Editing Maurice (emperor)

{{short description|Byzantine emperor from 582 to 602}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{good article}}
{{EngvarB|date=May 2018}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Maurice
| image        = Solidus of Maurice (transitional issue).png
| image_size   = 250px
| alt          = Portrait in gold coin
| caption      = ''[[Solidus (coin)|Solidus]]'' of Emperor Maurice
| succession   = [[Roman emperor]]
| reign        = 13 August 582 – {{nowr|27 November 602}}
| reign-type   = [[Augustus (title)|''Augustus'']]
| predecessor  = [[Tiberius II Constantine|Tiberius II]]
| successor    = [[Phocas]]
| regent       = [[Theodosius (son of Maurice)|Theodosius]] (590–602)
| reg-type     = Co-emperor
| birth_name   = Mauricius{{efn|Sometimes, ''Mauricius'' is spelled as ''Mauritius''.<ref name = "mauritius">{{cite book |title = Readings in Medieval History, Fifth Edition |last = Geary |first = Patrick |date =  2015 |publisher = University of Toronto Press |page = 186 |quote = Given the seventeenth of June, in the nineteenth year of the reign of our most religious lord, ''Mauritius Tiberius Augustus'', the eighteenth year of the consulship of our said lord, and the fourth indiction. |isbn = 978-1442634411}}</ref>|name = mauritius}}
| birth_date   = 539
| birth_place  = [[Arabissus]], [[Cappadocia]]
| death_date   = 27 November 602 (aged 63)
| death_place  = [[Constantinople]]
| burial_place = [[Saint Mamas Monastery]]
| spouse       = [[Constantina (empress)|Constantina]]
| issue        = {{unbulleted list|[[Theodosius (son of Maurice)|Theodosius]]|[[Tiberius (son of Maurice)|Tiberius]]}}
| issue-link   = #Family
| issue-pipe   = among others
| full name    = Tiberius Mauricius (until 588)<br/>Mauricius novus Tiberius (from 588)<ref>{{cite book |title = Chronological Systems of Byzantine Egypt|edition =2nd|author1 = Roger Shaler Bagnall |author-link1=Roger S. Bagnall |author2= Klaas Anthony Worp |author-link2=Klaas Worp |date = 2004 |publisher = Brill|page = 261 |quote = The formula is Oxyrhynchite, but our one Mephite and one Arsinoite document also show it. In Oxyrhynchos, Νέος is consistently absent up to 588, with the names in the order ''Tiberius Mauricius''; after that one finds ''Mauricius Novus Tiberius'' in almost all examples. |isbn = 978-9004136540}}</ref>
| regnal name  = [[Imperator]] [[Caesar (title)|Caesar]] [[Flavia gens|Flavius]] Mauricius novus Tiberius [[Augustus (honorific)|Augustus]]{{efn|The full imperial titulature of Maurice, attested in a letter to [[Childebert II]], was {{lang|la|[[Imperator]] [[Caesar (title)|Caesar]] [[Flavia gens|Flavius]] Mauricius Tiberius fidelis in Christo mansuetus maximus beneficus pacificus Alamannicus Gothicus [Francicus Germanicus] Anticus Alanicus Vandalicus Erulicus Gepidicus Afric[an]us pius felix inclitus victor ac triumfator semper [[Augustus (honorific)|Augustus]]}} ("Emperor Caesar Flavius Maurice Tiberius, faithful in Christ, mild, majestic, bountiful, peaceable; [[victory title|victor over]] the [[Alamanni]], [[Goths]], <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Franks]] and Germans,] the [[Antae]], [[Vandals]], [[Heruls]], [[Gepids]], [[Vandalic War|in Africa]]; pious, fortunate, renowned, victorious and triumphant, ever august").{{sfn|Bury|1889|pp=165–166}}{{sfn|Rösch|1978|p=169}}}}
| native_lang1 = 
| native_lang1_name1 = 
| dynasty      = [[Byzantine Empire under the Justinian dynasty|Justinian]]
| father       = [[Paul (father of Maurice)|Paul]]
| religion     = [[Chalcedonian Christianity]]
| reign-type1  = [[Caesar (title)|''Caesar'']]
| reign1       = 5 August 582 – 13 August 582
}}

