Constans II › Romulus and Remus » Ancient origins
Articles and Definitions › Contents
- Constans II › Antique Origins
- Romulus and Remus › Who Was
Ancient civilizations › Historical and archaeological sites
Constans II › Antique Origins
Definition and Origins
Constans II (aka Konstans II) was emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 641 to 668 CE. Sometimes known as Constans Pogonatos (“the Bearded”), he came to the throne by a series of unlikely events and his empire was immediately challenged almost everywhere by the rising Arab Caliphate. He attempted to end the Church's divisive debate on Christ's nature and will but succeeded in only antagonising the Popes and ensuring his name would be denigrated by Christian historians thereafter.Like so many of his predecessors, he faced endless revolts and usurpers and met his death at the hands of an assassin while taking a bath.
SUCCESSION
Heraclius had ruled as emperor since 610 CE, and his reign was a mixed one. He had rescued the empire from disaster when Constantinople was besieged in 626 CE but had lost Jerusalem to the Persians. Victory at Nineveh put the empire back on its feet, but the new threat was the Arab Caliphate which showed its intent by crushing a Byzantine army at Yarmuk in 636 CE.Rumours spread that the Byzantines were suffering the wrath of God, angry at the emperor's incestuous marriage to his own niece Martina.
When Heraclius died in 641 CE, he had two heirs who ruled as co-emperors: Heraklonas (whose mother was Martina) and Constantine III (whose mother was Heraclius' first wife Eudokia). When Constantine died in mysterious circumstances a few months later, Martina was able to act as regent for her son Heraklonas, even declaring herself co-emperor. Defeats to the Arabs continued as before, and the imminent loss of Alexandria allowed one Valentinos Arsakuni, a military governor of the Opsikion province, to capitalise on Martina's unpopularity and take power for himself in September 641 CE. A few months later, Valentinos was removed and killed by a lynch mob who favoured a properly royal ruler, the son of Constantine III, Flavius Heraclius, better known by his nickname Constans. The legitimate line had been restored, but the new emperor was a mere 11 years of age and the empire was in disarray.
CONSTANS II HAD LITTLE TIME TO WARM THE SEAT OF HIS THRONE BEFORE HE HAD TO DEAL WITH THE EVER-EXPANDING ARAB CALIPHATE.
MILITARY CAMPAIGNS
Constans II had little time to warm the seat of his throne before he, and the Senate acting as his regent, had to deal with the ever-expanding Arab Caliphate. Alexandria fell in 642 CE, and losses followed in Armenia in the same year. The former was the more serious as it was the richest province in the empire and the most important source of grain. In 647 CE the Arabs overran Carthage in North Africa and parts of Asia Minor, notably capturing Caesarea. In 649 CE Cyprus was attacked, one of the empire's major naval bases, and though the island remained a shared property thereafter, the Arabs managed to sack the capital Constantia and destroy the harbour installations.
Next, Crete, Kos, and Rhodes all fell to Arab raids in 654 CE. The Byzantine Empire was crumbling at the edges, there were revolts in North Africa and Italy, and Constans could have been forgiven for thinking it could not possibly get any worse. In 655 CE it did. Sailing with a Byzantine fleet, the emperor was horrified to see an Arab armada bearing down on him off the coast of Phoenix (modern Finike) in Lycia. Only by switching clothes with an ordinary seaman did Constans escape while the entire fleet (and the unfortunate seaman) were sent to the bottom of the Mediterranean.
The Byzantine Empire, c. 650 CE.
Then, from 656 CE, relief came from an unlikely source. The Arabs imploded in a bloody civil war which would last until 661 CE and divert their attention from further foreign conquests. In 659 CE a peace was signed between the two powers with the Byzantines having to pay a massive tribute. While the Caliphate was busy deciding who should be the next caliph, Constans did not waste any time and invaded northern Greece. The captured Slavs from that campaign were forcibly relocated to Asia Minor and then conscripted into the Byzantine army. Perhaps predictably, at the first opportunity, 5,000 of the Slav soldiers defected to the Arabs in 665 CE. Meanwhile, Constans' campaigns against the Lombards in Italy in 663 CE did not make much headway, although Sardinia had been held in 645 CE.
