The historical basis for that wonderful, nutty Heraclius
by Damien F. Mackey “ Heraclius seems to have one foot in Davidic Israel, one in the old Roman Republic, and, whatever feet may be left, in the Christian era. What a mix of a man is this emperor Heraclius! What a conundrum! What a puzzle!” Introduction The supposed Byzantine emperor, Heraclius (610-641 AD), is a total historical mis-fit. And an hilarious one at that! In an exchange, today (5 th October, 2026), with other interested persons, I wrote: …. My big problem with the larger-than-life Jay Smith, though, and with Patricia Crone, is that they greatly complicate matters, becoming almost unreadable, unlistenable, by trying to consider Mohammed in a murky conventional C7th AD context. Those Germans who have been radically revising what we have called AD history, and who have been removing the ‘Dark Ages’ – {many of whose conclusions I personally would not accept, I need to say} - have a much be...
