Editing Constans II

{{Short description|Roman emperor from 641 to 668}}
{{for|the Western Roman usurper|Constans II (son of Constantine III)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Constans II
| title        = [[List of Roman emperors|Emperor of the Romans]]
| image        = Solidus Constans II (obverse).jpg
| image_size   = 
| alt          = 
| caption      = A ''[[solidus (coin)|solidus]]'' of Constans II {{circa|651–3}} (aged 21–3), wearing a diadem and holding the [[globus cruciger]]. The inscription reads {{Smallcaps|{{Abbreviation|dn|DOMINUS NOSTER}} constantinus {{Abbreviation|pp|PERPETUUS}} {{Abbreviation|av|AUGUSTUS}}}}.
| succession   = [[Roman Emperor]]
| moretext     = 
| reign        = November 641 – 15 July 668
| coronation   = September 641
| cor-type     = [[Coronation of the Byzantine emperor|Coronation]]
| predecessor  = [[Heraclonas]]
| successor    = [[Constantine IV]]
| regent       = [[David Tiberius]] (641)<br/>[[Heraclius (son of Constans II)|Heraclius]] (659–681)<br/>[[Tiberius (son of Constans II)|Tiberius]] (659–681)<br/>[[Constantine IV]] (654–668)
| reg-type     = Co-emperors
| birth_date   = 7 November 630
| birth_name   = Heraclius
| regnal name  = {{langx|la|[[Imperator]] [[Caesar (title)|Caesar]] [[Flavia (gens)|Flavius]] Constantinus [[Augustus (title)|Augustus]]}}<br/>{{langx|el|[[Autokrator|Αὐτοκράτωρ]] καῖσαρ Φλάβιος Κωνσταντῖνος αὐγουστος}}{{efn|Recorded under the [[Armenian language|Armenian]] form and word order as ''Ogostos Kostandin'' in [[Movses Kaghankatvatsi]] II.20, where an Armenian translation of a letter from this emperor appears. The words {{Smallcaps|Constantinus Avg}} were also used on his solidi.}}
| birth_place  = [[Constantinople]]
| death_date   = 15 July 668 (aged 37)
| death_place  = [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]], [[Sicily]]
| spouse       = [[Fausta (wife of Constans II)|Fausta]]
| issue        = {{unbulleted list|[[Constantine IV]]|[[Heraclius (son of Constans II)|Heraclius]]|[[Tiberius (son of Constans II)|Tiberius]]}}
| issue-link   = #Family
| dynasty      = [[Heraclian dynasty|Heraclian]]
| father       = [[Constantine III (Byzantine emperor)|Constantine III]]
| mother       = [[Gregoria]]
| religion     = [[Nicene Christianity]]{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
}}
'''Constans II'''{{efn|The Byzantines themselves did not use regnal numbers, which are instead applied to the emperors by modern historians.{{Sfn|Foss|2005|pp=93–94}} Constans II is most commonly enumerated after [[Constans I]] ({{reign}} 337–340), but has also sometimes been enumerated as '''Constans III''', also counting the co-emperor [[Constans II (son of Constantine III)|Constans]] ({{reign}} 409–411).{{Sfn|Biermann|2009|p=537}}{{Sfn|Moosa|2008}}{{Sfn|Widdowson|2009}} "Constans" is a nickname given to the Emperor, who had been baptized '''Heraclius'''  (''Herakleios'') ({{langx|el|Ἡράκλειος|Hērákleios}}) and reigned officially as "Constantine" ({{langx|el|Κωνσταντῖνος|Kōnstantīnos|Constantinus}}). The nickname established itself in Byzantine texts and has become standard in modern historiography. It was apparently well known during his lifetime, as [[Constantine IV]] sometimes called himself "Constantinos Constantos", i.e. "Constantine, son of Constans".