Valentinus is of Armenian origin, being descended…
May 641 CE
Valentinus is of Armenian origin, being descended from the royal Arsacid clan, according to Sebeos, a seventh-century Armenian bishop and historian.
Initially a member of the retinue of the sakellarios Philagrios, Valentinus had been tasked in early 641 by Emperor Constantine III to distribute money to the troops in order to secure their loyalty to his infant son Constans, and not the faction of Heraclius's empress-dowager Martina.
It is possible that he had been appointed as general or plenipotentiary over the imperial army, or that he held the post of comes Obsequii.
Court intrigues nearly lead to civil war, which is prevented by the death of Constantine on May 24, 641.
It is rumored that he had been poisoned by order of Martina and her son Heraklonas, but he probably died of tuberculosis.
Martina and Heraklonas seize power, while the loyalists of Constans, most prominently Philagrios, are banished.
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