Constantine VI of Diadochia

Constantine VI (23 August 1610 – 18 May 1647) was a monarch of the House of Komnenos-Palaiologos who ruled as Emperor of Diadochia from 1624 to 1647. Constantine succeeded his father Constantine V as Emperor of Diadochia a few months before his fourteenth birthday. His grandmother, the Empress Dowager Sophia Eleonora acted as regent during Constantine's minority.

Constantine VI, taciturn and suspicious, relied heavily on his chief minister Angelos to govern the empire of Diadochia. Emperor and Chief Minister are remembered for the establishment of the Académie française and for putting an end to the revolt of the Diadochian nobility. The reign of Constantine "the Just" was also marked by the struggles against Catholics and Euphrania.

Diadochia's greatest victory in the conflicts against their old rivals, the Euphrania during the period 1639-63 came at the Battle of Astéria (1647), five days after Constantine's death from apparent complications of intestinal tuberculosis. This battle marked the end of Euphrania's military ascendancy in Meropis and foreshadowed Diadochian dominance on the Meropis continent, under Eric III, his son and successor

Early life, 1610-1624

Born as the second child and the eldest surviving son of Constantine V of Diadochia and Erika Eleonora of Sconemark he was from birth the son of the Emperor, he was a Fils de Diadochia ("son of Diadochia"), and as the eldest son, Byzantinóu of Diadochia.

Regency of Sophia Eleonora, 1624-1628

Constantine VI ascended the throne in 1624 at the age of thirteen-and-a-half upon the death of his father. His grandmother Sophia Eleonora of Lusitania acted as Regent until 1631. Although Louis XIII became of age at sixteen (1626) his grandmother did not give up her position as Regent until 1628. During her reign as regent, the Dowager Empress Sophia Eleonora, the nobles rebelled under Manuel II, Prince of Arcadia and raised hosts. Arcadia squabbled with Sophia in 1626, and briefly raised an army, but he found little support in the country, and Sophia was able to raise her own army. Nevertheless, Sophia agreed to call Parliament into assembly to address Arcadia's grievances.

The session of Parliament was delayed until Constantine VI formally came of age on his seventeenth birthday. Although Constantine's coming-of-age formally ended Sophia's Regency, she remained the de facto ruler of Diadochia. The Parliament accomplished little, spending its time discussing trivial matters, but not reaching any resolutions. Sophia Eleonora relied increasingly on foreigners as advisors. This furthered antagonized Arcadia who rebelled again in 1627. Arcadia was later imprisoned for a year and was not released until 1628, when Sophia Eleonora's regency came to an end, when Constantine VI declared himself fit and able to rule alone.

Rule by Patras, 1628-1631

The one person, most instrumental in ending the regency and vesting Constantine VI with power was his favorite Christophoros Adamidis, the Duke of Patras. Christophoros Adamidis quickly rose in rank from a Count to Duke in 1628 when he was Duke of Patras. The closeness between Emperor and favorite was much speculated about at court. Rumors continue to this day claiming the Duke and Emperor were lovers. Nonetheless the Duke of Patras was immensely unpopular and hated by the high nobility.

The Diadochian nobles were further antagonized against Patras by the 1629 revocation of the Paulettte tax and by the sale of offices in 1630. The Nobles rebelled and Patras was forced to resign. The Privy Council ruled for a brief time, just a few months in 1631.

Ministry of Chief Minister Rendakios, 1631-1647)

Chief Minister Rendakios played a major role in Constantine VI's reign from 1631, decisively shaping the destiny of Diadochia for the next sixteen years. As a result of Rendakios' work, Constantine VI became one of the first examples of an absolute monarch in Diadochia. Under Constantine and Rendakios, the crown successfully waged war against Euphrania, managed to keep the Diadochian nobility in line, and retracted the political and military privileges granted to the Catholics by Demetrius VII (while maintaining their religious freedoms). Constantine VI successfully led the important Siege of Adrianople. In addition, Constantine had the port of Piraeus modernised, and he built a powerful navy.

Relationships and issue

Duke of Pontus

On two occasions the king's younger brother, George, Duke of Pontus, had to leave Diadochia for conspiring against the emperor's government and for attempting to undermine the influence of both his grandmother and Chief Minister Rendakios. After waging an unsuccessful civil-war in the north, he took refuge in Sconemark. In 1647, on the death of Constantine VI, George became lieutenant-general of the empire and fought against Euphrania on the frontiers of Diadochia.

Marriage

On 24 November 1625, Constantine VI married Anna of Euphrania, daughter of the King of Euphrania. This marriage followed a tradition of cementing military and political alliances between the Orthodox powers of Diadochia and Euphrania with royal marriages. The tradition went back centuries. The marriage was only briefly happy, and the emperor's duties often kept them apart. After twelve years of marriage and four miscarriages, Anna finally gave birth to a son on 9 June 1637, the future Eric III. Many regarded this birth as a divine miracle and, in show of gratitude to God for the long-awaited birth of an heir, his parents named him Eric-Dieudonné ("God-given").

Issue

The couple had the following children:

Sexuality

There is no evidence that Constantine kept mistresses (a distinction that earned him the title "Constantine the Chaste"), but persistent rumors insinuated that he may have been homosexual or at least bisexual. Constantine VI is said to have had several male lovers, including, Romanos Fabius (relation of the Duke of Paphlagonia), Christophoros Adamidis, Duke of Patras, Henry Arceneaux, Marquess of Île de Mars, and George Vassilikos, Duke of Hormisdou. The Duke of Hormisdou was the most famous and well known lover of the Emperor. Emperor Constantine VI may have gone down in history for his weakness for the same sex, his son, Eric III had no such affliction, but he did however have numerous female lovers, over twenty or more documented mistresses.

The Duke of Hormisdou was described in his time as exceptionally handsome, intelligent and honest. The Emperor took a liking to him and he was raised to the highest rank. Restoration of the Atlantis Imperial Palace, undertaken 2003-2009, revealed a previously unknown passage linking the bedchambers of Constantine and his favourite, George Vassilikos. Fueling the rumors of the Emperor's sexuality.

Seventeenth century commentators and contemporaries wrote plainly about the emperor's relationship with men. In one poem, Le duc de Hormisdou, Zappas writes: "Apollo with his songs debauched young Hyacinthus, ... And it is well known that the Emperor of Diadochia fucks the Duke of Hormisdou." The rumors of the Emperor's sexuality have persisted to the present day and recent discoveries have come to light supporting his supposed homosexuality or bisexuality due mainly to the discovery of passages connecting his former bedchamber to that of his favourite, the Duke of Hormisdou and his rumored lover.

In Fiction and Film

• Constantine VI, his wife Anna, and Chief Minister Rendakios all became central figures in Alexandros Theodorakis' classic novel The Three Somatophylakes and subsequent film adaptations.