<ref>{{cite journal |last=Laurent|first=V. |year=1939 |title=Notes de titulature byzantine |journal=Échos d'Orient |volume=38 |issue=195–196 |pages=355–370 |doi=10.3406/rebyz.1939.2941 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/rebyz_1146-9447_1939_num_38_195_2941}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1 = [[ Academia Republicii Populare Romîne ]] |year = 1981 |title = Revue roumaine d'histoire: Volume 20 |publisher = Editions de l'Académie de la République socialiste de Roumanie |page = 626 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=2M9BAAAAYAAJ}}</ref> The emperor has also rarely been designated '''Constantine III''', a name typically reserved for his father [[Heraclius Constantine]].{{Sfn|Foss|2005|pp=93–94}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Warwick |first=Wroth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qEoLAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA184 |title=Catalogue of the Imperial Byzantine Coins in the British Museum |date=1908 |publisher=Longman |isbn=978-5-87507-093-8 |pages=v, 184, 255}}</ref>}} ({{langx|el|Κώνστας|Kōnstas}}; 7 November 630 – 15 July 668), also called "'''the Bearded'''" ({{langx|el|ὁ Πωγωνᾶτος|ho Pōgōnãtos}}),{{efn|Some sources call him "[[Constantine the Bearded]]". The nickname was previously attributed to his son [[Constantine IV]], who was known by his contemporaries as "Constantine the Younger".<ref>Grumel, Venance (1996). "[https://www.jstor.org/stable/44169223 Quel est l'empereur Constantin le nouveau commémoré dans le Synaxaire au 3 septembre?]." ''Analecta Bollandiana'' '''84''': 254–260.</ref>}} was the [[Byzantine emperor]] from 641 to 668. Constans was the last attested emperor to serve as [[Roman consul|consul]], in 642,<ref>Shahi̇d, I. (1972). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1291324 The Iranian Factor in Byzantium during the Reign of Heraclius]. ''[[Dumbarton Oaks Papers]]'' '''26''': 293–320.</ref><ref>Cameron, A., & Schauer, D. (1982). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/299119 The Last Consul: Basilius and His Diptych]. ''The Journal of Roman Studies'' '''72''': 126–145.</ref>{{Efn|His inauguration as consul is sometimes dated to 632, but this is likely a mistake, as the consular inauguration was usually celebrated on January of the first regnal year.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hendy |first=Michael F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GcLLCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA193 |title=Studies in the Byzantine Monetary Economy |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2008 |isbn=9781316582275 |pages=193}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Salzman |first=Michele R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YGhZEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA310 |title=The Falls of Rome |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2021 |isbn=9781107111424 |pages=310}}</ref>}} although the office continued to exist until the reign of [[Leo VI the Wise]] (r. 886–912).<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Riedel|first=Meredith|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4jJlDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA100|title=Leo VI and the Transformation of Byzantine Christian Identity|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2018|isbn=9781107053076|pages=100}}</ref> His religious policy saw him steering a middle line in disputes between the Orthodox and [[Monothelitism|Monothelites]] by refusing to persecute either and prohibited discussion of the natures of [[Jesus Christ]] under the [[Type of Constans]] in 648. His reign coincided with Arab invasions under [[Umar]], [[Uthman]], and [[Mu'awiya I]] in the late 640s to 660s. Constans was the first emperor to visit Rome since the fall of the [[Western Roman Empire]] in 476, and the last one to visit Rome while the Empire still held it.

