Heraclius’ family fall out with each other over the succession. The crown eventually comes to rest on the head of the fourteen year old Constans II. He is left with an Empire under attack in Egypt, Armenia and the Mediterranean.
A solidus of young Constans II (from Beastcoins.com)
Period: 641-656
Download: Episode 50 – The Teenage Emperor
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The History of Byzantium 
Robin,
First of all, thanks a lot for another great episode 🙂 Question for the end of the century: Could you please give us a description of the Roman (Byzantine) navy of the 7th century? How was it different from the “ancient” Roman navy? I assume the secret weapon of the Byzantine fleet is going to appear in the narrative soon. Thanks again for the incredible work.
Best regards,
D
I will have to refer you back to Episode 40 for my answer on the navy pre-Heraclius. I described the different kind of ship there. Otherwise the main difference from former times was the fact that the Western fleets were now gone or under new management. When we get to the Greek Fire I will talk about that 🙂
Question: At what point can we estimate that the Muslim armies began to outnumber the Byzantine armies? Or did they have a numerical superiority from the start?
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I’ve just spoiled myself when I read Muawiyah’s wiki article and found out that he will win the civil war and become the first Ummayadd caliph… Now I’m worried in what he will be able to do with all the caliphate’s resources…