Question: Recognised Roman Emperors/Imperial numberings?

The full two questions are: 'Which of the Western Roman usurpers were recognised by both Ravenna and Constantinople?' and 'How exactly did some emperors get their own numbers?'

Part of the reason I'm asking is because, say, during the reign of Honorius, usurpers Constantius, Constantine and his son Constans are/were numbered on Wikipedia as Constantius III, Constantine III and Constans II respectively, despite the first two dying before the legitimate emperor, Honorius, and the latter only being a co-emperor.

As for the second question, a few examples:

* Emperor Alexander of the Macedonian dynasty is sometimes listed as Alexander III, after Alexander Severus and Domitius Alexander - a ursurper to Maxentius.
* Andronikos II's eldest son and co-emperor is listed as Michael IX despite dying before his father, yet John II's eldest son and co-emperor is never listed as Alexios II.

Sorry if I'm not being clear, I'd just like to go over these before I come to any definite conclusions. I've got two ATL ideas floating around in my head right now - one about Emperor Belisarius and another about Emperor Maurice and his family.:eek:
 
The full two questions are: 'Which of the Western Roman usurpers were recognised by both Ravenna and Constantinople?' and 'How exactly did some emperors get their own numbers?'

Part of the reason I'm asking is because, say, during the reign of Honorius, usurpers Constantius, Constantine and his son Constans are/were numbered on Wikipedia as Constantius III, Constantine III and Constans II respectively, despite the first two dying before the legitimate emperor, Honorius, and the latter only being a co-emperor.


Iirc Constantius III was recognised by Honorius ,though not by Constantinople. He's the one who was married to Honorius' sister.

Constantine III and Constans II were similarly recognised (as rulers of the Gallic Prefecture), though only for a short time before hostilities resumed.
 
I think the numberings more of a post-factual historical convenience like the term Byzantine Empire. A way of allowing historians to tell them apart.
 
Ja, I think they were usually given nicknames. Basil 'the Macedonian', 'X porphyrogenites' (born to the purple), or surnames were used. Since Byzantium, like Rome, tended to have short dynasties, there might well only be a single Michael Komnenos, say.
 
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