Constans II's reign coincided with Muslim invasions under Mu'awiya I in the late 640s to 650s.
14 Facts About Constans II
2.
Constans II was the first emperor to visit Rome since the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, and the last one to visit Rome while it was still held by the Empire.
3.
Constans II was most likely elevated to caesar by his father in order to secure his succession to the throne against Martina and her sons.
4.
Constans II' mother Gregoria was a daughter of Nicetas, a first cousin of Heraclius.
5.
Later that same year, Heraclonas was deposed by Valentinus, one of Heraclius' most trusted generals, and Constans II was left as sole emperor.
6.
Constans II owed his rise to the throne to a popular reaction against his uncle and to the protection of the soldiers led by Valentinus.
7.
Constans II attempted to steer a middle line in the church dispute between Orthodoxy and Monothelitism by refusing to persecute either and prohibiting further discussion of the natures of Jesus Christ by decree in 648.
8.
The truce that followed allowed a short respite and made it possible for Constans II to hold on to the western portions of Armenia.
9.
Constans II led a fleet to attack the Muslims at Phoinike in 655 at the Battle of the Masts, but he was defeated: 500 Byzantine ships were destroyed in the battle, and the Emperor himself was almost killed.
10.
Constans II grew increasingly fearful that his younger brother, Theodosius, could oust him from the throne; he therefore obliged Theodosius to take holy orders and later had him killed in 660.
11.
However, having attracted the hatred of the citizens of Constantinople, Constans II decided to leave the capital and to move to Syracuse in Sicily.
12.
Constans II launched an assault against the Lombard Duchy of Benevento, which then encompassed most of Southern Italy.
13.
Constans II ordered Saburrus, the commander of his army, to attack the Lombards again, but he was defeated by the Beneventani at Forino, between Avellino and Salerno.
14.
Coin of the Rashidun Caliphate with figure of Constans II standing facing, holding cross-tipped staff and globus cruciger.