Constantine VI
Constantine VI was the last emperor of the Isaurian dynasty and one of the most tragic figures in Byzantine history, a man who never fully escaped his mother's shadow and ultimately fell victim to her ruthless ambition. He became emperor as a child of ten in 780 under the regency of his mother Irene. In 787 Irene convened the Second Council of Nicaea, which restored the veneration of icons and repudiated the iconoclasm of the previous half-century. As he grew older he attempted to assert his authority, briefly deposing his mother in 790, but she regained co-imperial status in 792. His personal life became a scandal when he divorced his wife Mary and married his mistress Theodote in 795, denounced by the influential abbot Theodore of Stoudios. His military record was poor - he suffered humiliating defeats against the Bulgars. In 797, in a coup almost certainly organized by Irene herself, Constantine was seized and blinded on his mother's orders, an act so brutal it caused him to die from his wounds.
- Lived: 770 CE – 797 CE
- Nationality: byzantine
- Roles: emperor, head_of_state