RELIGIOUS INTERVENTION
In 648 CE Constans passed an imperial edict, the Typos, which was designed to pacify the opponents of Monotheletism (that Christ had a single will) in the Church and close the endless and harmful debate that had been raging for half a century. Rather ambitiously, the edict simply forbade any discussion on the issue: bishops would be dismissed and laymen flogged and exiled if they did. In the long-running saga which split the eastern and western branches of the Church over ecclesiastical doctrine, the edict was condemned by Pope Martin I in 649 CE.
THE EMPEROR ATTEMPTED SOME SORT OF RECONCILIATION WITH THE POPE & CAME BEARING GIFTS WHICH INCLUDED A GOLD PALLIUM.
The Popes were keen to maintain their own ascendancy over Constantinople in deciding matters of dogma and Martin excommunicated the bishop of Constantinople. Constans responded by having the Constantinople Senate declare the Pope guilty of treason and exiling Martin to Cherson in the Crimea in 654 CE on the excuse that he had supported Olympios, the rebel governor of Byzantine Ravenna. Maximos the Confessor, a vocal supporter of Martin and opponent of Monotheletism, was also exiled, in his case to Lazika on the eastern shores of the Black Sea. Constans was, nevertheless, received by the new Pope Vitalian in Rome on a visit in 663 CE. The emperor attempted some sort of reconciliation and came bearing gifts which included a gold pallium or cloth; then he promptly stripped the city of as much bronze he could find, spiriting away statues and even the bronze roof tiles of churches and the copper roofing of the Pantheon.
DEATH & SUCCESSOR
In 663 CE Constans took up permanent residence in Syracuse on Sicily. The emperor considered moving his capital to his new home for greater safety, but this met obvious disapproval from the aristocracy at Constantinople with the Senate even forbidding any imperial family members from joining the emperor in Sicily. The debate ended when Constans was killed in his bath by one of his own military entourage on 15 September 668 CE, with the inglorious weapon, a soap dish. Not particularly popular (either at home or in Syracuse), subject to several rebellions, despised by half the Church and with too many failures on the battlefield, he would not be missed by many, but he had, at the very least, ensured there was still an empire to pass on to his successors. Constans was succeeded by his son, Constantine IV, who had already been crowned co-emperor in 654 CE and who would rule until 685 CE.
Romulus and Remus › Who Was
Definition and Origins
In Roman mythology, Romulus and his twin brother Remus were the founders of the city of Rome. They were the children of Rhea Silvia and Mars (or in some variations the demi-god hero Hercules ) and their story is recorded by many authors including Virgil who claims their birth and adventures were fated in order for Rome to be founded.
THE BIRTH & PARENTAGE OF ROMULUS & REMUS
Romulus and Remus were the direct descendants of Aeneas, whose fate-driven adventures to discover Italy are described by Virgil in The Aeneid. Romulus and Remus were related to Aeneas through their mother's father, Numitor. Numitor was a king of Alba Longa, an ancient city of Latium in central Italy, and father to Rhea Silvia. Before Romulus' and Remus' conception, Numitor's reign was usurped by Nimitor's younger brother, Amulius. Amulius inherited control over Alba Longa's treasury with which he was able to dethrone Numitor and become king. Amulius, wishing to avoid any conflict of power, killed Nimitor's male heirs and forced Rhea Silvia to become a Vestal Virgin. Vestal Virgins were priestesses of Vesta, patron goddess of the hearth; they were charged with keeping a sacred fire that was never to be extinguished and to take vows of chastity.
A SERVANT PLACED THE TWINS INTO A BASKET ONTO THE RIVER TIBER, & THE RIVER CARRIED THE BOYS TO SAFETY.
