MAURICE TIBERIUS 601AD Antioch Theoupolis Follis Ancient Byzantine Coin i57537

Item: i57537

Authentic Ancient

Coin of:

Byzantine Empire

Bronze Follis 26mm (10.34 grams) Theoupolis (Antioch) mint, 3rd officina.

Dated RY 20 (601/2 A.D.)
Reference: Sear 533; DOC 172b; MIBE 96A; SB 533
Bust facing, wearing crown with trefoil ornament, and consular robes; in right
hand, mappa; in left, eagle-tipped scepter.
Large M between A / N / N / O; to right numerals representing the regnal year;
above, cross; beneath, officina letter; in ex., THЄuP.

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Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (Greek:

Φλάβιος Μαυρίκιος Τιβέριος Αύγουστος;

Armenian

: Մորիկ, Morik; 539 –

November 27, 602), known in English as Maurice, was a

soldier
and

Byzantine Emperor

who ruled from 582-602. He was one of the most important

rulers of the early ‘Byzantine’ era, whose reign was troubled by almost unending

wars on all frontiers.

//

 Biography

 Origins

Maurice was a son of Paulus.

 Persian

War and accession to the throne

Maurice originated from

Arabissus

in

Cappadocia

and was a successful

commander-in-chief

. He was adopted by his predecessor

Tiberius II

, and succeeded him after the latter’s death. His reign is an

accurately documented era of the late classical antiquity (most important source

is the historian

Theophylact Simocatta

). During a war with the

Sassanid Empire

, already under way in 572 under

Justin II
,

Maurice was in service as commander-in-chief from 579 on. He scored a crushing

victory against the Persians in 581. A year later, he married

Constantina

, the Emperor’s daughter. On August 13, he succeeded his

father-in-law. At that time, he ruled a bankrupt Empire, paying extremely high

tribute to the

Avars

, its Balkan provinces thoroughly devastated by the

Slavs

and at war with Persia.

Maurice had to continue the war against Persia. In 586, his troops defeated

the Persians at Dara
.

Despite serious mutiny in 588, they managed to stand up to the Persians for two

more years, until Prince

Khosrau II

and Persian commander-in-chief

Bahram Chobin

in 590 overthrew King

Hormizd IV
.

Bahram Chobin pretended to the throne and defeated Khosrau II, who subsequently

fled to the Byzantine court. Although the Senate advised against it with one

voice, Maurice lent an army of 35,000 men for Khosrau II to regain his throne,

and in 591 the combined Roman-Persian army under generals Narses and John

Mystacon defeated Bahram Chobin’s forces near

Ganzak
. Maurice

finally brought the war to a successful conclusion by means of a new accession

of Khosrau II and the defeat of Bahram Chobin. As agreed upon, Khosrau II,

probably adopted by Maurice, married Maurice’s eldest daughter Miriam and had

issue. Khosrau II further rewarded Maurice by ceding north eastern

Mesopotamia

and

Armenia
up to

the capital Dvin

and the Lake

Van
and

Iberia

(eastern Georgia) up to the capital

Tbilisi
.

Maurice’s treaty with his new brother-in-law brought a new status-quo to the

east territorially, enlarged to an extent never before achieved by the empire in

its six century history, and much cheaper to defend during this new perpetual

peace – millions of solidi were saved by the remission of tribute to the

Persians alone. Afterwards, Maurice imposed a Union between the Armenian Church

and the Patriarchate of

Constantinople

.

 Balkan

warfare

After his victory on the eastern frontier, Maurice was free to focus on the

Balkans
. The

Slavs, having pillaged the Byzantine Balkan provinces for decades, probably

began settling the land from the 580s on. The Avars took the strategically

important fort of Sirmium

in 582, using it as a base of operations against several poorly

defended forts alongside the Danube. In 584 the Slavs threatened the capital and

in 586 Avars besieged

Thessalonica

, while Slavs went as far as the

Peloponnese

. In 591 Maurice launched several campaigns against Slavs and

Avars – with good prospect of turning the tide.

In 592 his troops retook

Singidunum

from the Avars. His commander-in-chief Priscus defeated 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, nonetheless scored another victory in

Wallachia. Priscus, now in command of another army further upstream, defeated

the Avars again in 595. The latter only dared to attack again peripherally in

Dalmatia

two years later. In 598 a treaty was signed with the Avar leader

Bayan I
, only

to be broken for retaliation campaigns inside 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 the Danube line again. Meanwhile, Maurice was making plans for resettling

devastated areas in the Balkans by using Armenian settlers.

 Measures

of domestic policy

In the west, he organized the threatened Byzantine dominions in

Italy
and

Africa

into exarchates, ruled by military governors or

exarchs
, being

mentioned in 584 and 591 respectively. The exarchs had more or less complete

military and civilian competences. This was remarkable due to the usual

separation of civilian and military competences in that era. By founding the

exarchate of Ravenna, Maurice managed to slow down the Lombard advance in Italy,

if not to halt it. In 597, an ailing Maurice wrote his last will, in which he

described his ideas of governing the Empire. His eldest son, Theodosius, would

be a ruler of the East from

Constantinople

, the second one, Tiberius, of the West with the capital in

Rome. Some

historians believe that two youngest sons were supposed to gain

Illyricum
and

North Africa

. But as he intended to maintain unity of the Empire, this idea

bears a strong similarity with the

Tetrarchy

of Diocletian, given the fact that Maurice also maintained claims on the former

western provinces now ruled by Germanic tribes. Maurice’s violent death thwarted

these plans however.

