Editing Irene of Athens (section)

==Fall and return to throne==
[[File:Solidus Irene ConstantineVI.jpg|thumb|Gold solidus showing Irene and Constantine VI as co-emperors in {{Circa|793–797}} after Irene's return to the throne. |left]]
As [[Constantine VI]] approached maturity he began to grow restless under the autocratic sway of his mother. In 787, the plans for the marriage of Constantine and [[Rotrude]], daughter of [[Charlemagne]], were aborted, and in 788, Irene chose [[Maria of Amnia]] as a wife for him, beginning their unhappy marriage. In November 788, Irene suffered losses to the Bulgars and the failure of the [[Byzantine expedition to Calabria (788/789)|expedition to Calabria]], weakening her position. Although Constantine had reached the age of majority, Irene continued to administer the affairs of state in his place and was autocratess of the Romans.

Constantine no longer accepted his secondary status and attempted to free himself by force. He plotted with his supporters, including Peter, a ''[[Magister officiorum|magistros]]'' and confidant of [[Constantine V]], against Irene's advisers, especially [[Staurakios (eunuch)|Staurakios]], who he planned to exile to [[Sicily]]. In early 790, Staurakios discovered the plot and informed Irene, who arrested the plotters, confined Constantine to his quarters and demanded that the army across the Empire take an [[oath of fidelity]] in her name alone. Irene also tried to convince the army to legitimize her absolute power over the state. The discontent which this caused swelled into open resistance and at first the [[Armeniacs]] refused to swear an oath to Irene alone but rather to Constantine and Irene. She sent the Armenian commander [[Alexios Mosele (general)|Alexios Mosele]] to persuade the Armeniacs, but they instead deposed their ''[[strategos|stratēgos]]'' (who was appointed by Irene) and proclaimed Alexios the new ''stratēgos''. When word of this spread throughout [[Asia Minor]], other soldiers followed suit and deposed their commanders, marching into the [[Opsician Theme]] outside Constantinople. Irene was pressured to release Constantine, who was then proclaimed sole ruler in November 790 with the support of the military.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}{{sfn|Brubaker|Haldon|2011|pp=286–288}} 

Constantine restored his supporters including [[Michael Lachanodrakon]], the famed general of Constantine V, and banished Staurakios and another eunuch and adviser to Irene, [[Aetios (eunuch)|Aetios]], to the [[Armeniac Theme]]. He confined Irene to her palace but did not formally depose her. He began a distinct foreign policy from his mother, beginning campaigns against the Bulgars in April 791 and the Arabs in September. In a hollow semblance of friendship, Constantine restored Irene's titles and confirmed her position as ruler in 792, even recalling Staurakios from exile. As a result, the official Irene-Constantine [[duumvirate]] began.{{sfn|Brubaker|Haldon|2011|p=288}}{{sfn|Theophanes|loc=AM 6284}} Constantine proved incapable of sound governance, and suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of [[Kardam of Bulgaria]] in the [[Battle of Marcellae]] of 792. A plot developed in favor of his uncle, the ''[[Caesar (title)|Caesar]]'' [[Nikephoros (Caesar)|Nikephoros]] (son of Constantine V). Following the advice of Irene and Staurakios, Constantine had his uncle's eyes put out and the tongues of his father's four other half-brothers cut off. His former Armeniac supporters revolted after he had blinded their ''[[stratēgos]]'' Alexios due to alleged involvement in the plot. They also disapproved of Irene's return as co-ruler. Constantine crushed this revolt with extreme cruelty in 793.{{sfn|Cutler|Hollingsworth|1991|pp=501–502}}{{sfn|Auzépy|2008|p=259}}{{sfn|Brubaker|Haldon|2011|pp=288–289}}

