Bonus (patrician)
Encyclopedia
Bonus was a Byzantine
statesman and general, one of the closest associates of Emperor Heraclius
(r. 610–641), who played a leading role in the successful defense of the imperial capital, Constantinople
, during the Avar
–Persian siege of 626
.
Almost nothing is known of Bonus's origins or private life. In a panegyric
poem dedicated to Bonus in 626, George Pisides calls him a "companion in arms" of Heraclius, possibly implying that Bonus accompanied him when he sailed from Africa
in 610 to overthrow Emperor Phocas
(r. 602–610). He is also known to have had an illegitimate son, John, who was sent as a hostage to the Avars
in 622.
At this time, the Byzantine Empire was engaged in a prolonged struggle
with its large eastern antagonist, the Sassanid Persian Empire. Over the past years, Persian armies had managed to score victory after victory and capture most of the Byzantine Levant
. In 622, after securing peace with the Avars in the Balkans
, Emperor Heraclius set out to campaign in person against the Persians. Bonus was left behind in Constantinople as the Byzantine emperor's deputy and guardian of his young sons, together with Patriarch
Sergius
. During Emperor Heraclius's absence on campaign for the next years, Bonus acted as the effective regent of the Byzantine Empire.
The exact offices Bonus held are unclear: he held the rank of patrikios, and in the sources he is usually simply referred to as the "magistros". Although this would usually imply the position of magister officiorum
, Theodore Synkellos calls him "the general" (strategos
), possibly a magister militum praesentalis. Scholarly opinion is divided between the two cases; thus the Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire
and Walter Kaegi
support the latter thesis, while John Haldon notably supports the former.
By 626, Heraclius had scored several victories in the East and reversed the strategic situation in his favour, but the Persian general Shahrbaraz
was still encamped with his army in western Asia Minor
. At this juncture, the Persians came to an understanding with the Avars, raising the prospect of a combined siege of Constantinople. To that end, the Persians advanced, took and razed Chalcedon
, opposite the Byzantine capital, and awaited the arrival of the Avars. Emperor Heraclius, having learned of the threat to his capital, decided not to return in person; instead, he sent advice and reinforcements to Bonus, who proceeded to strengthen the city walls
and gather provisions.
The Avar army arrived before the city of Constantinople in July of 626. Proposals for a surrender by the Avar khagan
were rejected by Bonus, and the siege began on July 29. Bonus was the overall commander of the defenders. During the first five days of the siege, he sent repeated embassies to try and persuade the khagan to withdraw, offering money in return. The presence of a Persian embassy in the khagans tent on the fifth day underscored the danger the city would be in if the Avars' Slavic allies managed to ferry the Persian army over the Bosporus
strait. Thus, on the tenth day of the siege, August 7, as the Avar assault peaked, Bonus lured the Slavs into a trap: the Byzantines had learned that the signal for the Slavic fleet to cross the strait and rendezvous with the Persian forces would be the lighting of a great fire. Therefore, the Byzantines themselves lit a beacon in Blachernae
, and as the Slavs made the crossing, the Byzantine fleet
, standing by inside the Golden Horn
, sallied forth and decisively defeated them.
Following this success and the repulsion of the Avars from the walls, Bonus had to restrain the over-eager people of the city, including women and children, who wanted to rush out and capture the enemy siege engines. Instead, on August 8, the Avars began withdrawing; Bonus, Patriarch Sergius, and many people came to the Golden Gate to watch their retreat and the burning of the siege towers, set on fire by the Avars themselves. The Byzantine emperor's brother, Theodore, arrived soon after at the head of an army, and took up the running of affairs in the capital. Shortly after this, in early May 627, Bonus died and was buried (on May 11) in the Monastery of St John of Stoudios.
in the city (Greek: ), covered with a domed roof, close to the site of his own house. It lay to the northeast of the Church of the Holy Apostles
, in the coolest part of the city. For that reason, Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos (r. 920–944) built a palace there, the "New Palace of Bonus". Theophano
, the first wife of Emperor Leo VI the Wise
(r. 886–912), also built a church nearby, St. Constantine of the Cistern of Bonus, where her body was eventually transferred, probably after the sack of the city
in 1204. This palace complex played a central role in the annual ritual commemoration of Constantine the Great, the city's founder, on May 21, with the imperial family moving from the palace to Constantine's mausoleum
in the Holy Apostles and back again.
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
statesman and general, one of the closest associates of Emperor Heraclius
Heraclius
Heraclius was Byzantine Emperor from 610 to 641.He was responsible for introducing Greek as the empire's official language. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, successfully led a revolt against the unpopular usurper Phocas.Heraclius'...
