Heraclius's reign was marked by several military campaigns. The year Heraclius came to power, the empire was threatened on multiple frontiers. Heraclius immediately took charge of theByzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628. The first battles of the campaign ended in defeat for the Byzantines; the Persian army fought their way to theBosphorus butConstantinople was protected byimpenetrable walls and a strong navy, and Heraclius was able to avoid total defeat. Soon after, he initiated reforms to rebuild and strengthen the military. Heraclius drove the Persians out ofAsia Minor and pushed deep into their territory, defeating them decisively in 627 at theBattle of Nineveh. The Persian ShahKhosrow II was overthrown and executed by his sonKavad II, who soon sued for a peace treaty, agreeing to withdraw from all occupied territory. This way peaceful relations were restored to the two deeply strained empires.
Heracliussoon lost many of his newly regained lands to theRashidun Caliphate. Emerging from theArabian Peninsula, the Arabs quickly conquered theSasanian Empire. In 636, the Arabs marched intoRoman Syria, defeating Heraclius's brotherTheodore. Within a short period of time, the Arabs conqueredMesopotamia,Armenia andEgypt. Heraclius responded with reforms which allowed his successors to combat the Arabs and avoid total destruction.
Heraclius entered diplomatic relations with theCroats andSerbs in theBalkans. He tried to repair the schism in the Christian church in regard to thenon-Chalcedonians, by promoting a compromise doctrine calledmonothelitism. TheChurch of the East (commonly called Nestorian) was also involved in the process.[3] Eventually, this project of unity was rejected by all sides of the dispute.
Heraclius was the eldest son ofHeraclius the Elder, who is almost universally recognized as being ofArmenian origin.[4][5][b] His mother, Epiphania, was probably ofCappadocian origin.[6]Walter Kaegi considers Heraclius' Armenian origin "probable" and speculates that he was presumably "bilingual (Armenian and Greek) from an early age, but even this is uncertain".[4] According to the 7th century Armenian historianSebeos, Heraclius was related to theArsacid dynasty of Armenia.[7]Elizabeth Redgate considers his Armenian origin likely.[8]Anthony Kaldellis argues that there is no primary source that says that Heraclius [the Elder] was an Armenian and that the assertion is based on an erroneous reading ofTheophylact Simocatta. In a letter,Priscus, a general who had replaced Heraclius the Elder, wrote to him "to leave the army and return to his own city in Armenia". Kaldellis interprets it as the command headquarters of Heraclius the Elder, and not his hometown.[9] Beyond that, there is little specific information known about his origin. His father was a general during EmperorMaurice's war with ShahBahram Chobin, usurper of theSasanian Empire, during 590.[10] After the war, Maurice appointed Heraclius the Elder to the position ofExarch ofAfrica.[11]
Goldsolidus of Heraclius and his father in consular robes, struck during their revolt against Phocas
In 608, Heraclius the Elder renounced his loyalty to the EmperorPhocas, who had overthrown Maurice six years earlier. The rebels issued coins showing both Heraclii dressed ashypatos, though neither of them explicitly claimed the imperial title at this time.[12] Heraclius's younger cousinNicetas launched an overland invasion ofEgypt; by 609, he had defeated Phocas's generalBonosus and secured the province. Meanwhile, the younger Heraclius sailed eastward with another force viaSicily andCyprus.[12]
As he approachedConstantinople, he made contact with prominent leaders and planned an attack to overthrowaristocrats in the city. When he reached the capital, theExcubitors, an elite Imperial Guard unit led by Phocas's son-in-lawPriscus, deserted to Heraclius, and he entered the city without serious resistance. When Heraclius captured Phocas, he asked him "Is this how you have ruled, wretch?" Phocas's reply—"And will you rule better?"—so enraged Heraclius that he beheaded Phocas on the spot.[13] He later had the genitalia removed from the body because Phocas had raped the wife of Photius, a powerful politician in the city.[14]
On 5 October 610, Heracliuswas crowned in the Chapel of St. Stephen within theGreat Palace.[15] He then marriedFabia, who took the name Eudokia. After her death in 612, he married his nieceMartina in 613; this second marriage was consideredincestuous and was very unpopular.[16] In the reign of Heraclius's two sons, the divisive Martina was to become the center of power and political intrigue. Despite widespread hatred for Martina in Constantinople, Heraclius took her on campaigns with him and refused attempts byPatriarch Sergius to prevent and later dissolve the marriage.[16]
During hisBalkan campaigns, EmperorMaurice and his family were murdered byPhocas in November 602 after a mutiny.[17]Khosrow II of theSasanian Empire had been restored to his throne by Maurice, and they had remained allies until the latter's death. Thereafter, Khosrow seized the opportunity to attack the Byzantine Empire and reconquerMesopotamia.[18] Khosrow had at his court a man who claimed to be Maurice's sonTheodosius, and Khosrow demanded that the Byzantines accept this Theodosius as emperor.