==Origins and early career==
Constans was born on 7 November 630 in [[Constantinople]], the Byzantine capital, to [[Gregoria]] and [[Constantine III (Byzantine emperor)|Constantine III]].{{sfn|Grierson|1968|p=402}} Constantine was a son of Emperor [[Heraclius]], while his mother Gregoria was a daughter of [[Nicetas (cousin of Heraclius)|Nicetas]], a first cousin of Heraclius.{{sfn|Bury|1889|p=vi}}

Heraclius died in February 641 and was succeeded by Constantine III and [[Heraclonas]], his younger half-brother through Heraclius' second marriage to [[Martina (empress)|Martina]]. Constans was most likely elevated to [[Caesar (title)|''caesar'']] by his father to ease his succession to the throne against Martina and her sons.<ref>Zuckerman, Constantin (2010): "[http://www.academia.edu/2481312/ On the title and the office of the Byzantine basileus]." ''Travaux et Mémoires du Centre de recherche d'Histoire et Civilisation de Byzance'' '''16''': pp. 869–874. Retrieved 11 June 2022.</ref> Constantine died suddenly after three months of rule, leaving the 15-year old Heraclonas as senior emperor.

In September 641, the 10-year old Constans II was crowned co-emperor due to rumors that Heraclonas and Martina poisoned Constantine III. Later that same year, on or around 5 November, Heraclonas was deposed by [[Valentinus (usurper)|Valentinus]], one of Heraclius’ most trusted generals, and Constans II was left as sole emperor.{{efn|Some sources, such as the [[Prosopography of the Byzantine World|PBW]], date the deposition of Heraclonas on 9 November.{{sfn|PmbZ|loc=[https://www.degruyter.com/database/PMBZ/entry/PMBZ14839/html Konstans II. (#3691/corr.)]}} The date is unsourced and unexplained, but it's probably a mistake for 5 November.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Treadgold |first=Warren |date=1990 |title=A Note on Byzantium's Year of the Four Emperors (641)|journal=[[Byzantinische Zeitschrift]] |volume=83 |issue=2 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/byzs.1990.83.2.431/html |pages=431–433|doi=10.1515/byzs.1990.83.2.431 |s2cid=194092611 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>}} Constans owed his rise to the throne to a popular reaction against his uncle and to the protection of the soldiers led by Valentinus. Although the precocious emperor addressed the senate with a speech blaming Heraclonas and Martina for eliminating his father, he reigned under a [[regency]] of senators led by Patriarch [[Paul II of Constantinople]]. In 644, Valentinus attempted to seize power for himself, but failed.

==Reign as emperor==
[[File:Europe around 650.jpg|left|thumb|350x350px|Byzantine Empire in 650 under Constans II]]
Under Constans, the Byzantines completely withdrew from [[Roman Egypt|Egypt]] in 642, and the third [[Rashidun]] caliph [[Uthman]] ({{Reign|644|656}}) launched numerous attacks on the islands of the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] and [[Aegean Sea]]s. A Byzantine fleet under the admiral Manuel occupied [[Alexandria]] again in 645, and the Alexandrians hailed him as a liberator, since the caliphate levied heavier taxes and showed less respect for their religion. However, Manuel squandered his time and popularity in plundering the countryside, and eventually the Arab army managed to force him to embark for home.<ref>Treadgold, Warren. (1997). ''A History of the Byzantine State and Society''. Stanford University Press. p. 312</ref> The situation was complicated by the violent opposition to [[Monothelitism]] by the clergy in the west and the related rebellion of the [[Exarch of Carthage]], [[Gregory the Patrician]]. The latter fell in [[Battle of Sufetula (647)|battle]] against the army of caliph Uthman, and the region remained a vassal state under the [[Caliphate]] until [[First Fitna|civil war]] broke out and imperial rule was again restored.
[[File:44-manasses-chronicle.jpg|thumb|Torture of [[Maximus the Confessor]] under the orders of emperor Constans II, miniature from the 12th century [[Constantine Manasses|Manasses Chronicle]]]]
Constans attempted to steer a middle line in the church dispute between Orthodoxy and Monothelitism by refusing to persecute either and prohibiting further discussion of the natures of [[Jesus Christ]] by decree in 648 (the [[Type of Constans]]). Naturally, this live-and-let-live compromise satisfied few passionate participants in the dispute.{{Heraclian dynasty}}

