Revolt of the Heraclii, 608-610. Follis (Bronze, 30 mm, 10.85 g, 6 h), Cyprus, RY 3 = AD 610. δm N ЄRACLIO CONSULII Bust of Heraclius, wearing short beard, crown with pendilia and consular robes, on the left, and bust of the Exarch Heraclius, wearing long beard, crown with pendilia and consular robes, on the right; between their heads, cross. Rev. Large M between A/N/N/O and III; above, cross; below, A; in exergue, KVΠPOV. DOC 18. MIB 18. SB 725. Extremely rare. An unusually attractive example of this historically interesting issue. Retoned and slightly rough, and the reverse somewhat double struck, otherwise, good very fine.



Heraclius the Elder was a successful Byzantine general of Armenian descent who made a career in the later years of the Roman-Persian War of 572-591. In 595, the emperor Maurice Tiberius appointed Heraclius to magister militum per Armeniam and ordered him to crush the revolt of Samuel Vahewuni and Atat Khorkhoruni, the details of which are reported by the 7th century Armenian bishop and historian Sebeos, who thus sheds a brief light on the general's earlier career due to its connections to Armenian history. We only hear of Heraclius again in 608, when he was serving as the Exarch of Africa and, together with his son and future emperor Heraclius the Younger, decided to put the might of the Exarchate in the balance in an attempt to remove the emperor, Phocas, from power. We are being told that the main motive behind the Revolt of the Heraclii was their loyalty to the previous emperor, Maurice Tiberius, who had been overthrown and killed by Phocas in 602, but the disastrous failures of the usurper's reign and the own personal ambitions of the Heraclii no doubt played a great role in the decision-making. In a very unusual step, the Heraclii initially abstained from declaring themselves emperors but assumed a joint consulship instead.

The coinage from the time of the Revolt of the Heraclii is primarily from Egypt (though whether from Alexandria or Alexandretta is debated), where the general Niketas, a cousin of Heraclius, led a successful offensive against the forces of Phocas between 608 and 610. However, it is assumed that, given the successive advances of the Heraclii troops in the East, coins were also minted in mobile mints, which are difficult to pinpoint. Our piece, however, bears the clear mintmark KVΠPOV, indicating Cyprus. The folles from Cyprus are among the rarest coins from the Revolt of the Heraclii, much rarer than their counterparts from Egypt.