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Heraclius Constantine (Latin: Heraclius novus Constantinus; Ancient Greek: Ἡράκλειος νέος Κωνσταντῖνος, romanized: Hērákleios néos Kōnstantĩnos; 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 and his first wife Eudokia.
| Heraclius Constantine | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emperor of the Romans | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
| Byzantine emperor | |||||||||
| Reign | 11 February – 25 May 641 | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Heraclius | ||||||||
| Successor | Heraclonas | ||||||||
| Co-emperor | Heraclonas | ||||||||
| Born | 3 May 612[1] | ||||||||
| Died | 25 May 641[a] (aged 29) Chalcedon, Bithynia (now Kadıköy, Istanbul) | ||||||||
| Spouse | Gregoria | ||||||||
| Issue | Constans II Theodosius Manyanh | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Dynasty | Heraclian | ||||||||
| Father | Heraclius | ||||||||
| Mother | Eudokia | ||||||||
| Religion | Chalcedonian Christianity | ||||||||
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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.[6] 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.[7] Constantine assumed an honorary consulship on 1 January 632, and at the same ceremony his brother Heraclonas was raised to the rank of caesar.[8][b]
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, 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.[9] 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.[6]
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In 629 or 630, Constantine married Gregoria, the daughter of Niketas.[6] They had two sons, and perhaps a daughter:
- Constans II, who succeeded as emperor
- Theodosius[10]
- Manyanh, who reportedly married Yazdegerd III.[11][12]
The Romans themselves did not use regnal numbers, which are instead applied to the emperors by modern historians. There is particular confusion surrounding the name 'Constantine III' as it has been also applied to the earlier Western emperor Constantine (r. 407–411), who started as a usurper but was later recognized by Honorius (r. 395–423).[13] Charles le Beau (1701–1778), who established the convention of numbering eleven Constantines, uses the numeral only for the Eastern emperor.[14][15] Edward Gibbon (1737–1794) also explicitly refers to the Western emperor as a usurper and gives the numeral to the Eastern one.[16][17] Justin Sabatier (1792–1869) and Félicien de Saulcy (1807–1880) notably enumerate Heraclius Constantine as "Heraclius II", a numeral often used for his brother Heraclonas, but refer to the next Constantine as Constantine IV, thus indirectly counting the Western emperor.[18][19] This numbering has been followed by a few authors.[20][21][1] Warwick Wroth (1858–1911) uses no numeral for Heraclius Constantine and uses "Constantine III" as an alternative name for Constans II.[22] The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire (1980) uses the numeral solely for the Eastern emperor,[4][23] while the Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium (1991) uses it solely for the Western one.[24] Philip Grierson (1910–2006) applies the numeral to both emperors, but treats "Constantine III" more like an alternate name for Heraclius Constantine, who is not given a numeral in the index.[25][26] The Roman Imperial Coinage, which ends with the fall of the West, uses the numeral for the Western emperor, which has now become standard.[27] Strangely enough, both Constantines had a son called Constans. Neither the RIC, PLRE nor Grierson give the Western one a numeral,[27][28][26] yet he's still often called "Constans II".
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- Or, according to the Necrologium, 20 April, which would make a total reign of 99 days (counting from 11 January) as opposed to the "103 days" (from 11 February) indicated by Nikephoros.[2] The latter date, 11 February, is traditionally the most accepted.[3]
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