A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

CONSTANS.

contempt for his character, and the governors of
distant provinces paid so little respect to his
authority, that they seemed to be independent
princes. A revolt broke out in Armenia under
Pasagnathus, who made himself completely independent; but he afterwards returned to obedience.
As early as 648, a truce for two years had been
concluded between the Arabs and Constans.
'Abdu-1-lah availed himself of that truce to invade
and conquer Nubia and Abyssinia; but he returned in 651, renewed hostilities, and sent an expedition against Sicily, where the Arabs took
several places, and maintained themselves there.
In the same year Mu'awiyah spread terror through
both the East and the West by the conquest of
Rhodes, and it was on this occasion that the
famous colossus was sold to a Jew of Edessa.
The fall of Rhodes failed to rouse Constans
from his carelessness. He still endeavoured to
compel obedience to his " Typus" in Italy, although it had been condemned by pope Martin I.
Theodorus Calliopas, the imperial exarch in Italy,
arrested Martin in his own palace in 653, and
sent him from thence to Messina, afterwards to
the island of Naxos, and at last, in 654, to Constantinople. Here, after a mock trial, he was condemned of holding treacherous correspondence with
the infidels, and was mutilated and banished to
Cherson, in the Chersonnesus Taurica, where he
died in September, A. D. 655. Many other bishops
of the orthodox faith were likewise persecuted,
among whom was St. Maximus, who died in exile
in the Caucasus, in 662.
In 655,the war with the Arabs became alarmingly
dangerous. M u'awiyah, then governor of Syria,
fitted out a fleet, which he entrusted to the command
of Ab l-1- abir, while he himself with the land forces
marched against Caesareia, whence he intended to
proceed to the Bosporus. In this imminent danger
Constans gave the command of Constantinople to his
eldest son, Constantine, and sailed himself with
his own ships against the hostile fleet. The two
fleets met off the coast of Lycia, and an obstinate
battle ensued, in which the Greeks were at last
completely defeated. Constantinople seemed to be
lost. But the khalif 'OthmAn was assassinated in
655, and Md'awiyah, who was chosen in his
stead, was obliged to renounce the conquest of
Constantinople, and to defend his own empire
against the attempts of 'Ali, and afterwards of his
son HasIn, who assumed the title of khalif, and
maintained themselves at Kufd till 668. Delivered from the Arabs, Constans made war upon
the Slavonian nations south and north of the Danube with great success.
In 661, Constans put his brother Theodosius to
death. The reasons for this crime are not well
known; for, as Theodosius had taken orders, and
was consequently unfit for reigning, political
jealousy could not be the cause; perhaps there was
some religious difference between the two brothers.
The murder of his brother pressed heavily upon him;
he constantly dreamt about him, and often awoke,
crying out that Theodosius was standing at his bedside, holding a cup of blood, and saying, " Drink,
brother, drink! " His palace at Constantinople
was insupportable to him, and he at last resolved
to quit the East and to fix his residence in Italy.
The political state of this country, however, was
as strong a reason for the emperor's presence there
as the visions of a murderer.

CONSTANS. 829
As early as A. D. 641, Rotharis, king of the
Longobards, attacked the imperial dominions in
northern Italy, and conquered the greater part of
them. One of his successors, Grimoald, had formed
designs against the Greek possessions in southern
Italy, where the emperor was still master of the
duchies of Rome and Naples, with both the Calabrias. Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica belonged likewise to the Greek empire. The emperor's authority
in Italy was much shaken by the religious and
civil troubles which he had caused there by his
absurd edict, the " Typus;" but, on the other
hand, the dissensions among the dukes and other
great chiefs of the Longobards seemed to afford a
favourable chance for the re-establishment of the
Roman empire of Italy by the Greeks, an enterprise which one hundred years before the emperor
Justinian had so gloriously achieved by his general
Narses. Under these circumstances, Constans
resolved not only to imitate the example of Justinian, but to make Rome once more the centre of
the Roman empire. His resolution caused the
greatest surprise, for since the downfall of the
Western empire no emperor had resided, nor even
made a momentary stay, in Italy. " But," said
Constans, " the mother (Rome) is worthier of my
care than the daughter (Constantinople);" and,
having fitted out a fleet, he fixed the day of his
departure, and ordered the empress and his three
sons to accompany him. He waited for them on
board of his galley, but no sooner had they left
the imperial palace, than the people of Constantinople rose in revolt and prevented them by force
from joining the emperor. Being informed of this,
Constans spit against the city, cursed its inhabitants, and ordered the sailors to weigh anchor.
This took place towards the end of 662. Constans stayed the winter at Athens, having previously appointed his eldest son, Constantine,
governor of Constantinople. Our space prevents
us from giving an account of his campaign in Italy;
it is sufficient to state, that though he met at first
with some success, his troops were afterwards defeated by the Longobards, and he was obliged to
relinquish his design of subduing them. After
plundering the churches and other public buildings
of Rome of their finest ornaments and treasures,
he took up his residence at Syracuse for a time.
In this city also he gratified his love of avarice
and cruelty to such an extent, that many thousands
fled from the island and settled in different parts
of Syria, especially at Damascus, where they
adopted the religion of Mohammed. The emperor's
absence from the seat of government excited
Mu'awiyah to make fresh inroads into the Greek
provinces.
It has been already related that Constans was
deeply offended on account of the treaty having
been concluded without his consent between his
officers in Africa and the Arabian general 'Abdu1-lah. In 665, Mdu'awiyah being then chiefly occupied in the eastern part of the Khalifate, Constans
resolved to revenge himself upon his subjects in
Africa, and accordingly imposed a tribute upon
them which was more than double what they had
engaged to pay to the Arabs. This avaricious and
imprudent measure caused a revolt. They invited
the Arabs to take possession of their country,
promising to make no resistance. Upon this
Mud'awiyah entered Africa, defeated the few troops
who were faithful to Constans, and extended his