There is much debate and variation as to whom was the father of Romulus and Remus. Some myths claim that Mars appeared and lay with Rhea Silvia; other myths attest that the demi-god hero Hercules was her partner. However, the author Livy claims that Rhea Silvia was in fact raped by an unknown man, but blamed her pregnancy on divine conception. In either case, Rhea Silvia was discovered to be pregnant and gave birth to her sons. It was custom that any Vestal Virgin betraying her vows of celibacy was condemned to death; the most common death sentence was to be buried alive. However, King Amulius, fearing the wrath of the paternal god (Mars or Hercules) did not wish to directly stain his hands with the mother's and children's blood.So, King Amulius imprisoned Rhea Silvia and ordered the twins' death by means of live burial, exposure, or being thrown into the Tiber River. He reasoned that if the twins were to die not by the sword but by the elements, he and his city would be saved from punishment by the gods. He ordered a servant to carry out the death sentence, but in every scenario of this myth, the servant takes pity on the twins and spares their lives. The servant, then, places the twins into a basket onto the River Tiber, and the river carries the boys to safety.
She-wolf mosaic
THE DISCOVERY OF ROMULUS & REMUS
The river god Tibernus ensured their safety by calming the river, and he caused their basket to catch in the roots of a nearby fig tree. The tree was located at the base of the Palatine Hill in the Velabrum swamp. The twins were first discovered by a she-wolf or lupa, who suckled them and they were fed by a wood-pecker or picus. Eventually, they were discovered and cared for by a shepherd and his wife: Faustulus and Acca Larentia.The two boys grew up to be shepherds like their adoptive father. One day while they were herding their sheep, they were met by shepherds of King Amulius. These shepherds started a fight with Romulus and Remus in which Remus was captured and taken before King Amulius. Romulus gathered and incited a band of local shepherds to join him in rescuing his brother. King Amulius believed that Rhea Silvia's children were dead; he did not recognize Remus or Romulus. Romulus freed his brother, and in the process killed King Amulius.
ROMULUS BEGAN TO DIG TRENCHES & TO BUILD WALLS AROUND HIS HILL: THE PALATINE HILL.
ROMULUS & REMUS ARGUE
After Amulius' death, the brothers rejected the citizens' offer of the crown of Alba Longa and instead reinstated Nimitor as king.They left Alba Longa seeking to found their own city, and each set out to find the best locale. The brothers quarrelled over the location of the foundation of their new city; Romulus wished to start the city on the Palatine Hill, while Remus wished to found it on the Aventine Hill. In order to settle their disagreement, they agreed to consult augury; augury is a type of prophecy in which birds are examined and observed to determine what actions or persons the gods favour. Each brother prepared a sacred space on their respective hills and began to watch for birds. Remus claimed to have seen six birds, while Romulus said he saw twelve birds. Romulus asserted that he was the clear winner by six birds, but Remus argued that since he saw his six birds first, he had won. The brothers remained at a standstill and continued to quarrel until Romulus began to dig trenches and build walls around his hill: the Palatine Hill.
DEATH OF REMUS & FOUNDING OF ROME
In response to Romulus' construction, Remus made continuous fun of the wall and his brother's city. Remus was so bold as to jump over Romulus' wall jestingly. In response to Remus' mockeries and for jumping over his wall, Romulus, angered by his brother's belittlement, killed him. There are several versions as to how Remus was killed on the day Rome was founded. In Livy's version, Remus simply died after jumping over Romulus' wall, which is thought to be a sign from the gods of Rome's power and fate. According to St. Jerome, Remus was killed for his mockery by one of Romulus' supporters, either Fabius or Celer, who killed Remus by throwing a spade at his head. Afterwards, Romulus mournfully buries his brother, bestowing upon him full funeral honours. However, most sources would convey that Romulus killed Remus. Remus' death and founding of Rome are dated by Livy to April 21st, 753 BCE.
The Lost Gods: The Romans (Planet Knowledge)
BEGINNINGS OF ROME: WAR & PEACE
Romulus named his city Roma after himself. Following the foundation of his city, Romulus instated a government system which implemented senators and patricians. As the popularity of his city and government system grew, so did the population.Rome's initial population was supplied by fugitives, exiles, run away slaves, and criminals and other cast offs. Due to the inflation of the male population, Rome was unable to produce any generations of their own. As a result of the low ratio of women to men, the newly Roman men decided to abduct women from a neighbouring city. They invited the Sabines and Latins to a festival of Cronus at the Circus Maximus, and while the men of these cities were distracted, the Roman men carried off their women into Rome. Many of these women were persuaded to marry; however, in response to this rape or abduction of women, the Sabine and Latin men went to war against Rome. Romulus was the definitive winner of this war and his victory was Rome's first triumph.
