David (
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: Δαυίδ; ) was one of three co-emperors of
Byzantium
Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...
for a few months in late
641
__NOTOC__
Year 641 ( DCXLI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 641 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...
(or until early
642
__NOTOC__
Year 642 ( DCXLII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 642 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...
), and had the regnal name Tiberius. David was the son of Emperor
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 ...
and his
wife and niece Empress
Martina. He was born after the emperor and empress had visited
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
and his given name reflects a deliberate attempt to link the imperial family with the Biblical
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
. The
David Plates
The David Plates are a set of nine silver plates, in three sizes, stamped between 613 and 630. The plates were created in Constantinople, each depicting a scene from the life of the Hebrew king David, and associated with the reign of Emperor He ...
, which depict the life of
King David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
, may likewise have been created for the young prince or to commemorate his birth. David was given the senior court title
''caesar'' in 638, in a ceremony during which he received the ''
kamelaukion
A kalimavkion ( el, καλυμμαύχιον), kalymmavchi (καλυμμαύχι), or, by metathesis of the word's internal syllables, kamilavka (russian: камилавка), is a clerical headdress worn by Orthodox Christian and Eastern Cathol ...
'' cap previously worn by his older brother
Heraclonas
Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Herakleios; 626 – 642), known by the diminutive Heraclonas or Heracleonas ( gr, Ἡρακλ νᾶς), and sometimes called Heraclius II, was the son of Heraclius and his niece Martina. His father ...
.
After the death of Emperor Heraclius in February 641, when David was 10 years old, a power struggle ensued between different branches of the imperial family. As part of a compromise, David was raised to be co-emperor, ruling with his brother Heraclonas and their nephew
Constans II. The Byzantine state faced serious challenges while Tiberius was co-emperor, with the ongoing
Muslim conquest of Egypt
The Muslim conquest of Egypt, led by the army of 'Amr ibn al-'As, took place between 639 and 646 AD and was overseen by the Rashidun Caliphate. It ended the seven-century-long period of Roman Egypt, Roman reign over Egypt that began in 30 BC. ...
and continuing religious strife over
monothelitism
Monothelitism, or monotheletism (from el, μονοθελητισμός, monothelētismós, doctrine of one will), is a theological doctrine in Christianity, that holds Christ as having only one will. The doctrine is thus contrary to dyotheliti ...
and other
Christological
In Christianity, Christology (from the Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, -λογία, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Christ", is a branch of theology that concerns Jesus. Differ ...
doctrines. All three emperors were children and the Empress Dowager Martina acted as
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
. Martina was deeply unpopular due to her incestuous relationship with Heraclius, her unconventional habits, and her ambition. Her regime was deposed in a rebellion, probably by January 642. She and her sons were exiled to
Rhodes
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...
and, in an early example of
Byzantine political mutilation, Martina's tongue was cut out and the noses of her sons were cut off. There is no further historical record of Tiberius, and some historians speculate that he and his family lived out the rest of their lives peacefully.
Under the reign of Heraclius
David was the son of
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
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 ...
and Empress
Martina, his
wife and niece. According to the ''Chronicle'' of
Theophanes the Confessor
Theophanes the Confessor ( el, Θεοφάνης Ὁμολογητής; c. 758/760 – 12 March 817/818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler. He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before taking u ...
, David was born on 7 November,
630
Year 630 ( DCXXX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 630 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the ...
, the same day as his nephew
Constans II. Earlier that year, David's parents had been in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
with David ''in utero''. While his siblings received traditional dynastic names, that of David seems to have been chosen deliberately for symbolic value out of a desire to link the imperial family with the Biblical
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
. Byzantine art historian
Cecily Hennessy
Cecily Jane Hennessy, FSA, is the Academic Director of Christie's Education, London. She has promoted studies on the imagery of children and is an authority on the representation of children, adolescents and the family in Byzantium.
Her book, ...
points out that the birth of David occurred after several children of Heraclius and Martina had been born malformed or died in infancy. The occasion may have been a cause for commemoration. Heraclius had a set of silver plates known as the
David Plates
The David Plates are a set of nine silver plates, in three sizes, stamped between 613 and 630. The plates were created in Constantinople, each depicting a scene from the life of the Hebrew king David, and associated with the reign of Emperor He ...
created, most likely in either
629
__NOTOC__
Year 629 ( DCXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 629 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...
or 630. Hennessy suggests that since the plates present iconography of the Biblical David as a boy, they may have been "made for the young prince David". Heraclius had produced two children by
Fabia Eudokia
Eudokia or Eudocia (Greek: Εύδοκία, c. 580 – 13 August 612), originally named Fabia, was a Greek woman who became Byzantine empress as the first wife of Heraclius from 610 to her death. She was a daughter of Rogas, a landowner in the Exa ...