The war initially went the Persians' way, partly because of Phocas's brutal repression and the succession crisis that ensued as the general Heraclius sent his nephewNicetas to attackEgypt, enabling his son Heraclius the younger to claim the throne in 610.[19] Phocas, an unpopular ruler who is invariably described in historical sources as a "tyrant" (in its original meaning of the word, i.e. illegitimate king by the rules of succession), was eventually deposed by Heraclius, who sailed to Constantinople fromCarthage with an icon affixed to the prow of his ship.[20][21]
By this time, the Persians had conquered Mesopotamia and theCaucasus, and in 611 they overran Syria and entered Anatolia. A major counter-attack led by Heraclius two years later was decisively defeated outsideAntioch byShahrbaraz andShahin, and the Roman position collapsed; the Persians devastated parts of Asia Minor and capturedChalcedon across from Constantinople on theBosporus.[22]
Over the following decade the Persians were able to conquerPalestine and Egypt (by mid-621, the whole province was in their hands)[23] and to devastate Anatolia,[c] while theAvars andSlavs took advantage of the situation to overrun theBalkans, bringing the Empire to the brink of destruction. In 613, the Persian army tookDamascus withthe help of the Jews, seizedJerusalem in 614, damaging theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre and capturing theTrue Cross, and afterwards capturingEgypt in 617 or 618.[25] When the Sasanians reachedChalcedon in 615, it was at this point, according toSebeos, that Heraclius had agreed to stand down and was about ready to allow the Byzantine Empire to become a Persianclient state, even permitting Khosrow II to choose the emperor.[26] In a letter delivered by his ambassadors, Heraclius acknowledged the Persian empire as superior, described himself as Khosrow II's "obedient son, one who is eager to perform the services of your serenity in all things", and even called Khosrow II the "supreme emperor".[27] Khosrow II nevertheless rejected the peace offer, and arrested Heraclius' ambassadors.[27]
With the Persians at the very gate of Constantinople, Heraclius thought of abandoning the city and moving the capital to Carthage, but the powerful church figurePatriarch Sergius convinced him to stay. Safe behind the walls of Constantinople, Heraclius was able to sue for peace in exchange for an annual tribute of a thousand talents of gold, a thousand talents of silver, a thousand silk robes, a thousand horses, and a thousand virgins to the Persian King.[28][better source needed] The peace allowed him to rebuild the Empire's army by slashing non-military expenditure, devaluing the currency, and melting down, with the backing of Patriarch Sergius, Church treasures to raise the necessary funds to continue the war.[29]
On 4 April 622, Heraclius left Constantinople, entrusting the city to Sergius and generalBonus as regents of his son. He assembled his forces in Asia Minor, probably inBithynia, and, after he revived their broken morale, he launched a new counter-offensive, which took on the character of a holy war; anacheiropoietos image of Christ was carried as a military standard.[29][30][31][32]
Cherub and Heraclius receiving the submission of Khosrow II; plaque from a cross (Champlevéenamel over gilt copper, 1160–1170,Paris,Louvre). This is anallegory as Khosrow never submitted in person.
