Constans II Pogonatos

February 641 AD, Emperor Heraclius was dead and the Roman state faced a massive threat. The Arabs and their new Islamic faith had taken the Fertile Crescent by storm, defeating Roman and Persian field armies in their respective provinces of Syria and Mesopotamia. While the imperial government struggled to contain the advance of the Muslims, unstable finances and religious strife brought further destabilization. In a context where political unity was crucial, the government split between two factions. There was Sine Emperor Constantine III and his co-emperor Heraclonus with his mother Martina. Mistrust was rampant and in May, the sickly Constantine passed away at 29, thus the teenage Heraclonus became sole emperor. However, Martina's unpopularity and rumors of her poisoning of Constantine drove discontent. General Valentinus pushed for the promotion of the latter's son, Constans. Patriarch Pyrrhus, a prominent supporter of Martina, was expelled to Africa. Soon after, she and her son were mutilated and exiled to the island of Rhodes. At 11 years old, Constans formed a regency council. Valentinus married his daughter Fausta to the young emperor and took charge of the army in the east. This single year of political strife had distracted the state from the real issue, Egypt. Pushed out by the Arabs, the remaining Roman troops evacuated Alexandria. For their part, the Sassanians fared even worse. Their decisive defeat at Nahavand forced Yazdegerd III to flee further east inside his own crumbling empire. Since the initial Lombard invasion, Roman authorities in Italy looked to protect the remaining imperial territories. However, Exarch Isaac failed to prevent the fall of Liguria to King Ruthari. Now the new frontier with the Caliphate, Armenia became the theatre of frequent military actions. There, local commander Theodore Rashtouni campaigned with partial success. While he could not prevent the sack of Tvin, he fared better the next year by repelling another Arab attack. A different battle resulted in the defeat of Roman general Procopius. Still, the imperial regime recognized Rashtouni's direct authority over Armenia. In a subsequent military campaign, Valentinus' army was put to flight. Despite this, the man returned to the capital and attempted to usurp the imperial title. His plan backfired. Facing riots he could not control, he was lynched. The Roman navy remained the dominant force in the Mediterranean Sea, a great asset to attack and protect coastal cities. In 645, it was decided to use this navy for a major operation. An expeditionary force sailed south under the command of General Manuel. Its goal, to reconquer Egypt. With local support, Alexandria was reoccupied. The army then proceeded to march down the Nile Delta. A decisive contest took place when Manuel faced Amr ibn Alas. The Romans were bested and repelled from Egypt for good. This failure, but also the precedent of Heraclius' rebellion 4 decades ago, convinced the exarch of Africa, Gregory, that he could take his chance to usurp power. Gregory exploited the religious debates over the imperial doctrine of monothelitism to gather support from the hardline Chalcedonians. One of them, Maximus the Confessor, a fierce opponent of monothelitism, travelled to Rome and rallied Pope Theodore to his side. The next year, the Muslims under Abdallah ibn Sa'd attacked the exarchate. Gregory met the enemy at Sofetula, where he was decisively defeated. Still, the Romans remained safe inside their fortified cities, so the enemy proceeded to pillage the region. In the east, the governor of Syria, Muawiyah, ramped up the pressure on Anatolia. Cappadocia took much of the damage, and the Arabs returned to Damascus with a massive plunder. With the death of Gregory and the ascension of Gennadius, Africa rolled back under central imperial control. The new exarch paid a massive tribute for the Arabs to leave his territory. In response to the Chalcedonian backlash, Constans II promulgated the Typos. The formula of the Ecclesis was removed from the narthex of the Hagia Sophia, but monothelitism was not officially revoked. Instead, in an attempt to tame the religious controversy, debates over the natures of Christ were simply made illegal. In the same effort, the government attempted to enforce mainstream Christianity to the Armenian church. In turn, the Armenians convened a synod, after which they officially declared their refusal. Knowing this would provoke imperial retaliation, Theodor Rashtouni pledged allegiance to the Caliphate. In the West, doctrinal opposition against the government