Meanwhile, the advance of the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] continued unabated. In 647 they entered [[Armenia]] and [[Cappadocia]] and sacked [[Caesarea Mazaca]].{{sfn|Browning|1992|p=45}} In the same year, they raided Africa and killed Gregory.{{sfn|Pringle|1981|p=47}} In 648, the Arabs raided into [[Phrygia]], and in 649 they launched their first maritime expedition against [[Crete]]. A major Arab offensive into [[Cilicia]] and [[Isauria]] in 650–651 forced the Emperor to enter into negotiations with Caliph Uthman's governor of [[Syria]], [[Mu'awiya I]] ({{Reign|656|661}}), who later reigned as the first [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad]] caliph. The truce that followed allowed a short respite and made it possible for Constans to hold on to the western portions of Armenia.
[[File:Tarikhuna bi-uslub qasasi-Battle of Dhāt al-Ṣawārī.jpg|thumb|The Roman fleet engaging the Arabs at the Battle of the Masts off the Lycian coast]]
In 654, however, Mu'awiya renewed his raids by sea, plundering [[Rhodes]]. Constans led a fleet to attack the Muslims at [[Finike|Phoinike]] (off [[Lycia]]) in 655 at the [[Battle of the Masts]], but he was defeated: 500 Byzantine ships were destroyed in the battle, and the Emperor himself was almost killed. The sea battle was so devastating that the emperor escaped only by trading clothes with one of his men.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bennett |first1=Judith M. |title=Medieval Europe: a short history |date=20 January 2010 |publisher=McGraw-Hill |isbn=9780073385501 |pages=70 |edition=11th}}</ref> Before the battle, chronicler [[Theophanes the Confessor]] says, the Emperor dreamed of being at [[Thessaloniki|Thessalonica]]; this dream predicted his defeat against the Arabs because the word Thessalonika is similar to the sentence "thes allo niken", which means "gave victory to another (the enemy)".<ref>"θὲς ἄλλῳ νὶκην", see Bury, John Bagnell (1889), ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=4dAJrLB8xh4C&pg=PA290 A history of the later Roman empire from Arcadius to Irene]'', Adamant Media Corporation, 2005, p.290. {{ISBN|1-4021-8368-2}}</ref>  Caliph Uthman was preparing to attack [[Constantinople]], but he did not carry out the plan, as the [[first Fitna]] broke out in 656.

In 658, with the eastern frontier under less pressure, Constans defeated the [[Slavs]] in the [[Balkans]], temporarily reasserting some notion of Byzantine rule over them and [[Asia Minor Slavs|resettled some of them in Anatolia]] ({{Circa|649}} or 667). In 659 he campaigned far to the east, taking advantage of a rebellion against the Caliphate in [[Medes|Media]]. The same year he concluded peace with the Arabs.
[[File:Арест византийцами папы Мартина I в Риме в июне 653 года по приказу Константа II.jpg|thumb|By order of Constans II, the exarch of Ravenna Theodore Calliopas (right) arrests Pope Martin I in Rome.]]
Now Constans could turn to church matters once again. [[Pope Martin I]] had condemned both [[Monothelitism]] and Constans' attempt to halt debates over it in the [[Lateran Council of 649]]. The Emperor ordered the [[Exarchate of Ravenna|Exarch of Ravenna]] to arrest the Pope. Exarch [[Olympius (exarch)|Olympius]] excused himself from this task, but his successor, [[Theodore I Calliopas]], carried it out in 653. Pope Martin was brought to Constantinople and condemned as a criminal, ultimately being exiled to [[Chersonesus Taurica|Cherson]], where he died in 655.

Constans grew increasingly fearful that his younger brother, Theodosius, could oust him from the throne; he therefore obliged Theodosius to take holy orders and later had him killed in 660. Constans' sons Constantine, Heraclius, and Tiberius had been associated on the throne since the 650s. However, having attracted the hatred of the citizens of Constantinople, Constans decided to leave the capital and to move to [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]] in [[Sicily]].

On his way, he stopped in Macedonia and fought the Slavs at Thessalonica with success. Then, in the winter of 662–663, he made his camp at Athens.<ref>Cheetham, Nicolas. ''Mediaeval Greece''. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1981.</ref>

From there, in 663, he continued to Italy. He launched an assault against the [[Lombards|Lombard]] [[Duchy of Benevento]], which then encompassed most of [[Southern Italy]]. Taking advantage of the fact that Lombard king [[Grimoald I of Benevento]] was engaged against Frankish forces from [[Neustria]], Constans disembarked at [[Taranto]] and besieged [[Lucera]] and [[Benevento]]. However, the latter resisted and Constans withdrew to [[Naples]]. During the journey from Benevento to Naples, Constans II was defeated by Mitolas, Count of Capua, near Pugna. Constans ordered [[Saburrus]], the commander of his army, to attack the Lombards again, but [[:it:Battaglia di Forino|he was defeated]] by the Beneventani at [[Forino]], between [[Avellino]] and [[Salerno]].

