Leo III the Isaurian, also known as the Syrian or the Assyrian, was the first Byzantine emperor of the Isaurian dynasty from 717 until his death in 741. He put an end to the Twenty Years' Anarchy, a period of great instability in the Byzantine Empire between 695 and 717, marked by the rapid succession of several emperors to the throne, along with ending the continual defeats and territorial losses the Byzantines had suffered during the 7th century. He also successfully defended the Empire against the invading Umayyads and forbade the veneration of icons.
The 610s decade ran from January 1, 610, to December 31, 619.
Pope Severinus was the bishop of Rome elected in October 638. He was caught up in a power struggle with Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, who pressured him to accept Monothelitism. Severinus refused, which for over eighteen months hindered his efforts to obtain imperial recognition of his election. His pontificate was finally sanctioned on 28 May 640, but he died two months later.
Heraclius, known by the diminutive Heraclonas or Heracleonas, and sometimes called Heraclius II, was briefly Byzantine emperor in 641.
Constans II, also called "the Bearded", was the Byzantine emperor from 641 to 668. Constans was the last attested emperor to serve as consul, in 642, although the office continued to exist until the reign of Leo VI the Wise. His religious policy saw him steering a middle line in disputes between the Orthodoxy and Monothelitism by refusing to persecute either and prohibited discussion of the natures of Jesus Christ under the Type of Constans in 648. His reign coincided with Muslim invasions under, Umar, Uthman, and Mu'awiya I in the late 640s to 660s. Constans was the first emperor to visit Rome since the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, and the last one to visit Rome while the Empire still held it.
Tiberius III, born Apsimar, was Byzantine emperor from 698 to 705. Little is known about his early life, other than that he was a droungarios, a mid-level commander, who served in the Cibyrrhaeot Theme. In 696, Tiberius was part of an army sent by Byzantine Emperor Leontius to retake the North African city of Carthage, which had been captured by the Arab Umayyads. After seizing the city, this army was pushed back by Umayyad reinforcements and retreated to the island of Crete. As they feared the wrath of Leontius, some officers killed their commander, John the Patrician, and declared Tiberius the emperor. Tiberius swiftly gathered a fleet and sailed for Constantinople, where he then deposed Leontius. Tiberius did not attempt to retake Byzantine Africa from the Umayyads, but campaigned against them along the eastern border with some success. In 705, former emperor Justinian II, who had been deposed by Leontius, led an army of Slavs and Bulgars from the First Bulgarian Empire to Constantinople, and after entering the city secretly, deposed Tiberius. Tiberius fled to Bithynia, but was captured a few months later and beheaded by Justinian between August 705 and February 706. His body was initially thrown into the sea, but was later recovered and buried in a church on the island of Prote.
Eleutherius was the exarch of Ravenna from 615 to 619, succeeding the eunuch John I.
Pyrrhus was the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople from 20 December 638 to 29 September 641, and again from 9 January to 1 June 654.
Compsa was an ancient city of the Hirpini, near the sources of the Aufidus, on the boundary of Lucania and not far from that of Apulia, on a ridge 609 m above sea level. It was betrayed to Hannibal in 216 BC after the defeat of Cannae, but recaptured two years later. It was probably occupied by Sulla in 89 BC, and was the scene of the death of Titus Annius Milo in 48 BC.
In 615, during the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 with the Sasanian army under spahbod Shahin invaded Asia Minor and reached Chalcedon, across the Bosporus from Constantinople. It was at this point, according to Sebeos, that Heraclius had agreed to stand down and was about ready to become a client of the Sasanian emperor Khosrow II, allowing the Byzantine Empire to become a client state of the Sasanid Empire, as well as even allow Khosrow II to choose the emperor. The Sassanids had already captured Byzantine Syria and Palestine in the previous year. After negotiations with Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, an ambassador was sent to Sasanian Shahanshah Khosrow II, and Shahin withdrew again to Syria.
Bonus was a Byzantine statesman and general, one of the closest associates of Emperor Heraclius, who played a leading role in the successful defense of the imperial capital, Constantinople, during the Avar–Persian siege of 626.
John Athalarichos, also spelled as Atalarichos, Athalaric, and At'alarik, was an illegitimate son of the 7th century Byzantine Emperor Heraclius. In 637 or 634, depending on the source, he was alleged to have taken part in a plot to overthrow Heraclius and seize the throne. His name, Athalarichos, is Gothic, composed of the elements Athala and richos.
Heraclius of Edessa was an Eastern Roman Empire general who took part in the failed campaign against the Vandals in 468.
Shahraplakan, rendered Sarablangas (Σαραβλαγγᾶς) in Greek sources, was a Sassanid Persian general (spahbed) who participated in the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 and the Third Perso-Turkic War.
Theodore was the brother of the Byzantine emperor Heraclius, a curopalates and leading general in Heraclius' wars against the Persians and against the Muslim conquest of the Levant.
Maurikios Chartoularios, Latinized as Mauricius Chartularius, was a Byzantine official and general, and later rebel in Italy.
Niketas was a 7th-century Byzantine officer. He was the son and heir of the Sasanian Persian general and briefly shahanshah, Shahrbaraz.
Dastagird, was an ancient Sasanian city in present-day Iraq, and was close to its capital, Ctesiphon.
David was one of three co-emperors of Byzantium for a few months in late 641, and had the regnal name Tiberius. 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, which depict the life of King David, may likewise have been created for the young prince or to commemorate his birth. David was given the senior court title caesar in 638, in a ceremony during which he received the kamelaukion cap previously worn by his older brother Heraclonas.
