HERACLIUS 622AD Catania Sicily Decanummium Ancient Byzantine Coin i54026

Description

Item:
i54026
Authentic Ancient  Coin of:
Byzantine Empire
Heraclius - Emperor: October 5,  610 A.D. - January 11, 641 A.D. -
Bronze Decanummium 14mm (2.86 grams) Catania in Sicily mint, struck circa  622-623 A.D.
Reference: Spahr 35; Anastasi 53; Sear 885.
D N HERACLIPPAVg, bust facing, bearded, wearing cuirass, paludamentum and  flat-topped crown with cross. Large I; on left, A/N/N/O; on right, X/III; in  exergue CAT.
You are bidding on the exact  item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime  Guarantee of Authenticity.
Flavius Heraclius Augustus
(
Greek
:
Φλάβιος Ἡράκλειος
; known in English  as
Heraclius
, or
Herakleios
; c. 575 - February 11, 641) was a
Byzantine Emperor
of
Armenian
origin, who ruled the
Eastern Roman  Empire or Byzantine Empire
. He was in power for over thirty years, from October 5, 610 to  February 11, 641 and was responsible for abandoning the use of
Latin
in favour  of the
Greek
language in official documents, further
Hellenising
the Empire. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his  father, also named
Heraclius
,  the viceregal
Exarch of  Africa
, successfully led a revolt against the unpopular usurper
Phocas
.
Heraclius' reign was marked by several military campaigns. The year Heraclius  came to power, the Byzantine Empire was threatened on multiple fronts. Heraclius  immediately had to fight the
invasion of
the Empire by the
Sassanians
who  were ruled by the Persian king
Khosrau  Parvez
. The first battles of the campaign ended in defeat for the  Byzantines; and the Persian army fought their way to the gate of Constantinople,  the capital. The Persian army attacked the city from the east while an army of  Avars, Slavs, and Bulgars attacked it from the west and from the sea. However,  because Constantinople was protected by a strong navy and impenetrable walls,  Heraclius was able to avoid total defeat. Soon after this, he initiated a  campaign to rebuild and reform the military. Following this success Heraclius  moved into Persian territory in 627 and won a decisive battle at
Nineveh
defeating the Persian army. He was the first Emperor to
engage the Muslims
, and, in the Islamic world, he is seen as something of an  ideal ruler who studied the
Qur'an
, was a  true believer of Islam, and viewed
Muhammad
as  the true prophet, the messenger of God.
After his victory over the
Sassanid Empire
,  he faced a new threat with the rising power of
Islam
. The  Persians were quickly defeated by the Islamic forces and in 634 the latter  invaded Syria, defeating the emperor's brother
Theodore
. Heraclius eventually lost Syria in a string of battles. Within a  short period of time the Arabs would conquer Mesopotamia, Armenia, and Egypt.
In religious matters, Heraclius is remembered as the driving force in  converting the peoples migrating to the
Balkan Peninsula
. At his request
Pope  John IV
(640-642) sent
Christian
teachers and missionaries to the
Dalmatia
,  newly
Croatian
Provinces settled by
Porga
, and his  clan who practiced
Slavic
paganism.  He tried to repair the schism in the Christian church in regard to the
Monophysites
by promoting a compromise doctrine called
Monothelitism
; however, this philosophy was rejected as
heretical
by  both sides of the dispute.
//
Early  life
Origins
Heraclius was the eldest son of
Heraclius  the Elder
and Epiphania, an
Armenian
family from
Cappadocia
.  Beyond that, there is little specific information known about his ancestry. His  father was a key general during Emperor
Maurice's
war with
Bahrām Chobin
,  usurper of the
Sassanid Empire
,  during 590.  After the war, Maurice appointed
Heraclius  the Elder
to the position of
Exarch
of
Africa
.
Revolt  against Phocas and accession to Emperor
In 608, Heraclius the Elder renounced his loyalty to the Emperor
Phocas
, who had  overthrown Maurice six years earlier. The rebels issued coins showing both  Heraclii dressed as
consuls
, though neither of them explicitly claimed the imperial title at  this time.
[6]
Heraclius' younger cousin
Nicetas
launched an overland invasion of
Egypt
; by 609, he had defeated Phocas' general
Bonosus
and  secured the province. Meanwhile, the younger Heraclius sailed eastward with  another force via
Sicily
and
Cyprus
.
As he approached
Constantinople
, he made contact with leading leaders and planned an attack  to overthrow
aristocrats
in the city, and soon arranged a ceremony where he was crowned  and acclaimed as emperor. When he reached the capital, the
Excubitors
,  an elite Imperial Guard unit led by Phocas' son-in-law
Priscus
,  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 said in reply, "And will you rule better?" With that, Heraclius became so  enraged that he beheaded Phocas on the spot.  He later had the genitalia removed from the body because Phocas had raped the  wife of Photius, a powerful politician in the city.