In religious matters, he was very 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
.

Summed up, his attempts to consolidate the Empire slowly but steadily met

with success, last but not least thanks to the peace with Persia. His initial

popularity apparently decreased during his reign, mostly because of his fiscal

politics. In 588, his announcement to cut military wages by 25% led to serious

mutiny of troops on the Persian front. He is said to have refused to pay a very

little ransom in 599 or 600 to deliver 12,000 Byzantine soldiers taken prisoners

by the Avars. It is said that the prisoners were killed and a military

delegation, headed by an officer named Phocas was humiliated and rejected in

Constantinople.

 Death

In 602, Maurice, always dealing with the lack of money, decreed that the army

should stay for winter beyond the

Danube
, which

would prove to be a serious mistake. The exhausted troops mutinied against the

emperor. Probably misjudging the situation, Maurice repeatedly ordered his

troops to start a new offensive rather than returning to winter quarters. After

a while, his troops gained the impression that Maurice no longer mastered the

situation, they proclaimed

Phocas
their

leader and demanded Maurice to abdicate and proclaim the successor either his

son Theodosius or General Germanus. Both men were accused of treason, but the

riots broke out in Constantinople and the emperor with his family left the city

for Nicomedia
.

Theodosius headed east to Persia, but historians are not sure whether he had

been sent there by his father or if he had fled there. Phocas entered

Constantinople in November, where he was crowned emperor, while his troops

captured Maurice and his family.

Maurice was murdered on November 27 (some say November 23), 602. It is said

that the deposed emperor was forced to watch his six sons executed before his

eyes, before he was beheaded himself. Empress Constantina and her three

daughters were spared and sent to a monastery. The Persian King Chosroes II used

this coup and the murder of his Patron as an excuse for a renewed war against

the Byzantine Empire.

 Legacy

Maurice, whose court still used

Latin
in the same

way as the army and administration did, was in total an able emperor and

commander-in-chief, even though Theophylact’s description may be a bit too

glorifying. He possessed insight, public spirit and courage. He proved his

expertise on military and foreign affairs during his campaigns against Persians

and Avars/Slavs in the same way as during peace negotiations with Khosrau II.

His administrative reforms portray him as a statesman with farsightedness, the

more so since they outlasted his death by far and were the basis for the

introduction of the themes as military districts.

He also promoted science and arts; Maurice is also the traditional author of

the military treatise

which is praised in military circles as the only

sophisticated

combined arms

theory until

World

War II
. However, some historians now believe the Strategikon is the

work of his brother or another general in his court.

His greatest weakness was his inability to judge how unpopular his decisions

were. Or to cite the historian Previte-Orton, listing a number of character

flaws in the emperor’s personality:

It was this flaw that cost him throne and life and thwarted most of his

efforts to prevent the disintegration of the great empire of

Justinian

I
. It seems, as if Maurice attempted to have his way on behalf of Imperial

pretension with respect to the old Imperium Romanum, but as his end

shows, he met strong resistance.

His demise is a turning point in history, given the fact that the new war

against Persia weakened both empires in a way enabling the Slavs to permanently

settle the Balkans and paving the way for Arab/Muslim expansion. The English

historian

A.H.M. Jones

concludes the final era of classical antiquity with Maurice’s

death, as the turmoil which shattered the Byzantine Empire in the next four

decades permanently and thoroughly changed society and politics.

 Family

relations

Maurice’s marriage was fertile and produced ten known children:

• Miriam/Maria (b. ca 582), married to

  Khosrau

  II
  and had issue.

• Theodosius (4 August 583 – 27 November 602). According to John of

  Ephesus, he was the first heir born to a reigning emperor since the reign of

  Theodosius II

  (408 – 450).

  He was appointed Caesar in 587 and co-emperor on 26 March 590.

• Tiberius (d. 27 November 602).
• Petrus (d. 27 November 602).
• Paulus (d. 27 November 602).
• Justin (d. 27 November 602).
• Justinian (d. 27 November 602).
• Anastasia (d. circa 605).
• Theoctista (d. circa 605).
• Cleopatra (d. circa 605).

His brother

Petrus Augustus

(ca 550 – 602) became the

Curopalates

and was killed at the same time of his brother. He married

Anastasia Aerobinda (b. ca 570), daughter of Areobindus (b. ca 550) and wife,

and had female issue.

His sister Theoktista (ca 540 – aft. 582) married a husband who died before

582 and had a daughter Gordia (ca 560 – aft. 597), who married Marinos (ca 555 –

aft. 597), son of Nerses (ca 530 – aft. 595) and wife Hesychia (b. ca 535), by

whom she had a daughter Theoktista (ca 575/ca 580 – aft. 597), married to

Christodoros (b. ca 570) and had issue.

His sister Gordia (ca 550 – aft. 602) married Philippikos (ca 550 –

Chrysopolis

, 614),

General

,

Comes Excubitorum

and mag. mil. in 582, by whom she had a daughter,

who married Artabastos Mamikonian (b. ca 565), and had issue.