Constantine XIII Comnenus

Emperor Constantine XIII

His Imperial Majesty Emperor Constantine XIII Comnenus was the son of Sir Demetrius Comnenus and Princess Helena Palaeologus, daughter of Emperor Demetrius III Palaeologus. He came to the throne by marrying the Empress Augusta Irene II Palaeologus, with whom he was crowned joint emperor.

As a young man Constantine had an appalling reputation as a moral bankrupt in the Imperial Court of Christ Pantocrator. He and his group of friends earned the scorn of the court with their romps through the streets of New Rome, engaging in all manner of debauchery. In 1552, Constantine and several of his favourites were arrested by the city watch for covorting with a male prostitute. The prostitute and one of his friends were put to death, while his other friends were blinded. It was only through the intervention of his mother, who bribed the investigators into extracting confessions from the others which cleared her son, that Constantine was spared, all charges against him being dropped.

The experience clearly sobered the young man up, and he left the court in 1554 to reform the Knights of the Order of the Pantocrator after the nightmare of the First Pantocratorian Crusade. His recruiting efforts and his successes in a few battles with rebels proved his metal as a soldier, and he was invited back to the Imperial Court of Christ Pantocrator in 1564 by Emperor Demetrius VI Palaeologus.

Constantine was married to Princess Irene Palaeologus in 1566. In an age of young marriages, Constantine was old enough to be Irene's father. He doted on his young bride, and was an effective minister for her father. The debauched youth was totally gone - Constantine was a mature minister, an accomplished soldier, a skilled orator, and a devoted husband.

When Demetrius VI died without a son, Constantine and Irene were proclaimed co-monarchs, Constantine XIII Comnenus and Irene II Palaeologus. The marriage reunited the ancient claims of the two houses and produced three children, Emperors Constantine XIV Comnenus and Demetrius VII Comnenus. Constantine XIII restarted the old tradition of crowning co-emperors to assist in the administration of the growing empire. His reforms were vital to Pantocratoria as it stretched out across the Pantocratorian Archipelago and experienced its first major population boom - the centralised government which preceded Constantine and Irene's reign was no longer practical - decentralisation with several emperors and several seats of power was the order of the day.

But his past would come back to haunt him. The brother of Constantine's executed favourite snuck into the Emperor's chambers while he was asleep in his bath. While the Emperor slept, the assassin slipped into the waters and cut off the Emperor's genitals with a dagger. The Emperor woke, and called for his guards. The assassin was captured, but when he explained that he was the brother of the executed favourite, Constantine ordered that he be spared, ridden with guilt. He bled to death hours later, with Irene by his side.

Emperors of Pantocratoria