(
Eudoxia Epiphania
Eudoxia Epiphania ( gr, Επιφανεία) (also known as Epiphania, Eudocia or Eudokia) was the only daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius and his first wife Eudokia. She was born at Constantinople on July 7, 611 CE, baptized on August 15 ...
and Emperor
ConstantineIII) and at least nine with Martina, most of whom were sickly, and four of whom died in infancy.
David was made
''caesar'' under Heraclius on 4 July
638
__NOTOC__
Year 638 ( DCXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 638 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar ...
, elevated from his previous status of ''
despotes
Despot or ''despotes'' ( grc-gre, δεσπότης, despótēs, lord, master) was a senior Byzantine Empire, Byzantine Byzantine aristocracy and bureaucracy, court title that was bestowed on the sons or sons-in-law of reigning emperors, and initi ...
'' (an honorific usually reserved for sons of the reigning emperor), while his older brother
Heraclonas
Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Herakleios; 626 – 642), known by the diminutive Heraclonas or Heracleonas ( gr, Ἡρακλ νᾶς), and sometimes called Heraclius II, was the son of Heraclius and his niece Martina. His father ...
was promoted from ''caesar'' to co-emperor. The ceremony took place in the chapel of Saint Stephen at the
Palace of Daphne
The Palace of Daphne ( el, Δάφνη) was one of the major wings of the Great Palace of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire (modern Istanbul, Turkey). According to George Codinus, it was named after a statue of the nymph Daphne, b ...
. A description of the ceremony is preserved in ''
De Ceremoniis
The ''De Ceremoniis'' (fully ''De cerimoniis aulae Byzantinae'') is the conventional Latin name for a Greek book of ceremonial protocol at the court of the Byzantine emperors in Constantinople. Its Greek title is often cited as ("Explanation of th ...
'' which says that the ''
kamelaukion
A kalimavkion ( el, καλυμμαύχιον), kalymmavchi (καλυμμαύχι), or, by metathesis of the word's internal syllables, kamilavka (russian: камилавка), is a clerical headdress worn by Orthodox Christian and Eastern Cathol ...
'' (caesar cap) of Heraclonas was removed from his head and replaced with the imperial crown. The same ''kamelaukion'' was then placed on David's head and the ceremony proceeded as follows in a translation by Byzantine scholar
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. ...
:
Kaegi notes that this solemn celebration papered over tensions between branches of the imperial family and also served as an occasion for "pageantry at Constantinople in an otherwise doleful era". The Byzantine scholar
Andreas Stratos
Andreas N. Stratos ( el, Ανδρέας Ν. Στράτος; 1905 – 30 August 1981) was a Greek lawyer, politician and historian. The son of Prime Minister of Greece Nikolaos Stratos, he was elected a member of the Hellenic Parliament continuously ...
emphasizes that the measures were intended to ensure a regular line of succession for the family of Heraclius. The high number of titled princes under Heraclius had not been seen since the days 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 Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...
.
At a later ceremony focused on Heraclius daughters as well as his sons, David was hailed by name along with other members of the imperial family, ''David Caesar, tu vincas'', literally "David Caesar, may you be victorious". The Latin phrase ''tu vincas'' in the Greek text is an echo of Roman heritage and earlier times. Kaegi comments that "Heraclius and his family made a point of showing themselves to their subjects in ways that matched public expectations even as illness and age was taking its toll on Heraclius himself."
Succession struggle
Heraclius died on 11 February
641
__NOTOC__
Year 641 ( DCXLI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 641 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...
. His will declared that ConstantineIII and Heraclonas would co-rule the empire with both of them regarding Martina as "mother and empress". Popular opinion in Byzantium was strongly against Martina because of her incestuous relationship with Heraclius, her unconventional habits, such as the fact she often traveled with the army, and her ambition; the populace and elites of the Byzantine Empire believed she was putting pressure on Heraclius in an attempt to have her own sons secure the succession, rather than Constantine.