'''Maurice''' ({{langx|la|Mauricius}};{{efn|name = mauritius}} {{Langx|grc|Μαυρίκιος|Maurikios}}; 539 – 27 November 602) was [[Byzantine emperor]] from 582 to 602 and the last member of the [[Justinian dynasty]]. A successful general, Maurice 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 [[Byzantine–Sasanian War of 572–591|war with Sasanian Persia]] to a [[Battle of the Blarathon|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 [[Maurice's Balkan campaigns|campaigned extensively]] in the [[Balkans]] against the [[Pannonian Avars|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 [[exarchate]]s, ruled by ''exarchs'', or viceroys of the emperor. In Italy Maurice established the [[Exarchate of Ravenna|Exarchate of Italy]] in 584, the first real effort by 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 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 [[Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628|twenty-six-year war]] with a resurgent Sassanid Persia which would leave both empires devastated prior to the [[Early Muslim conquests|Arab conquests]]. 

Maurice's reign is a relatively well-documented era of [[late antiquity]], in particular by the historian [[Theophylact Simocatta]]. The ''[[Strategikon of Maurice|Strategikon]]'', a [[Byzantine military manuals|manual of war]] which influenced European and Middle Eastern military traditions for well over a millennium, is traditionally attributed to Maurice.

==Life==
===Origins and early life===
Maurice was born in [[Arabissus]] in [[Cappadocia]] in 539. His father was [[Paul (father of Maurice)|Paul]]. He had one brother, [[Peter (curopalates)|Peter]], and two sisters, Theoctista and Gordia, the latter of whom was later the wife of the general [[Philippicus (comes excubitorum)|Philippicus]].{{sfn|Martindale|1992|p=855}} He is recorded to have been a native Greek speaker, unlike the previous emperors since [[Anastasius I Dicorus]].{{sfn|Treadgold|1997|p=227}} Eastern Roman sources call him a [[Cappadocian Greeks|Cappadocian]].{{sfn|Martindale|1992|p=855}} [[Paul the Deacon]], a late 8th-century [[Lombards|Lombard]] writer, calls him the first emperor "from the race of the Greeks".{{sfn|Stark|2012|p=390}}<ref>{{harvnb|Corradini|2006|p=57}}: "Emperor Maurice who is said to be the first emperor "from the race of the Greeks," ex Graecorum genere."</ref> [[Evagrius Scholasticus|Evagrius]], writing under Maurice's reign, declared he traced his lines to [[Rome|Old Rome]], which could be either truth or a flattery.{{sfn|Martindale|1992|p=855}} One legend makes an unresolved claim that he was [[Armenians|Armenian]].<ref>{{harvnb|Kazhdan|1991|p=1318}}: "the question of his ethnic origin remains unresolved"</ref>

Maurice first came to [[Constantinople]] as a ''[[notarius]]'' to serve as secretary to [[Tiberius II|Tiberius]], the ''[[comes excubitorum]]'' (commander of the [[Excubitors]], the imperial bodyguard). When Tiberius was named ''[[Caesar (title)|Caesar]]'' in 574, Maurice was appointed to succeed him as ''comes excubitorum''.{{sfn|Martindale|1992|p=856}}

===Persian War and accession to the throne===
[[File:Roman-Persian Frontier in Late Antiquity.svg|thumb|300px|right|Map of the Roman-Persian frontier showing Maurice's gains after he restored Sassanid king Khosrow II to the throne in 591.]]
{{details|Byzantine–Sasanian War of 572–591}}
In late 577, despite a complete lack of military experience, Maurice was named as ''[[magister militum]] per [[Diocese of the East|Orientem]]'', effectively commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army in the east. He succeeded General [[Justinian (magister militum per Orientem)|Justinian]] in the [[Roman–Persian War of 572–591|ongoing war]] against [[Sassanid Persia]]. At about the same time he was raised to the rank of ''[[patrikios]]'', the empire's senior honorific title, which was limited to a small number of holders.{{sfn|Martindale|1992|pp=856–857}} 

