Heraclius

Heraclius (Greek: Ἡράκλειος <span title=" transliteration" class="Unicode" style="white-space:normal; text-decoration: none">Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was Eastern Roman (Byzantine) emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch (governor) of Africa, led a revolt against Phocas, an unpopular emperor. Heraclius called himself "basileus" and no more "augustus" since 629: he changed the "eastern roman empire" (partially latinised) into the "bizantine empire" (fully greek).

Heraclius
Emperor of the Romans
Solidus of Emperor Heraclius (aged 35–38). Minted in Constantinople. Struck 610–613.
Byzantine emperor
5 October 610 – 11 February 641
Predecessor	Phocas
Successor	Constantine III Heraclonas
Co-emperors	Constantine III (613–641) Heraclonas (638–641)
Born	c. 575 Cappadocia, Byzantine Empire
Died	11 February 641 (aged 65) Constantinople, Byzantine Empire
Spouse	Eudokia Martina
Issue	Constantine III Heraclonas John Athalarichos (illegitimate) Martinus David Tiberius
Dynasty	Heraclian Dynasty
Father	Heraclius the Elder
Mother	Epiphania
Religion	Chalcedonian Christianity

Rule

Heraclius's rule was marked by a number of military campaigns. The year Heraclius came to power, the empire was threatened on many sides. Heraclius immediately took charge of the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628. The first fights of the campaign ended in defeat for the Byzantines; the Persian army fought their way to the Bosphorus but Constantinople was protected by unbreakable walls and a strong navy, and Heraclius was able to avoid total defeat. Soon after, he started changes to rebuild and strengthen the military. Heraclius drove the Persians out of Asia Minor and pushed deep into their territory, defeating them clearly in 627 at the Battle of Nineveh. The Persian king Khosrow II was overthrown and executed by his son Kavad II, who soon sued for a peace treaty, agreeing to withdraw from all occupied territory. This way diplomatic relations were restored.

Loss of control

However, Heraclius soon lost many of his newly regained lands to the Rashidun Caliphate. Newly appearing from the Arabian Peninsula, the Muslims quickly won the Sasanian Empire by force. In 636, the Muslims marched into Roman Syria, defeating Heraclius's brother Theodore. Within a short period of time, the Arabs conquered Mesopotamia, Armenia and Egypt. Heraclius responded with changes which let his successors fight the Arabs and avoid total destruction.

Entering diplomatic relations

Heraclius entered diplomatic relations with the Croats and Serbs in the Balkans. He tried to repair the schism in the Christian church in regard to the Monophysites, by promoting a compromise doctrine called Monothelitism. The Church of the East (commonly called Nestorian) was also involved in the process. Eventually this project of togetherness was rejected by all sides of the argument.

Heraclius Media

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  Gold solidus of Heraclius and his father in consular robes, struck during their revolt against Phocas

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  Heraclius in 613–616 (aged 38–41) with his son Heraclius Constantine.

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  Cherub plaque Louvre MRR245

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  Heraclius (center) venerating the icon of Mary before campaigning against the Persians. Scene from the 12th century Manasses Chronicle.

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  Arab-Byzantine troop movement from September 635 to just before the event of the Battle of Yarmouk

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  Battle between Heraclius's army and Persians under Khosrow II. Fresco by Piero della Francesca, ca. 1452

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  Bernat, Martin Saint Helena & Heraclius taking the Holy Cross to Jerusalem

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  Purported letter sent by Muhammad to Heraclius, emperor of Byzantium; reproduction taken from *Majid Ali Khan, Muhammad The Final Messenger Islamic Book Service, New Delhi (1998).

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  Solidus showing Heraclius (middle, with the large beard) in his later reign flanked by his sons Heraclius Constantine and Heraclonas

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  An early 7th century drawing of Job and his family, likely represented as Heraclius (left), his second wife Martina, his sister Epiphania, and his daughter Eudoxia, on a 5th century biblical manuscript.

