Leontia ( Greek : Λεοντία , fl. 610) was an empress of the Eastern Roman Empire as the wife of Phocas .
89-575: Maurice reigned in the Byzantine Empire from 582 to 602. He led a series of Balkan campaigns and managed to successfully re-establish the Danube as a northern border for his state ( Limes Moesiae ). By Winter 602, his strategic goals included securing control of Pannonia and the area which would later be known as Wallachia . When he decreed that the Byzantine army was to spend the winter of 602/603 on
178-483: A "perfect reward" in the kingdom of heaven. The choice was offered by an angel. Anthony Alcock has published an English translation. According to another legend in the same text, Maurice prevented a nurse from substituting one of his sons so as to save at least one of the heirs of the empire. It has been proposed that the name of the Albanian folk hero Muji derives from that of Emperor Maurice (Murik, Muji). Similarly,
267-408: A clear distinction between civil and military offices, primarily to lessen the possibility of rebellion by over-powerful provincial governors. In 584, Maurice created the office of exarch, which combined the supreme civil authority of a praetorian prefect and the military authority of a magister militum and enjoyed considerable autonomy from Constantinople. The Exarchate was successful in slowing
356-549: A number of key towns and forcing the Persians to abandon their advance and defend their own territory. It was during that period that the ailing emperor, Justin, finally died on 5 October 578. On 26 September 578, Tiberius was made Augustus by the rapidly-failing Justin. He used that opportunity to give away 7,200 pounds of gold, a practice that he continued annually throughout the four years of his reign. Sophia , Justin's widow, tried to maintain her power and influence by marrying
445-534: A protesting military delegation, headed by an officer named Phocas , was humiliated and rejected in Constantinople. Maurice's marriage produced nine known children: A daughter, Miriam/Maria , is recorded by the 12th-century chronicler Michael the Syrian and other eastern sources as married to Khosrow II but not in any Byzantine Greek ones; she is probably legendary. His brother Petrus (c. 550 – 602) became
534-486: A ruler, with a reputation for generosity. Unlike his predecessor, he largely refrained from persecuting his Monophysite subjects, but his Arian subjects in the west did not fare as well. He also spent a good deal of money on building projects, most notably the continued expansion of the Great Palace of Constantinople . According to Gibbon, Tiberius II was a good emperor: With the odious name of Tiberius, he assumed
623-468: A trustee of the public wealth, was balanced by a principle of humanity and justice, which taught him to abhor, as of the basest alloy, the gold that was extracted from the tears of the people. For their relief, as often as they had suffered by natural or hostile calamities, he was impatient to remit the arrears of the past, or the demands of future taxes: he sternly rejected the servile offerings of his ministers, which were compensated by tenfold oppression; and
712-542: Is almost universally dismissed by modern historians; Irfan Shahîd says that it probably had more to do with Maurice's dislike of the veteran and militarily successful Arab ruler. This was compounded by the Byzantines' habitual distrust of the " barbarian " and supposedly innately traitorous Arabs, as well as by al-Mundhir's staunchly Monophysite faith. Al-Mundhir was arrested the following year on suspicion of treachery, triggering war between Byzantines and Ghassanids and marking
801-419: The curopalates and was killed at the same time as Maurice. Petrus married Anastasia Aerobinda (born c. 570), daughter of Areobindus (born c. 550), and had female issue. Maurice's nephew Domitian of Melitene was probably a son of Petrus. In 602, Maurice, with the lack of money as always dictating policy, decreed that the army should stay for winter beyond the Danube . The exhausted troops mutinied against
890-556: The Avars , which had been implemented by his predecessor, Justinian . In 569, he appointed Tiberius to the post of Magister utriusque militiae , with instructions to deal with the Avars and their demands. After a series of negotiations, Tiberius agreed to allow the Avars to settle on Roman territory in the Balkans, in exchange for male hostages taken from various Avar chiefs. Justin, however, rejected
979-551: The Balkans against the Avars —pushing them back across the Danube by 599. He also conducted campaigns across the Danube, the first Roman emperor to do so in over two centuries. In the west, he established two large semi-autonomous provinces called exarchates , ruled by exarchs , or viceroys of the emperor. In Italy Maurice established the Exarchate of Italy in 584, the first real effort by
SECTION 10
