My gaming name is Heraclius, or Herakleios when Heraclius is taken. If both are taken I just add the roman numeral I after it.
It comes from Basileus Autokratōr Kyrios Flavius Herakleios Augustus of the Byzantine Empire. He was born in Armenia and took control of the Empire when his father, Heraclius the Elder, Exarch of Africa, and he lead a revolt against the usuper king Phocas.
During his reign he made Greek the official language of the Empire and shattered the Sassanid Persian Empire and left the scraps to the rising Islamic powers in the south.
He also made an attempt to repair the schism between the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, but ultimately failed. He is credited with the retrieval of the True Cross from the Persians.
He also began talks with the Arabs to the south, and is remembered quite favorably in their literature, although the later generation of Arabs eventually did invade the Empire.
When they did invade, Heraclius himself was unable to command the defense in Syria and Egypt, and his generals failed him, causing his reign to mark the last time the Roman Empire held power in Egypt. Some historians believe that had Heraclius himself been able to command the defense Egypt would never have fallen.
There is also a tale that Heraclius had a dream of the coming Islamic Invasion, but wasn't sure who the attackers actually were. Upon telling his court of the dream, they immediately advised him to slaughter every single Jew in the Empire, believing them to be the source of the attack. Of course, this story has never been confirmed.
I started using Heraclius thanks to Conrad, back in the summer of '08 on Empire Earth. We started the Empire of the Byzantines Clan together, and my original name, Cornelius Tacitus wouldn't fit into the name box on gamespy with the *EoB* tag. I asked him for a Byzantine leader and he gave me Heraclius. I've used the name ever since.
As a side note, Conrad is also responsible for my present obsession with the Byzantine Empire.
