Byzantine literature of the Heraclian dynasty

Byzantine literature of the Heraclian dynasty spans the period of Byzantine literature from the ascension of Emperor Heraclius in 610 to the rise of the Isaurian dynasty in 717.

The reign of Heraclius (610–641) fostered the work of several notable authors. The historian Theophylact Simocatta wrote History of the World, covering Byzantine events from 582 to 602, and the widely read Letters on Moral, Pastoral, and Amorous Themes. George of Pisidia chronicled Heraclius' campaigns against the Persians in numerous historical poems, alongside philosophical-dogmatic works and epigrams. The preeminent theologian of the period, Maximus the Confessor, combated Monophysitism and Monothelitism in works such as To Maris, On the Soul, and Letters, while also producing exegetical, liturgical, and ascetic writings. Another distinguished theologian, Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, defended orthodoxy and authored poetry and hagiographies. The leading hagiographer of the early 7th century, Bishop Leontios of Neapolis, wrote accessible saints' lives for the common people. In Constantinople, the scholar George Choiroboskos and physicians Paul of Aegina, Theophilus Protospatharius, and Stephen of Athens were active. Two chronicles from this period survive: Chronicle of the World by John of Antioch and the Paschal Chronicle.

In the late 7th century, the poet Andrew of Crete, a bishop, created numerous canons, including the renowned Great Canon. The theologian Anastasius Sinaita contributed to the final phase of the orthodoxy-Monothelitism debate. John of Nikiu authored a lost Chronicle of the World, and Trajan the Patrician wrote a Brief Chronicle. At the turn of the 8th century, the scholars Horapollo and his student Timothy of Gaza worked in Constantinople.