#17330856075581068-650: The Battle of the Blarathon . The victory was decisive; Maurice finally brought the war to a successful conclusion with the re-accession of Khosrow. Subsequently, Khosrow was adopted by the emperor in order to seal their alliance. The adoption was made through a rite of adoptio per arma , which ordinarily assumed the Christian character of its partakers. However, the chief Byzantine bishops, "despite their best attempts", failed to convert Khosrow. Khosrow rewarded Maurice by ceding to
1157-514: The Carpathian Basin in 568. Almost immediately they launched an attack on Sirmium , the keystone to the Byzantine defences on the Danube , but were repulsed. They then sent 10,000 Kotrigur Huns to invade the Byzantine province of Dalmatia . There followed a period of consolidation, during which the Byzantines paid them 80,000 gold solidi a year. In 579, his treasury empty, Tiberius II stopped
1246-505: The Chora monastery in 613. Whether Leontia had further descendants through the marriage of her daughter to Priscus is unknown. Maurice (emperor) Maurice ( Latin : Mauricius ; Ancient Greek : Μαυρίκιος , romanized : Maurikios ; 539 – 27 November 602) was Byzantine emperor from 582 to 602 and the last member of the Justinian dynasty . A successful general, Maurice
1335-565: The Slavs . Maurice had to continue the war against the Persians. In 586 his troops defeated them at the Battle of Solachon south of Dara . In 588, a mutiny by unpaid Byzantine troops against their new commander, Priscus , seemed to offer the Sassanids a chance for a breakthrough, but the mutineers themselves repulsed the ensuing Persian offensive. Later in the year they secured a major victory before Martyropolis . The Sassanid commander, Maruzas ,
1424-523: The 580s on. In 584, the Slavs threatened the capital and in 586 the Avars besieged Thessalonica , while the Slavs went as far as the Peloponnese . After his victory on the eastern frontier in 591, Maurice was free to focus on the Balkans . He launched several campaigns against the Slavs and Avars. In 592 his troops retook Singidunum (modern Belgrade) from the Avars. His commander-in-chief Priscus defeated
1513-566: The Byzantine plan to the Persians, who then proceeded to destroy the bridge over the Euphrates. The chronicler John of Ephesus explicitly calls this assertion a lie, as the Byzantine intentions must have been plain to the Persian commanders. Both Maurice and al-Mundhir wrote letters to Emperor Tiberius, who tried to reconcile them. Maurice visited Constantinople himself, where he was able to persuade Tiberius of al-Mundhir's guilt. The charge of treason
1602-470: The Byzantines. The following year an ambitious campaign by Maurice, supported by Ghassanid forces under al-Mundhir III , targeted Ctesiphon , the Sassanid capital. The combined force moved south along the river Euphrates accompanied by a fleet of ships. The army stormed the fortress of Anatha and moved on until it reached the region of Beth Aramaye in central Mesopotamia , near Ctesiphon. There they found
1691-536: The Danube line again. Meanwhile, Maurice was making plans for repopulating devastated areas in the Balkans by using Armenian settlers. Maurice also planned to lead further campaigns against the Avar Khaganate, so as to either destroy them or force them into submission. In the west, Maurice organised the threatened Byzantine dominions in Italy into the Exarchate of Italy . The Late Roman administrative system provided for
1780-663: The Lombard advance in Italy. In 591, he created a second Exarchate in Byzantine North Africa , along similar lines. In 597, an ailing Maurice wrote his last will, in which he described his ideas of governing the empire. His eldest son, Theodosius , would rule the eastern provinces from Constantinople ; his second son, Tiberius, would rule the western exarchates from Rome . Some historians believe he intended for his younger sons to rule from Alexandria, Carthage, and Antioch. His intent
1869-707: The Lombards and allied the Empire with Childebert II , the King of the Franks , to defeat them. Unfortunately, Baduarius was defeated and killed in 576, allowing even more imperial territory in Italy to slip away. Tiberius was unable to respond as the Sassanid Emperor Khosrau I struck at the empire's Armenian provinces in 576, sacking Melitene and Sebastea . Shifting his attention eastward, Tiberius sent his general Justinian with
SECTION 20
#17330856075581958-644: The Persian war in sight, Tiberius was forced to come to terms with the Avars, and he agreed to pay an indemnity and to hand over the vital city of Sirmium, which the Avars then looted. The migration of the Slavs continued, with their incursions reaching as far south as Athens. Although a new Persian invasion was halted with a significant defeat at Constantina in June 582, by now, Tiberius was dying, apparently having eaten some poorly-prepared or possibly-deliberately poisoned food. In this state, Tiberius initially named two heirs, each of whom married one of his daughters. Maurice
