Modificări

Revolta condusă de Focas împotriva lui Mauricius dusese la slăbirea graniţelor imperiului, atât în Balcani, cât şi în răsărit, la frontiera cu perşii. Ca rezultat, perşii conduşi de Chosroes al II-lea au înaintat în Siria. Ei au cucerit [[Damasc]]ul în 613, [[Ierusalim]]ul în 614, şi au avansat în Anatolia până la [[Chalcedon]].

Heraclie plănuise să mute capitala imperiului la Cartagina (în Africa), dar patriarhul [[Serghie I de Constantinopol]] l-a făcut să se răzgândească. Heraclie a început o vastă acţiune de reorganizare a armatei imperiale. Cu noua armată, la sfârşitul anului 627 a pornit o campanie împotriva Persiei, obţinând o victorie zdrobitoare la Ninive (decembrie 627).

The population of the provinces recovered from the Persians were followers of the Monophysite [[heresy]], To strengthen his government, Heraclius led an attempt at religious unity by proposing a compromise doctrine called Monothelitism. The compromise was formulated by Patriarch Sergius. Initially, Sergius proposed that Christ did all things through action of a single divine-human energy, in a single mode of activity (''energeia''), but Sophronius, later patriarch of Jerusalem, objected. Sergius then adopting a term "one will" (''mia thelesis'') used by [[Pope]] [[Honorius of Rome|Honorius]] in an earlier letter to him. This formula was used in the ''[[Ecthesis]]'' drawn up by Sergius and promulgated by Heraclius in 638. Initially accepted by the [[bishop]]s in Constantinople, it fell into disfavor with the rejection of formula by the successors of Honorius. This compromise remained an issue through Heraclius' successions and was finally settled by the [[Sixth Ecumenical Council]] in 680. The decision of the Council was the [[anathema]]tizing of the leaders of the Monothelite formula, including the dead Pope Honorius, and reaffirming the [[Council of Chalcedon|Chalcedonian]] definition.

To improve the defensive organization in Anatolia, Heraclius introduced the concept of ''themata'', a hereditary military service based on land grants to divisions of soldiers who were governed under military administration with each theme commanded by a military governor (''strategos'').