Refine your search

The results of your search are listed below alongside the search terms you entered on the previous page. You can refine your search by amending any of the parameters in the form and resubmitting it.

Select all Deselect all Add selection to lightbox
Large Small
Thumbnails per page
Constantine VI (771-804) was the only child of Emperor Leo IV and Empress Irene. He was crowned co-emperor in 776, and became sole emperor in 780, aged only nine. Due to his young age, his mother Irene and her chief minister Staurakios ruled in his stead. However, even when Constantine was of age at sixteen, his mother still refused to hand over executive authority to him.
Leo IV (750-780), also known as Leo the Khazar, was the son of Emperor Constantine V by his first wife, Irene of Khazaria. He became co-emperor in 751, and married a noble Athenian woman also named Irene in 769. Leo became sole emperor in 775 with the death of his father.<br/><br/> Constantine VI (771-804) was the only child of Emperor Leo IV and Empress Irene. He was crowned co-emperor in 776, and became sole emperor in 780, aged only nine. Due to his young age, his mother Irene and her chief minister Staurakios ruled in his stead. However, even when Constantine was of age at sixteen, his mother still refused to hand over executive authority to him.
Constantine VI (771-804) was the only child of Emperor Leo IV and Empress Irene. He was crowned co-emperor in 776, and became sole emperor in 780, aged only nine. Due to his young age, his mother Irene and her chief minister Staurakios ruled in his stead. However, even when Constantine was of age at sixteen, his mother still refused to hand over executive authority to him.<br/><br/> Constantine was to marry Rotrude, the daughter of the future Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne, in 788, but his mother broke off the engagement and instead supported Charlemagne's enemies. When Irene attempted to get official recognition as empress in 790, the plan backfired and Constantine was finally given the throne through military support, though his mother was still allowed to keep the title of empress.<br/><br/> Constantine soon proved he was not a capable leader however, suffering humiliating defeats at the hands of the Arabs and Bulgarians. When his uncle was favoured to replace him, he had his eyes put out and the tongues of his other uncles torn off. He became vastly unpopular, and in 797 was himself blinded and imprisoned by his mother's supporters. Irene was then crowned as Constantinople's first Empress Regnant. Constantine's date of death is unknown, though it was definitely before 805. Irene herself ruled until she was overthrown in 802, where she was then exiled to Lesbos and died the following year.