The Roman army proceeded to Armenia, inflicted a defeat on an army led by a Persian-allied Arab chief, and then won a victory over the Persians under Shahrbaraz.[33] Heraclius would stay on campaign for several years.[34][35] On 25 March 624,[36] he again left Constantinople with his wife,Martina, and his two children; after he celebratedEaster in Nicomedia on 15 April, he campaigned in the Caucasus, winning a series of victories in Armenia against Khosrow and his generals Shahrbaraz, Shahin, andShahraplakan.[37][38] In the same year theVisigoths succeeded in recapturingCartagena, capital of the western Byzantine province ofSpania, resulting in the loss of one of the few minor provinces that had been conquered by the armies ofJustinian I.[39] In 626 the Avars and Slavs supported by a Persian army commanded by Shahrbaraz,besieged Constantinople, but the siege ended in failure (the victory was attributed to the icons of the Virgin which were led in procession by Sergius about the walls of the city),[40] while a second Persian army under Shahin suffered another crushing defeat at the hands of Heraclius's brother Theodore.
Heraclius (center) venerating the icon of Mary before campaigning against the Persians. Scene from the 12th centuryManasses Chronicle.
With the Persian war effort disintegrating, Heraclius was able to bring theGokturks of theWestern Turkic Khaganate, underZiebel, whoinvaded Persian Transcaucasia. Heraclius exploited divisions within the Persian Empire, keeping Shahrbaraz neutral by convincing him that Khosrow had grown jealous of him and had ordered his execution. Late in 627 he launched a winter offensive into Mesopotamia, where, despite the desertion of his Turkish allies, he defeated the Persians underRhahzadh at theBattle of Nineveh.[41] Continuing south along the Tigris he sacked Khosrow's great palace atDastagird and was only prevented from attacking Ctesiphon by the destruction of the bridges on the Nahrawan Canal. Discredited by this series of disasters, Khosrow was overthrown and killed in a coup led by his sonKavad II, who at once sued for peace, agreeing to withdraw from all occupied territories.[42] In 629 Heraclius restored theTrue Cross toJerusalem in a majestic ceremony.[21][42][43]
Heraclius took for himself the ancient Persian title of "King of Kings" after his victory. Later on, starting in 629, he styled himself asBasileus, the Greek word for "sovereign", and that title was used by the Byzantine emperors for the next 824 years. The reason Heraclius chose this title over previous Roman terms such asAugustus has been attributed by some scholars to hisArmenian origins.[44]
Heraclius's defeat of the Persians ended a war that had been going on intermittently for almost 400 years and led to instability in the Persian Empire.Kavad II died only months after assuming the throne, plunging Persia into several years of dynastic turmoil and civil war.Ardashir III, Heraclius's allyShahrbaraz, and Khosrow's daughtersBoran andAzarmidokht all succeeded to the throne within months of each other. Only whenYazdegerd III, a grandson of Khosrow II, succeeded to the throne in 632 was there stability. But by then the Sasanid Empire was severely disorganised, having been weakened byyears of war and civil strife over the succession to the throne.[45][46]The war had been devastating, and left the Byzantines in a much-weakened state. Within a few years both empires were overwhelmed by the onslaught of the Arabs,[47] ultimately leading to theArab conquest of Persia and thefall of the Sasanian dynasty in 651.[48]
Arab-Byzantine troop movement from September 635 to just before the event of the Battle of the Yarmouk
By 630, the Arabs had unified all the tribes of theHijaz, previously too divided to pose a serious military challenge to the Byzantines or the Persians. They composed one of the most powerful states in the region.[49] The first conflict between the Byzantines and the Arabs was theBattle of Mu'tah in September 629. A small Arabs skirmishing force attacked the province ofArabia in response to the Arab ambassador's death at the hands of theGhassanid Roman governor, but were repulsed. Since the engagement was a Byzantine victory, there was no apparent reason to make changes to the military organization of the region.[50] The Roman military wasn't accustomed to fighting Arab armies at scale, much like the Islamic forces of Hijaz who had no prior experience in their engagements against the Romans. Even theStrategicon of Maurice, amanual of war praised for the variety of enemies it covers, does not mention warfare againstArabs at any length.[51] The religious zeal of the Arab army, which was a recent development following therise of Islam, ultimately contributed to the latter's success in its campaigns against the Romans.[51]
