Theodore (brother of Heraclius)

Theodore (Latin: Theodorus, Greek: Θεόδωρος; fl. c. 610 – 636) was the brother (or half-brother) of the Byzantine emperor Heraclius (r. 610–641), a curopalates and leading general in Heraclius' wars against the Persians and against the Arab invasions.

He was the son of the general and exarch of Africa Heraclius the Elder, and is usually regarded as the brother (although John of Nikiu suggests him to be the half-brother) of Heraclius. Soon after Heraclius' overthrow of the emperor Phocas (r. 602–610), Theodore was appointed to the crucial post of curopalates, controlling the palace administration, which at the time was ranked second in importance only to the imperial office itself.

In 612, after the deposition and imprisonment of the magister militum per Orientem Priscus, command of his troops was assumed by Theodore and Philippicus. In late 613, Theodore accompanied his brother in a campaign against the Sasanid Persians near Antioch. Although initially successful, the Byzantines were defeated and most of Cilicia conquered by the Persians.

Theodore reappears in 626, when he was sent with part of Heraclius' army against the forces of the Persian general Shahin. Theodore heavily defeated Shahin in northeastern Anatolia, and then reportedly sailed to Constantinople, which was being besieged by the Avar-Sasanian forces. By the time he arrived, the siege was effectively at an end, but he engaged in negotiations with the Avar khagan. After conclusion of peace with Kavadh II in 628, Theodore was sent as his brother's envoy to organize the Persian withdrawal from Syria and northern Mesopotamia. According to the chroniclers, the Persian garrisons were reluctant to leave, despite his bearing letters from Kavadh. This was especially the case at Edessa in 629/630, where the local Jewish community allegedly encouraged the Persians to stay; the Byzantines had to set up siege machines and begin bombarding the city before the Persians agreed to withdraw. When Theodore's troops entered the city, they began attacking and killing the Jews, until Heraclius, petitioned by a Jew who managed to escape, sent an order to stop this.

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