Heraclonas was made by Heraclius on 1 January 632, and further elevated to (co-emperor) on 4 July 638, at a ceremony in the chapel of Saint Stephen at the
Palace of Daphne, alongside his younger brother
David, who was made . A description of the ceremony is preserved in
De Ceremoniis which says that the
kamelaukion (caesar cap) of Heraclonas was removed from his head and replaced with the imperial crown. The same
kamelaukion was then placed on David's head. Heraclius died of
edema on 11 February 641, leaving the Empire jointly to his eldest son,
Constantine III, and Heraclonas, who were both proclaimed emperor in late May 641. At the time of his elevation to co-emperor, Heraclonas was only 15 years old, whereas Constantine was 28, which effectively gave the real power to Constantine. Much of the Byzantine public objected to Heraclius will, as Heraclonas was the result of an
avunculate marriage—a marriage between an uncle and niece—which many felt was illegal, thereby making Heraclonas a bastard. Also considered objectionable was the fact that Constantine's ten-year-old son,
Constans II, was not elevated alongside Constantine and Heraclonas, breaking the tradition of the succession of senior emperorship from father
to eldest son, when possible. It was also thought that the lack of elevation could have precluded him from the succession entirely. Shortly after Constantine took the throne, he was informed by his finance minister,
Philagrius, that Heraclius had created a secret fund for Martina, administered by
Patriarch Pyrrhus. Constantine confiscated this account, using it to help meet the budget for the spring military payroll, which, along with the traditional accessional
donatives that comprised half of the payroll, totaled 2,016,000
nomisma. Constantine appointed
Valentinus as the commander of the main eastern army, in the hopes of retaining at least the Egyptian coastline. However the Byzantine general Theodore was still unable to repel the Arab attacks. Constantine summoned
Cyrus of Alexandria, made him Prefect of Egypt, and instructed him to prepare to reinforce
Alexandria. Before this invasion could take place, Babylon surrendered to the Arabs, allowing them to besiege Alexandria. Heraclius will also stated that Martina should serve as mother and empress-regent (sharing significant power), but this part was rejected by the Senate. Because of Heraclonas young age, Martina ruled through him, consistently opposing the policies of Constantine, leading to the creation of two different political factions. Constantine's faction was initially the more powerful of the two, but this control was weakened by a flagging economy and the loss of Egypt to the Arabs. Shortly after, on 25 May 641, Constantine died of an advanced case of
tuberculosis, although some supporters of Constantine alleged Martina had him poisoned, leaving Heraclonas as the sole ruler, under the regency of Martina.
Sole rule and fall . Martina maintained the plans of Constantine, and sent Cyrus to Alexandria, with much of the
praesental army. She then summoned the
Thracian army to Constantinople, to replace them. Around this time, the Patriarch
Pyrrhus, an influential advisor of Martina, succeeded in reviving the policy of
Monothelitism. As a result of this policy, Kyros, a monothelete, regained control of the
see of Alexandria, giving him both religious and secular control. Martina instructed Kyros to attempt to negotiate with the Arabs, as they believed that they were unable to defeat them militarily. Kyros met with 'Amr at the Babylon Fortress and there agreed upon the surrender of Egypt. Martina was opposed by Valentinus, who was beyond her reach in Anatolia, although she exiled his patron, Philagrius, to
Africa. Heraclonas and Martina lost the support of the Byzantine Senate and people due to the rumors that Martina had poisoned Constantine and their support for Monothelitism. Also at this time, both Heraclonas and Martina's relations with the army suffered as a result of Martina's inability to raise enough funds to match the donative given by Constantine. In August 641, Valentinus marched his troops to
Chalcedon, to force Martina to elevate Constans II to co-emperor. While Valentinus was encamped across the
Bosphorus from Constantinople, a mob rose up in the city, demanding that Pyrrhus crown Constans II as emperor, and then abdicate, to be replaced by his steward
Paul II. Martina, now in a truly desperate situation, offered the military further donatives, recalled Philagrius from Africa, and offered Valentinus the title of
Count of the Excubitors. In late September/October, Martina elevated Constans to co-emperor, but also crowned Heraclonas brother
David. Despite these offers, Valentinus entered the city in October/November, deposed Heraclonas and Martina, and then elevated Constans to emperor. Valentinus was unwilling to kill a woman and child, but had Martina's tongue slit and Heraclonas' nose cut off in January 642, then exiled them to
Rhodes; this is believed to be the first time that the
political mutilation of Byzantine prisoners was utilized to signify that the person could no longer hold political power. After this, nothing is known of them, although it is believed that Heraclonas died in 642, likely in Rhodes. ==Notes==