On October 5, 610, Heraclius was crowned for a second time, this time in the  Chapel of St. Stephen within the Great Palace, and at the same time married  Fabia, who took the name
Eudokia
. After her death in 612, he married his niece
Martina
in  613; this second marriage was considered
incestuous
and  was very unpopular.
[9]
In the reign of Heraclius' 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 by
Patriarch
Sergius to prevent and later dissolve the marriage.
War  against Persia
To  the brink of defeat
During his
Balkan Campaigns
, Emperor
Maurice
and his family were murdered by
Phocas
in  November 602 after a mutiny.
[10]
Khosrau II
(Chosroes) of the
Sassanid Empire
had been restored to his throne by Maurice and they had remained allies.
3]
[A
Thus, the Persian King Khosrau II seized the pretext to attack the  Eastern Roman Empire, and reconquer the Roman province of Mesopotamia.
[11]
Khosrau had at his court a man who claimed to be Maurice's son Theodosius; and  Khosrau demanded that the Romans accept this Theodosius as Emperor.
The war initially went the Persians' way, partly because of Phocas' brutal  repression and the succession crisis that ensued as the general Heraclius sent  his nephew
Nicetas
to attack
Egypt
, enabling his son Heraclius the younger to claim the throne in 610.  Phocas, an unpopular ruler who is invariably described in historical sources as  a "tyrant", was eventually deposed by Heraclius, who sailed to Constantinople  from
Carthage
with an icon affixed to the prow of his ship.
By this time, the Persians had conquered Mesopotamia and the Caucasus, and in  611 they overran Syria and entered Anatolia. A major counter-attack led by  Heraclius two years later was decisively defeated outside
Antioch
by
Shahrbaraz
and
Shahin
, and the Roman position collapsed; the Persians devastated parts of  Asia Minor, and captured
Chalcedon
across from Constantinople on the
Bosporus
.  Over the following decade the Persians were able to conquer
Palestine
and Egypt (by mid-621 the whole province was in their hands)  and to devastate Anatolia,
4]
[A
while the
Avars
and
Slavs
took advantage of the situation to overrun the
Balkans
,  bringing the Roman Empire to the brink of destruction. In 613, the Persian army  took
Damascus
with the help of the
Jews
,  seized
Jerusalem
in 614, damaging the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
and capturing the
True Cross
and afterwards capturing
Egypt
in  616.
With the Persians at the very gate of Constantinople, Heraclius thought of  abandoning the city and moving the capital to Carthage, but was convinced to  stay by the powerful church figure
Patriarch Sergius
. 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.
[17]
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.
[18]
Byzantine  Empire strikes back
On April 5, 622, Heraclius left Constantinople, entrusting the city to  Sergius and general
Bonus
as regents of his son. He assembled his forces in Asia Minor, probably in
Bithynia
,  and, after he revived their broken morale, he launched a new counter-offensive,  which took on the character of a holy war; an
acheiropoietos
image of Christ was carried as a military standard.
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.  He would stay on campaign for several years.  On March 25, 624 Heraclius left again Constantinople with his wife,
Martina
, and  his two children; after he celebrated
Easter
in  Nicomedia on April 15, he campaigned in the Caucasus, winning a series of  victories in Azerbaijan and Armenia against Khosrau and his generals Shahrbaraz,  Shahin and
Shahraplakan
.  In 626 the Avars and Slavs besieged Constantinople, supported by a Persian army  commanded by Shahrbaraz, 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),  while a second Persian army under Shahin suffered another crushing defeat at the  hands of Heraclius' brother Theodore.
With the Persian war effort disintegrating, Heraclius was able to bring the
Gokturks
of the
Western Turkic Khaganate
,
Ziebel
, who
invaded Persian Transcaucasia
. Heraclius exploited divisions within the  Persian Empire, keeping the Persian general
Shahrbaraz
neutral by convincing him that Khosrau had grown jealous of him  and 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 under
Rhahzadh
at the
Battle of Nineveh
.  Continuing south along the Tigris he sacked Khosrau's great palace at Dastagird  and was only prevented from attacking Ctesiphon by the destruction of the  bridges on the Nahrawan Canal. Discredited by this series of disasters, Khosrau  was overthrown and killed in a coup led by his son
Kavadh II
, who at once  sued for peace, agreeing to withdraw from all occupied territories.  In 629 Heraclius restored the
True Crosss
to
Jerusalem
in a majestic ceremony.
