Theodore (Latin:Theodorus,Greek:Θεόδωρος,romanized: Theodōros; fl. c. 610 – 636) was the brother (or half-brother) of theByzantine emperorHeraclius (r. 610–641), acuropalates and leading general in Heraclius'wars against the Persians and against theMuslim conquest of the Levant.
He was the son of the general andexarch of AfricaHeraclius the Elder, and is usually regarded as the brother (althoughJohn of Nikiu suggests him to be the half-brother) of Heraclius.[1] Soon after Heraclius' overthrow of the emperorPhocas (r. 602–610), Theodore was appointed to the crucial post ofcuropalates, controlling the palace administration, which at the time was ranked second in importance only to the imperial office itself.[2][3]
In 612, after the deposition and imprisonment of themagister militum per OrientemPriscus, command of his troops was assumed by Theodore andPhilippicus.[2] In late 613, Theodore accompanied his brother in a campaign against theSasanid Persians nearAntioch. Although initially successful, the Byzantines were defeated and most ofCilicia conquered by the Persians.[4][5]
Theodore reappears in 626, when he was sent with part of Heraclius' army against the forces of the Persian generalShahin. Theodore heavily defeated Shahin in northeasternAnatolia, and then reportedly sailed to Constantinople, which was beingbesieged by theAvar-Sasanian forces. By the time he arrived, the siege was effectively at an end, but he engaged in negotiations with the Avarkhagan.[2][6][7] After conclusion of peace withKavad II in 628, Theodore was sent as his brother's envoy to organize the Persian withdrawal from Syria and northern Mesopotamia. According to the chroniclers, the Persian garrisons were reluctant to leave, despite his bearing letters from Kavadh. This was especially the case atEdessa in 629/630, where the local Jewish community allegedly encouraged the Persians to stay; the Byzantines had to set up siege machines and begin bombarding the city before the Persians agreed to withdraw. When Theodore's troops entered the city, they began attacking and killing the Jews, until Heraclius, petitioned by a Jew who managed to escape, sent an order to stop this.[2][8][9]
Theodore was left by Heraclius as his virtual viceroy in the East, and entrusted with the command of Byzantine forces and the restoration of imperial authority there. In this capacity, Theodore faced the first Muslim attacks on the Byzantine provinces. He seems to have underestimated the threat (he reportedly referred to the Arabs as "dead dogs"), and was unable to counter their raids.[10] He was probably the Byzantine commander at theBattle of Mu'ta in 629, the first major encounter of the Muslim Arabs and the Byzantines.[11] In 634, he led his forces from Mesopotamia to Syria, where he apparently suffered a heavy defeat at a battle near Gabitha (perhaps theBattle of Ajnadayn on 30 July, although other sources indicate that he was defeated in October). Thereafter he retreated to Edessa or Antioch, joining Heraclius.[11][12][13] During the Byzantine counteroffensive of 636, he re-occupiedEmesa andDamascus, which had been abandoned by the Muslims. He most likely did not participate in the finalBattle of Yarmouk on 20 August 636, contrary to the reports of Muslim sources (which also record that he was killed there).[11][14]
Instead, his failure to counter the Muslim expeditions caused a rift in his relations with Heraclius; and Theodore allegedly criticized his brother's controversial marriage to his nieceMartina.[11][15][16] In response, Heraclius recalled Theodore to Constantinople and ordered his sonHeraclonas to publicly humiliate and imprison him. This humiliation caused Theodore'sson, also named Theodore, to participate in the abortive plot ofJohn Athalarichos to overthrow Heraclius in 637.[11][15][16] Theodore's other son, Gregory, is only mentioned in 649, in the dependents ofTheophilus of Edessa, such asTheophanes the Confessor. Theophanes mentions that Gregory served as a hostage in the court ofMu'awiya I (r. 661–680) as part of the terms for the treatyConstans II (r. 641–668) negotiated with the caliph, but the treaty collapsed in 651 when Gregory died at Helioupolis.[17]