The Age Of Heraclius (602-641)

In the year 602 AD, the capable emperor Maurice faced a military rebellion led by a man named Phocas. The latter killed his sovereign and took power. The murder of the legitimate emperor Maurice provided Sassanian shah Khosrow II with a convenient casus belli to invade Roman territory. This war would set the entire near east ablaze and mark the end of Antiquity. The crucial decades that followed would be defined by the deeds of one man above all, Heraclius.

⏰ Timestamps
0:00 - Introduction
1:40 - Crisis of Legitimacy
17:10 - The Fight for Survival
30:23 - A New Threat

🤝 Support
You can support me and donate a Follis or more on Patreon :

🎵 Music
This Is Our Land - Bonnie Grace
Deconstructing the Empire - Christian Andersen
Faith Collapsing - Reynard Seidel
Heroes on Horses - Wendel Scherer
Zero Hours - Reynard Seidel
Phantasm - Jo Wandrini
Happily Unknowing - Christian Andersen
Faith Collapsing - Reynard Seidel
The Last of Our Kind - Jon Bjork
Night of the Drowned - Dream Cave
The Great War - Jon Bjork
The Story Begins - Hampus Naeselius
Signal to Noise - Hampus Naeselius
Forever to Run - Howard Harper-Barnes
March Towards the End - Bonnie Grace
Force Matrix - Jon Bjork
Protector Of The Sky - Jo Wandrini
Disciples of Sun Tzu - Christian Andersen
The Thin Line - Hampus Naeselius

📚 Main sources
- Walter E. Kaegi, Heraclius Emperor of Byzantium: Cambridge; 2003
- Hugh Elton, The Roman Empire of Late Antiquity; 2016
- Morisson Cécile, Le Monde Byzantin I - L'empire rome d'Orient (330-641): puf; 2012

🌐 Internet sources
- Wikipedia fr eng, 2023
- Historical Map Animators, Youtube

[ancientsight]

Here is a remasterd video on the entire reign of Heraclius, enjoy !
Please leave any kind of feedback in the comments. This is really helpful to provide better quality content.

A sincere thank you to all who make a contribution on Patreon, this massively helps me .

[mariuss]

I actually love you for this, Heraclius in my opinion is the most overlooked emperor in the history of Rome, the man was a tragic hero, he saved it all only to lose most of it in the end. If anyone wants to read more about him, Matthew Jordan has two books about The Exarch's Son and The Emperor.

[Michael_the_Drunkard]

The title Augustus wasn't replaced. It lost prestige, but it was still part of the imperial title and imprinted on coins until the Palaeologan period.

[RomanOf]

God rest Heraclius. Absolutely insane what tenacity he had.

[jerry]

This is definitely one of the best channels on ancient antiquity

[BrianHall]

Man Heraclius is one of my favorites. So tragic.
The man who would have been Hero.
He should have been the hero of the age, the paramount savior of the Empire, remembered alongside Aurelian, Augustus, Caesar, Marcus Aurelius, Constantine, and Diocletian.
A man who claimed an Empire on the brink of collapse, fighting a war of 2 fronts, one of which had been vicious, brutal, and devastating to large swaths of the Empire for decades. Who then restored vigor and heart to the army, and pushed the enemy back with stunning victories, reclaiming stolen holy artifacts.
Then to recline, spend the rest of his years slowly rebuilding an Empire that was running on empty; devastated, scarred, depleted, and weak, but on top.
But instead, with no time to recover, or recuperate an enemy appears out of nowhere with no way to have predicted it. The Empire ended its once in a generation war of national survival on top but spent, now he had to fight another one with no rest. And with no more strength left to give, he lost.
Leaving him fated to be largely unknown and not remembered. The savior who lost. The hero who failed.

[Vllili]

As an Arab, I see that Heraclius was one of the greatest emperors in history. The experience he lived was unparalleled by any other emperor.

[LoganBerry]

You and Serapeum Historia are my favorite channels right now

[billychops]

Heraclius is a saviour who just could not catch a break, poor guy. Also for everyone who points out that Justinian was a terrible emperor for his western ambitions that cost the empire men and wealth, Heraclius is literally the proof that it was all worth it, since he and his family controlled the western province of Africa and its troops which is what he used to vanquish Phokas

[sonap]

The visuals were stunning as always, I also really enjoyed the new introduction and conclusion. One small thing though, I believe you haven't added the newer episodes to the playlist. I can't wait to see the Twenty Years' Anarchy!

[miramax]

Seriously, this is really good. Thank you for the all so detailed description of the reign of the great Basileus.

[lerneanlion]

The reign of Emperor Heraclius is one of my favorite periods in the Roman history. Not only that his reign saw the rise of Islam and the true ending of the antiquity but also the final war between the Roman Empire and the Zoroastrian Iranian Empire as well. In fact, the last Roman-Persian War of 602-628 is what given me an idea for a plan that can be served as an alternative to the Rumbling in Attack on Titan. If you would like to hear about it, I will be more than happy to tell.

[iexist]

Always a good day with a new Ancient Sight video!

[Nozylatten]

Fantastic thankyou very much! I am listening to this whilst working out. I also can see the beautiful art work on my screen. Great video.

[arthur-yqic]

heraclius had it really hard
well played heraclius

[kerkblack]

very well done documentary thank you!love from Greece!

[warren]

I regard with elatedness about the manner in which you contextualize the particularities of a certain emperor’s reign on this channel, religious and secular. Continuer le bon travail! ❤

[Oneplay_IV]

Tbh I would like to give you a suggestion, you should make your voice a little bit higher because I had to use subtitles (because I wasnt able to understand the accent) if we put aside the voice issue, the vid is FIRE!

[joeshmoe]

Thanks a bunch for sharing this with us Big Dog!

[CARL_]

thanks bro its worth of waiting keep it up