Science Fair Project Encyclopedia He was the son and namesake of
the powerful Armenian Exarch of Africa, who had been one of East
Roman Emperor Maurice's key generals in the 590 war with Persia.
Though the younger Heraclius' birthplace is unknown, he grew up
in Roman Africa; according to one tradition, he engaged in
gladiatorial combat with lions as a youth. In 608, the Heraclius
the Elder renounced his loyalty to the Emperor Phocas, who had
overthrown Maurice six years earlier. The rebels issued coins
showing both Heraclii dressed as consuls, though neither of them
explicitly claimed the imperial title at this time. The younger
Heraclius' cousin Nicetas launched an overland invasion of
Egypt; by 609, he had defeated Phocas's general Bonosus and
secured the province. Meanwhile, the younger Heraclius sailed
eastward with another force via Sicily and Cyprus. As he
approached Constantinople, he made contact with leading
aristocrats in the city, and soon arranged a ceremony where he
was crowned and acclaimed as e