The frontier problems of the Heracleian Dynasty with special reference to the second half of the seventh century

Abstract

The Heracleians were the rulers of the Byzantine Empire during a particularly interesting period. The seventh century was an age of invasions and, in this respect, it did not differ greatly from much which had preceded it. But the Heracleians, in the course of their efforts to defend the empire against the Slavs, the Persians and the Arabs, were forced to introduce many radical changes. The empire which they succeeded in preserving was very different from that which they had inherited from the successors of Justinian. This development is the salient feature of Byzantium in the seventh century and is directly connected with frontier problems of the Heracleians. The reigns of Heraclius himself, of Constans II, of Constantine IV and of Justinian II almost span this century and their work needs to be treated as a whole since it played a special part in Byzantine history. It i s in this light that the available material has been considered, and, while it is not claimed that anything new has been discovered, such an approach has, at some points, led to a somewhat different interpretation of what has been widely used in the past by others.Both the primary and the secondary material for this period are to be found in a variety of languages and scripts (1) with consequent problems in citation, and it has not proved practicable to follow throughout one uniform method. Names of Greek authors and titles of Greek works are, as is the usual custom, given in Latin wherever there is an accepted Latin form, otherwise they are left in the original. Names of Russian authors and titles of Russian works have been transliterated according to the system recommended by the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London. Arabic,Syriac, Armenian, Georgian and Ethiopic texts, however, have had to be read only in translation and the methods of transliteration have therefore normally been those of the editions in which these texts appear. In the case of Arabic, however, an attempt at consistency, based upon the system of Professor P. K. Hitti, has been made possible through the valuable advice of Dr. W. J. Martin, Rankin Lecturer in Hebrew and Ancient Semitic Studies in the University of Liverpool. Names of places that have acquired a customary English spelling have been left in that form. Quotations have been given in English except where a purpose could be served by preserving the original.