Comentiolus ( el, Κομεντίολος, Komentíolos; died 610/611) was the brother of the
Eastern Roman emperor
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...
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).
Nothing is known of his early life except that he was the son of
Domentzia Domentzia ( el, Δομεντζία) was a name shared by the mother of the List of Byzantine emperors, Byzantine emperor Phocas (r. 602–610), and a daughter of the same emperor, likely named after her paternal grandmother.Martindale (1992), p. 40 ...
, along with Phocas and the later ''
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 centu ...
''
Domentziolus. Raised by Phocas to the rank of ''
patricius'' and the post of ''
magister militum
(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, ...
'', he was in charge of the Byzantine Empire's eastern army facing the
Sassanid Persians
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 ...
when Phocas was overthrown and executed by
Heraclius
Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was List of Byzantine emperors, Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exa ...
(r. 610–641) in 610.
[.]
Comentiolus refused to acknowledge Heraclius's accession, and, bringing back the troops to winter quarters at
Ancyra
Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the list of national capitals, capital of Turkey. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center ...
, he planned to attack
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 (" ...
and avenge the deaths of his brothers Phocas and Domentziolus. Heraclius pardoned his nephew, the son of Domentziolus (also named
Domentziolus), and sent the respected former general
Philippicus
Philippicus ( la, Filepicus; el, Φιλιππικός, Philippikós) was Byzantine emperor from 711 to 713. He took power in a coup against the unpopular emperor Justinian II, and was deposed in a similarly violent manner nineteen months later. ...
as an envoy. Comentiolus imprisoned Philippicus and threatened to have him executed, but was himself assassinated by the ''patricius'' Justin (late 610 or 611). The rebellion, and with it a serious threat to Heraclius's still shaky hold on power, died with him.
[.]
References
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{{short description, Brother of Byzantine emperor Phocas)
6th-century births
610s deaths
7th-century Byzantine people
Assassinated military personnel
Byzantine rebels
Generals of Phocas
Magistri militum
Patricii