Gregory of Carthage

Gregory ( Middle Greek Γρηγόριος , Latin Flavius ​​Gregorius ; † 647 ) was a Byzantine patrician , exarch of Carthage and usurper .

Life

In 645, Gregory took part in a disputation between the former Patriarch of Constantinople Pyrrhus and the theologians Maximos Homologetes , which took place in his area of ​​office. In the year 646 he rebelled against Constans II , possibly against the background of the monotheletic disputes in Byzantium, in which the exarchate seems to have taken an orthodox position. His rule extended briefly from Carthage in what is now Tunisia to Tripoli in what is now Libya. There are indications that Maximos and Pope Theodor I also supported this usurpation, at least this is assumed in the trial against Maximos. Allegedly the Pope had sent Abbot Thomas to Gregor around 646 to convey to him one dream of Maximus, which was to announce the imminent success of the uprising.

The revolt soon collapsed, however, as Gregory was attacked by an Arab army in Carthage the following year and killed in the battle of Sufetula (Sbeitla, now Tunisia). Agapios of Hierapolis states that after the defeat Gregory fled to Byzantium and made his peace with the emperor. The Syrian sources report something similar, which suggests a dependency on a common template; according to recent research, it is Theophilos of Edessa . In contrast, the Arab sources consistently believe that Gregory fell in battle. After Gregory's death, the daughter of Gregory was given as booty to an Arab leader who took her to Arabia on a camel. Because she was derogatory of him, she was overthrown from the camel, breaking her neck and dying. Gennadios took over the office of exarch .

literature

• Ralph-Johannes Lilie , Claudia Ludwig, Thomas Pratsch, Ilse Rochow, Beate Zielke: Prosopography of the Middle Byzantine Period . 1st department: (641−867). Volume 2: Georgios (# 2183) - Leon (# 4270). Created after preliminary work by F. Winkelmann . Published by the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences. De Gruyter, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-11-016672-0 , pp. 49-50 No. 2345 .
• John Robert Martindale: Gregorius 19. In: The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire (PLRE). Volume 3A, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1992, ISBN 0-521-20160-8 , p. 554.
• Alexios G. Savvides, Benjamin Hendrickx (Eds.): Encyclopaedic Prosopographical Lexicon of Byzantine History and Civilization . Vol. 3: Faber Felix - Juwayni, Al- . Brepols Publishers, Turnhout 2012, ISBN 978-2-503-53243-1 , pp. 151-152.