Maurikios Chartoularios ( el, ), Latinized as Mauricius Chartularius (died 643 at

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the ca ...

), was a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...

official and general, and later rebel in Italy. In 638 the

Byzantine Emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as l ...

Heraclius Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, led a revolt ...

(r. 610–641) demanded that the newly elected

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, Severinus sign his assent to the '' Ecthesis'', a document which defined monotheletism as the official imperial form of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesu ...

. When Severinus refused, Heraclius in turn refused to recognise him as Pope, and sent his ''

chartoularios The ''chartoularios'' or ''chartularius'' ( el, χαρτουλάριος), Anglicized as chartulary, was a late Roman and Byzantine administrative official, entrusted with administrative and fiscal duties, either as a subaltern official of a depa ...

'' (secretary) Maurikios to Rome to obtain the Pope's agreement to the ''Ecthesis''. After his arrival, Maurikios, with the support of the local Roman militia, occupied the

Lateran 250px, Basilica and Palace - side view Lateran and Laterano are the shared names of several buildings in Rome. The properties were once owned by the Lateranus family of the Roman Empire. The Laterani lost their properties to Emperor Constantine ...

and plundered the papal palace. The

Exarch An exarch (; from Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'', meaning “leader”) was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical. In the late Roman Empire and ea ...

Isaac Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...

also rushed to Rome and seized the Lateran treasure for the emperor, although he and Maurikios retained a significant portion for themselves. As a result, for almost two years Severinus was denied access to his office. In 643, Maurikios, now the ''dux'' of Rome, attempted to repeat his successful action, but this time he was determined to not share any of the plunder with anyone. He revolted against Isaac, and declared Rome's independence from the Exarchate and from the emperor, Constans II (r. 641–668). In response, Isaac dispatched his ''

magister militum (Latin for "master of soldiers", plural ) was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, ...

'' Donus, who crushed the revolt. Maurikios sought sanctuary in the church of Saint Maria ad Praesepe, but he was dragged from the church and sent in chains to

and beheaded.

References

* * * 643 deaths 7th-century Byzantine people Byzantine rebels Deaths by decapitation Exarchate of Ravenna Year of birth unknown {{Byzantine-bio-stub