Byzantine astronomy under the reign of Heraclius (610-641)

This paper deals with several Greek texts written in the first half of the 7th century, which are important for our knowledge of the history of the Hellenic science during the Late Antiquity. During this period, in particular the reign of the emperor Heraclius Ist (610-641), research in astronomy and chronology seems to be an important activity in Byzantium. Indeed, there is a great interest at this time for these branches of knowledge and teaching, as it is attested by several treatises: an astronomical manual attributed to Stephanos of Alexandria, chronological chapters attributed to Heraclius himself, the "Chronicon Paschale", the Easter computation of the monk and presbyter George, the "Computus ecclesiasticus" of Maximus the Confessor. I show the characteristics of each text and its astronomical or chronological background. These texts have been produced in a Byzantine intellectual context, but they are linked with the intellectual tradition of Alexandria and parallels can be drawn with the contemporaneous Syriac (Severus Sebokht) and Armenian (Anania of Shirak) traditions.