Editing Constantine VI (section)

{{short description|Byzantine emperor from 780 to 797}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{distinguish|Ecumenical Patriarch Constantine VI of Constantinople}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Constantine VI
| title        = [[List of Byzantine emperors|Emperor of the Romans]]
| image        = INC-3040-r Солид. Константин VI и Ирина. 793—979 гг. (реверс).png
| alt          = 
| caption      = Constantine VI – gold ''[[Solidus (coin)|solidus]]''. The inscription reads {{Smallcaps|constantinos {{Abbreviation|basiΘ|BASILEUS}}}}. 
| succession   = [[Byzantine emperor]]
| reign        = 8 September 780 –<br/>19 August 797
| predecessor  = [[Leo IV the Khazar|Leo IV]]
| successor    = [[Irene of Athens|Irene]] <!-- Do not add Charlemagne here; a claim of spiritual inheritance not recognized in modern scholarship has no place here -->
| regent       = Irene (780–90, regent; 792–97, co-empress)
|reg-type      = Co-ruler
| birth_date   = 14 January 771
| death_date   = before 805
| spouse       = [[Maria of Amnia]]<br/>[[Theodote (empress)|Theodote]]
| issue        = {{unbulleted list|[[Euphrosyne (9th century)|Euphrosyne]]}}
| issue-link   = #Family
| coronation   = 14 April 776<ref>''[[Prosopography of the Byzantine World|PBW]]'', "[https://www.degruyter.com/document/database/PMBZ/entry/PMBZ14853/html Konstantinos VI]".</ref> (as co-emperor)
| dynasty      = [[Isaurian dynasty|Isaurian]]
| father       = [[Leo IV the Khazar|Leo IV]]
| mother       = [[Irene (empress)|Irene of Athens]]
}}
{{Isaurian dynasty}}
'''Constantine VI''' ({{langx|el|Κωνσταντῖνος|Kōnstantīnos}}, 14 January 771 – before 805),<ref name="ODB">{{harvnb|Cutler|Hollingsworth|1991|pp=501–502}}</ref> sometimes called '''the Blind''',<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lygo |first=Kevin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WzVxEAAAQBAJ |title=The Emperors of Byzantium |date=2022 |publisher=Thames & Hudson |isbn=978-0-500-77733-6 |chapter=Index}}</ref><ref>Майоров, А. В. (2014). [https://www.academia.edu/11849062/The_daughter_of_a_Byzantine_Emperor_the_wife_of_a_Galician_Volhynian_Prince_In_Byzantinoslavica_2014_vol_72_no_1_2_pp_188_233 The daughter of a Byzantine Emperor – the wife of a Galician-Volhynian Prince]. ''Byzantinoslavica'', ''72''(1-2), 188-233 (226).</ref> was [[Byzantine emperor]] from 780 to 797. The only child of Emperor [[Leo IV the Khazar|Leo IV]], Constantine was named co-emperor with him at the age of five in 776 and succeeded him as sole Emperor in 780, aged nine. His mother [[Irene of Athens|Irene]] exercised control over him as [[regent]] until 790, assisted by her chief minister [[Staurakios (eunuch)|Staurakios]]. The regency ended when Constantine reached maturity, but Irene sought to remain an active participant in the government. After a brief interval of sole rule Constantine named his mother empress in 792, making her his official colleague.

Constantine suffered military defeats and made controversial decisions, such as blinding his loyal general [[Alexios Mosele (general)|Alexios Mosele]] and illicitly marrying his mistress, [[Theodote (empress)|Theodote]]. Taking advantage of her son's unpopularity, Irene had Constantine deposed, blinded and imprisoned in 797 and seized power for herself alone, becoming the first Empress regnant of the Empire. Constantine likely died shortly thereafter.

Constantine VI was the final ruler to be universally recognized as [[Roman emperor]], being recognized as such by both the Empire which he ruled in the east, the [[papacy]] and the [[Western Europe]]an powers over which the pope held [[suzerainty]]. The Byzantines' ability to protect the Papacy had waned following the Arab Conquests, leading the Papacy to increasingly seek protection from the Franks. This culminated in 800 when [[Pope Leo III]], who owed his power and position to the Franks, crowned [[Charlemagne]] as 'Emperor of the Romans'. Based on the assertion that a woman could not be Empress in her own right, this laid the foundations of a new polity, independent of the East, that would evolve into the [[Holy Roman Empire]].<ref>[[James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce]] (1864), ''The Holy Roman Empire'', pp. 62–64</ref>

According to Byzantine sources, the rebel [[Thomas the Slav]] ({{circa|760}}–823) claimed to be Constantine VI in an effort to gain support against [[Michael II]].{{sfn|Treadgold|1997|pp=435}} However, most modern scholars dismiss this as a later fabrication.{{sfn|Lemerle|1965|pp=283–284}}{{sfn|Kiapidou|2003}}