Theodore (brother of Heraclius)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Theodore (

Muslim conquest of the Levant
.

Life

Gold solidus of Heraclius with his son, Heraclius Constantine (Heraclonas)

He was the son of the general and

curopalates, controlling the palace administration, which at the time was ranked second in importance only to the imperial office itself.[2][3]

In 612, after the deposition and imprisonment of the

magister militum per Orientem Priscus, command of his troops was assumed by Theodore and Philippicus.[2] In late 613, Theodore accompanied his brother in a campaign against the Sasanid Persians near Antioch. Although initially successful, the Byzantines were defeated and most of Cilicia conquered by the Persians.[4][5]

Theodore reappears in 626, when he was sent with part of Heraclius' army against the forces of the Persian general

Edessa in 629/630, where the local Jewish community allegedly encouraged the Persians to stay; the Byzantines had to set up siege machines and begin bombarding the city before the Persians agreed to withdraw. When Theodore's troops entered the city, they began attacking and killing the Jews, until Heraclius, petitioned by a Jew who managed to escape, sent an order to stop this.[2][8][9]

Theodore was left by Heraclius as his virtual viceroy in the East, and entrusted with the command of Byzantine forces and the restoration of imperial authority there. In this capacity, Theodore faced the first Muslim attacks on the Byzantine provinces. He seems to have underestimated the threat (he reportedly referred to the Arabs as "dead dogs"), and was unable to counter their raids.

Battle of Yarmouk on 20 August 636, contrary to the reports of Muslim sources (which also record that he was killed there).[11][14]

Instead, his failure to counter the Muslim expeditions caused a rift in his relations with Heraclius; and Theodore allegedly criticized his brother's controversial marriage to his niece Martina.[11][15][16] In response, Heraclius recalled Theodore to Constantinople and ordered his son Heraclonas to publicly humiliate and imprison him. This humiliation caused Theodore's son, also named Theodore, to participate in the abortive plot of John Athalarichos to overthrow Heraclius in 637.[11][15][16] Theodore's other son, Gregory, is only mentioned in 649, in the dependents of Theophilus of Edessa, such as Theophanes the Confessor. Theophanes mentions that Gregory served as a hostage in the court of Mu'awiya I as part of the terms for the treaty Constans II negotiated with the caliph, but the treaty collapsed in 651 when Gregory died at Helioupolis.[17]

References

  1. ^ Martindale, Jones & Morris (1992), pp. 584, 1278
  2. ^ a b c d Martindale, Jones & Morris (1992), p. 1278
  3. ^ Kaegi (2003), pp. 70–71
  4. ^ Kaegi (2003), p. 77
  5. ^ Greatrex & Lieu (2002), p. 189
  6. ^ Greatrex & Lieu (2002), p. 207
  7. ^ Kaegi (2003), pp. 132, 138
  8. ^ Greatrex & Lieu (2002), pp. 225–227
  9. ^ Kaegi (2003), pp. 180, 202–203, 250
  10. ^ Kaegi (2003), pp. 226, 230–231
  11. ^ a b c d e Kazhdan (1991), p. 2039
  12. ^ Martindale, Jones & Morris (1992), pp. 1278–1279
  13. ^ Kaegi (2003), p. 244
  14. ^ Kaegi (2003), p. 242
  15. ^ a b Martindale, Jones & Morris (1992), p. 1279
  16. ^ a b Kaegi (2003), pp. 260–261
  17. ^ Mango (1997), pp.479–480

Sources

  • .
  • Greatrex, Geoffrey; Lieu, Samuel N. C. (2002), The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars (Part II, 363–630 AD), Routledge,
  • Martindale, John R.; Jones, A.H.M.; Morris, John (1992), The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Volume III: AD 527–641, Cambridge University Press,
  • Ostrogorsky, George (1956). History of the Byzantine State. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
  • .