Sources

• Alexander, Suzanne Spain (April 1977). "Heraclius, Byzantine Imperial Ideology, and the David Plates". Medieval Academy of America. 52 (2): 217–237. doi:10.2307/2850511. JSTOR 2850511. S2CID 161886591.
• Baert, Barbara (2008). "Héraclius, l'Exaltation de la Croix et le Mont-Saint-Michel au XIe siècle". Cahiers de Civilisation médiévale (in français) (51): 03–20.
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• Beckwith, Christopher (2009). Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present (illustrated ed.). Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-13589-2.
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• Bury, John Bagnell (2005). A history of the later Roman empire from Arcadius to Irene. Adamant Media Corporation. ISBN 1-4021-8368-2.
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• Charles, Robert H. (2007) [1916]. The Chronicle of John, Bishop of Nikiu: Translated from Zotenberg's Ethiopic Text. Merchantville, NJ: Evolution Publishing. ISBN 9781889758879.
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• Collins, Roger (2004). Visigothic Spain, 409–711. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-18185-7.
• Conrad, Lawrence I (2002). "Heraclius in early Islamic Kerygma" in The reign of Heraclius (610–641): crisis and confrontation. Leuven-Paris-Dudley MA: Peeters. 
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• De Administrando Imperio. Chapter 32: "[Of the Serbs and of the country they now dwell in]". "the emperor brought elders from Rome and baptized them and taught them fairly to perform the works of piety and expounded to them the faith of the Christians".
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• Fidler, Richard (2018). Ghost empire : a journey to the legendary Constantinople. ISBN 978-1-68177-901-0. OCLC 1023526060.
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• Franzius, Enno "Heraclius". Encyclopædia Britannica.  
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• Gibbon, Edward (1994). David Womersley (ed.). The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Penguin. ISBN 978-0140433937.
• Gonis, Nikolaos (2003). "Two Hermopolite Leases of the Reign of Heraclius". Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik. 145: 203–206. JSTOR 20191718.
• Grabar, André (1984). L'Iconoclasme Byzantin: le Dossier Archéologique (in français). Flammarion. ISBN 2-08-081634-9.
• Greatrex, Geoffrey; Lieu, Samuel N. C. (2002). The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars AD 363-628. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-46530-4.
• Haykal, Muhammad Husayn (1994). The Life of Muhammad. The Other Press. ISBN 978-983-9154-17-7.
• Haldon, John (1997). Byzantium in the Seventh Century: the Transformation of a Culture. Cambridge. ISBN 0-521-31917-X.
• Kaegi, Walter E. (2003). Heraclius: emperor of Byzantium. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-81459-6.
• Kouymjian, Dickran (1983). "Ethnic Origins and the 'Armenian' Policy of Emperor Heraclius". Revue des Études Arméniennes. XVII.
• "Cartagena".. (1991). Oxford University Press. 
• "Herakleios".. (1991). Oxford University Press. 
• Kiilerich, Bente (2018). "The Barletta Colossos revisited". Acta Ad Archaeologiam et Artium Historiam Pertinentia. 28: 55–72. doi:10.5617/acta.5832.
• Lewis, Bernard (2002). The Arabs in History. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-280310-7.
• MET: "Drawing of Job and His Family Represented as Heraclius and His Family". New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
• Milani, Abbas (2004). Lost wisdom: rethinking modernity in Iran. Mage Publishers. ISBN 0-934211-89-2.
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• Quran: "Surah Al-Rum". The Noble Quran. 2015. 30:2–4, mouse over the arabic text to see the literal translation quoted here. Archived from the original on 22 May 2015.
• Sebeos. "Chapter 29". Sebeos' History: A History of Heraclius. Translated from Old Armenian by Robert Bedrosian. History Workshop. Archived from the original on 9 December 2008. Retrieved 22 October 2009.
• Seleznev, Nicolay (2012). Ираклий и Ишоʿйав II: Восточный эпизод в истории «экуменического» проекта византийского императора [Heraclius and Ishoʿyav II: An Eastern Episode in the History of the 'Ecumenical' Project of the Byzantine Emperor]. Символ [Symbol] (in русский). Paris-Moscow. 61: Syriaca-Arabica-Iranica: 280–300. ISSN 0222-1292.
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• Souza, Guilherme Queiroz de (2015). "Heraclius, emperor of Byzantium" (PDF). Revista Digital de Iconografía Medieval. 7 (14): 27–38.
• Spatharakis, Iohannis (1976). The portrait in Byzantine illuminated manuscripts. Brill Archive. ISBN 90-04-04783-2.
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• Thomson, Robert W.; Howard-Johnston, James; Greenwood, Tim (1999). The Armenian history attributed to Sebeos. Liverpool University Press. ISBN 0-85323-564-3.
• Treadgold, Warren (1997). A History of Byzantine State and Society. University of Stanford Press. ISBN 0-8047-2630-2.
• Weitzmann, Kurt (1979). Age of Spirituality: Late Antique and Early Christian Art, Third to Seventh Century. Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 0-87099-179-5.
• Zuckerman, Constantin (2013). Heraclius and the return of the Holy Cross. Constructing the Seventh Century. Travaux et mémoires. Paris: Association des amis du Centre d'histoire et civilisation de Byzance. pp. 197–218. ISBN 978-2-916716-45-9. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2016.

Further reading

• Davies, Norman (1996). Europe: A History. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-820171-0.
• El-Cheikh, Nadia Maria (2004). Byzantium viewed by the Arabs. Harvard CMES. ISBN 0-932885-30-6.
• Hovorun, Cyril (2008). Will, Action and Freedom: Christological Controversies in the Seventh Century. Leiden-Boston: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-16666-0.
• Kazhdan, Alexander P. (1991). "Herakleios". Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford University Press. pp. 916–917. ISBN 0-19-504652-8.
• Meyendorff, John (1989). Imperial unity and Christian divisions: The Church 450-680 A.D. The Church in history. Vol. 2. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press. ISBN 978-0-88141-055-6.
• Ostrogorsky, George (1956). History of the Byzantine State. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
• Tarasov, Oleg (2004). Icon and Devotion: Sacred Spaces in Imperial Russia. Reaktion Books. ISBN 1-86189-118-0.

External links

• "Heraclius" at De Imperatoribus Romanis (Archive) – online encyclopedia of Roman Emperors

Heraclius Heraclian Dynasty Born: ca. 575 Died: 11 February 641
Regnal titles
Preceded by Phocas	Byzantine emperor 610–641 with Constantine III Heraclius from 613	Succeeded by Constantine III and Heraclonas
Political offices
Preceded by Phocas, 603, then lapsed	Roman consul 608 with Heraclius the Elder	Succeeded by Lapsed, then Heraclius Constantine in 613