grew even further under the influence of Maximus. Pope Theodore died in 649, precipitating the election of a successor, Martin I. This choice was made without imperial approval. In the same year, another council was convened in the Lateran Palace of Rome. There, 105 mostly Western bishops united to debate over imperial policies. Their final answer was clear. They condemned both the Ecclesis of Heraclius and the Typos of Constance, and excommunicated the supporters of these doctrines. In response, the Emperor ordered Exarch Olympius to arrest the Pope. However, because of inability or disloyalty, they did not carry out the order. With the Imperials far too busy with the Muslim threat in Anatolia, an effective schism divided East and West. By now equipped with a sizable war fleet, the Arabs took to the seas. One of the first victims, the island of Cyprus, was assaulted and plundered. On land, another major invasion devastated Isauria. A truce was eventually agreed between Constance and Muawiyah, providing some respite on the front. Despite this, Sicily would also be raided. Far in the East, Yazdegerd was murdered, and the once great Sasanian Empire ceased to exist. The rebellious Exarch Olympius died on his way to Sicily. Thus, his successor, Theodore Calliopas, eventually marched on Rome and, without much opposition, arrested Martin and Maximus. The prisoners were transferred to Constantinople. Constance well understood the strategic importance of Armenia for the Empire. Rashtuni's wavering loyalty had reportedly already led to the defeat of an Imperial army on the Euphrates. Looking to reaffirm Roman authority in the Caucasus, Constance arrived in person with a large force. Rapidly, he re-established political control of Armenia, with many of its nobles retaining loyalty to Constantinople. Rashtuni fled to Damascus, and the general Marianus was left in charge of Imperial interests in the region. The Emperor returned to Constantinople to deal with scheming politicians. Following a large military build-up, the Arabs went on the offensive again. Their fleet advanced along the coast, pillaging Rhodes and Crete. Meanwhile, the land forces under Muawiyah established a base in Cappadocia and pierced through Anatolia, reaching the Asian side of the Bosphorus Strait. In the capital, Constance elevated his son Constantine as co-emperor. At about the same time, the trial of Pope Martin declared him guilty of treason. While Martin recognized the election of his successor Eugene, he was forced into exile in Chersonissus, where he would pass away soon after. In the wake of the Emperor's departure, fighting had resumed in Armenia. The Roman forces were driven out and control of the region was lost again. In fact, the attacks at sea were more of a pressing matter, and Constance took personal command of the navy. A decisive battle occurred off the coast of Lycia, with heavy casualties on both sides. In the end, the Roman fleet was crushingly defeated. Constance reportedly switched his imperial regalia for the gloves of one of his men to escape the disaster. It seems that the Arab fleet then advanced on Constantinople, but a storm compelled it to retreat. The internal tensions in the Caliphate may also have played a part. With no naval support, the land forces withdrew as well, and imperial forces reasserted control over Anatolia. It would not be long before the assassination of Caliph Uthman triggered a Muslim civil war. The First Fitna Constance took advantage of this instability to return Armenia under imperial allegiance. He would be active in the Caucasus for some time, carefully building alliances with local lords. Constance also became the first emperor since Maurice to actively campaign in the Balkans. He attacked the Slavs and resettled the prisoners in Anatolia. Tired in his civil war, Muawiyah sought a truce with the empire. Each day, the Arabs would send a thousand numismata, one horse and one slave to honor this agreement. In the same year, the two younger sons of Constance, Heraclius and Tiberius, were proclaimed co-emperors. This period of respite allowed the army to reorganize and begin reforms which would, in time, lead to the formation of the thematic system. For now, the remains of the old field armies of the empire took headquarters in each corner of Anatolia. These military districts were named after the associated armies. Although the chronology of the development of the themes is unclear, the early districts were the following. The Armeniakon for the Army of Armenia, the Anatolikon for the Army of the East, the Thracacian for the Army