Constantine (son of Basil I)

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Constantine (right) with his father Basil I on the lapel of a solidus

Constantine ( Middle Greek Κωνσταντῖνος ; * around 859; † September 3, 879 ) was a Byzantine co-emperor from 868 until his death .

Life

Constantine was the eldest son of the future emperor Basil I and his first wife Maria. He had an older sister Anastasia and three half-sisters (Anna, Helene, Maria) and three half-brothers ( Leo , Alexander and Stephan ). As Basil after the assassination attempt on Michael III. became sole ruler on September 23, 867, Constantine became heir to the throne . On February 10th (or already on January 6th) 868 he was crowned co-emperor ( Symbasileus ) as a child and appears as such on coins both with his father and with his stepmother Eudokia Ingerina .

Constantine was considered his father's favorite son and first candidate for successor, because his half-brother Leo, who had also been a co-emperor since 870, was suspected of being in truth Michael III. to have been conceived. When Basil was negotiating an alliance against the Saracens in southern Italy with the Frankish Emperor Ludwig II in 869 , it was considered to marry Constantine to his daughter Ermengarde , but it did not materialize. In 878 Constantine accompanied his father in the conquest of the Paulikian city ​​of Tephrike , which was razed to the ground.

The young Crown Prince died of a serious illness on September 3, 879. Shortly after his death, he was the patriarch I. Photios canonized . In his place, Alexander moved up to the Imperial College.

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personal data
SURNAME Constantine
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Constantinos; Κωνσταντῖνος (Middle Greek)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Byzantine co-emperor (868–879)
DATE OF BIRTH around 859
DATE OF DEATH September 3, 879