Historian
Lynda Garland
Lynda Garland (born 13 October 1955) is a scholar and professor at the University of Queensland. Her research focuses on females images in the Late Antiquity period and Byzantine Society.
Biography
Professor Lynda Garland is currently the Hon ...
has described Martina as "probably the most detested empress of all time". The
Byzantine Senate
The Byzantine senate or eastern Roman senate ( el, Σύγκλητος, ''Synklētos'', or , ''Gerousia'') was a continuation of the Roman Senate, established in the 4th century by Constantine I. It survived for centuries, but the senate's powers ...
accepted ConstantineIII and Heraclonas as co-emperors, but rejected any role for Martina in the government. Emperor ConstantineIII was chronically ill and took measures to ensure that he would be succeeded by his own offspring rather than those of Martina. He sent a vast sum of money to general
Valentinus, asking him to oppose Martina and her children and ensure the succession for his own sons. Constantine died after a short reign, in April or May 641. His cause of death was likely
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
, but the accusation that Martina poisoned him was later officially propagated, by ConstansII. At this point, an eleven-year-old Heraclonas was left as the sole emperor with his mother as regent and ''de facto'' ruler.
Martina took measures to mitigate the hostility of the army, but her regime remained deeply unpopular. In the autumn of 641 Valentinus led his troops to
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 ...
in opposition to Martina and
Heraclonas
Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Herakleios; 626 – 642), known by the diminutive Heraclonas or Heracleonas ( gr, Ἡρακλ νᾶς), and sometimes called Heraclius II, was the son of Heraclius and his niece Martina. His father ...
. A mob rose up in Constantinople, demanding that ConstansII be crowned as emperor. Heraclonas agreed and crowned his nephew. The coronation of ConstansII did not calm the riots in Constantinople which next led to Patriarch
Pyrrhus resigning his office. According to
John of Nikiû
John of Nikiû ( fl. 680-690) was an Egyptian Coptic bishop of Nikiû (Pashati) in the Nile Delta and general administrator of the monasteries of Upper Egypt in 696. He is the author of a ''Chronicle'' extending from Adam to the end of the Muslim c ...
, David and his younger brother
Martinus were involved in banishing Pyrrhus to 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 survived ...
. However, the two princes were too young at the time to have taken an active role in any banishment, and the account by John of Nikiû is so contradictory that no safe conclusions can be drawn from it.
Martina was in a difficult situation and resorted to negotiations with Valentinus, whose army was still in Chalcedon. She offered the military
donative
The ''donativum'' (plural ''donativa'') was a gift of money by the Roman emperors to the soldiers of the Roman legions or to the Praetorian Guard. The English translation is ''donative''.
The purpose of the ''donativa'' varied. Some were expres ...
s (monetary gifts given to the army to secure their loyalty), and offered Valentinus the title of
Count of the Excubitors
The Excubitors ( la, excubitores or , , i.e. 'sentinels'; transcribed into Greek as , ) were founded in as an imperial guard unit by the Byzantine emperor Leo I the Thracian. The 300-strong force, originally recruited from among the warlike moun ...
. As part of a compromise, David was raised to co-emperor with the regnal name Tiberius, ruling with his brother Heraclonas and their nephew ConstansII. All three emperors were children, and the Empress Dowager Martina acted as regent.
Tiberius as co-emperor
The coronation of David took place in late September or early October of 641, the new emperor being a ten-year-old boy. David assumed the name Tiberius upon his coronation. The adoption of one of the traditional
regnal name
A regnal name, or regnant name or reign name, is the name used by monarchs and popes during their reigns and, subsequently, historically. Since ancient times, some monarchs have chosen to use a different name from their original name when they ac ...
s was common among seventh- and eighth-century Byzantine emperors: other examples include Apsimarus/
Tiberius III (698), Bardanes/
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. ...
(711), Artemius/
Anastasius (713), Basilius/
Tiberius
Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...
(718), and Petasius/
Tiberius
Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...
(728).
The most important primary source for the period preceding the reign of Tiberius is
Nicephorus, but that account breaks off as Tiberius is crowned, leaving his short reign attested only by sparse and contradictory sources. One dubious source is the ''
Synodicon Vetus The ''Synodicon Vetus'', also called ''Libellus Synodicus'', is an anonymous, pseudo-historical book of early Christianity, largely based on earlier Greek sources. It contains information on synods and ecumenical councils from the first century CE ...
