Martinus (son of Heraclius)

Martinus or Marinus was caesar of the Byzantine Empire from c. 638–September/October 641. Martinus was the son of Emperor Heraclius and Empress Martina. Under Heraclius, Martinus was elevated to caesar in c. 638. Heraclius left the Byzantine Empire to two of Martinus' brothers, Constantine III and Heraklonas; Constantine soon died of tuberculosis, though some of his partisans alleged that he was poisined by Martina. One such partisan, Valentinus, led troops to Chalcedon to force Martina to make Constans II, the son of Constantine, co-emperor. Valentinus seized Constantinople regardless in September/October 641, and deposed Martina, Heraklonas, and Martinus, and cut off Martinus' nose and emasculated him, before exiling him to Rhodes.

Martinus
Emperor of the Romans
Caesar of the Byzantine Empire
Reign	c.638 –September/October 641
Predecessor	Heraklonas
Successor	Constans II
Co-emperors	Heraklonas (February 641–September/October 461), Tiberius (September/October 461–September/October 461), Constans II (September/October 641–15 September 668)
Dynasty	Heraclian Dynasty
Father	Heraclius
Mother	Martina

History

Map of the Byzantine Empire in 650, after the loss of Egypt and other territories to Muslim conquest

Martinus was born to Byzantine Emperor Heraclius and Empress Martina at an unknown date. Martinus was declared a nobilissimus under Heraclius, while the elder brother Tiberius was made caesar on 4 July 638.[1][2] According to the Byzantine historian Nicephorus Gregoras, Martinus was also made caesar on the same day, however the later historian and Emperor Constantine VII mentions only Tiberius.[2][3] A partially preserved papyrus letter known as SB VI 8986, and CPR XXIII 35, shows that Martinus was definitely promoted to caesar at some point between 639 and 640, although the exact dating is debated: the German papyrologist who restored SB VI 8986, Fritz Mitthof, and the Byzantine historian Nicolas Gonis argue for a date range between October 639 and September 640,[4][5] whereas Byzantine scholar Constantin Zuckerman argues for a range between 4 January 639 and 8 November 639.[5]

According to John of Nikiu, Martinus and his brother David were involved in the banishment of Pyrrhus of Constantinople (r. 638–641) to the Exarchate of Africa. This could be seen as a reaction to Pyrrhos bypassing David and Martinus after the death of Heraclius. 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 Nikiu is so contradictory that no safe conclusions can be drawn from it.[2][6]

Reign of Constantine III and Heraklonas

When Heraclius died on 11 February 641, he declared in his will that Constantine III and Heraklonas would co-rule the empire under the regency of Martina. The Byzantine Senate accepted Constantine III and Heraklonas as co-emperors, but rejected Martina as regent.[7][8][9] On 20/24 April or 26 May 641, Constantine died of an advanced case of tuberculosis, although some supporters of Constantine alleged that Martina had him poisoned, leaving Heraklonas as the sole ruler under the regency of Martina.[9][10][11] In August 641, Valentinus, a general who had been loyal to Constantine before his death, led his troops to Chalcedon to force Martina to elevate Constans II to co-emperor. A mob rose up in the city, demanding that Patriarch Pyrrhus must crown Constans II as emperor,[12][13][14] and then abdicate, to be replaced by his steward Paul II (r. 641–653), who would come to replace him as Patriarch under Constans II. Martina, now in a truly desperate situation, offered the military further donatives, recalled an influential patron of Valentinus, Philagrius, from his exile in Africa, and offered Valentinus the title of Count of the Excubitors.[12][11]

Valentius' revolt and Martinus' death

In late September/October, Martina elevated Constans to co-emperor, but also raised Heraklonas' brother Tiberius to co-emperors alongside them.[8] Despite these offers, Valentinus entered the city shortly thereafter, deposed Heraklonas and Martina, and then elevated Constans to emperor.[11][12] Heraklonas, Martina, Tiberius, and Martinus are said by John of Nikiu to have been "escorted forth with insolence", where following, Valentinus had Martinus' nose cut off, emasculated him and then banished him to Rhodes, where he stayed until his death.[1][15][16] Another son, Theodosius, suffered no punishment as he was deaf-mute,[15] and thus was not in a position to threaten the throne.[17]

References

Primary sources

• Chronicle of John of Nikiû
• CPR XXIII 35
• SB VI 8986

Citations

1. PmbZ, Martinos (#4774 /corr.).
2. Gonis 2008, p. 199.
3. Garland 2002, p. 256.
4. Gonis 2008, pp. 199–202.
5. Zuckerman 2010, p. 875.
6. PmbZ, David (#1241 /corr.).
7. Treadgold 1997, pp. 306–307.
8. PmbZ, Heraklonas (#2565/corr.).
9. Moore.
10. Treadgold 1997, pp. 308–309.
11. Bellinger & Grierson 1992, p. 390.
12. Treadgold 1997, p. 309.
13. Stratos 1968, p. 88.
14. Stratos 1968, p. 179.
15. Garland.
16. Garland 2002, p. 70.
17. Stratos 1968, p. 204.

Bibliography

• Bellinger, Alfred Raymond; Grierson, Philip, eds. (1992). Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection: Phocas to Theodosius III, 602-717. Part 1. Phocas and Heraclius (602-641). Dumbarton Oaks. ISBN 9780884020240.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Garland, Lynda (2000). "Martina (Second Wife of Heraclius)". De Imperatoribus Romanis. Archived from the original on 12 August 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
• Garland, Lynda (2002). Byzantine Empresses: Women and Power in Byzantium AD 527-1204. Routledge. ISBN 9781134756391.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Gonis, Nikolaos (2008). "SB VI 8986 and Heraclius' Sons". Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik. 166: 199–202. JSTOR 20476531.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Lilie, Ralph-Johannes; Ludwig, Claudia; Pratsch, Thomas; Zielke, Beate (2013). Prosopographie der mittelbyzantinischen Zeit Online. Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Nach Vorarbeiten F. Winkelmanns erstellt (in German). Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter.
• Moore, R. Scott (1996). "Heraklonas (April/May - September 641 A.D.)". De Imperatoribus Romanis. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
• Stratos, A. N. (1968). Byzantium in the Seventh Century. Amsterdam: Hakkert. OCLC 271030914.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Treadgold, Warren (1997). A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804726306.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Zuckerman, Constantin (2010). On the Title and Office of the Byzantine Basileus. Paris: Association des Amis du Centre D'Histoire et Civilisation de Byzance. ISBN 978-2-916716-28-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)