Heraclius took for himself the ancient Persian title of "
King  of Kings
" after his victory over Persia. Later on, starting in 629, he  styled himself as
Basileus
,  the Greek word for "sovereign", and that title was used by the Roman Emperors  for the next 800 years. The reason Heraclius chose this title, over previous  Roman terms such as Augustus, has been attributed by some scholars to having to  do with Heraclius' Armenian origins.<="" a="">
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Heraclius' defeat of the Persians had been the end game in a war that had  been on and off for almost 800 years. It was then that
Alexander  the Great
had totally defeated the Persians. After Heraclius' victory over  the Persian Empire left it in disarray which it never recovered. In 633 the new  Islamic State slowly devoured the Persians until the
Muslim conquest of Persia
led to the end of the
Sassanid Empire
in 644, and the
Sassanid dynasty
in 651.
War  against the Arabs
Background
The Islamic Prophet
Muhammadd
had recently succeeded in unifying all the
nomadic
tribes of  the
Arabian Peninsula
. The Arabs, who had been too divided in the past to pose a  military threat, now comprised one of the most powerful states in the region,  and were animated by their new conversion to
Islam
.  Heraclius fell ill soon after his triumph over the Persians and never took the  field again.
Islamic sources record that Heraclius dreamt of the coming Arab invasion.  Historian
Al-Tabari
wrote that Heraclius dreamt of a new kingdom of the "circumcised  man" that be victorious against all its enemies.  After telling his court his dream his patricians who did not know of the rise of  Islam in Arabia, "advised him to send orders to behead every Jew in his  dominion."  It was only when a
Bedouin
trader speaking of a man uniting the tribes of Arabia under a new religion was  brought before the Emperor did the Heraclius and his court realize that the  kingdom of the "circumcised man" was not the Jews but the new Islamic Empire.  When the Muslim Arabs attacked
Syria
and
Palestine
in 634, he was unable to oppose them personally in battle. Although he remained  strategically in charge of operations, his generals failed him in battle. The
Battle of Yarmouk
in 636 resulted in a crushing defeat for the larger Roman  army; within three years, the
Levant
had been  lost again. By the time of Heraclius' death, on February 11, 641, most of Egypt  had fallen as well.
Islamic  view of the Emperor
[36]
Owing to his role as the Eastern Roman Emperor at the time Islam emerged, he was  remembered in
Arabic  literature
, such as the Islamic
hadith
and
sira
. They viewed him favourably, and early Muslims were never enemies of  Heraclius, as evidenced in the Quranic verses about the Perso-Roman wars below:
002 - 005: The Romans have been defeated [From Persians]. In the nearer  land, and they, after their defeat will be victorious. Within ten years —  Allah's is the command in the former case and in the latter — and in that day  believers will rejoice. In Allah's help to victory. He helpeth to victory whom  He will. He is the Mighty, the Merciful..
The
Swahili
"
Utendi wa Tambuka
",  an
epic poem
composed in 1728 at
Pate
Island (off the shore of present-day
Kenya
) and  depicting the wars between the Muslims and Byzantines from the former's point of  view, is also known as
Kyuo kya Hereḳali
("The book of Heraclius"). This  reflects the considerable impression which this Emperor made on his Muslim foes,  being still prominently remembered by Muslims more than a millennium after his  death and at a considerable geographical and cultural distance.
In Arabic histories he is seen as a just ruler of great piety, who studied  the
Qur'an
.  The 14th-century historian Ibn Kathir (d. 774/1373) 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."
[36]
Islamic history even goes as far as claiming that Heraclius recognized
Muhammad
as  the true prophet and proclaimed him the messenger of God.  According to Arab sources, he tried to convert the ruling class of the Empire,  but they resisted so strongly that he reversed his course and claimed that he  was just testing their faith in Christianity.  His status as a true believer in Islamic texts is seen as a way to legitimize
Muhammad
as  the true prophet: if a foreign emperor, who is viewed as an almost perfect  ruler, believes in Islam's message, then
Muhammad
must be the true prophet and voice of God.
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Looking back at the reign of Heraclius, scholars have credited him with many  accomplishments. He enlarged the Empire and his reorganization of the government  and military were great successes. His attempts at religious harmony failed, but  he succeeded in returning the True Cross, one of the holiest Christian relics,  to Jerusalem.
Accomplishments
Although the territorial gains produced by his defeat of the Persians were  lost to the advance of the Muslims, Heraclius still ranks among the great Roman  emperors. His reforms of the government reduced the corruption which had taken  hold in Phocas' reign, and he reorganized the military with great success.  Ultimately, the reformed imperial army halted the Muslims in
Asia Minorr
and held on to
Carthage
for another 60 years, saving a core from which the empire's strength could be  rebuilt.
