WI: Justinian II's brother survives?

I just got Harry Turtledove's 'Justinian' as a late birthday present, and I just wondered what might happen if Justinian II's younger brother, Heraclius, had survived childhood. Assuming Justinian's reign sticks close to what happened OTL, might Heraclius be placed on the throne when J is mutilated and exiled or would Leontius (or whoever does the overthrowing) decide to get rid of him too?
 
Honestly Leonidus would prop up herecius as a puppet and with some legitimacy the events that brought Justinian back to th throne might not happen.
 
Honestly, Leontius would prop up Heraclius as a puppet and with some legitimacy the events that brought Justinian back to the throne might not happen.

Well, considering Justinian II's character, he might actually be even more eager to return. He never considered himself deposed during his exile.
 

Dirk

Banned
Honestly Leonidus would prop up herecius as a puppet and with some legitimacy the events that brought Justinian back to th throne might not happen.

Why leap to such conclusions? Having a living brother changes everything, how can you even assume that Leontius will rise up against Justinian at all. It all depends on what kind of a brother Heraclius is, but he could well be a stabilizing factor on Justinian II.
 
Why leap to such conclusions? Having a living brother changes everything, how can you even assume that Leontius will rise up against Justinian at all. It all depends on what kind of a brother Heraclius is, but he could well be a stabilizing factor on Justinian II.

Stabilising factor or not, second sons were still seen as spares at best or threats at worse. Justinian already has the example of his father (Constantine IV) and uncles (Heraclius and Tiberius) to go on.
 
Regardless of Turtledove’s interpretation, Leontius doesn’t strike me as dynasty-maker material. He would possibly crown Heraclius, but then rule as a sort of Romanos Lekapenos.

Under the veneer of a more “legitimate” Emperor, Lentios might actually go back to the business of being a soldier, which he wasn’t too bad at, truth be told. If so, it might be him heading off to Africa, and perhaps (a shot in the dark) prevailing and holding Carthage.

Eventually Justinian returns, and it could go one of two ways: Heraclius ditches Leontius for his brother, which might not be that great for the Romans; or he ensures that Justinian isn’t a problem anymore, since he likes begin the one Emperor.

It all depends on the TL’s writer, what to make of Heraclius, that is.
 
Regardless of Turtledove’s interpretation, Leontius doesn’t strike me as dynasty-maker material. He would possibly crown Heraclius, but then rule as a sort of Romanos Lekapenos.

Under the veneer of a more “legitimate” Emperor, Lentios might actually go back to the business of being a soldier, which he wasn’t too bad at, truth be told. If so, it might be him heading off to Africa, and perhaps (a shot in the dark) prevailing and holding Carthage.

Eventually Justinian returns, and it could go one of two ways: Heraclius ditches Leontius for his brother, which might not be that great for the Romans; or he ensures that Justinian isn’t a problem anymore, since he likes begin the one Emperor.

It all depends on the TL’s writer, what to make of Heraclius, that is.

I would assume that Heraclius would stick with what he knew in regards to emperorship. No one thought Justinian would come back because he has been mutilated. Heraklonas and Constantine IV's brothers had been mutilated and, as far as we know, they never tried to come back.

Personally, assuming Justinian's exile is exactly the same as OTL (with Heraclius taking the place of Tiberius Apsimaros), I'd think Heraclius would do whatever he could to stay in power. There's often a tendency for younger brothers to try and keep their power once they get it (John Lackland, Andrew II of Hungary).

Minor nitpick, would anyone think TTL's Heraclius would be numbered as Heraclius II or Heraclius III? Traditionally, Heraklonas is also known as Heraclius II, which is the name I personally use for him.
 
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