(r. 610–641), who played a leading role in the successful defense of the imperial capital, Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, during the Avar
Eurasian Avars
The Eurasian Avars or Ancient Avars were a highly organized nomadic confederacy of mixed origins. They were ruled by a khagan, who was surrounded by a tight-knit entourage of nomad warriors, an organization characteristic of Turko-Mongol groups...
–Persian siege of 626
Siege of Constantinople (626)
The Siege of Constantinople in 626 by the Avars, aided by large numbers of allied Slavs and the Sassanid Persians, ended in a strategic victory for the Byzantines...
.
Life
Panegyric
A panegyric is a formal public speech, or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing, a generally highly studied and discriminating eulogy, not expected to be critical. It is derived from the Greek πανηγυρικός meaning "a speech fit for a general assembly"...
poem dedicated to Bonus in 626, George Pisides calls him a "companion in arms" of Heraclius, possibly implying that Bonus accompanied him when he sailed from Africa
Exarchate of Africa
The Exarchate of Africa or of Carthage, after its capital, was the name of an administrative division of the Eastern Roman Empire encompassing its possessions on the Western Mediterranean, ruled by an exarch, or viceroy...
in 610 to overthrow Emperor Phocas
Phocas
Phocas was Byzantine Emperor from 602 to 610. He usurped the throne from the Emperor Maurice, and was himself overthrown by Heraclius after losing a civil war.-Origins:...
(r. 602–610). He is also known to have had an illegitimate son, John, who was sent as a hostage to the Avars
Eurasian Avars
The Eurasian Avars or Ancient Avars were a highly organized nomadic confederacy of mixed origins. They were ruled by a khagan, who was surrounded by a tight-knit entourage of nomad warriors, an organization characteristic of Turko-Mongol groups...
in 622.
At this time, the Byzantine Empire was engaged in a prolonged struggle
Byzantine-Sassanid War of 602–628
The Byzantine–Sassanid War of 602–628 was the final and most devastating of the series of wars fought between the Roman Empire and the Sassanid Empire. The previous war had ended in 591 after Emperor Maurice had helped the Sassanian king Khosrau II regain his throne. In 602, Maurice was murdered...
with its large eastern antagonist, the Sassanid Persian Empire. Over the past years, Persian armies had managed to score victory after victory and capture most of the Byzantine Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
. In 622, after securing peace with the Avars in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, Emperor Heraclius set out to campaign in person against the Persians. Bonus was left behind in Constantinople as the Byzantine emperor's deputy and guardian of his young sons, together with Patriarch
Patriarch of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarch is the Archbishop of Constantinople – New Rome – ranking as primus inter pares in the Eastern Orthodox communion, which is seen by followers as the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church....
Sergius
Sergius I of Constantinople
Sergius I was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 610 to 638.In 626 during the absence of Emperor Heraclius on campaign against Sassanid Persia, the Avars laid siege to Constantinople. Along with the magister militum Bonus, he had been named regent and was in charge of the city's defense...
. During Emperor Heraclius's absence on campaign for the next years, Bonus acted as the effective regent of the Byzantine Empire.
The exact offices Bonus held are unclear: he held the rank of patrikios, and in the sources he is usually simply referred to as the "magistros". Although this would usually imply the position of magister officiorum
Magister officiorum
The magister officiorum was one of the most senior administrative officials in the late Roman Empire and the early centuries of the Byzantine Empire...
, Theodore Synkellos calls him "the general" (strategos
Strategos
Strategos, plural strategoi, is used in Greek to mean "general". In the Hellenistic and Byzantine Empires the term was also used to describe a military governor...
), possibly a magister militum praesentalis. Scholarly opinion is divided between the two cases; thus the Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire
Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire
Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire is a set of three volumes collectively describing every person attested or claimed to have lived in the Roman world from AD 260, the date of the beginning of Gallienus' sole rule, to 641, the date of the death of Heraclius, which is commonly held to mark the...
and Walter Kaegi
Walter Kaegi
Walter Emil Kaegi is a historian and scholar of Byzantine History, and professor of history in the University of Chicago. He is also a Voting Member of The Oriental Institute. He received his PhD from Harvard University in 1965...
support the latter thesis, while John Haldon notably supports the former.
By 626, Heraclius had scored several victories in the East and reversed the strategic situation in his favour, but the Persian general Shahrbaraz
Shahrbaraz
Shahrbaraz or Shahrwaraz was a general, with the rank of Eran Spahbod under Khosrau II . His name was Farrokhan, and Shahrbaraz was his title...
was still encamped with his army in western Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
. At this juncture, the Persians came to an understanding with the Avars, raising the prospect of a combined siege of Constantinople. To that end, the Persians advanced, took and razed Chalcedon
Chalcedon
Chalcedon , sometimes transliterated as Chalkedon) was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor, almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari . It is now a district of the city of Istanbul named Kadıköy...
