read the map one more time,

Submitted by Guardian of Deen (United Arab Emirates), Jun 29, 2013 at 09:54

you forgot the dotted - dashed red line ...

to the readers this arrow point to palestine and the lowest point on earth

Encyclopedia Britannica whis is more academic and truthful that wikipedia stated that because of the defeat near Jerusalem and the capture of Jerusalem by the Persians as Jerusalem was very important location to the Byzantines - because of this defeat, Hiraclius did not think the Byzantine empire will ever emerge or hav a coming back after this defeat.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".