The recovery of the eastern areas of the Roman Empire from the Persians once  again raised the problem of religious unity centering around the understanding  of the true nature of
Christ
. Most of  the inhabitants of these provinces were
Monophysites
who rejected the
Council  of Chalcedon
.  Heraclius tried to promote a compromise doctrine called
Monothelitism
; however, this philosophy was rejected as
heretical
by  both sides of the dispute. For this reason, Heraclius was viewed as a heretic  and bad ruler by some later religious writers. After the Monophysite provinces  were finally lost to the Muslims, Monotheletism rather lost its raison d'être  and was eventually abandoned.
One of the most important legacies of Heraclius was changing the official  language of the Eastern Roman Empire from
Latin
to Greek in 620.  Others include the conversation of the nomadic peoples settling in the Balkan  region. At his request
Pope  John IV
(640-642) sent
Christian
teachers and missionaries to the
Dalmatia
,  newly
Croatian
Provinces settled by
Porga
, and his  clan who practiced
Slavic
paganism.
Up to the 20th century he was credited with establishing the
Thematic system
but modern scholarship now points more to the 660s, under
Constans  II
.
The modern day border of Turkey can be attributed to Heraclius. This border  was Heraclius' line of defence in Eastern Anatolia which would permanently  define the border between lands Islamised by Arabs in the first flush of Islamic  conquest and those which would only be Islamised many centuries later — by  Turks. It was this ethnic and cultural dividing line which, at the dissolution  of the
Ottoman Empire
,  would in 1925 become the eastern border of the present
Turkish Republic
Edward Gibbonn
in  his work
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
wrote:
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 of Scipio and Hannibal, no bolder  enterprise has been attempted than that which Heraclius achieved for the  deliverance of the empire.
[46]
Recovery  of the True Cross
Despite his actual heterodox theology, Heraclius was long remembered  favourably in the Western church for his reputed feat in recovering the
True Cross
,  which had been captured by the Persians. As Heraclius approached the capital  Khosrau fled from his favourite residence,
Dastgerd
(near
Baghdad
),  without offering resistance. Meanwhile, some of the Persian grandees freed his  eldest son
Kavadh II
, whom Khosrau II had imprisoned, and proclaimed him King on the  night of 23–4 February , 628.  Kavadh 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  peace negotiator to sue for peace in 628.
[29]
After a tour of the Empire he returned the cross on March 21, 630.  The story was included in the
Golden Legend
the famous 13th century compendium of hagiography, and he  is sometimes shown in art, as in
The History of the True Cross
sequence of
frescoes
painted by
Piero  della Francesca
in
Arezzo
, or a  similar sequence on a small altarpiece by
Adam Elsheimer
(
Städel
,  Frankfurt). Both of these show scenes of Heraclius and
Constantine I
's mother
Saint Helena
, traditionally responsible for the excavation of the cross. The  scene usually shown is Heraclius carrying the cross; according to the
Golden  Legend
he insisted on doing this as he entered Jerusalem, against the advice  of the Patriarch. At first (shown above), when he was on horseback, 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.
Probably because he was one of the few Eastern Roman emperors widely known in  the West, the
Late Antique
Colossus  of Barletta was considered to depict Heraclius.
Familyyamily
Heraclius was married twice: first to Fabia Eudokia, a daughter of Rogatus,  and then to his niece
Martina
.  He had two children with Fabia and at least nine with Martina most of whom were  sickly children.
5]
[A
[51]
Of Martina's children at least two were
disabled
,  which was seen as punishment for the illegality of the marriage: Fabius  (Flavius) had a
paralyzed
neck and Theodosios, who was a
deaf-mute
,  married Nike, daughter of Persian general
Shahrbaraz
or daughter of Niketas, cousin of Heraclius.
Two of Heraclius' children would become Emperor: Martina's son
Constantine  Heraclius (Heraklonas)
, from 638 – 641, and
Heraclius Constantine (Constantine III)
, his son from Eudokia, from  February, 641 – May, 641.
John  Athalarichos
, who conspired a plot against Heraclius with his cousin, the  magister Theodorus, and the Armenian noble
David Saharuni
.
6]
[A
When Heraclius discovered the plot he had Atalarichos' nose and  hands cut off and he was
exiled
to
Prinkipo
,  one of the
Princes' Islands
.  Theodorus had the same treatment but was sent to Gaudomelete (possibly modern  day
Gozo Island
)  with additional instructions to cut off one leg.
During the last years of Heraclius' life, it became evident that a struggle  was taking place between Heraclius Constantine and Martina, who was trying to  position her son Heraklonas in line for the throne. When Heraclius died, in his
will
he left the empire to both Heraclius Constantine and Heraklonas to rule jointly  with Martina as Empress.
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