, opposite the Byzantine capital, and awaited the arrival of the Avars. Emperor Heraclius, having learned of the threat to his capital, decided not to return in person; instead, he sent advice and reinforcements to Bonus, who proceeded to strengthen the city walls
Walls of Constantinople
The Walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople since its founding as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire by Constantine the Great...
and gather provisions.
The Avar army arrived before the city of Constantinople in July of 626. Proposals for a surrender by the Avar khagan
Khagan
Khagan or qagan , alternatively spelled kagan, khaghan, qaghan, or chagan, is a title of imperial rank in the Mongolian and Turkic languages equal to the status of emperor and someone who rules a khaganate...
were rejected by Bonus, and the siege began on July 29. Bonus was the overall commander of the defenders. During the first five days of the siege, he sent repeated embassies to try and persuade the khagan to withdraw, offering money in return. The presence of a Persian embassy in the khagans tent on the fifth day underscored the danger the city would be in if the Avars' Slavic allies managed to ferry the Persian army over the Bosporus
Bosporus
The Bosphorus or Bosporus , also known as the Istanbul Strait , is a strait that forms part of the boundary between Europe and Asia. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with the Dardanelles...
strait. Thus, on the tenth day of the siege, August 7, as the Avar assault peaked, Bonus lured the Slavs into a trap: the Byzantines had learned that the signal for the Slavic fleet to cross the strait and rendezvous with the Persian forces would be the lighting of a great fire. Therefore, the Byzantines themselves lit a beacon in Blachernae
Blachernae
Blachernae was a suburb in the northwestern section of Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine Empire. It was the site of a spring and a number of prominent churches were built there, most notably the great Church of St. Mary of Blachernae , built by Empress Pulcheria in circa 450,...
, and as the Slavs made the crossing, the Byzantine fleet
Byzantine navy
The Byzantine navy was the naval force of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire. Like the empire it served, it was a direct continuation from its imperial Roman predecessor, but played a far greater role in the defense and survival of the state then its earlier iterations...
, standing by inside the Golden Horn
Golden Horn
The Golden Horn is a historic inlet of the Bosphorus dividing the city of Istanbul and forming the natural harbor that has sheltered Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and other ships for thousands of...
, sallied forth and decisively defeated them.
Following this success and the repulsion of the Avars from the walls, Bonus had to restrain the over-eager people of the city, including women and children, who wanted to rush out and capture the enemy siege engines. Instead, on August 8, the Avars began withdrawing; Bonus, Patriarch Sergius, and many people came to the Golden Gate to watch their retreat and the burning of the siege towers, set on fire by the Avars themselves. The Byzantine emperor's brother, Theodore, arrived soon after at the head of an army, and took up the running of affairs in the capital. Shortly after this, in early May 627, Bonus died and was buried (on May 11) in the Monastery of St John of Stoudios.
Cistern of Bonus
Bonus also built a large cisternCistern
A cistern is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by their waterproof linings...
in the city (Greek: ), covered with a domed roof, close to the site of his own house. It lay to the northeast of the Church of the Holy Apostles
Church of the Holy Apostles
The Church of the Holy Apostles , also known as the Imperial Polyandreion, was a Christian church built in Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, in 550. It was second only to the Church of the Holy Wisdom among the great churches of the capital...
, in the coolest part of the city. For that reason, Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos (r. 920–944) built a palace there, the "New Palace of Bonus". Theophano
Theophano, wife of Leo VI
- Family :She was a daughter of Constantine Martiniakos. Her further ancestry is uncertain. However, Theophanes Continuatus, a continuation of the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor by writers active during the reign of Constantine VII, records the story of a possible ancestor during the reign...
, the first wife of Emperor Leo VI the Wise
Leo VI the Wise
Leo VI, surnamed the Wise or the Philosopher , was Byzantine emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty , he was very well-read, leading to his surname...
(r. 886–912), also built a church nearby, St. Constantine of the Cistern of Bonus, where her body was eventually transferred, probably after the sack of the city
Siege of Constantinople (1204)
The Siege of Constantinople occurred in 1204; it destroyed parts of the capital of the Byzantine Empire as it was confiscated by Western European and Venetian Crusaders...
in 1204. This palace complex played a central role in the annual ritual commemoration of Constantine the Great, the city's founder, on May 21, with the imperial family moving from the palace to Constantine's mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
in the Holy Apostles and back again.