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 the negotiations.<ref>{{harvnb|Greatrex|Lieu|2002|pp=160–162}}.</ref> 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 the Byzantines.<ref>{{harvnb|Greatrex|Lieu|2002|pp=162–163}}</ref>

The following year an ambitious campaign by Maurice, supported by Ghassanid forces under [[al-Mundhir III ibn al-Harith|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 the bridge over the Euphrates destroyed by the Persians.<ref name="581 Expedition">{{harvnb|Shahîd|1995|pp=413–419}}; {{harvnb|Greatrex|Lieu|2002|pp=163–165}}</ref> 

In response to Maurice's advance, Sassanid general [[Adarmahan]] was ordered to operate in northern Mesopotamia, threatening the Roman army's supply line.<ref>{{harvnb|Shahîd|1995|p=414}}.</ref> Adarmahan pillaged [[Osrhoene]], and was successful in capturing its capital, [[Edessa]]. He then marched his army toward [[Raqqa|Callinicum]] on the Euphrates. With the possibility of a march to Ctesiphon gone Maurice 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 [[Raqqa|Callinicum]].<ref>{{harvnb|Shahîd|1995|p=416}}; {{harvnb|Greatrex|Lieu|2002|p=165}}</ref>

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 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.<ref name="GL164">{{harvnb|Greatrex|Lieu|2002|p=164}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Shahîd|1995|pp=439–443}}</ref> 

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.<ref name="GL164"/> The charge of treason 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.<ref>{{harvnb|Shahîd|1995|pp=444–455}}</ref> Al-Mundhir was arrested the following year on suspicion of treachery, triggering war between Byzantines and Ghassanids and marking the beginning of the end of the Ghassanid kingdom.<ref>{{harvnb|Greatrex|Lieu|2002|pp=163–166}}</ref>

[[File:Girdle with Coins and Medallions MET dp30688 (cropped).jpg|thumb|200px|right|Gold medallion of Maurice circa 583, from a girdle found in Karavas, near Kyrenia, Cyprus.]]

In June of 582 Maurice scored a decisive victory against Adarmahan near [[Constantina (Osrhoene)|Constantina]]. Adarmahan barely escaped the field, while his co-commander [[Tamkhosrau]] was killed.<ref>{{harvnb|Martindale|1992|pp=859, 1215}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Greatrex|Lieu|2002|p=166}}</ref> 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 was betrothed to [[Constantina (empress)|Constantina]], and [[Germanus (Caesar)|Germanus]], related to emperor [[Justinian I]], was married to Charito. Some historians believe that the plan was to divide the empire in two, with Maurice receiving the eastern provinces and Germanus the western.{{sfn|Treadgold|1997|p=226}} 

On 5 August, Tiberius was on his deathbed and civilian, military and ecclesiastical dignitaries awaited the appointment of his successor. He then chose Maurice and named him ''[[Caesar (title)|Caesar]]'', after which he adopted the name "Tiberius". [[John of Nikiû]] and [[Theophanes the Confessor]] write that Germanus was proclaimed ''caesar'' at the same time. However, on 11 August 582, only Maurice is recorded as ''Caesar'' in the subscription of a law of Tiberius.{{sfn|Martindale|1992|p=529}} According to John of Nikiû, Germanus was Tiberius' favored candidate for the throne but declined out of humility.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/nikiu2_chronicle.htm |title=John, Bishop of Nikiu: Chronicle. Chapter XCV (95), 25–26. 1916 translation by R. H. Charles|access-date=29 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110109164225/http://tertullian.org/fathers/nikiu2_chronicle.htm |archive-date=9 January 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> Maurice was [[coronation of the Byzantine emperor|crowned emperor]] soon after, on 13 August.<ref>''[[Chronicon Paschale]]'' [https://archive.org/details/chronicon-p/page/139/mode/1up (Olympiad 340)]</ref>{{sfn|Martindale|1992|pp=859–860}} 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 the empire) read it for him. The speech proclaimed Maurice as ''[[Augustus (title)|Augustus]]'' and sole successor to the throne. On 14 August 582 Tiberius died. Maurice became sole emperor, marrying Constantina in the autumn.{{sfn|Garland|1999}}