In 663 Constans visited [[Rome]] for twelve days—the first emperor since the fall of the [[Western Roman Empire]] in 476 and, along with [[John V Palaiologos]], one of only two Eastern Roman emperors since the division of the Roman empire in 395 to set foot in Rome—and was received with great honor by [[Pope Vitalian]] (657–672). Although on friendly terms with Vitalian, he stripped buildings (including the [[Pantheon, Rome|Pantheon]]) of their ornaments and bronze to be carried back to Constantinople, and in 666 declared the Pope to have no jurisdiction over the [[Archbishop of Ravenna]], since that city was the seat of the Exarch, his immediate representative.  His subsequent moves in [[Calabria]] and [[Sardinia]] were marked by further strippings and request of tributes that enraged his Italian subjects.

According to [[Warren Treadgold]], the first ''[[Theme (Byzantine district)|themes]]'' were created between 659 and 661, during the reign of Constans II.<ref>Treadgold, Warren. ''Byzantium and Its Army: 284–1081''. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1995. pp. 23-25, 72-73.</ref>  However, [[John Haldon]] states that this idea is not supported by a "a shred of evidence", although redistribution of the armies across the Anatolian provinces did take place, and likely resulted in administrative changes.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Haldon |first=John |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.4159/9780674969193/html |title=The Empire That Would Not Die: The Paradox of Eastern Roman Survival, 640–740 |date=2016 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-08877-1 |pages=35|doi=10.4159/9780674969193 }}</ref>

== Death and succession ==
[[File:La morte di Costante II.PNG|thumb|The death of Constans II from the book ''Hutchinson's History of the Nations'' (c. 1920)]]
On 15 July 668,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Grierson|first=Philip|date=1962|title=The Tombs and Obits of the Byzantine Emperors (337–1042)|url=https://archive.org/details/SevcenkoStudies19611992/page/n70/mode/1up|journal=[[Dumbarton Oaks Papers]]|volume=16|pages=49–50|doi=10.2307/1291157 |jstor=1291157}}</ref>{{sfn|Grierson|1968|p=402}} he was [[assassinate]]d in his bath by his [[Chamberlain (office)|chamberlain]], either killed with a [[bucket]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Theophanes the Confessor |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/34704963 |title=The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor: Byzantine and Near Eastern History, AD 284-813 |date=1997 |publisher=Clarendon Press |others=Cyril A. Mango, Roger Scott, Geoffrey Greatrex |isbn=0-19-822568-7 |location=Oxford |pages=491 |oclc=34704963}}</ref> or stabbed with a knife.<ref name=odb>''[[Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium|ODB]]'', "[https://archive.org/details/odb_20210521/page/496/mode/2up?view=theater Constans II]", p. 496</ref> His son Constantine succeeded him as [[Constantine IV]]. A brief usurpation in Sicily by [[Mezezius]] was quickly suppressed by the new emperor.

