International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Ivan Marić
University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom; 
[e-mail] 
Damning Kopronymos, Damning Iconoclasm: 
Politics behind the Disinterment of Emperor Constantine V
In the eyes of the icon-worshippers, the iconoclast emperor Constantine V (r. 741-775) was 
perceived as the Antichrist; the iconophiles famously denigrated him as Kopronymos (dung-named). 
However, he was also an able ruler, skilled and successful military commander, and, ultimately, as 
attested even by Theophanes the Confessor (an iconophile), a popular emperor—which may be one 
of the underlying reasons for such an intense vilification of his image by the winning iconophile 
party. At an uncertain date after the end of the iconoclast controversy in 843, under orders of the 
Empress Theodora (regency 842-55) or her son Michael III (r. 842-867, sole ruler 855-867), body 
of the emperor Constantine V was taken out of his green sarcophagus in the Church of the Holy 
Apostles, wrapped up in the imperial sakkos, and locked in the Praitorion; on the day of the races, 
it was displayed at the hippodrome, lashed, paraded down the Mese until the Amastrianon square 
where the remains were burnt and the ashes thrown into the sea. Finally, his sarcophagus was cut 
into slabs which were used for the rebuilding of the church of the Virgin of the Pharos. 
Social theorists, most notably Foucault, ascertain that the primary aim of a punishment is to 
marginalize and/or exclude an individual from the society. Punishment of deceased individuals 
is better known as damnatio memoriae, and the history of Byzantium and even more so of its 
predecessor, the Roman Empire, is fraught with examples. Yet, as far as we can tell, this is the sole 
case of an emperor being removed from his tomb and publicly condemned many decades after 
his death. This incident did not receive too much attention from the scholars and the question 
of dating—which entails different players and set of motivations—remains open. In my paper, I 
will contextualize this unique incident in the post-iconoclast world of the Byzantine capital and 
examine its various aspects: I will look into the range of messages transmitted, belonging to the 
traditions and symbolic universes of both the pagan Roman Empire and Christianity; I will explore 
the possible political motivations behind this event and attempt a more precise dating.