Clive Foss*

Emperors named Constantine

Rulers of the Christian Roman - or Byzantine - empire naturally and frequently took the name Constantine. It showed their connection with the founder of the state and its capital, and often advertised their real or presumptive role as its restorers. That the name was used from the very beginning to the very end of the empire is well known, but less clear is how often it appears, and how its bearers should be counted. Was the last Byzantine ruler Constantine XI, XII, XIII or something else? This is not simply an antiquarian question, for the numbering has long caused confusion, largely because of the Byzantine habit of sharing real or nominal power with their brothers or sons. Under these circumstances, it would be useful to determine how many emperors actually bore this name, and how many of them should be recognised in a canon of emperors, however that term is to be defined.

The present work derived from a simple, seemingly trivial, question: who was Constantine III? It was provoked by reading Kaegi's Heraclius, where the author uses this designation for the son of Heraclius (co-regent 613-641, sole ruler in 641), otherwise known as Heraclius Constantine.1 Confusion was compounded by seeing that Treadgold's recent history gives this as an alternative name for Constans II (641-668).2 Nevertheless, I seemed to recollect that there

RN 2005, p. 93-102