== Assessments and legacy ==
[[File:Illustration of Byzantine embassy to Tang Taizong 643 CE.jpg|thumb|643 CE in [[Chang'an]]. Meeting of the ambassadors of Constans II with  Emperor [[Emperor Taizong of Tang|Taizong]] of [[Tang china|Tang China]]. The subject of negotiations was cargo delays on the [[Silk Road]] due to tribal conflict in the [[Western Turkic Khaganate]], which was responsible for the safety of goods on the [[Silk Road]]. To restore order, Taizong supported the election of the head of the khaganate to [[Irbis Seguy|Irbis]] and it was necessary to inform the authorities of the Byzantium Empire, which was the main recipient of the goods. Illustration from the early 20th century.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/hutchinsonsstory00londuoft |title=Hutchinson's Story of the Nations |publisher=Hutchinson & Co. |year=n.d. |location=London |pages=94 |language=en}}</ref>]]
The historian [[Robert G. Hoyland|Robert Hoyland]] asserts that Mu'awiya was a significant Islamic challenge for Constans to "deny [the divinity of] Jesus and turn to the Great God who I worship, the God of our father Abraham" and speculates that Mu'awiya's tour of Christian sites in Jerusalem was done to demonstrate "the fact that he, and not the Byzantine emperor, was now God's representative on earth".{{Sfn|Hoyland|2015|p=135–136, 266 n. 30.}}

=== Record in Chinese sources ===
{{further information|Sino-Roman relations|Europeans in Medieval China}}
The [[Twenty-four Histories|Chinese dynastic histories]] of the ''[[Old Book of Tang]]'' and ''[[New Book of Tang]]'' mention [[:zh:s:新唐書/卷221下|several embassies made by ''Fu lin'']] (拂菻), which they equated with [[Daqin]] (the [[Roman Empire]]).<ref name="halsall 2000"/> These are recorded as having begun in the year 643 with an embassy sent by the king ''Boduoli'' (波多力, Constans II Pogonatos) to [[Emperor Taizong of Tang]], bearing gifts such as [[Cranberry glass|red]] [[Roman glass|glass]] and green [[gemstone]]s.<ref name="halsall 2000">{{cite web|orig-year=1885|date=2000|author=Hirth, Friedrich|editor=Jerome S. Arkenberg|url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/eastasia/romchin1.html|title=East Asian History Sourcebook: Chinese Accounts of Rome, Byzantium and the Middle East, c. 91 B.C.E. – 1643 C.E.|publisher=[[Fordham University]]|website=Fordham.edu|access-date=10 September 2016|archive-date=10 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140910050947/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/eastasia/romchin1.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Other contacts are reported taking place in 667, 701, and perhaps 719, sometimes through Central Asian intermediaries.<ref>{{cite book|last=Mutsaers |first=Inge |url=https://www.routledge.com/Byzantine-Trade-4th-12th-Centuries-The-Archaeology-of-Local-Regional/Mango/p/book/9780754663102 |title=Byzantine Trade, 4th–12th Centuries |editor=Marlia Mundell Mango |year=2009 |access-date=10 September 2016}}</ref>{{Verify source|date=January 2019|reason=Inge Mutsaers isn't mentioned in the summary of this source}} These histories also record that [[Early Muslim conquests|the Arabs]] (''Da shi'' 大食) sent their commander "Mo-yi" ([[Chinese language|Chinese]]: 摩拽伐之, [[Pinyin]]: ''Mó zhuāi fá zhī''), to [[Siege of Constantinople (674–678)|besiege the Byzantine capital]], [[Constantinople]], and forced the Byzantines to pay them tribute.<ref name="halsall 2000"/>

This Arab commander "Mo-yi" was identified by historian [[Friedrich Hirth]] as [[Muawiyah I]] (r. 661–680), the [[History of Syria#Medieval era|governor of Syria]] before becoming the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad caliph]].<ref name="halsall 2000" /> The same books also described Constantinople in some detail as having [[Walls of Constantinople|massive granite walls]] and a [[water clock]] mounted with a golden statue of man.<ref name="halsall 2000" /> The Byzantine historian [[Theophylact Simocatta]], writing during the reign of [[Heraclius]] (r. 610–641), relayed information about [[Geography of China|China's geography]], its capital city ''Khubdan'' ([[Old Turkic language|Old Turkic]]: ''Khumdan'', i.e. [[Chang'an]]), its current ruler ''Taisson'' whose name meant "[[Son of Heaven|Son of God]]" (Chinese: [[Chinese emperor|''Tianzi'']]), and correctly pointed to its reunification by the [[Sui dynasty]] (581–618) as occurring during the reign of [[Maurice (emperor)|Maurice]], noting that China had previously been divided politically along the [[Yangzi River]] by [[Southern and Northern dynasties|two warring nations]].<ref>{{citation|last=Yule |first=Henry |author-link=Henry Yule|url=https://archive.org/stream/cathaywaythither01yule#page/n3/mode/2up|access-date=21 September 2016|title=Cathay and the Way Thither: Being a Collection of Medieval Notices of China, Vol I: Preliminary Essay on the Intercourse Between China and the Western Nations Previous to the Discovery of the Cape Route|location=London|publisher=London: Hakluyt Society|editor=Henri Cordier |year=1915|volume=1|pages=29–31; see also footnote #4 on p. 29; footnote #2 on p. 30; and footnote #3 on page 31}}</ref>

