Constantine VI

Constantine VI (771–c. 798), only child of Leo IV and Irene, was crowned co-emperor in 776 and became sole emperor in 780, aged nine, with his mother as regent.

An Armeniac revolt enabled him to take power in 790, but in 792 he restored Irene as co-ruler and suffered a humiliating defeat by the Bulgars at Marcellae. He crushed an Armeniac revolt in 793, then divorced his wife Maria to marry his mistress Theodote, alienating the church.

In 797 Irene’s supporters seized and blinded him; he died before 805, possibly soon after from his wounds, the last emperor universally recognized as Roman.