The following year, the Arabs launched an offensive into theArabah south ofLake Tiberias, takingal-Karak. Other raids penetrated into theNegev, reaching as far asGaza.[52] TheBattle of Yarmouk in 636 resulted in a crushing defeat for the larger Byzantine army; within three years, theLevant had been lost again. Heraclius died of an illness on 11 February 641;[d] and most of Egypt had fallen by that time as well.[57]
The territories recovered by his defeat of the Persians were relinquished again in theArab conquests. The recovery of the eastern areas of the Roman Empire from the Persians once again raised the problem of religious unity centering on the understanding of the true nature ofChrist. Most of the inhabitants of these provinces wereMiaphysites who rejected theCouncil of Chalcedon.[58] Heraclius tried to promote a compromise doctrine calledMonothelitism but this philosophy was rejected asheretical by both sides of the dispute. For this reason, Heraclius was viewed as a heretic and a bad ruler by some later religious writers. After the Miaphysite provinces were finally lost to the Arabs, Monotheletism rather lost itsraison d'être and was eventually abandoned.[58][failed verification]
Of the characters conspicuous in history, that of Heraclius is one of the most extraordinary and inconsistent. In the first and last years of a long reign, the emperor appears to be the slave of sloth, of pleasure, or of superstition, the careless and impotent spectator of the public calamities. But the languid mists of the morning and evening are separated by the brightness of the meridian sun; the Arcadius of the palace arose the Caesar of the camp; and the honor of Rome and Heraclius was gloriously retrieved by the exploits and trophies of six adventurous campaigns. [...] Since the days ofScipio andHannibal, no bolder enterprise has been attempted than that which Heraclius achieved for the deliverance of the empire.
According to Leo Donald Davis andRomilly James Heald Jenkins, one of the most important legacies of Heraclius was changing the official language of the Empire fromLatin to Greek.[e][f][66][67] Although, Anthony Kaldellis states that Heraclius passed no laws formally implementing Greek as an official language, and that usage of Greek was widespread throughout the Empire.[68]
Heraclius was long remembered favourably by the Western church for his reputed recovery of theTrue Cross from the Persians. As Heraclius approached the Persian capital during the final stages of the war, Khosrow fled from his favourite residence—Dastagird nearBaghdad—without offering resistance. Meanwhile, some of the Persian grandees freed Khosrow's eldest sonKavad II, who had been imprisoned by his father, and proclaimed him King on the night of 23–24 February, 628.[69] Kavad, however, was mortally ill and was anxious that Heraclius should protect his infant son Ardeshir. So, as a goodwill gesture, he sent the True Cross with a negotiator in 628.[42]
After a tour of the Empire, Heraclius returned the cross toJerusalem on 21 March 629 or 630.[70][71] For Christians of Western Medieval Europe, Heraclius was the "first crusader". The iconography of the emperor appeared in the sanctuary atMont Saint-Michel (c. 1060),[72] and then it became popular, especially in France, the Italian Peninsula, and the Holy Roman Empire.[73] The story was included in theGolden Legend, the famous 13th-century compendium of hagiography, and he is sometimes shown in art, as inThe History of the True Cross sequence offrescoes painted byPiero della Francesca inArezzo, and a similar sequence on a small altarpiece byAdam Elsheimer (Städel, Frankfurt). Both of these show scenes of Heraclius andConstantine I's motherSaint Helena, traditionally responsible for the excavation of the cross. The scene usually shown is Heraclius carrying the cross; according to theGolden Legend, he insisted on doing this as he entered Jerusalem, against the advice of the Patriarch. At first, when he was on horseback (shown above), the burden was too heavy, but after he dismounted and removed his crown it became miraculously light, and the barred city gate opened of its own accord.[74]
Some scholars disagree with this narrative, ProfessorConstantin Zuckerman going as far as to suggest that the True Cross was actually lost, and that the wood contained in the allegedly-still-sealed reliquary brought to Jerusalem by Heraclius in 629 was a fake. In his analysis, the hoax was designed to serve the political purposes of both Heraclius and his former foe, the Persian generalShahrbaraz.[71]
Purported letter sent by Muhammad to Heraclius, emperor of Byzantium; reproduction taken from Majid Ali Khan,Muhammad The Final MessengerIslamic Book Service, New Delhi (1998).Purported letter sent by Muhammad to Heraclius, emperor of Byzantium; original version of the letter.
