Page:Bury J B The Cambridge Medieval History Vol 2 1913.djvu/420

392 he had stood godfather, and, touching the wood of the cross, swore that the children should suffer no harm; he even took the boy to Chalcedon and gave the same assurance to Valentine and his army; but, though Valentine allowed him to return, he refused to lay down his arms. By these acts the Emperor succeeded for a time in gaining the support of the capital. But the country round Chalcedon was covered with vineyards, many of which belonged to the citizens of Constantinople; and, when the vintage came on and the produce was reaped by Valentine's army, they cried loudly for an accommodation, directing their attack against the patriarch Pyrrhus, who was the strongest supporter of Martina and was suspected of having been concerned in the murder of Constantine, and insisting on the coronation of the young Heraclius. The Emperor then went to St Sophia and ordered Pyrrhus to crown his nephew: but the people insisted that according to custom he should do this himself; and they gave the new Augustus the name of Constantine, though to distinguish him from his father he was popularly known as Constans (Sept.). The feeling against Pyrrhus was however still unabated; and, after a mob had vainly sought him in the cathedral, and in revenge desecrated the sanctuary, on the following night he laid his stole on the altar in token of leave-taking (29 Sept.), and after hiding for a time escaped to Africa: and, though he had neither resigned nor been deprived, Paul was ordained to succeed him (Oct.).

Peace was now made, Valentine being appointed Count of the excubitors and receiving a promise that he should not be called to account for the money received from Philagrius, who was recalled from exile, and that his soldiers should receive a donative. The Caesar David was then crowned as a third emperor under the name of Tiberius, and Valentine marched to Cappadocia to act against the Arabs.

The peace was however of short duration. The troops in Cappadocia produced a letter purporting to have been written by Martina to a certain David, in which he was urged to attack Valentine, marry Martina, and depose Constans. Soldiers and people rose against the Empress under the leadership of Theodore the Armenian, who, having seized David in a fortress to which he had fled, cut off his head and had it exhibited all over the eastern provinces. On Theodore's return to Constantinople Martina was by decree of the Senate deprived of her tongue, and Heraclius and Tiberius of their noses, and they were all banished to Rhodes (Dec.). Constans thus became sole emperor.

All this must have been done at the instigation of Valentine, who after unsuccessful operations against the Arabs returned to Constantinople with a guard of 3000 men and forced Constans to give him the rank of Caesar (early in 643): but on strong opposition manifesting itself a compromise was made, whereby he gave up this title, but was made commander of the troops in the capital and gave his daughter in marriage to Constans. Two years later his tyrannical acts led to a