Bonus ( grc, Βῶνος or Βόνος, died 627) was a
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
statesman and general, one of the closest associates of Emperor
Heraclius (r. 610–641), who played a leading role in the successful defense of the imperial capital,
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
, during the
Avar–
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
siege of 626.
Biography
![Heraclius-coin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Heraclius-coin.jpg)
Almost nothing is known of Bonus's origins or private life. In a
panegyric poem dedicated to Bonus in 626,
George Pisides calls him a "companion in arms" of Heraclius, possibly implying that Bonus accompanied him when he sailed from
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
in 610 to overthrow Emperor
Phocas
Phocas ( la, Focas; grc-gre, Φωκάς, Phōkás; 5475 October 610) was Eastern Roman emperor from 602 to 610. Initially, a middle-ranking officer in the Eastern Roman army, Phocas rose to prominence as a spokesman for dissatisfied soldiers ...
(r. 602–610). He is also known to have had an illegitimate son, John, who was sent as a hostage to the
Avars in 622.
[.]
At this time, the Byzantine Empire was engaged in a
prolonged struggle with its large eastern antagonist, the
Sassanid Persian Empire
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
. Over the previous twenty years, Persian armies had scored victory after victory and captured most of the Byzantine
Levant
The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is ...
. In 622, after securing peace with the Avars in the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
, Heraclius set out to campaign in person against the Persians. Bonus was left behind in Constantinople as the Emperor's deputy and guardian of his young sons, together with
Patriarch
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...
Sergius.
[.] During Heraclius's absence on campaign for the next years, Bonus acted as the effective regent of the Byzantine Empire.
The exact offices Bonus held are unclear; he held the rank of ''
patrikios
The patricians (from la, patricius, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned aft ...
'', and in the sources he is usually simply referred to as "the ''magistros''". Although this would usually imply the position of ''
magister officiorum
The ''magister officiorum'' (Latin literally for "Master of Offices", in gr, μάγιστρος τῶν ὀφφικίων, magistros tōn offikiōn) was one of the most senior administrative officials in the Later Roman Empire and the early cent ...
'',
Theodore Synkellos calls him "the general" (''
strategos''), possibly implying that he held the post of ''
magister militum praesentalis
(Latin for "master of soldiers", plural ) was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, ...
''.
[.] Modern scholarly opinion is divided between the two cases; thus the ''
Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire
''Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'' (abbreviated as ''PLRE'') is a work of Roman prosopography published in a set of three volumes collectively describing many of the people attested to have lived in the Roman Empire from AD 260, the date ...
'' and
Walter Kaegi
Walter Emil Kaegi (8 november 1937, New Albany, Indiana - February 24, 2022) was a historian and scholar of Byzantine history, professor of history at the University of Chicago, and a Voting Member of The Oriental Institute. He received his B.A. ...
support the latter thesis,
while
John Haldon
John F. Haldon FBA ( 23 October 1948 in Newcastle upon Tyne) is a British historian, and Shelby Cullom Davis '30 Professor of European History emeritus, professor of Byzantine history and Hellenic Studies emeritus, as well as former director ...
notably supports the former.
By 626, Heraclius had scored several victories in the East and reversed the strategic situation in his favour, but the Persian general
Shahrbaraz
Shahrbaraz (also spelled Shahrvaraz or Shahrwaraz; New Persian: ), was shah (king) of the Sasanian Empire from 27 April 630 to 9 June 630. He usurped the throne from Ardashir III, and was killed by Iranian nobles after forty days. Before usurp ...
was still encamped with his army in western
Asia Minor
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
, close to Constantinople. At this juncture, the Persians came to an understanding with the Avars, raising the prospect of a combined siege of Constantinople. To that end, the Persians advanced, took and razed
Chalcedon
Chalcedon ( or ; , sometimes transliterated as ''Chalkedon'') was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor. It was located almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari (modern Üsküdar) and it is now a district of the cit ...
, opposite side to Constantinople with regard to the
Bosporus
The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...
, and awaited the arrival of the Avars. Emperor Heraclius, having learned of the threat to his capital, decided not to return in person; instead, he sent advice and reinforcements to Bonus, who proceeded to strengthen the
city walls and gather provisions.
The Avar army arrived in front of the city of Constantinople in July 626. Proposals for a surrender by the Avar ''
khagan'' were rejected by Bonus, and the siege began on July 29.
Bonus was the overall commander of the defenders. During the first five days of the siege, he sent repeated embassies to try to persuade the ''khagan'' to withdraw, offering money in return.
