Heraclius, with Heraclius Constantine and Heraclonas, AD 610–641. AV Solidus

Heraclius, with Heraclius Constantine and Heraclonas, AD 610–641. AV Solidus (20 mm, 4.38 g, 6 h). Constantinople, indiction 12 = AD 638/9.

Obv. Heraclius, Heraclius Constantine, and Heraclonas standing facing, each wearing a crown surmounted by a cross and holding a globus cruciger in the right hand.

Rev. VICTORIA AVGЧ Є / CONOB. Cross potent set upon three steps; in left field, Heraclian monogram; in right field, IB (indiction 12).

Refs: DOC 41e; MIB 48; Sear Byzantine 767.

This appealing triple-portrait solidus was struck near the end of Heraclius’s long and eventful reign, a period marked by dramatic reversals of imperial fortune. The obverse, showing the emperor flanked by his two sons and co-rulers—Heraclius Constantine (the elder) and Heraclonas (the younger)—proclaims the dynastic continuity of the Heraclian house and the hoped-for stability following decades of warfare and religious strife.

The reverse design, the cross potent on steps, is one of the most resonant Christian symbols of the Byzantine series. It celebrates the recovery of the True Cross from Persian captivity in AD 628, a triumph that Heraclius regarded as the crowning achievement of his reign. By 638/9, however, the empire again faced grave peril, this time from the rapid expansion of the Arab forces that would soon overwhelm Syria and Egypt.