Constans II

Constans II
Emperor of the Romans
A solidus of Constans II c.651–3 (aged 21–3), wearing a diadem and holding the globus cruciger. The inscription reads dn constantinus pp av.
Roman Emperor
ReignNovember 641 – 15 July 668
CoronationSeptember 641
PredecessorHeraclonas
SuccessorConstantine IV
Co-emperorsDavid Tiberius (641)
Heraclius (659–681)
Tiberius (659–681)
Constantine IV (654–668)
BornHeraclius
7 November 630
Constantinople
Died15 July 668 (aged 37)
Syracuse, Sicily
SpouseFausta
Issue
Detail
Regnal name
Latin: Imperator Caesar Flavius Constantinus Augustus
Greek: Αὐτοκράτωρ καῖσαρ Φλάβιος Κωνσταντῖνος αὐγουστος
DynastyHeraclian
FatherConstantine III
MotherGregoria
ReligionNicene Christianity

Constans II (Greek: Κώνστας, romanized: Kōnstas; 7 November 630 – 15 July 668), also called "the Bearded" (Greek: ὁ Πωγωνᾶτος, romanized: ho Pōgōnãtos), was the Byzantine emperor from 641 to 668. Constans was the last attested emperor to serve as consul, in 642, although the office continued to exist until the reign of Leo VI the Wise (r. 886–912). His religious policy saw him steering a middle line in disputes between the Orthodox and Monothelites by refusing to persecute either and prohibited discussion of the natures of Jesus Christ under the Type of Constans in 648. His reign coincided with Arab invasions under Umar, Uthman, and Mu'awiya I in the late 640s to 660s. Constans 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 the Empire still held it.