Constans II

Constans II, nicknamed the Bearded, who lived from 7 November 630 to 15 July 668, was a Byzantine emperor who reigned from 641 to 668, born in Constantinople to Constantine III and Gregoria and grandson of Emperor Heraclius. He was crowned co-emperor in September 641 at age ten and became sole ruler after his uncle Heraclonas was deposed that November. In the church dispute between Orthodoxy and Monothelitism he tried to steer a middle line, refusing to persecute either side, issuing the Typos of Constans in 648 to that effect. His reign saw significant Arab invasions under Umar, Uthman and Muawiya I, and a major naval defeat at the Battle of the Masts in 655. He was the first emperor to visit Rome since the fall of the western Roman Empire in 476, and the last eastern Roman emperor to do so while the empire still held the city. He was assassinated in Syracuse, Sicily, on 15 July 668 and was succeeded by his son Constantine IV; his wife was Fausta, and he had three sons who served as co-emperors.