[.] On the fifth day, the Byzantine envoys encountered a Persian embassy in the ''khagan''’s tent, a fact that underscored the danger the city would be in if the Avars' Slavic allies managed to ferry the Persian army over the
Bosporus
The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...
strait. Thus, on the tenth day of the siege, August 7, as the Avar assault peaked, Bonus lured the Slavs into a trap: the Byzantines had learned that the signal for the Slavic fleet to cross the strait and rendezvous with the Persian forces in Chalcedon would be the lighting of a great bonfire. Therefore, the Byzantines themselves lit a beacon in
Blachernae
Blachernae ( gkm, Βλαχέρναι) was a suburb in the northwestern section of Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine Empire. It is the site of a water source and a number of prominent churches were built there, most notably the great ...
, and as the Slavs made the crossing, the
Byzantine fleet
The Byzantine navy was the naval force of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire. Like the empire it served, it was a direct continuation from its Imperial Roman predecessor, but played a far greater role in the defence and survival of the state tha ...
, standing by inside the
Golden Horn
The Golden Horn ( tr, Altın Boynuz or ''Haliç''; grc, Χρυσόκερας, ''Chrysókeras''; la, Sinus Ceratinus) is a major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. As a natural estuary that connects with t ...
, sallied forth and decisively defeated them.
[.]
Following this success and the repulsion of the Avars from the walls, Bonus had to restrain the over-eager people of the city, including women and children, who wanted to rush out and capture the enemy
siege engines
A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent heavy castle doors, thick city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare. Some are immobile, constructed in place to attack enemy fortifications from a distance, while other ...
.
[.] Instead, on August 8, the Avars began withdrawing; Bonus, Patriarch Sergius, and many people came to the
Golden Gate
The Golden Gate is a strait on the west coast of North America that connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. It is defined by the headlands of the San Francisco Peninsula and the Marin Peninsula, and, since 1937, has been spanned by t ...
to watch their retreat and the burning of the
siege towers
A Roman siege tower or breaching tower (or in the Middle Ages, a belfry''Castle: Stephen Biesty's Cross-Sections''. Dorling Kindersley Pub (T); 1st American edition (September 1994). Siege towers were invented in 300 BC. ) is a specialized siege ...
, set on fire by the Avars themselves.
The Emperor's brother, Theodore, arrived soon after at the head of an army, and took up the running of affairs in the capital.
Shortly after this, in early May 627, Bonus died and was buried (on May 11) in the
Monastery of St John of Stoudios.
Cistern of Bonus
Bonus also built a large
cistern in the city (Greek: ), covered with a domed roof, close to the site of his own house. It lay to the northeast of the
Church of the Holy Apostles
The Church of the Holy Apostles ( el, , ''Agioi Apostoloi''; tr, Havariyyun Kilisesi), also known as the ''Imperial Polyándreion'' (imperial cemetery), was a Byzantine Eastern Orthodox church in Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman E ...
, in the coolest part of the city. For that reason, Emperor
Romanos I Lekapenos
Romanos I Lekapenos ( el, Ρωμανός Λεκαπηνός; 870 – 15 June 948), Latinized as Romanus I Lecapenus, was Byzantine emperor from 920 until his deposition in 944, serving as regent for the infant Constantine VII.
Origin
Romanos ...
(r. 920–944) built a palace there, the "New Palace of Bonus".
Theophano, the first wife of Emperor
Leo VI the Wise
Leo VI, called the Wise ( gr, Λέων ὁ Σοφός, Léōn ho Sophós, 19 September 866 – 11 May 912), was Byzantine Emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty (although his parentage is unclear), he was very well ...
(r. 886–912), also built a church nearby, St. Constantine of the Cistern of Bonus, where her body was eventually transferred, probably after the
sack of the city in 1204. This palace complex played a central role in the annual ritual commemoration of
Constantine the Great
Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...
, the city's founder, on May 21, with the imperial family moving from the palace to Constantine's
mausoleum in the Holy Apostles and back again.
[.]
References
Sources
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External links
*
*{{cite web, last=Pearse, first=Roger, url=http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/theodore_syncellus_01_homily.htm, title=Theodore the Syncellus, Homily on the siege of Constantinople in 626 AD (English Translation), year=2007, work=The Tertullian Project, access-date=23 May 2012
6th-century births
627 deaths
7th-century Byzantine people
Generals of Heraclius
Magistri militum
Patricii
Byzantine regents
Avar–Byzantine wars
People of the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628