Gregory the Patrician was related by blood to Emperor
Heraclius (r. 610–641) and his grandson
Constans II (r. 641–668), and was possibly the son of Heraclius' cousin
Niketas. Gregory is first attested as
Exarch of Africa ("
patrikios of Africa" in
Theophanes) in July 645, but may have been appointed already under Heraclius. The Exarchate at this time was in internal turmoil due to the conflict between the mainly Orthodox
Chalcedonian population and the supporters of
Monotheletism, an attempt at compromise between Chalcedonianism and
Monophysitism devised and promoted by Heraclius in 638. In
Africa, the latter was mostly advocated by refugees from
Egypt. The Arab chronicler
al-Tabari on the other hand claims that Gregory's revolt was provoked by a levy of 300 pounds of gold demanded by Constans. It seems that both Maximus the Confessor and
Pope Theodore I encouraged or at least supported Gregory in this venture. Thus the Pope supposedly sent an envoy to convey a dream by Maximus, according to which two rival choirs of angels shouted "Victory to Constantine [Constans]
Augustus" and "Victory to Gregory
Augustus", with the former gradually falling silent and the latter winning out. The revolt seems to have found broad support among the populace as well, not only among the Romanized Africans, but also among the
Berbers of the interior. In 647, however, Umar's successor
Uthman ordered
Abdallah ibn Sa'ad to invade the Exarchate with 20,000 men. The Muslims invaded western Tripolitania and advanced up to the northern boundary of the Byzantine province of
Byzacena. Gregory confronted the Arabs on their return at
Sufetula, but amidst the battle he was assassinated, and his army subsequently
defeated. Records from al-Bidayah wal Nihayah state that Abdullah's troops were completely surrounded by Gregory's army. However, Abdullah ibn Zubayr spotted Gregory in his chariot and asked Abdullah ibn Sa'ad to lead a small detachment to intercept him. The interception was successful, and Gregory was slain by Zubayr's ambush party. Consequently, the morale of Byzantine army started crumbling and soon they were routed.
Agapius of Hierapolis and some
Syriac sources claim that he survived the defeat and fled to Constantinople, where he was reconciled with Constans, but most modern scholars accept the Arab chroniclers' account of his death in battle. After Gregory's death, the Arabs sacked Sufetula and raided across the Exarchate, while the Byzantines withdrew to their fortresses. Unable to storm the Byzantine fortifications, and satisfied with the huge amounts of plunder they had taken, the Arabs agreed to depart in exchange for the payment of a heavy tribute in gold. Despite the fact that the Arab raid was not followed up for some time, and the restoration of ties with Constantinople, Byzantine rule over Africa was shaken to its roots by Gregory's rebellion and the Arab victory. The Berber tribes in particular shook off their allegiance to the Empire, and most of southern Tunisia seems to have slipped outside the control of Carthage. Thus the Battle of Sufetula marked "the end, more or less near, but inevitable, of Byzantine domination in Africa" (Diehl). ==References==