Editing Phocas (section)

===Administration ===
[[File:RomaForoRomanoColonnaFoca2.JPG|thumb|upright=0.8|The [[Column of Phocas]] in Rome]]

Phocas frequently filled senior posts with his relatives, due to his isolation from the bulk of Constantinople's elite, with whom he had had no connection before,{{Sfn|Parnell|2016|p=136}} or because of Constantinople's system of imperial patronage which prioritized loyalty to the emperor.{{sfn|Crow|2002}} Phocas installed: his brother [[Domentziolus (brother of Phocas)|Domentziolus]] as ''[[Magister officiorum]]'' in 603; his nephew [[Domentziolus (nephew of Phocas)|Domentziolus]] as ''Magister militum per Orientem'' in 604, giving him command over the eastern provinces; and his brother [[Comentiolus (brother of Phocas)|Comentiolus]] as ''Magister militum per Orientem'' around 610. All three remained loyal to Phocas until they were killed by Heraclius.{{Sfn|Parnell|2016|p=136}} On the other hand, Phocas appointed [[Priscus (magister militum)|Priscus]], a general under Maurice, as the Count of the [[Excubitors]] (''comes excubitorum'') in 603.{{Sfn|Parnell|2016|p=137}} Priscus would later marry Phocas' daughter [[Domentzia]] around 607.{{Sfn|Martindale|1992|p=1056}} During his reign, Phocas was unable to control either the state or the army effectively.{{Sfn|Parnell|2016|p=6}}