Heraklonas

Heraclonas was born in 626, son of the Byzantine emperor Heraclius and his niece Martina—a marriage that made his mother widely disliked at court. His father died in February 641 having willed that Heraclonas and his older half-brother Constantine III rule jointly, with Martina designated "Mother and Empress" to wield influence over both. Constantine died of tuberculosis three months later, leaving the teenage Heraclonas sole emperor under his mother's regency. She dominated policy and consolidated power in her hands, breeding factional resentment. By October or November 641 the Armenian gener…