Constantine III (emperor)

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Roman coin depicting, on its face, Heraclius and his sons Heraclius Constantine and Heraclonas

Constantine III (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Γ', Kōnstantinos III ), (May 3, 612 – April 20 or May 24/26, 641) was the eldest son of the Byzantine emperor Heraclius and his first wife Eudocia, and ruled as Emperor for four months in 641.

Constantine III was named Heraclius (new) Constantine (Ηράκλειος (νέος) Κωνσταντίνος), which was also the official name under which he reigned. The name Constantine became established in later Byzantine texts and has become standard in modern historiography. In terms official imperial nomenclature, the style "Constantine III" would be more appropriate for his son Constans II.

Constantine was crowned co-emperor by his father on January 22, 613 and shortly after was betrothed to his cousin, Gregoria, a daughter of his father's first cousin, Nicetas. As the couple were second cousins, the marriage was technically incestuous, but this consideration must have been outweighed by the advantages of the match to the family as a whole. Furthermore, its illegality paled into insignificance beside Heraclius' marriage to his niece Martina in the same year.

Constantine and Gregoria married in 629 or perhaps early 630 and in that year their first child, Constans II was born. Their second child was another son, Theodosius.

Constantine became senior emperor when his father died in 641. He reigned together with his younger half-brother Heraklonas, the son of Martina. His supporters feared action against him on the part of Martina and Heraklonas, and the treasurer Philagrius advised him to write to the army, informing them that he was dying and asking for their assistance in protecting the rights of his children. He also sent a vast sum of money, more than two million solidi (gold coins), to Valentinus Aršakuni, an adjutant of Philagrius, to distribute to the soldiers to persuade them to secure the succession for his sons after his death. Indeed, he died of tuberculosis after only four months, leaving Heraklonas sole emperor. A rumor that Martina had him poisoned led first to the imposition of Constans II as co-emperor and then to the deposition, mutilation, and banishment of Martina and her sons.