==Family==
By his wife [[Fausta, wife of Constans II|Fausta]], a daughter of the patrician Valentinus, Constans II had three sons:
* [[Constantine IV]], who succeeded him as Emperor
* [[Heraclius (son of Constans II)|Heraclius]], co-emperor from 659 to 681
* [[Tiberius (son of Constans II)|Tiberius]], co-emperor from 659 to 681

== Coinage gallery ==
<gallery widths="160" heights="150">
File:Solidus of Heraclonas.png|[[Solidus (coin)|Solidus]] of Constans II, {{circa}} 642 (aged 12){{efn|This type is sometimes mistaken for Heraclonas.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bates|first=George|author-link=George E. Bates (professor)|date=1971|title=Constans II or Heraclonas?|journal=Museum Notes (American Numismatic Society)|volume=17|pages=141–161 |jstor=43573491 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43573491|url-access=subscription}}</ref>}}
File:Solidus of Constans II, AD 647 (obverse).jpg|Solidus minted {{circa}} 647 (aged 17)
File:Constans II 641-678, Karthago, 652-653, AV 4.37 g.jpg|A solidus minted in [[Carthage]], 652 (aged 22)
File:Constans II and sons.jpg|Solidus minted {{circa}} 662 (aged 32) depicting Constans alongside his sons and co-emperors
File:Rashidun coin Pseudo-Byzantine types.jpg|Coin of the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] with Constans II, {{circa}} 647–670
</gallery>

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
| 1=  1. '''Constans II'''
| 2=  2. [[Constantine III (Byzantine emperor)|Constantine III]]
| 3=  3. [[Gregoria]]
| 4=  4. [[Heraclius I]]
| 5=  5. [[Fabia Eudokia]]
| 6=  6. [[Nicetas (cousin of Heraclius)|Niketas]]
| 7=  
| 8=  8. [[Heraclius the Elder]]
| 9=  9. Epiphania
|10= 10. Rogas
|12= 12. Gregoras (brother of [[Heraclius the Elder]])
}}

