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Abstract
The Swahili epic of Herakleios relates an episode of the war between the Byzantine emperor, Herakleios (610 - 641), and the Muslims, lead by their Prophet, Mohammed (570/1- 632). The oldest manuscript of this epic dates to 1728, but its original model remains unknown. Therefore, this epic remains a valuable source for Arab - Byzantine history.
In this article, the image of Byzantine Christians in the epic is examined. Thus, the Christians are described as pagans, idol worshippers and polytheists. Herakleios himself does not fare better, neither do the individual Christian warriors, whose epic and heroic values are denied. Nevertheless, the epic gives a good description of the use of icons, e.g. the Hodigitria, by the Byzantine army.