Constantine V

Constantine V
Emperor of the Romans
Solidus of Constantine V.
Byzantine emperor
Reign18 June 741 – 14 September 775
Coronation31 March 720[1]
PredecessorLeo III the Isaurian
SuccessorLeo IV the Khazar
Rival emperorsArtabasdos (741–43)
Nikephoros (741–43)
BornJuly 718[2]
Constantinople
(now Istanbul, Turkey)
Died14 September 775 (aged 57)
Wives
IssueLeo IV
Nikephoros
Christopher
Niketas
Eudokimos
Anthimos
Anthousa
DynastyIsaurian
FatherLeo III the Isaurian
MotherMaria
ReligionChalcedonian Christianity

Constantine V (Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος, translit. Kōnstantīnos; Latin: Constantinus; July 718 – 14 September 775) was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775. His reign saw a consolidation of Byzantine security from external threats. As an able military leader, Constantine took advantage of civil war in the Muslim world to make limited offensives on the Arab frontier. With this eastern frontier secure, he undertook repeated campaigns against the Bulgars in the Balkans. His military activity, and policy of settling Christian populations from the Arab frontier in Thrace, made Byzantium's hold on its Balkan territories more secure. He was also responsible for important military and administrative innovations and reforms.

Religious strife and controversy was a prominent feature of his reign. His fervent support of Iconoclasm and opposition to monasticism led to his vilification by some contemporary commentators and the majority of later Byzantine writers, who denigrated him with the nicknames "Dung-Named" (Greek: Κοπρώνυμος, translit. Koprónimos; Latin: Copronymus), because he allegedly defaecated during his baptism,[3][1] similarly "Anointed with Urine" (Greek: Οὐραλύφιος, translit. Ouralýphios; Latin: Uralyphius),[4] and "the Equestrian" (Greek: Καβαλλινος, translit. Kaballinos; Latin: Caballinus), referencing the excrement of horses.[3][5]

  1. ^ a b PBE (2001) Konstantinos 7 (#3703)
  2. ^ Nikephoros 1990, p. 125 (chapter 56).
  3. ^ a b Cholij, Roman (2002). Theodore the Stoudite: The Ordering of Holiness. Oxford University Press. p. 12. ISBN 9780199248469.
  4. ^ Lampte, G.W.H. (1961). A Patristic Greek Lexicon. Oxford at Clarendon Press. pp. 977, after Theodore the Studite.
  5. ^ Bury, J.B. (1889). A History of the Later Roman Empire from Arcadius to Irene (395 A.D. to 800 A.D.). p. 462. ISBN 978-1-4021-8368-3.

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