2047-416: The Persian war. The most glorious trophy of his victory consisted in a multitude of captives, whom Tiberius entertained, redeemed, and dismissed to their native homes with the charitable spirit of a Christian hero. The merit or misfortunes of his own subjects had a dearer claim to his beneficence, and he measured his bounty not so much by their expectations as by his own dignity. This maxim, however dangerous in
2136-607: The Persians in the East once again allowed Tiberius to turn his gaze westward. In 579, he again extended his military activities into the remnants of the Western Roman Empire . He sent money and troops to Italy to reinforce Ravenna and to retake the port of Classis . He formed an alliance with one of the Visigothic princes in Spain , who was fomenting rebellion, and his generals defeated
2225-581: The Slavs, Avars and Gepids south of the Danube in 593. The same year he crossed the Danube into modern-day Wallachia to continue his series of victories. In 594, Maurice replaced Priscus with his rather inexperienced brother Peter, who, despite initial failures, scored another victory in Wallachia. Priscus, now in command of another army further upstream, defeated the Avars again in 595. The latter now only dared to attack peripherally, in Dalmatia two years later. In
2314-579: The advantage he had gained at the Battle of Constantina was lost when his successor as magister militum of the east, John Mystacon , was defeated at the River Nymphios by Kardarigan . The situation was difficult: Maurice ruled a bankrupt Empire; it was at war with Persia; he was paying extremely high tribute to the Avars , 80,000 gold solidi a year; and the Balkan provinces were being thoroughly devastated by
2403-508: The agreement, insisting on taking hostages from the family of the Avar Khan himself. That condition was rejected by the Avars and so Tiberius mobilized for war. In 570, he defeated an Avar army in Thrace and returned to Constantinople . While attempting to follow up that victory in late 570 or early 571, Tiberius was defeated in a battle in which he narrowly escaped death, as his army was fleeing
2492-512: The army of the East was beginning to become restless, as it had not been paid, and it threatened to mutiny. In 580, General Maurice launched a new offensive, raiding well beyond the Tigris . The following year, he again invaded Persian Armenia and almost succeeded in reaching the Persian capital, Ctesiphon , before a Persian counterinvasion of Byzantine Mesopotamia forced him to withdraw in order to deal with that threat. By 582, with no apparent end to
2581-434: The army of the east not only with transfers from his western armies but also through barbarian recruits, which he formed into a new foederati unit, amounting to some 15,000 troops by the end of his reign. Throughout 577 and into 578, Tiberius avoided all other entanglements that would have distracted him from the approaching Persian conflict. He appeased, quite successfully, both Chalcedonian and Monophysite Christians by
2670-496: The basis for the later introduction of themes as military districts. Maurice promoted science and the arts and he is traditionally named as author of the military treatise Strategikon , which is praised in military circles as the only sophisticated combined arms theory until World War II . Some historians now believe the Strategikon is the work of his brother or another general in his court, however. His greatest weakness
2759-469: The battlefield. Agreeing to a truce, Tiberius provided an escort to the Avar envoys to discuss the terms of a treaty with Justin. On their return, the Avar envoys were attacked and robbed by local tribesmen, prompting them to appeal to Tiberius for help. He tracked down the group responsible and returned the stolen goods. In 574, Justin had a mental breakdown, forcing Empress Sophia to turn to Tiberius to manage
Leontia - Misplaced Pages Continue
2848-486: The beginning of the end of the Ghassanid kingdom. In June of 582 Maurice scored a decisive victory against Adarmahan near Constantina . Adarmahan barely escaped the field, while his co-commander Tamkhosrau was killed. In the same month Emperor Tiberius was struck down by an illness which shortly thereafter killed him. In this state Tiberius initially named two heirs, each of whom was to marry one of his daughters. Maurice
2937-469: The bridge over the Euphrates destroyed by the Persians. In response to Maurice's advance, Sassanid general Adarmahan was ordered to operate in northern Mesopotamia, threatening the Roman army's supply line. Adarmahan pillaged Osrhoene , and was successful in capturing its capital, Edessa . He then marched his army toward Callinicum on the Euphrates. With the possibility of a march to Ctesiphon gone Maurice
