Constantine V

Constantine V, who lived from July 718 to 14 September 775, served as Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775, the son of Leo III the Isaurian and Maria, succeeding his father on his death on 18 June 741. His reign saw a consolidation of Byzantine security from external threats: he campaigned successfully against both Arab forces, through limited offensives on the Arab frontier, and Bulgarian kingdoms, through repeated campaigns in the Balkans, and he resettled Christian populations from conquered eastern territories into Thrace, strengthening Byzantine control of the region. He was an ardent supporter of iconoclasm, which earned him derisive nicknames from his opponents, including Dung-Named, or Kopronymos in Greek, said to reference an incident at his baptism, and the Equestrian, referencing horse excrement; his opposition to monasticism and support for iconoclasm led to vilification by iconodule commentators and later Byzantine historians, though modern scholars debate the actual extent of destruction under his rule. He married three times, to Tzitzak, known as Irene of Khazaria, then Maria, then Eudokia; his son Leo IV succeeded him, and his daughter Anthousa became a nun and was later venerated as a saint.