *Saint Valentine, one or more martyred Christian saints *Valentinus (Gnostic) ...

, an adjutant of Philagrius, to distribute to the soldiers to persuade them to secure the succession for his sons after his death. He died of tuberculosis after only three months, on 25 May, leaving Heraclonas sole emperor. A rumor that Martina had him poisoned led first to the imposition of

Constans II Constans II ( grc-gre, Κώνστας, Kōnstas; 7 November 630 – 15 July 668), nicknamed "the Bearded" ( la, Pogonatus; grc-gre, ὁ Πωγωνᾶτος, ho Pōgōnãtos), was the Eastern Roman emperor from 641 to 668. Constans was the last ...

as co-emperor and then to the deposition, mutilation, and banishment of Martina and her sons.

Family

In 629 or 630, Constantine married Gregoria, the daughter of Niketas. They had two sons: *

, who succeeded as emperor * Theodosius

Notes

References

Literature

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Constantine 03 (Byzantine emperor) 612 births 641 deaths 640s in the Byzantine Empire 7th-century Byzantine emperors 7th-century deaths from tuberculosis Heraclian dynasty Heraclius Porphyrogennetoi Tuberculosis deaths in the Byzantine Empire Sons of Byzantine emperors

Reign

Family

Notes

See also

References

Literature