'', where Tiberius is attested as the recipient of a papal letter:
![Heraclius with sons](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Heraclius_with_sons.jpg)
The editors of the 1979 edition of the ''Synodicon Vetus'', John M. Duffy and John Parker, note that the account becomes confused in this area, and the letter was more likely sent to ConstantineIII and Heraclonas.
Christological
In Christianity, Christology (from the Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, -λογία, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Christ", is a branch of theology that concerns Jesus. Differ ...
controversy was rife at this time, and Martina enthusiastically supported
Monothelitism
Monothelitism, or monotheletism (from el, μονοθελητισμός, monothelētismós, doctrine of one will), is a theological doctrine in Christianity, that holds Christ as having only one will. The doctrine is thus contrary to dyotheliti ...
.
Numismatist
A numismatist is a specialist in numismatics ("of coins"; from Late Latin ''numismatis'', genitive of ''numisma''). Numismatists include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholars who use coins and other currency in object-based research. Altho ...
s in the nineteenth century suggested that Tiberius was portrayed on certain copper coins, but these identifications were later shown to be mistaken. Some coins were presumably minted during his reign; Byzantine numismatist Wolfgang R. O. Hahn points out that mints sometimes resort to ''
type immobilisé'', continuing to use old motifs even after the emperor depicted has already died or lost power. Since there were multiple emperors in 641, the mints may have resorted to reusing a depiction of three co-emperors originally intended to signify Heraclius, ConstantineIII and Heraclonas. Hahn points to a coin with this depiction which bears an
epsilon
Epsilon (, ; uppercase , lowercase or lunate ; el, έψιλον) is the fifth letter of the Greek alphabet, corresponding phonetically to a mid front unrounded vowel or . In the system of Greek numerals it also has the value five. It was der ...
on its back, as well as the Heraclius monogram. One possibility is that the epsilon represents "ἕτερος", "the second", referring to "HeracliusII", meaning Heraclonas, whose name is a
diminutive
A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...
of his birth name Heraclius, and that this three-emperor coin has been made to represent Heraclonas and his co-emperors, ConstansII and Tiberius. Alternatively, and with the same result, epsilon (the fifth letter of the Greek alphabet) could signify the fifth year of a ''
lustrum
A lūstrum (, plural lūstra) was a term for a five-year period in Ancient Rome.
It is distinct from the homograph ''lustrum'' ( ): a haunt of wild beasts (and figuratively, a den of vice), plural ''lustra'' ( ).Oxford Latin Desk Dictionary (20 ...
'' cycle, which here would apply to the 15th
indiction
An indiction ( la, indictio, impost) was a periodic reassessment of taxation in the Roman Empire which took place every fifteen years. In Late Antiquity, this 15-year cycle began to be used to date documents and it continued to be used for this p ...
beginning on 1 September 641.
Some fragmentary Egyptian papyrus documents from 641 contain dating clauses that scholars have taken to refer to David, giving the number of years since he was raised to ''caesar''. The
Muslim conquest of Egypt
The Muslim conquest of Egypt, led by the army of 'Amr ibn al-'As, took place between 639 and 646 AD and was overseen by the Rashidun Caliphate. It ended the seven-century-long period of Roman Egypt, Roman reign over Egypt that began in 30 BC. ...
was ongoing at this time, which would end with the negotiated surrender of Egypt to the
Rashidun Caliphate
The Rashidun Caliphate ( ar, اَلْخِلَافَةُ ٱلرَّاشِدَةُ, al-Khilāfah ar-Rāšidah) was the first caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was ruled by the first four successive caliphs of Muhammad after his ...
. Martina and her sons took a relatively moderate stance toward the Muslims, likely out of fear that any intensification of the fighting would further jeopardize the regime.
Downfall
Though it is known that the rule of Martina and her sons was brief, both the timing and circumstances of their downfall are related in confusing and contradictory ways by the primary sources. According to
Sebeos
Sebeos () was a 7th-century Armenian bishop and historian.
