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How Heraclius Deposed Phocas to Become Emperor During the Byzantine Era

How Heraclius Deposed Phocas to Become Emperor During the Byzantine Era
Battle between Heraclius's army and the Persians. Fresco by Piero della Francesca, circa 1452. Public Domain
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Commentary
When the Roman Empire in the West fell in the fifth century, swamped by waves of Germanic barbarians, the eastern part of the empire, by far the richest and most urbanized, survived. Sometimes called the Byzantine Empire (after Byzantium, the original Greek name for the capital city Constantinople), it managed to maintain its existence until the middle of the 1400s.
Gerry Bowler
Gerry Bowler
Author
Gerry Bowler is a Canadian historian and a senior fellow of the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.