In early Islamic and Arab histories, Heraclius is the most popular Roman emperor, who is discussed at length.[76] Owing to his role as Roman emperor at the time Islam emerged, he is remembered inArabic literature, such as the Islamichadith andsira. He is also indirectly mentioned inSuraAr-Rum and his victory against Sassanid empire was prophesied here. In the third and fourth verses, the Muslim community is promised that the Byzantines will reverse their defeat into a victory and retake Jerusalem "in a few years' time".[77]
"The Romans were vanquished in the closer region, and they, after being vanquished, will prevail within a certain number of (from 3 to 9) years. ToGod belongs the command before and after. And that day, ones who believe will be glad with the help of God. He helps whom He wills. And He is The Almighty, The Compassionate."[Quran30:2–5 (Translated by Laleh Bakhtiar)]
According to Islamic traditions, a letter was sent from Muhammad to Heraclius, through the Muslim envoyDihyah bin Khalifah al-Kalbi, althoughShahid suggests that Heraclius may never have received it.[78] He also advances that more positive sub-narratives surrounding the letter contain little credence. According to Nadia El Cheikh, Arab historians and chroniclers generally did not doubt the authenticity of Heraclius' letter due to the documentation of such letters in the majority of both early and later sources.[79] Furthermore, she notes that the formulation and the wordings of different sources are very close and the differences are ones of detail: They concern the date on which the letter was sent and its exact phrasing.[79]Muhammad Hamidullah, an Islamic research scholar, argues for the authenticity of the letter sent to Heraclius, and in a later work reproduces what is claimed to be the original letter.[79][80]
In the name of God, the Gracious One, the Merciful From Muhammad, servant of God and His apostle to Heraclius, premier of the Romans: Peace unto whoever follows the guided path! Thereafter, verily I call you to submit your will to God. Submit your will to God and you will be safe. God shall compensate your reward two-folds. But if you turn away, then upon you will sins of the peasants. Then "OPeople of the Scripture, come to a term equitable between us and you that we worship none but God and associate with Him nothing, and we take not one another as Lords apart from God. But if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we peace makers."[Quran3:64] Seal: Muhammad, Apostle of God
According to Islamic reports, Muhammad dispatchedDihyah al-Kalbi[81][82] to carry the epistle to "Caesar" through the government ofBosra after theByzantine defeat of the Persians and reconquest of Jerusalem.[83][84][81] Islamic sources say that after the letter was read to him, he was so impressed by it that he gifted the messenger of the epistle with robes and coinage.[85] Alternatively, he also put it on his lap.[83] He then summonedAbu Sufyan ibn Harb to his court, at the time an adversary to Muhammad but a signatory to the then-recentTreaty of Hudaybiyyah, who was trading in theregion of Syria at the time. Asked by Heraclius about the man claiming to be a prophet, Abu Sufyan responded, speaking favorably of Muhammad's character and lineage and outlining some directives of Islam. Heraclius was seemingly impressed by what he was told of Muhammad, and felt that Muhammad's claim to prophethood was valid.[79][86][87] Later reportedly he wrote to a certain religious official inRome to confirm if Muhammad's claim of prophethood was legitimate, and, after receiving the reply to his letter, called theRoman assembly saying, "If you desire salvation and the orthodox way so that your empire remain firmly established, then follow this prophet," to the rejection of the council.[85][88][83] Heraclius eventually decided against conversion but the envoy was returned to Medina with the felicitations of the emperor.[85] Described inTarikh al-Tabari that, then Heraclius sent Dehia Kalbi to invite the Christian priestDagatir, Dagatir converted to Islam and called the people to Islam by witnessing Muhammad as Ahmad described in the Bible. The people of Rome were enraged and immediately beat him to death.[89][90][91]