Little is known about the author, though a signature on the resolution of the Ecclesiastical Council of Dvin in 645 reads 'Bishop Sebeos of Bagratunis.' His writings are valuable as one o ...
they were deposed by Valentinus when he marched on Constantinople to put ConstansII on the throne. Theophanes states they were ousted by the Senate, and there is some evidence to suggest that the Senate acted following riots instigated by the aristocratic
Blue faction. A seventh-century inscription found in the walls of Byzantium references the role that the Blues had within this insurrection, saying "The fortune of Constantine our God-protected ruler and of the Blues is victorious." John of Nikiû has the most detailed account of the downfall, but his story is regarded as improbable and unreliable. John relates that Martina and her sons had formed an alliance with the
Bulgar
Bulgar may refer to:
*Bulgars, extinct people of Central Asia
*Bulgar language, the extinct language of the Bulgars
* Oghur languages
Bulgar may also refer to:
*Bolghar, the capital city of Volga Bulgaria
*Bulgur, a wheat product
* Bulgar, an Ash ...
ruler
Kubrat
Kubrat ( el, Κοβρᾶτος, Kούβρατος; bg, Кубрат ) was the ruler of the Onogur–Bulgars, credited with establishing the confederation of Old Great Bulgaria in ca. 632. His name derived from the Turkic words ''qobrat'' — ...
and a military leader named David with the intention to deny the throne to the descendants of ConstantineIII. Following this, a military leader named Theodore led a rebellion and first defeated David, Martina's ally, and then marched against Constantinople where he overthrew Martina's regime.
The sources all report that some manner of the
Byzantine practice of mutilating defeated enemies to prevent them from reclaiming the throne was undertaken at the defeat of Martina and her sons, possibly the first time such occurred, although they disagree on the exact nature of these mutilations. Theophanes says that
the tongue
Xannon Shirley, better known by the stage name The Tongue, is an Australian rapper and high school teacher from Sydney, New South Wales. He released two EPs (''Bad Education'' and "Victorious Remixes"), four albums (''Shock And Awe'', ''Alterna ...
of Martina and
the nose of Heraclonas were cut off. John of Nikiû reports that Theodore "had Martina and her three sons, Heraclius, David, and Martinus, escorted forth with insolence, and he stripped them of the imperial crown, and he had their noses cut off, and he sent them in exile to
Rhodes
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...
."
George Ostrogorsky
Georgiy Aleksandrovich Ostrogorskiy (russian: Георгий Александрович Острогорский; 19 January 1902 – 24 October 1976), known in Serbian as Georgije Aleksandrovič Ostrogorski ( sr-Cyrl, Георгије Алекс ...
and
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 ...
date the deposition of Martina's sons to the end of September 641;
Warren Treadgold
Warren T. Treadgold (born April 30, 1949, Oxford, England) is an American historian and specialist in Byzantine studies. He is the National Endowment for the Humanities Professor of Byzantine Studies at Saint Louis University. His interest in the ...
to , while Stratos argued for January 642, accepting
Theophanes' account that
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 ...
died in March. There is no further historical record of Tiberius. Stratos speculates that Martina and her family simply lived out the rest of their lives peacefully on Rhodes.
Notes
References
Primary sources
*''
De Ceremoniis
The ''De Ceremoniis'' (fully ''De cerimoniis aulae Byzantinae'') is the conventional Latin name for a Greek book of ceremonial protocol at the court of the Byzantine emperors in Constantinople. Its Greek title is often cited as ("Explanation of th ...
''
*
John of Nikiû
John of Nikiû ( fl. 680-690) was an Egyptian Coptic bishop of Nikiû (Pashati) in the Nile Delta and general administrator of the monasteries of Upper Egypt in 696. He is the author of a ''Chronicle'' extending from Adam to the end of the Muslim c ...
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Nicephorus
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Sebeos
Sebeos () was a 7th-century Armenian bishop and historian.
Little is known about the author, though a signature on the resolution of the Ecclesiastical Council of Dvin in 645 reads 'Bishop Sebeos of Bagratunis.' His writings are valuable as one o ...
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Synodicon Vetus The ''Synodicon Vetus'', also called ''Libellus Synodicus'', is an anonymous, pseudo-historical book of early Christianity, largely based on earlier Greek sources. It contains information on synods and ecumenical councils from the first century CE ...
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Theophanes the Confessor
Theophanes the Confessor ( el, Θεοφάνης Ὁμολογητής; c. 758/760 – 12 March 817/818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler. He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before taking u ...
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{{Authority control
7th-century Byzantine emperors
Heraclian dynasty
Medieval child rulers
Rulers deposed as children
Year of death unknown
640s in the Byzantine Empire
Heraclius
Byzantine exiles
630 births
Caesars (heirs apparent)
Sons of Byzantine emperors
Byzantine junior emperors