3026-509: The death of Justin, his worthy successor sunk into a mortal disease, which left him only sufficient time to restore the diadem, according to the tenure by which he held it, to the most deserving of his fellow-citizens. That opinion was not shared by John Bagnall Bury , who commented: But though he might have made a very good minister of war, Tiberius did not make a good Emperor. It was natural that his first acts should be reactionary, as Justin's government had been extremely unpopular. He removed
3115-410: The description of him by Theophylact may exaggerate these traits. He possessed insight, public spirit, and courage. He proved his expertise on military and foreign affairs during his campaigns against the Persians, Avars and Slavs, and during peace negotiations with Khosrow II. His administrative reforms reveal him as a farsighted statesman, all the more since they outlasted his death by centuries and were
3204-466: The disintegration of the empire of Justinian I . The death of Maurice was a turning point. The war against Persia which it caused weakened both empires, enabling the Slavs to permanently settle the Balkans and paving the way for the Arab-Muslim expansion . His court still used Latin alongside Greek , as did the army and administration. Historian A. H. M. Jones characterises the death of Maurice as
3293-454: The duty on the "political bread," and remitted a fourth part of the taxes throughout the Empire. Had he been contented with this he might deserve praise, but he began a system of most injudicious extravagance. He gratified the soldiers with large and frequent Augustatica , and he granted donations to members of all the professions--scholastics or jurists ("a very numerous profession"), physicians, silversmiths, bankers. This liberality soon emptied
3382-541: The eastern armies to push the Persians back across the Euphrates . The Byzantines followed, and pushed deep into Persian territory, culminating in a raid on Atropatene . In 577, however, Justinian was defeated in Persian Armenia, forcing a Byzantine withdrawal. In response to that defeat, Tiberius replaced Justinian with the future emperor Maurice . During the truce that Tiberius concluded with Khosrau, he busily enhanced
3471-460: The eastern provinces. Buying time to make the necessary preparations, he agreed to a three-year truce with the Persians, paying 30,000 nomismata, though the truce excluded action in the region around Armenia . Not content with making preparations, Tiberius also used this period to send reinforcements to Italy under the command of Baduarius with orders to stem the Lombard invasion. He saved Rome from
3560-534: The emperor to choose between a long reign or death and acceptance in the kingdom of heaven. Maurice preferred the second choice. The same story has been recorded in a short Syriac hagiography on the life of the emperor. It is of East Syrian origin. This was later sanctified by the Eastern Orthodox Church. According to the Syriac author, the emperor asked in prayer to receive a punishment in this world and
3649-505: The emperor, taking his family with him, left the city on a warship heading to Nicomedia . Theodosius was put ashore with direction to seek support from the Persians, but apparently never reached his destination. Phocas entered Constantinople in November and was crowned emperor. His troops captured Maurice and his remaining family, and brought them to the Harbor of Eutropius at Chalcedon. Maurice
Leontia - Misplaced Pages Continue
3738-460: The emperor. Probably misjudging the situation, Maurice repeatedly ordered his troops to start a new offensive rather than return to winter quarters. His troops gained the impression that Maurice no longer understood the military situation and proclaimed Phocas their leader. They demanded that Maurice abdicate and proclaim as successor either his son Theodosius or General Germanus . Both men were accused of treason. As riots broke out in Constantinople,
3827-440: The empire slowly but steadily succeeded, especially after the peace with Persia. His initial popularity apparently declined during his reign, mostly because of his fiscal policies. In 588 he announced a cut in military wages by a quarter, leading to a serious mutiny by troops on the Persian front. He refused to pay a small ransom in 599 or 600 to free 12,000 Byzantine soldiers taken prisoner by the Avars. The prisoners were killed, and
3916-450: The empire to halt the advance of the Lombards . With the creation of the Exarchate of Africa in 591 he further solidified the power of Constantinople in the western Mediterranean . Maurice's successes on battlefields and in foreign policy were counterbalanced by mounting financial difficulties of the empire. Maurice responded with several unpopular measures which alienated both the army and
4005-435: The empire western Armenia up to the lakes Van and Sevan , including the large cities of Martyropolis , Tigranokert , Manzikert , Ani , and Yerevan . Maurice's treaty brought a new status-quo to the east territorially. Byzantium was enlarged to an extent never before achieved by the empire. During the new "perpetual peace" millions of solidi were saved by the remission of tribute to the Persians. The Avars arrived in