A TRUCE FORMED BETWEEN THE ROMANS & SABINES ALONG WITH TATIUS & ROMULUS AGREEING TO FORM A JOINT REIGN OF TWO KINGS.
Although defeated, the Sabine king, Titus Tatius, attempted to assault Rome by marching on the Capitoline citadel. The citadel's commander's daughter promised to open the gates for the Sabine army if they gave her whatever "they bore on their left hand." When the Sabine army passed through, the poor girl expected hundreds of golden bracelets, but unfortunately she was crushed to death by their large shields. The Sabines besieged the Romans and the Romans almost lost until Romulus prayed to Jupiter for help. Jupiter answered, aiding the Romans to a final victory. Eventually, a truce formed between the Romans and Sabines along with Tatius and Romulus agreeing to form a joint reign of two kings. They jointly ruled for five years, and integrated each other's customs from calendars, gods, and even military tactics. This was a time of peace within Rome, but this intercity harmony ceased due to Tatius' actions. After these prosperous five years, Tatius was caught sheltering some of his allies who had robbed the neighbouring allied Lavinians and murdered some of their ambassadors. The Senate decided that Tatius must go to Lavinium to sacrifice and appease both the locals and god in regards to his crimes. While in Lavinium, Tatius was assassinated and Romulus became the sole king of Rome. For the next 20 years, Romulus sought to expand Rome's land through war. When Numitor died, Romulus incorporated Alba Longa into Rome's government and lands.Through Romulus' reign, he slowly became more autocratic and the Senate became resentful.
Romulus & Remus Panel of the Franks Casket
DEATH OF ROMULUS
The life of Romulus has several endings depending on the myth and source. In one myth, Romulus mysteriously disappeared in a storm or whirlwind. Romulus is claimed to have ascended to the heavens to become a god by several eye-witnesses.There was the suspicion that Romulus' death was plotted by the Senate in order to reassume their own power. Livy writes about these events, while Cassius Dio writes about how Romulus was surrounded by hostile, resentful senators who "rent limb from limb" the senate-house, which was then followed by an eclipse and sudden storm (which Dio claims to be the same phenomenon that happened at his birth). Romulus disappeared in 717 BCE as reported by Plutarch at the age of 53, but Dionysius of Halicarnassus reports that he died at the age of 55.
A MAN OR MYTH?
There is much debate on whether Romulus and Remus were real men or simply a myth or even a combination of both. While most scholars believe that Aeneas, the catalyst of the foundation of Rome, may have existed in some folktale, his Roman mythology was not solidified until Augustus commissioned Vergil's epic The Aeneid. Romulus' and Remus' feats and adventures are somewhat far-fetched to be taken literally, but some scholars attest that their characters may be based on some historic foundation. Foundation myths are often convoluted with aspects of fiction and non-fiction. While it may never be certain if these twin brothers were real, what is certain is that their story was treated with respect and discussed at length even by the ancients.
DEPICTION IN ART
Romulus and Remus are most commonly portrayed together in art and on coins. They are often only seen in art as infants being suckled by the she-wolf. They are featured in this manner on the statue of Romulus and Remus in Siena, Italy. Siena was founded, according to myth, by Remus' son, Senius. Likewise, they are also featured on a mosaic found in Yorkshire from 300 CE known as the Wolf Mosaic. However, the most famous representation in art is the Capitoline She-Wolf. It is a 5th century BCE Etruscan bronze wolf to which two small figures of Romulus and Remus were added in 15th century CE.Romulus' and Remus' mythical lives also inspired many Renaissance artists from Berrettini to LaFosse to Cesari, and even Rubens.
LICENSE:
Article based on information obtained from these sources:with permission from the Website Ancient History Encyclopedia
Content is available under License Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported. CC-BY-NC-SA License