of Race, and the Opsikion for the Central Presantalis armies. Lastly, the Karabistianoi district was attributed to the navy. Constance feared that his brother Theodosius might usurp power. Thus, he decided to remove him from the succession line, compelling the man to take religious vows. Theodosius was murdered soon after. With this fratricide act, the emperor became widely unpopular in the capital. After Pope Martin, it was the turn of Maximus the Confessor to assume the consequences of his defiance. Having endured his own trial, he was mutilated and banished to Lazica, where he passed away at 82 years of age. Since the reconquests of Justinian, the western provinces were neglected by successive emperors who focused their efforts in the east. Constance, however, decided to break with this tradition. Gathering the Opsikion troops, he sailed west while his family stayed in the capital. He first stopped at Thessalonica. In this area, he again fought against Slavic tribes with success and continued inland to operate in southern Greece. The emperor took to the sea again, landing in Italy. From there, he pushed north against the Lombards and the Duchy of Beneventum, capturing a few towns. However, Beneventum itself refused to yield. Learning that King Grimauld was on his way to relieve the city, Constance broke off the siege and withdrew to Roman-controlled Naples. In a subsequent pitched battle, the Roman imperial force was defeated by the Lombard royal army. Constance did not persevere in conquering the Lombards. Instead, he went to Rome, the first emperor to do so since the fall of the western Roman Empire. There, despite current religious controversies, this meeting between emperor and pope went well. The Italian welcomed Constance, who offered gifts to the pontiff. However, it did not hinder Constance from having his men strip precious ornaments from Roman monuments, the Pantheon among them. The monarch eventually arrived at the last destination of his voyage, Sicily. By now, the Arab incursions had resumed. Constance, well aware of this threat, may have considered making the far-removed city of Syracuse the new capital of the empire. His presence in the west, however, was unwelcomed. Indeed, financial strain caused the emperor to levy heavy taxation, creating a great burden on Calabria, Sardinia, Sicily and Africa. The exarch of Carthage, Gennadius, refused Constance's demand for additional revenue. Fortunately, the emperor's proximity to Africa allowed him to support the rebellion of a certain Eleutherius. This man overthrew the unruly exarch, who fled to the Arabs. This caused Africa to endure renewed attacks, but Gennadius would die soon after. Armenia had reverted again to Muslim vassalage, and Muawiyah, now the new caliph, was even more committed against the Romans. This time, the Arabs were assisted by the commander of the Armenia-Kon district, Saborius. Raids on Aegean islands, coupled with the penetration of Anatolia, put Constantinople in danger yet again. Thankfully for the imperial government, Saborius' rebellion did not last long, as a simple horse-riding accident killed the man. His attacks did not even spare the west, as Sicily fell victim to another raid. This is on this same island that Constance met his end. He was assassinated in Syracuse, as he was taking his bath. The motivation behind this murder is unknown. It may have been driven by discontented Roman officials, seeing their emperor remain in the west while Muslim forces endangered the empire. Saborius made Constantine IV the new legitimate monarch. However, the troops elevated the commander of the obscurum, Mesisius, instead. Unwilling to take power in the first place, he could not even secure the island, before troops from Africa and Italy intervened. After their assault, the Muslims had left a garrison in the city of Amorium, making it a forward base for future invasions. Roman troops, however, stormed and reoccupied it, securing Anatolia for now. Sole emperor by his teenage years, in the midst of an immense crisis, Constance had to learn on the go. Under his rule, the Romans had to adapt to the perpetual Muslim threat with diminished resources. While the series of defeats continued, the empire was still standing, the frontier somewhat stabilized around the Taurus and Armenian mountains. Growing into a strict autocrat, Constance dealt harshly with any who would defy his will. At last, he was one of the few emperors who showed sincere interest in the western provinces. His abrupt end left his son Constantine in charge, as Muawiyah prepared for his ultimate assault.