4094-580: The empire's senior honorific title, which was limited to a small number of holders. In 578, a truce in Mesopotamia came to an end and the main focus of the war shifted to that front. After Persian raids in Mesopotamia, Maurice mounted attacks on both sides of the Tigris, captured the fortress of Aphumon and sacked Singara . Sassanid emperor Khosrow sought peace in 579, but died before an agreement could be reached and his successor Hormizd IV (r. 579–590) broke off
4183-413: The empire) read it for him. The speech proclaimed Maurice as Augustus and sole successor to the throne. On 14 August 582 Tiberius died and his last words were spoken to his successor: "Let my sovereignty be delivered to thee with this girl. Be happy in the use of it, mindful always to love equity and justice." Maurice became sole emperor, marrying Constantina in the autumn. Shortly after his ascension
4272-503: The empire, which was fighting the Persians to the east and dealing with the internal crisis of the plague. To achieve a measure of breathing space, Tiberius and Sophia agreed to a one-year truce with the Persians, at the cost of 45,000 nomismata . On 7 December 574, Justin, in one of his more lucid moments, had Tiberius proclaimed Caesar and adopted him as his own son. Tiberius added the name Constantine to his own. Although his position
4361-494: The end of the era of Classical Antiquity , as the turmoil that shattered the empire over the next four decades permanently and thoroughly changed society and politics. The first legendary accounts of Maurice's life are recorded in the ninth century, in the work of the Byzantine historian Theophanes the Confessor . According to his chronicle Chronographia , the death of the imperial family is due to divine intervention: Christ asked
4450-565: The execution of Maurice and his sons, which took place before the end of the day. The only known child of Leontia and Phocas was their daughter Domentzia . She was reportedly named after her paternal grandmother. She was married to Priscus , who served as Comes excubitorum (Commander of the Excubitors ). Theophanes places the marriage in 607. The Chronicles of John of Antioch report this celebration to have initiated hostility between Phocas and his son-in-law. The chariot racing factions honored
4539-486: The general Philippicus . He is recorded to have been a native Greek speaker, unlike the previous emperors since Anastasius I Dicorus . Sources call him a native Cappadocian Greek and the first emperor "from the race of the Greeks". Maurice first came to Constantinople as a notarius to serve as secretary to Tiberius , the comes excubitorum (commander of the Excubitors , the imperial bodyguard). When Tiberius
SECTION 50
#17330856075584628-461: The general populace. In 602, a dissatisfied officer named Phocas usurped the throne, having Maurice and his six sons executed. This event would prove a disaster for the empire, sparking a twenty-six-year war with a resurgent Sassanid Persia which would leave both empires devastated prior to the Muslim conquests . Maurice's reign is a relatively well-documented era of late antiquity , in particular by
4717-434: The harbor of Eutropius when Constantina was found guilty of a conspiracy against Phocas. The entire family of Maurice and Constantina was buried at the monastery of St. Mamas or Nea Metanoia that had been founded by Maurice's sister Gordia. The Persian king Khosrow II used this coup and the murder of his patron as an excuse for a renewed war against the empire. Maurice is seen as an able emperor and commander-in-chief, though
4806-504: The historian Theophylact Simocatta . The Strategikon , a manual of war which influenced European and Middle Eastern military traditions for well over a millennium, is traditionally attributed to Maurice. Maurice was born in Arabissus in Cappadocia in 539. His father was Paul . He had one brother, Peter , and two sisters, Theoctista and Gordia, the latter of whom was later the wife of
4895-561: The imperial frontiers and win over the populace who had turned against him. According to Gregory of Tours and Paul the Deacon , Tiberius found two treasures: the treasure of Narses and 1,000 centenaria : 100,000 pounds of gold or 7,200,000 solidi ( nomismata ), under a slab. The treasures were given away to the poor, to the consternation of Sophia. Alongside generous donations, he also proceeded to reduce state revenue by removing taxes on wine and bread instituted by Justinian I . He continued
4984-638: The mid-6th century, Tiberius was appointed to the post of notarius . There, sometime after 552, he was introduced by the Patriarch Eutychius to the future emperor, Justin II , with whom he became firm friends. Under Justin's patronage, Tiberius was promoted to the position of Comes excubitorum , which he held from approximately 565 through to 574. He was present during Justin's imperial accession on 14 November 565 and also attended his inauguration as consul on 1 January 566. Justin ceased making payments to