==See also==
{{portal|Byzantine Empire}}
*[[List of Byzantine emperors]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{commons}}
* {{Cite book|last=Biermann|first=Felix|title=Byzantine Coins in Central Europe between the 5th and 10th Century|publisher=Institute of Archaeology University of Rzeszów|year=2009|isbn=978-8376760087|editor-last=Wołoszyn|editor-first=M.|location=Kraków|chapter=Byzantine Coin Finds from the 6th to the 8th Century Between Elbe and Oder and their Meaning for Settlement History}}
*{{cite book |title=The Byzantine Empire|first=Robert |last=Browning |publisher=The Catholic University of America Press  |year=1992  }}
* {{cite book |author-link=J. B. Bury |title=A History of the Later Roman Empire from Arcadius to Irene (395 A. D. to 800 A.D.) |first=John Bagnell |last=Bury |volume=II |publisher=Macmillan and Co. |year=1889 }}
* {{Cite journal|last=Foss|first=Clive|date=2005|title=Emperors named Constantine|url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/numi_0484-8942_2005_num_6_161_2594|journal=Revue numismatique|language=fr-FR|volume=6|issue=161|pages=93–102|doi=10.3406/numi.2005.2594}}
* {{Cite book |last=Grierson|first=Philip|title= Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection| publisher = [[Dumbarton Oaks]] | year = 1968 | isbn = 9780884020240|volume=2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FIbav7CP4P4C&pg=402}}
* {{cite book |last=Hoyland |first=Robert G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i3LDBAAAQBAJ |title=In God's Path: the Arab Conquests and the Creation of an Islamic Empire |date=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-991636-8 |location=Oxford |author-link=Robert G. Hoyland}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ostrogorsky|first=George|year=1956|title=History of the Byzantine State|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bt0_AAAAYAAJ|publisher=Basil Blackwell|place=Oxford}}
* {{Cite book |last=Meyendorff|first=John|author-link=John Meyendorff|year=1989|title=Imperial unity and Christian divisions: The Church 450–680 A.D.|series=The Church in history|volume=2|location=Crestwood, NY|publisher=St. Vladimir's Seminary Press|isbn=978-0-88-141056-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6J_YAAAAMAAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Moosa|first=Matti|title=The Crusades: Conflict Between Christendom and Islam|publisher=Gorgias Press|year=2008|isbn=978-1463211158|location=Piscataway|chapter=Islam and Christianity: Jihad and Holy War|pages=33–54 |doi=10.31826/9781463211158-003 |chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.31826/9781463211158-003/html}}
* {{cite book | last=Pringle | first=Denys |author-link=Denys Pringle | title=The Defence of Byzantine Africa from Justinian to the Arab Conquest: An Account of the Military History and Archaeology of the African Provinces in the Sixth and Seventh Century | location=Oxford, United Kingdom | publisher=British Archaeological Reports | year=1981 | isbn=0-86054-119-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4DIjAQAAIAAJ}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Widdowson|first=Marc|date=2009|title=The early Christian insurgency in Islamic Spain|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09592310903026977|journal=Small Wars & Insurgencies|volume=20|issue=3–4 |pages=478–506|doi=10.1080/09592310903026977|s2cid=144989232 |url-access=subscription}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Zuckerman|first=Constantin|date=2010|title=On the title and the office of the Byzantine basileus|url=https://www.academia.edu/2481312|journal=Travaux et Mémoires du Centre de recherche d'Histoire et Civilisation de Byzance|volume=16|pages=865–890|issn=0577-1471|author-link=Constantin Zuckerman}}
* {{Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium}}
* {{Prosopographie der mittelbyzantinischen Zeit|volume=online|title=Konstans II}}
* ''[[Liber Pontificalis]]''
* [[Paul the Deacon]], ''Historia Langobardorum'', Book V
	
{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Heraclian dynasty]]|7 November|630|15 July|668}}
{{s-reg|}}
{{s-bef | before=[[Heraclonas]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[Byzantine Emperor]] | years=641–668 | regent1=[[David Tiberius]] |years1= 641 | regent2=[[Constantine IV]] |years2= 654–685 | regent3 = [[Heraclius (son of Constans II)|Heraclius]] | years3=659–681 | regent4= [[Tiberius (son of Constans II)|Tiberius]] |years4=659–681}}
{{s-aft | after=[[Constantine IV]]}}
{{s-off}}
|-
{{s-vac| last=[[Heraclonas|Heraclius Augustus]] in 639}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[List of Roman consuls#Roman consuls of the East alone (541–887)|Roman consul]] | years=642}}
{{s-vac| next=[[Constantine IV|Constantinus Augustus]] in 668}}
{{s-end}}

{{Roman Emperors}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Constans Ii}}
[[Category:630 births]]
[[Category:668 deaths]]
[[Category:7th-century Byzantine emperors]]
[[Category:7th-century murdered monarchs]]
[[Category:Heraclian dynasty]]
[[Category:Medieval child monarchs]]
[[Category:Assassinated Byzantine emperors]]
[[Category:Byzantine consuls]]
[[Category:640s in the Byzantine Empire]]
[[Category:650s in the Byzantine Empire]]
[[Category:660s in the Byzantine Empire]]
[[Category:Sons of Byzantine emperors]]