Domentziolus

Domentziolus or Domnitziolus (Greek: Δομνιτζίολος) was a nephew of the Byzantine emperor Phocas (r. 602–610), appointed curopalates and general in the East during his uncle's reign. He was one of the senior Byzantine military leaders during the opening stages of the Byzantine–Sassanid War of 602–628. His defeats opened the way for the fall of Mesopotamia and Armenia and the invasion of Anatolia by the Persians. In 610, Phocas was overthrown by Heraclius, and Domentziolus was captured but escaped serious harm.

Biography

Background The exact parentage of Domentziolus is unclear: Phocas had two known brothers, Comentiolus and another also named Domentziolus, who has sometimes been suggested as the younger Domentziolus's father. Shortly after the accession of Phocas, in 603, the younger Domentziolus was raised to the titles of vir gloriosissimus, patricius and curopalates.

General in the East

Domentziolus, however, is better known as a general in the Byzantine-Sassanid War of 602–628. Phocas's elevation to the throne had been recognized by neither the Sassanid Persian shah Khosrau II, nor by Narses, the Byzantine governor of the province of Mesopotamia. The two had allied against Phocas, with Narses gathering his forces in Edessa, while waiting for Sassanid reinforcements. In 604, Phocas appointed Domentziolus as magister militum per Orientem and sent him against the Persians. His predecessors Germanus and Leontius had both been defeated, the former killed in battle and the latter recalled and imprisoned by Phocas.

According to the Life of St. Theodore of Syceon, Domentziolus fell into a Persian ambush but was able to escape. In 604/605, he also surrounded Narses and his troops, and persuaded him to surrender on guarantees of his personal safety. Phocas, nonetheless, had Narses executed by burning him alive.

With the Byzantine forces at the Persian front having already suffered heavy casualties in previous confrontations, Domentziolus was unable to oppose the Sassanid raids during 605. There was also little chance of further reinforcements. Phocas had concluded peace treaties with the Lombards and Avars in an attempt to secure control of his provinces in the Italian Peninsula and the Balkans. He had already stripped the Balkans of most of their military forces, reassigning them to the Persian front. But this policy had backfired with the undermanned Balkans facing a Slavic invasion, notably endangering Thessalonica.

Downfall of the regime Meanwhile, another front had opened. The Exarchate of Africa under Heraclius the Elder had revolted against Phocas.

In 610, Shahrbaraz was approaching Antioch. But the Persian front was not the immediate threat: the rebels of Africa were. Having secured control of Egypt, they proceeded to invade Syria and Cyprus while a large fleet under Heraclius the Younger, a son of the exarch, set sail for Constantinople. Supporters from Sicily, Crete and Thessalonica were joining his campaign. The rebels reached Constantinople in October 610. The only forces available to Phocas to defend the city were the Excubitors of his bodyguard and the irregular forces of the Blues and Greens, the city's racing factions. Priscus, the commander of the Excubitors, chose the moment to reveal his allegiance to Heraclius, having apparently secretly conspired for some time. The Greens also changed sides. Constantinople fell with relative ease.

Heraclius the Younger became the new Byzantine emperor. Phocas was executed, along with several of his kinsmen and loyalists. Nothing further is known of him after that.

Family According to the hagiography of Theodore of Syceon, Domentziolus was married to a lady named Irene, and had three sons.