3 – Constantine VI (797?)
Constantine VI became the Byzantine Emperor in 780 when he was just nine years of age. His mother, Irene of Athens, assumed control of the Empire until Constantine was old enough to rule alone. Although he ‘ruled’ the Empire for 16 years, Constantine was the actual Emperor for a few years because his mother had complete control throughout. She was supposed to relinquish control when he turned 16, but this didn’t happen.
In 788, he was meant to marry Rotrude, one of Charlemagne’s daughters, but Irene stepped in to call off the engagement. She turned against Charlemagne by supporting a pretender to the Lombard’s named Adalgis, but the gamble backfired when Adalgis was defeated in battle. There was a conspiracy against Irene in 790, but she managed to suppress it and used the momentum to try and become recognized as sole ruler.
However, the Armeniacs rebelled against her and Constantine VI finally assumed power in 790. Irene retained her title as Empress, and it was officially confirmed in 792. Now that he was the Emperor, Constantine didn’t show much in the way of competence. He suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Marcellae in 792, and when his uncle, the ‘Caesar’ Nikephoros, gained support, Constantine had him blinded and also ordered further mutilations to other members of his family.
Constantine was losing popularity and sealed his fate by divorcing Maria of Amnia and marrying Theodote, his mistress. It was a canonically illegal act and cost him what little support he had left. In 797, the emperor was captured, blinded and imprisoned by supporters of Irene; she reigned as Empress Regent until 802. No one knows when Constantine died; it was certainly before 805. Certainly, he died in great pain from his wounds.