Valentinus Turns Traitor

He was trusted by Emperor Heraclius to support the emperor's son, Constans II, and he did, even going so far as to eliminate the young emperor's rivals. A few years later, however, Valentinus decided that the power he had used to be "king-maker" could be used to be "king" himself.

Valentinus started as an administrative officer in the army. Heraclius had sent him over two million gold solidi to pay to the army to ensure their loyalty. The attempted takeover after Heraclius' death by his step-mother and step-brother did not last long, and Constans became emperor at a young age.

His age required him to be guided by a regency council. Valentinus was the most prominent member of that council, and became the most powerful man in the empire by 642. Valentinus had titles, and contemporary sources say he was allowed to wear imperial purple.

In a further sign of his connection to the emperor, Constans married Valentinus' daughter, Fausta, in 642. Then the first signs of greater ambition appeared in Valentinus. He suggested that the pre-teen Constans needed an adult to rule along with him, and suggested that Valentinus be made co-emperor.

The general population was against this, and Valentinus was named (possibly as a consolation prize) commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army.

A couple years later, however, in 644, Valentinus again attempted to be made emperor. He had soldiers loyal to him who followed him to Constantinople (the illustration is what the city might have looked like at the time) where he demanded to be made emperor. Not only the general population but also leading authorities like the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople opposed this idea.

His demand led to a revolt. Contemporary sources make clear that the mob simply set upon him and killed him. His betrayal did not affect his daughter's standing, and she and Constans had children that continued the Heraclian Dynasty, of which I'll say more tomorrow.

Valentinus to the Rescue

Constantine's arrangement and gift of money to Valentinus for the army, to support Constantine's son in the line of succession, was almost prescient. Constantine died three months after becoming emperor, leaving his step-brother Heraclonas in charge.

Valentinus and troops from Asia Minor went on the march. When they reached the strait across from Constantinople, Heraclonas wisely confirmed his nephew Constans II as co-emperor. This was in September of 641, and Constans was ten years old to Heraclonas' 17 years. (The illustration is a gold solidus with Constans' image.)

Of course, it was Heraclonas' mother, Martina, who had guided her son and tried to contradict the authority of Constantine. The known adversarial relationship Marina had with the son of her husband's first marriage led to rumors that she had poisoned Constantine.

In November of 641, Valentinus and the army crossed to Constantinople, arrested Martina, Heraclonas, and Martina's other sons David and Marinos. The sons were castrated and their noses were cut off, Martina's tongue was slit; all were exiled to Rhodes. After this, they all fall out of the public record.

Constans was too young not to be guided by a regency council. During his reign, Byantines withdrew from Egypt, and the Rashidun Caliphate attempted to expand into the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas. Constans took a different approach to Monothelitism than his father, preferring not to take sides. His Typos of Constans of 648 was an edict forbidding the topic to be debated. This, of course, solved nothing and satisfied no one. (His son, Constantine IV, would call the Sixth Ecumenical Council that would settle the matter officially.)

There was a serious hiccup in his reign early on, however, brought about by the man who saved him originally. Tomorrow we'll talk about how Valentinus thought maybe he should be emperor. See you then.

Constantine and Heroclonas

When Emperor Heraclius died on 11 February 641, he left two of his sons in charge. Each was from a different mother.

Constantine, his son by his first wife, Fabia Eudokia, had been crowned co-emperor on 22 January 613, when the child was only eight months old. This honorary title was a way to ensure succession in the event of the father's death, but did not give him the emperor's authority while his father lived. (The illustration shows a gold solidus with father and son displayed.)

Heraclonas, his son by Martina, had been made a caesar (a royal title but not the same as emperor) at the age of six years, on 1 January 632. On that same day, Constantine was given a consulship, which made him one of the highest-ranking men in the empire with actual authority. Heroclonas was named "Augustus" and essentially a co-emperor on 4 July 638.

Heraclius' favoring of Martina, who naturally tried to promote her own children over that of her step-son, led to a weakening of Constantine's roles.

At Heraclius' death, however, Constantine became senior emperor. Constantine promoted his own son, Constans (who was only 10 years old) to caesar, ignoring Martina's other sons. Because Heraclonas was so young, Martina made decisions on his behalf, often arguing with Constantine.

Some of Constantine's supporters feared that Martina and Heraclonas would try to overthrow him, and advised him to make sure the army was loyal. Constantine sent two million solidi to Valentinus, to ensure that the army would support Constans.

Constantine died within a few months of becoming emperor. The cause is assumed to be tuberculosis, although rumors that he was poisoned by Martina persisted. That's when the money sent to Valentinus came in handy, as I'll explain tomorrow.