5073-489: The more popular appellation of Constantine, and imitated the purer virtues of the Antonines. After recording the vice or folly of so many Roman princes, it is pleasing to repose, for a moment, on a character conspicuous by the qualities of humanity, justice, temperance, and fortitude; to contemplate a sovereign affable in his palace, pious in the church, impartial on the seat of judgment, and victorious, at least by his generals, in
5162-552: The name of the folk hero's wife, Ajkuna (or Kuna), corresponds to that of the Empress Aelia Constantina, the wife of Maurice, if we take into account the laws of phonetic evolution of the Albanian language since Late Antiquity. Though this proposition remains a matter of debate. Tiberius II Tiberius II Constantine ( Latin : Tiberius Cōnstantīnus ; Ancient Greek : Τιβέριος Κωνσταντῖνος , romanized : Tibérios Kōnstantĩnos ; died 14 August 582)
5251-559: The negotiations. In 580, Byzantium's Arab allies the Ghassanids scored a victory over the Lakhmids, Arab allies of the Sassanids, while Byzantine raids again penetrated east of the Tigris. Around this time the future Khosrow II was put in charge of the situation in Armenia, where he succeeded in convincing most of the rebel leaders to return to Sassanid allegiance, although Iberia remained loyal to
5340-491: The new emperor, but he refused her proposal because he was already married to Ino . When Tiberius had first been raised to the rank of Caesar, Sophia had refused the request for Ino and her children to move into the Imperial palace with her husband, forcing them to reside in a small residence nearby and prohibiting them from entering the palace. Once Tiberius was elevated to the rank of Augustus, however, he had his family moved into
5429-526: The new king. The former Persian commander-in-chief, Bahram Chobin , who had rebelled against Hormizd IV , claimed the throne for himself and defeated Khosrow. Khosrow and the two Parthians fled to the Byzantine court. Although the Senate unanimously advised against it, Maurice helped Khosrow regain his throne with an army of 35,000 men. In 591 the combined Byzantine-Persian army under generals John Mystacon and Narses defeated Bahram Chobin's forces near Ganzak at
SECTION 60
#17330856075585518-424: The northern bank of the Danube, the exhausted troops instead mutinied against their emperor. Phocas would emerge as the leader of the mutinous army during its march to Constantinople . Maurice also faced citywide rioting within the capital due to a famine . He fled the city prior to the arrival of Phocas and his troops. The Chronicon Paschale gives the chronological account of the rise of Phocas and Leontia to
5607-513: The occasion by placing images of Phocas, Leontia, Domentzia, and Priscus in the Hippodrome of Constantinople . The images of the reigning imperial couple belonged there by tradition. The latter two images implied that Priscus was the heir or co-emperor of Phocas. Phocas was enraged at the implication and ordered the depictions of his daughter and son-in-law to be destroyed. The incident supposedly caused Priscus to turn against his father-in-law. Phocas
5696-406: The official ban on the sale of governorships, which was highly popular. He also negotiated a truce with the Avars, paying them 80,000 nomismata per year for which the Avars agreed to defend the Danube frontier, thereby allowing Tiberius to transfer troops across to the east for a planned renewal of the conflict against the Persians. In 575, Tiberius began moving the armies of Thrace and Illyricum to
5785-443: The palace and renamed Ino as Anastasia, much to Sophia's resentment. Therefore, Sophia sought revenge, and a secret pact was made between the dowager empress and General Justinian, whom Tiberius had replaced the year before. They conspired to overthrow the emperor and seat Justinian in his place. The conspiracy failed, however, and Sophia was reduced to a modest allowance; Justinian was forgiven by Tiberius. The ongoing success against
5874-470: The palace. The consequence of this recklessness was that when Maurice came to the throne he found the exchequer empty and the State bankrupt. . . . There is considerable reason, I think, to remove Tiberius from his pedestal. Originally betrothed as a young man to the daughter of Ino , Tiberius eventually married Ino after her daughter and husband died. She took on the name Anastasia in 578 after his accession to
5963-399: The payments. The Avars retaliated with another siege of Sirmium . The city fell in c. 581. After the capture of Sirmium, the Avars demanded 100,000 solidi a year. Refused, they used the strategically important city as a base of operations against several poorly defended forts along the Danube and began pillaging the northern and eastern Balkans. The Slavs began settling the land from
