Constantine VI: The Blind and Foolish Emperor
244Constantine VI, reigning for ten years under the rule of his mother and regent, seizes control of power for himself and begins his own rule. It goes horribly wrong. He is blinded by a coup by his mother, he left an empire with lost fortresses to the Arabs, a religious controversy and mixed campaigns against the Bulgars.
Chapters:
00:00 Constantine Consolidates Power
01:17 Initial Campaigns
02:24 Disaster at Markellai
04:19 Armeniakon Rebellion
04:51 Loss of Kamachon
05:30 The Moechian Schism
06:55 Standoff at Versinikia
07:35 The Fall and Blinding of Constantine VI
Irene's Regency:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yf55kjCzeDY
Irene:
https://youtu.be/evD4Oy0EIkE
Special thanks to Chrysa Sakel for her pictures of Constantine V, Leo IV, Young Irene, Old Irene and her rough sketch of Constantine VI.
Bibliography:
Primary Sources
Theophanes the Confessor, Chronographia, Translation by Cyril Mango and Roger Scott.
Scholarship
Brubaker, L. and Haldon J. (2011) Byzantium in the Iconoclast Era 680-850, A History, Cambridge.
Fine, J. V. A. Jr. (1983) The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century, (Michigan).
Herrin, J. (1987) The Formation of Christendom, London.
Treadgold, W. (1979) ‘The Bride-Shows of the Byzantine Emperors’ in Bruxelles 49, 395-413.
Treadgold, W. (1988) The Byzantine Revival 780-842, Stanford.
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Music Credits:
'Seraphim Unleashed' and 'Dead Grounds' by Jeremy Soule from Supreme Commander by Gas Powered Games.
'Where am I?' by Jeremy Soule from Total Annihilation by Cavedog Entertainment.
All images used are for educational purposes, if I have used a piece of art and you would like me to credit you, please contact me and I shall do so.