Scholarly historians disagree with this account, arguing that any such messengers would have received neither an imperial audience or recognition, and that there is no evidence outside of Islamic sources suggesting that Heraclius had any knowledge of Islam.[92]
TheSwahiliUtendi wa Tambuka, anepic poem composed in 1728 atPate Island (off the shore of present-dayKenya) and depicting the wars between the Muslims and Byzantines from the former's point of view, is also known asKyuo kya Hereḳali ("The Book of Heraclius"). In that work, Heraclius is portrayed as declining the Prophet's request to renounce his belief in Christianity: he is therefore defeated by the Muslim forces.[94]
In Muslim tradition, he is seen as a just ruler of great piety, who had direct contact with the emerging Islamic forces.[95] The 14th-century scholarIbn Kathir (d. 1373) went even further, stating that "Heraclius was one of the wisest men and among the most resolute, shrewd, deep and opinionated of kings. He ruled the Romans with great leadership and splendor."[76] Historians such as Nadia Maria El-Cheikh andLawrence Conrad note that Islamic histories even go so far as claiming that Heraclius recognized Islam as the true faith andMuhammad as its prophet, by comparing Islam to Christianity.[96][97][98]
Islamic historians often cite a letter in which they claim Heraclius wrote to Muhammad: "I have received your letter with your ambassador and I testify that you are the messenger of God found in our New Testament. Jesus, son of Mary, announced you."[95] According to the Muslim sources reported by El-Cheikh, he tried to convert the ruling class of the Empire, but they resisted so strongly that he reversed course and claimed that he was just testing their faith in Christianity.[99] El-Cheikh notes that these accounts of Heraclius add "little to our historical knowledge" of the emperor; rather, they are an important part of "Islamickerygma," attempting to legitimize Muhammad's status as a prophet.[100]
Most Western academic historians view such traditions as biased and proclamatory and of little historical value.[101] Furthermore, they argue that any messengers sent by Muhammad to Heraclius would not have received an imperial audience or recognition.[102] According to Kaegi, there is no evidence outside of Islamic sources to suggest Heraclius ever heard of Islam,[103] and it is possible that he and his advisors actually viewed the Muslims as some special sect of Jews.[51]
Heraclius hadepispadias, meaning that his urethra was on the upper side of the shaft of his penis, rather than at the tip.[104] When urinating, the urine would flow upward toward his face. To prevent the mess, he would place a wooden plank on his belly. He is the earliest known case of epispadias in medical history.
Heraclius was married twice: first toFabia Eudokia, a daughter of Rogatus, and then to his nieceMartina. He had two children with Fabia (Eudoxia Epiphania andHeraclius Constantine) and at least nine with Martina, many of whom were sickly children.[g][107] Of Martina's children at least two weredisabled, which was seen as punishment for the illegality of the marriage: Fabius had a paralyzed neck and Theodosius was adeaf-mute. The latter married Nike, daughter of the Persian generalShahrbaraz, or daughter of Niketas, cousin of Heraclius.
Heraclius was succeeded by two of his children: Heraclius Constantine, his son with Eudokia, and Martina's sonHeraclius (Heraclonas). Constantine wascrowned co-emperor (augustus) on 22 January 613, at the age of 8 months. Heraclonas was madecaesar on 1 January 632, aged 6, and was later crownedaugustus on 4 July 638.[108] A third son,David, was also crowned in 641 under theregnal name of "Tiberius". They ruled for a few months in 641, but were eventually succeeded byConstans II, the son of Heraclius Constantine, by the end of the year.
