The

Exarch of Africa The Exarchate of Africa was a division of the Byzantine Empire around Carthage that encompassed its possessions on the Western Mediterranean. Ruled by an exarch (viceroy), it was established by the Emperor Maurice in the late 580s and survive ...

Heraclius the Elder Heraclius the Elder ( el, Ἡράκλειος, ''Herákleios''; died 610) was a Byzantine general and the father of Byzantine emperor Heraclius (r. 610–641). Generally considered to be of Armenian origin Heraclius the Elder distinguished him ...

and his namesake son Heraclius the Younger began a rebellion against the

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 ...

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 ...

in 608. In October 610, Heraclius the Younger reached

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 ( ...

, executed Phocas, and was proclaimed as emperor, establishing the

Heraclian dynasty The Byzantine Empire was ruled by emperors of the dynasty of Heraclius between 610 and 711. The Heraclians presided over a period of cataclysmic events that were a watershed in the history of the Empire and the world. Heraclius, the founder ...

of the Byzantine Empire.

Background

Various reasons may have contributed to the beginning of this rebellion, such as the atmosphere of terror and fear of purges in

' military regime, avenging the death of Emperor

Maurice Maurice may refer to: People * Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr * Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...

in 602, personal ambitions of the Heraclii, the damaged reputation of Phocas. These were coupled with calculations in favor of the revolt, such as the distance of the

Exarchate of Africa The Exarchate of Africa was a division of the Byzantine Empire around Carthage that encompassed its possessions on the Western Mediterranean. Ruled by an exarch (viceroy), it was established by the Emperor Maurice in the late 580s and survive ...

from Phocas in

, and the fact that Constantinople was relying on the grain and revenues from the Exarchate. The news of the

Sasanian 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 ...

ruler Khosrow II's large-scale mobilization of forces to invade the eastern Byzantine territories, also ostensibly to overthrow Phocas and avenge Maurice's death, made the situation more favorable for this revolt in the west.

The rebellion

first made himself and his son

hypatos ''Hypatos'' ( gr, ὕπατος; plural: , ''hypatoi'') and the variant ''apo hypatōn'' (, "former ''hypatos''", literally: "from among the consuls") was a Byzantine court dignity, originally the Greek translation of Latin ''consul'' (the litera ...

, thus laying claim on the supreme power. The rebels attacked Egypt and Cyrenaica via land, while a naval assault was launched from North Africa against Constantinople, possibly via Sicily and Italy. The rebellion received support in most of Egypt and the central Mediterranean.

Aftermath

A revolt against the Heraclius' rule by

Comentiolus Comentiolus ( el, Κομεντίολος, ''Komentiolos''; died 602) was a prominent Eastern Roman (Byzantine) general at the close of the 6th century during the reign of Emperor Maurice (). He played a major role in Maurice's Balkan campaigns, ...

, the brother of Phocas, was defeated after the assassination of the latter by '' patricius'' Justin in late 610 or 611.

died shortly after the success of the revolt.

References

Sources

*{{cite book , last1=Kaegi , first1=Walter E. , author-link=Walter Kaegi , title=Heraclius, Emperor of Byzantium , year =2003 , publisher=Cambridge University Press , isbn=9780521814591 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tlNlFZ_7UhoC 600s in the Byzantine Empire 600s conflicts 7th-century rebellions Heraclius Civil wars of the Byzantine Empire 7th-century coups d'état and coup attempts