6052-549: The rebellious Berbers under their king Garmul in North Africa . He also intervened in Frankish affairs in the former province of Gaul , which had been largely free of imperial contacts for close to a century. Consequently, he might have been the basis for the fictional emperor Lucius Tiberius of Arthurian legend, who sent envoys to former Roman provinces after a long period without an imperial presence. The reality, however,
6141-430: The same year the Byzantines concluded a peace treaty with the Avar leader Bayan I , which allowed the Byzantines to send expeditions into Wallachia . In 598, Maurice broke the treaty to permit a retaliation campaign inside the Avar homeland. In 599 and 601 the Byzantine forces wreaked havoc amongst the Avars and Gepids. In 602, the Slavs suffered a crushing defeat in Wallachia. The Byzantine troops were now able to hold
6230-418: The throne. On 23 November 602, Phocas was crowned emperor by his troops outside the capital. On 25 November, Phocas entered Constantinople and was accepted as emperor by the general populace. He proclaimed chariot races in honor of his elevation and had Leontia escorted to the city as his new Empress. They had already been married for some time. According to the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor , Leontia
6319-426: The treasury of its wealth. . . . The result was that by the end of the first year of his reign he had spent 7200 lbs. of gold, beside silver and silk in abundance; and before he died he was obliged to have recourse to the reserve fund which the prudent economy of Anastasius had laid by, to be used in the case of an extreme emergency. And, notwithstanding these financial difficulties, he laid out money on new buildings in
6408-459: The use of it, mindful always to love equity and justice. A native of the Latin-speaking part of Thrace, Tiberius was nonetheless distinguished as the first of the "Greek[-speaking] Caesars" by Edward Gibbon , who cited the 13th-century Syriac Orthodox bishop and writer Bar Hebraeus . Tiberius reportedly was tall and handsome, with a regal bearing. He was gentle and humane, both as a man and
6497-452: The use of strategic appointments and the easing of persecutions. He paid the Lombard tribal chieftains some 200,000 nomismata in an attempt to keep them divided and to prevent the election of a king. When the Slavs invaded Illyricum, he transported Avar armies to attack them and force their retreat. Consequently, when Khosrau invaded Roman Mesopotamia in 578, his general, Maurice, was able to invade Persian Arzanene and Mesopotamia, sacking
6586-462: The wise and equitable laws of Tiberius excited the praise and regret of succeeding times. Constantinople believed that the emperor had discovered a treasure: but his genuine treasure consisted in the practice of liberal economy, and the contempt of all vain and superfluous expense. The Romans of the East would have been happy, if the best gift of Heaven, a patriot king, had been confirmed as a proper and permanent blessing. But in less than four years after
6675-443: Was Eastern Roman emperor from 574 to 582. Tiberius rose to power in 574 when Justin II , prior to a mental breakdown, proclaimed him caesar and adopted him as his own son. In 578, the dying Justin II gave him the title of augustus , thus becoming co-emperor alongside him. Tiberius became sole ruler less than two weeks later, assuming the regnal name of "Constantine" under which he reigned until his death. Born in Thrace in
6764-401: Was betrothed to Constantina , and Germanus , related through blood to the great emperor Justinian I , was married to Charito. It appears that the plan was to divide the empire in two, with Maurice receiving the eastern provinces and Germanus the western. According to John of Nikiû , Germanus was Tiberius' favored candidate for the throne but declined out of humility. On 5 August, Tiberius
6853-541: Was betrothed to Constantina , and Germanus , related through blood to the great emperor Justinian, was married to Charito. It appears that his plan was to divide the empire in two, with Maurice receiving the eastern provinces and Germanus the western provinces. This plan was never implemented, and on 13 August 582, he elevated Maurice to the rank of Augustus. Tiberius died on the following day, 14 August 582, and his last words were spoken to his successor: Let my sovereignty be delivered to thee with this girl. Be happy in
6942-601: Was chosen as heir and son-in-law by his predecessor Tiberius II . Maurice's reign was troubled by almost constant warfare. After he became emperor, he brought the war with Sasanian Persia to a victorious conclusion . The empire's eastern border in the South Caucasus was vastly expanded and, for the first time in nearly two centuries, the Romans were no longer obliged to pay the Persians thousands of pounds of gold annually for peace. Afterward, Maurice campaigned extensively in