An early 7th-century drawing ofJob and his family, likely represented as Heraclius (left), his second wife Martina, his sister Epiphania, and his daughter Eudoxia, on a5th-century biblical manuscript.[109][h]
Heraclius had at least one illegitimate son,John Athalarichos, who conspired against Heraclius with his cousin, the magisterTheodorus, and the Armenian nobleDavid Saharuni.[i] When Heraclius discovered the plot, he had Athalarichos'snose and hands cut off, and he wasexiled toPrinkipo, one of thePrinces' Islands.[114] Theodorus received the same treatment, but was sent to Gaudomelete (possibly modern-dayGozo Island) with additional instructions to cut off one leg.[114]
During the last years of Heraclius's life, it became evident that a struggle was taking place between Heraclius Constantine and Martina, who was trying to position her son Heraclonas to assume the throne. When Heraclius died, hedevised the empire to both Heraclius Constantine and Heraclonas to rule jointly with Martina as empress.[107]
^His full imperial titulature is attested in Greek asΑὐτοκράτωρ καῖσαρ φλάβιος ἡράκλειος πιστὸς ἐν χριστῷ ἡμερότατος μέγιστος εὐεργέτης εἰρηνικὸς ἀλαμαννικὸς γοτθικὸς φραγγικὸς γερμανικὸς ἀντικὸς ἀλανικὸς οὐανδαλικὸς ἀφρικανὸς ἐρουλικὸς γηπεδικὸς εὐσεβὴς εὐτυχὴς ἔνδοξος νικητὴς τροπαιοῦχος ἀεισέβαστος αὔγουστος ("Emperor Caesar Flavius Heraclius, faithful in Christ, most mild, greatest benefactor, peaceable;victor over theAlamanni,Goths,Franks,Germans,Antes,Alans,Vandals,Africans; pious, fortunate, renowned, victorious and triumphant, ever-venerable augustus").[2] Those exact victory titles were used byJustinian I and his successors.
^The mint ofNicomedia ceased operating in 613, andRhodes fell to the invaders in 622/623.[24]
^This is the date as given by the calculations ofNikephoros I of Constantinople (758–828): "So he died of this (disease) at the age of sixty-six after a reign of thirty years, four months, and six days".[53] Other authors give only the month.[54][55] The 13th centuryChronicon Altinate gives 11 January, a date that could be accepted if not for the corrupted and erroneous dates in the rest of the book.[56]
^Han Lamers, professor of classical philology at theUniversity of Oslo, states, ".. Emperor Heraclius (r. 610–41) who introduced Greek as the official language of the Roman Empire.."[64]
^Eugenia Russell, Lecturer in History atSt Mary's University, Twickenham, states it was "..on the initiative of Hercaclius, Greek was replacing Latin as the official language of the Eastern Roman Empire."[65]
^The number and order of Heraclius's children by Martina is unsure, with some sources saying nine children[105] and others ten.[106]
^The artist very likely used pre-existing portraits of Heraclius and his family. Heraclius is noted as being similar to how he's described in literary sources and how he appears in his early coinage.[110]
^The illegitimate son is recorded by a number of different spellings including: Atalarichos,[111] Athalaric,[112] At'alarik,[113] etc.
^Chronicon Paschale610. Heraclius arrived on 3 October, a Saturday. However, the chronicle later states that he entered the city on 6 October, "a Monday". The 5th is clearly intended.
^John of Nikiû,Chronicle CXVI: "Heraclius fell ill with fever, and died in the thirty-first year of his reign in the month Yakâtît of the Egyptians, that is, February of the Roman months."
^Theophanes Confessor,AM 6132: "In the month of March, indiction 14, the emperor Herakleios died of dropsy after a reign of 30 years and 10 months."
^TheChronicon Altinate107, 21–25: "Mense ianuarii, xi die, defunctus est Eraclius imperator in infirmitate briky, hoc est disenteria".
^abcdeMuhammad and Heraclius: A Study in Legitimacy, Nadia Maria El-Cheikh, Studia Islamica, No. 89. (1999), pp. 5–21.
^Footnote of the El-Cheikh (1999) reads: "Hamidullah discussed this controversy and tried to prove the authenticity of Heraclius' letter in his "La lettre du Prophete P Heraclius et le sort de I'original: Arabica 2 (1955), pp. 97–1 10, and more recently, in Sir originaw des lettms du prophbte de I'lslam (Paris, 1985), pp. 149.172, in which he reproduces what purports to be the original letter."
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