page_title: David (son of Heraclius)
section_title: Tiberius as co-emperor
hierarchical_section_title: David (son of Heraclius) / Tiberius as co-emperor
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Solidus des Kaisers Heraklios (610 - 641), Konstantinopel, 639-641. Der Kaiser mit seinen bei­den Söhnen im vollen Ornat stehend en face: Heraklios in der Mitte, rechts Konstantin III., links Heraklonas, alle je­weils einen Kreuzglobus haltend. Perlkreis; Rs: VICTORIA AVGЧ. Crux potens auf dreistufiger Basis. Links im Feld Heraklios-Monogramm
context_page_description: David, who had the regnal name Tiberius, was one of three co-emperors of Byzantium in a period beginning in September or October 641 and ending probably in January 642. David was the son of Emperor Heraclius and his wife and niece Empress Martina. He was born after the emperor and empress had visited Jerusalem and his given name reflects a deliberate attempt to link the imperial family with the Biblical David. The David Plates may likewise have been created for the young prince or to commemorate his birth. David was given the senior court title Caesar at the age of 7 in a ceremony where he received the kamelaukion cap previously worn by his older brother Heraklonas.
  After the death of Emperor Heraclius in February 641, when David was 10 years old, a power struggle ensued between different branches of the imperial family. As part of a compromise, David was raised to co-emperor with the regnal name Tiberius, ruling with his brother Heraklonas and their nephew Constans II. All three emperors were children and the Empress Dowager Martina acted as regent. Martina was deeply unpopular due to her incestuous relationship with Heraclius and her unconventional habits.
context_section_description: The coronation of David took place in September or October of 641, with the new emperor a 10-year-old boy. David assumed the name Tiberius upon his coronation. The adoption of one of the traditional regnal names was common among 7th and 8th century Byzantine emperors: other examples include Apsimarus/Tiberius III (698), Bardanes/Philippicus (711), Artemius/Anastasius (713), Basilius/Tiberius (718), and Petasius/Tiberius (728).
  The most important primary source for the period preceding the reign of Tiberius is Nicephorus but that account breaks off as Tiberius is crowned, leaving his short reign attested only by sparse and contradictory sources. One dubious source is the Synodicon Vetus where Tiberius is attested as the recipient of a papal letter:
  In addition, the thrice-blessed Pope John of Rome – for he had succeeded the monothelete Honorius – assembled a divine and sacred synod and, anathematizing Sergius, Cyrus, and Pyrrhus, proclaimed two natures and energies in our Master and God Jesus Christ, and afterward he sent a decree of orthodoxy to David and Heraclius, the sons of Heraclius.
  The editors of the 1979 edition of the Synodicon Vetus, John M. Duffy and John Parker, note that the account becomes confused in this area, and the letter was more likely sent to Constantine III and Heraklonas. Christological controversy was rife at this time with Martina enthusiastically supporting monothelitism.
  Numismatists in the 19th century suggested that Tiberius was portrayed on certain copper coins but these identifications were later shown to be mistaken. However, some coins were presumably minted during his reign. Byzantine numismatist Wolfgang R. O. Hahn points out that mints sometimes resort to type immobilisé, where they continue to use old motifs even after the emperor depicted has already died or lost power. Since there were multiple emperors in 641, the mints may have resorted to reusing a depiction of three co-emperors originally intended to signify Heraclius, Constantine III and Heraklonas. Hahn points to a coin with this depiction which bears an epsilon on its back, as well as the Heraclius monogram. One possibility is that the epsilon represents "ἕτερος", "the second", referring to "Heraclius II", meaning  Heraklonas, whose name is a diminutive of his birth name Heraclius, and that this three-emperor coin has been made to represent Heraklonas and his co-emperors, Constans II and Tiberius. Alternatively, and with the same result, epsilon (the fifth letter of the Greek alphabet) could signify the fifth year of a lustrum cycle, which here would apply to the 15th indiction beginning on September 1, 641.
  Some fragmentary Egyptian papyrus documents from 641 contain dating clauses that scholars have taken to refer to David, giving the number of years since he was raised to Caesar. The Muslim conquest of Egypt was ongoing at this time, which would end with the negotiated surrender of Egypt to the Rashidun Caliphate. Martina and her sons took a relatively moderate stance toward the Muslims, likely out of fear that any intensification of the fighting would further jeopardize the regime.
caption: The "epsilon" coin, which Hahn suggests was minted under Heraklonas, Tiberius and Constans II
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