Heraclius

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A Byzantine ruler of the early 7th century who recovered territory lost to Persian conquest and reformed the empire's administration
2. The Byzantine emperor famous for his military campaigns against the Sasanian Empire and his role in early Islamic history
3. A 7th-century Byzantine monarch known for recovering imperial lands and later losing them to Arab expansion

Etymology: The name Heraclius was borne by a line of Byzantine emperors, the most famous being Heraclius I, who reigned from 610 to 641 and who reversed a near-collapse of the empire against Persia. The English word "Heraclius" is simply the Latin form of the Greek "Hērákleios," an adjective meaning "of Heracles," the hero of Greek myth famous for his twelve labours. The name therefore marks a family's claim to descent from, or devotion to, that legendary strongman. Because the word is a proper name taken over from Latin and Greek, it carries no shift in meaning. It has remained a name for a person, not a common noun, and it passed into English largely through the historical records of the Byzantine court and the Latin chroniclers who wrote about it.