In summer 793, Arab raiders captured the important fortresses of [[Kemah, Erzincan|Kamachon]] and [[Thebasa]] in Asia Minor; however, a larger force, accompanied by the rebellious former ''stratēgos'' of Sicily, [[Elpidius (rebel)|Elpidius]] retreated due to an early winter in 794, and Constantine defeated an Arab army in 795. Nevertheless, Arab raiders reached [[Amorion]] in 796, [[Ankara]] and [[Malagina]] in 798 and [[Ephesos]] in 799. Constantine personally led a force to meet [[Abbasid Caliph]] [[Harun al-Rashid]] ({{reign|786|809}}), but was sabotaged by agents of Irene who falsely reported an Arab retreat, prompting Constantine himself to retire. In 796, Constantine partially compensated for his previous losses against the Bulgars by ceasing to pay the tribute extracted after Marcellae and avoiding military defeat thereafter. The Balkan frontier was in general successfully stabilized by the Byzantines in this period.{{sfn|Brubaker|Haldon|2011|pp=289–290}}

===Moechian controversy and conspiracy to depose Constantine VI===
Despite their collaboration, rivalry remained between the two co-rulers. Irene's faction also returned, with her powerful eunuch minister Staurakios once again at the helm, they began to take revenge on anyone who had opposed them in the past or present. The ''moechian'' controversy (from ''moicheia'', "adultery") was begun in 795, when Constantine forced his wife Maria to enter a convent because she allegedly attempted to poison him. He then married his mistress [[Theodote (empress)|Theodote]], which was technically an act of [[adultery]]. Patriarch [[Tarasios of Constantinople]] only offered a light penance for Constantine and Theodote, which caused monks of the [[monastery]] of Sakkoudion including [[Theodore the Stoudite]] to condemn the union and excommunicate Tarasios. Constantine closed the monastery and banished Theodore to [[Thessaloniki]]. Theodore was a prestigious and influential figure, so his opposition to Constantine was significant.{{sfn|Brubaker|Haldon|2011|p=290}}

[[File:Gold solidus, Byzantine, Irene, 797-802.jpg|thumb|Irene was the only sovereign in the history of the Empire to place her image on both sides of imperial coinage, whereas her predecessors featured their ancestors to symbolize dynastic rule.{{sfn|Auzépy|2008|p=274}}]]
In 797, Irene exploited the controversy to prepare the overthrow of her son. She bribed palace officers to remain neutral and encouraged monastic opposition to the marriage. In August, her agents attempted to capture Constantine as he was travelling by boat from Constantinople to his summer residence. He fled to [[Pylae]], but Irene persuaded her supporters there to capture him. On 19 August, Constantine was blinded and confined to a monastery. It is unknown whether he managed to survive this event.{{efn|The ''Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'' gives 19 April,{{sfn|ODB|p=1008}} but this is a mistake. [[Theophanes the Confessor]] writes: "[They] ''reached the City on Saturday morning, 15 August''." The 15th was Tuesday, so the correct date would be August 19.{{sfn|Theophanes|loc=AM 6289 (n. 8–10)}}}} Tarasios was reconciled with Theodore, who was made the abbot of the [[Monastery of Stoudios]] and became one of Irene's most loyal supporters.{{sfn|Brubaker|Haldon|2011|p=291}} 

Although it is often asserted that, as monarch, Irene called herself "''[[basileus]]''" ({{langx|el|βασιλεύς}}), "emperor", rather than "''basilissa''" ({{langx|el|βασίλισσα}}), "empress", in fact there are only three instances where it can be proven that she used the title "basileus": two legal documents in which she signed herself as "Emperor of the Romans" and a gold coin of hers found in Sicily bearing the title of "basileus". In relation to the coin, the lettering is of poor quality and the attribution to Irene may be problematic. She used the title "basilissa" in all other documents, coins, and seals.<ref>Liz James, "Men, Women, Eunuchs: Gender, Sex, and Power" in ''A Social History of Byzantium'' (J. Haldon, ed.) pp. 45, 46; published 2009; {{ISBN|978-1-4051-3241-1}}</ref>