7031-589: Was deposed and executed by Heraclius in October, 610. His brothers Domentziolus and Comentiolus were also executed. Whether Leontia was also executed is unknown. Priscus had supported Heraclius and continued to serve as commander of the Excubitors to 5 December 612. He was then replaced by Nicetas , a first cousin of Heraclius, and forced to take monastic vows . According to the Chronicon Paschale , he died in
7120-445: Was forced to retreat. The retreat was arduous for the tired army, and Maurice and al-Mundhir exchanged recriminations for the expedition's failure. However, they cooperated in forcing Adarmahan to withdraw, and defeated him at Callinicum . The mutual recriminations were not laid to rest by this. Despite his successes, al-Mundhir was accused by Maurice of treason during the preceding campaign. Maurice claimed that al-Mundhir had revealed
7209-474: Was his inability to judge how unpopular his decisions were. The historian C. W. Previté-Orton listed a number of character flaws in the emperor's personality: His fault was too much faith in his own excellent judgment without regard to the disagreement and unpopularity which he provoked by decisions in themselves right and wise. He was a better judge of policy than of men. It was this flaw that cost him throne and life, and thwarted most of his efforts to prevent
7298-435: Was killed, several of the Persian leaders were captured along with 3,000 other prisoners, and only a thousand men survived to reach refuge at Nisibis. The Byzantines secured much booty, including the Persian battle standards, and sent them, along with Maruzas' head, to Maurice in Constantinople. In 590, two Parthian brothers, Vistahm and Vinduyih , overthrew King Hormizd IV and made the latter's son, Prince Khosrow II ,
7387-452: Was murdered at the harbor of Eutropius on 27 November 602. The deposed emperor was forced to watch his five younger sons executed before he was beheaded himself. Empress Constantina and her three daughters were temporarily spared and sent to a monastery. The palace eunuch Scholasticus aided their escape to St. Sophia, but the church turned them over to Phocas, who sent them back to the monastery. A few years later, they were all executed at
7476-425: Was named Caesar in 574, Maurice was appointed to succeed him as comes excubitorum . In late 577, despite a complete lack of military experience, Maurice was named as magister militum per Orientem , effectively commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army in the east. He succeeded General Justinian in the ongoing war against Sassanid Persia . At about the same time he was raised to the rank of patrikios ,
7565-451: Was now official, he was still subordinate to Justin. Sophia was determined to remain in power and kept Tiberius tightly controlled until Justin died, in 578. The day after his appointment as Caesar, the plague abated, giving Tiberius more freedom of movement than Justin had been able to achieve. Tiberius also charted a very different course from his predecessor and proceeded to spend the money that Justin had doggedly saved in order to defend
7654-477: Was officially crowned an Augusta on 27 November. According to the history of Theophylact Simocatta , the new imperial couple led a procession through the city as per custom. The festive occasion was marked with renewed conflicts between the Blues and Greens, the two major chariot racing clubs. The Blues questioned the legitimacy of the new Emperor by reminding him that Maurice was still alive. Phocas reacted by ordering
7743-426: Was on his deathbed and civilian, military and ecclesiastical dignitaries awaited the appointment of his successor. He then chose Maurice and named him Caesar , after which he adopted the name "Tiberius". Maurice was crowned emperor soon after, on 13 August. Tiberius had reportedly prepared a speech on the matter but at this point was too weak to speak. The quaestor sacri palatii (the senior judicial official of
7832-435: Was that the empire was seriously overextended. In 579, with Tiberius occupied elsewhere, the Avars decided to take advantage of the lack of troops in the Balkans by besieging Sirmium . At the same time, the Slavs began to migrate into Thrace, Macedonia and southern Greece , which Tiberius was unable to halt as the Persians refused to agree to a peace in the east, which remained the emperor's main priority. Furthermore,
7921-549: Was to maintain the unity of the empire; this idea bears a strong resemblance to the Tetrarchy of Diocletian. However, Maurice's violent death prevented these plans from coming to fruition. In religious matters, Maurice was tolerant towards Monophysitism , although he was a supporter of the Council of Chalcedon . He clashed with Pope Gregory I over the latter's defence of Rome against the Lombards . Maurice's efforts to consolidate
#557442