Ivings, Leslie Byzantine Emperor Constantine V, "the Dung-Named"

General, Patriarch, Iconoclast, Reformer

Constantine V, a brilliant military commander and reformer, strengthened Byzantium but was despised for his severe iconoclasm. Constantine V was the second Eastern Roman (Byzantine) emperor of the Isaurian dynasty. A masterful military commander who halted the advance of the Arab Umayyads and launched a counterattack, he was beloved by the warriors of the East long after his death. He was also an active ruler in other areas, continuing his father's legal, social and state reforms. His reign strengthened the empire, which was on the verge of collapse at the end of the Heraclian dynasty, and he is generally considered one of the most capable rulers of Constantinople. However, as a ruthless persecutor and iconoclast, he was reviled and slandered by the monastic historians of the Church. His true brilliance and achievements would always be overshadowed by the name they gave him after his death: Copronymos (the one with the name of dung). He was compared to a summoner of demons, a magician, or even a precursor to the Antichrist. He was married three times to women who themselves deserve a mention in books, and was wise in his choice of wives and politically astute. As a wise ruler and administrator, and because of his influence on the theological debates of his time, he can be compared to the much better-known Justinian I, who lived some 200 years earlier. Unlike Justinian, however, his military leadership was more personal, and he met his death on a campaign in Bulgaria.