Shortly after his ascension 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 (6th century)|Kardarigan]].<ref>{{harvnb|Greatrex|Lieu|2002|pp=166–167}}.</ref> The situation was difficult:{{sfn|Ostrogorsky|1956|pp=74–75}} Maurice ruled a bankrupt Empire;{{sfn|Norwich|1988|p=275}} it was at war with Persia; he was paying extremely high tribute to the [[Pannonian Avars|Avars]], 80,000 gold [[solidi]] a year;{{sfn|Mitchell|2007|p=406}} and the Balkan provinces were being thoroughly devastated by the [[Slavs]].{{sfn|Petersen|2013|p=379}}
[[File:Follis Maurice Constantinople.jpg|thumb|300px|left|''[[Follis]]'' with Maurice in consular uniform]]

Maurice had to continue the war against the Persians. In 586 his troops defeated them at the [[Battle of Solachon]] south of [[Dara (Mesopotamia)|Dara]]. In 588, a mutiny by unpaid Byzantine troops against their new commander, [[Priscus (magister militum)|Priscus]], seemed to offer the Sassanids a chance for a breakthrough, but the mutineers themselves repulsed the ensuing Persian offensive.<ref>{{harvnb|Greatrex|Lieu|2002|p=170}}</ref> Later in the year they secured a [[Battle of Martyropolis (588)|major victory]] before [[Silvan, Diyarbakır|Martyropolis]]. The Sassanid commander, [[Maruzas]], 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 [[Parthia]]n brothers, [[Vistahm]] and [[Vinduyih]], overthrew King [[Hormizd IV]] and made the latter's son, Prince [[Khosrow II]], the new king. The former Persian commander-in-chief, [[Bahram Chobin]], [[Sasanian civil war of 589–591|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 (magister militum per Orientem)|Narses]] defeated Bahram Chobin's forces near [[Ganzak]] at the [[Battle of the Blarathon]]. The victory was decisive; Maurice finally brought the war to a successful conclusion with the re-accession of Khosrow.{{sfn|Ostrogorsky|1956|p=73}}{{sfn|Norwich|1988|pp=273–274}}

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.{{sfn|Payne|2015|p=164}} However, the chief Byzantine bishops, "despite their best attempts", failed to convert Khosrow.{{sfn|Payne|2015|p=164}} Khosrow rewarded Maurice by ceding to the empire western [[Armenia]] up to the lakes [[Lake Van|Van]] and [[Lake Sevan|Sevan]], including the large cities of [[Silvan, Diyarbakır|Martyropolis]], [[Tigranocerta|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.{{sfn|Norwich|1988|p=273}}

===Balkan war===
{{details|Maurice's Balkan campaigns}}

[[File:Balkans 6th century.svg|thumb|{{center|The Northern Balkans in the 6th century}}]]

The [[Pannonian Avars|Avars]] arrived in 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 [[Kutrigurs|Kotrigur Huns]] to invade the Byzantine province of [[Dalmatia]].{{sfn|Petersen|2013|p=378}} 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 the payments.{{sfn|Mitchell|2007|p=405}} 

The Avars retaliated with [[Siege of Sirmium|another siege of Sirmium]].{{sfn|Petersen|2013|pp=378–379}} The city fell in {{c.}} 581. After the capture of Sirmium, the Avars demanded 100,000 solidi a year.{{sfn|Mitchell|2007|p=406}}
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.{{sfn|Petersen|2013|p=379}} The Slavs began settling the land from the 580s on.{{sfn|Ostrogorsky|1956|pp=74–75}}{{sfn|Petersen|2013|pp=378–379}} 

In 584, the Slavs threatened the capital and in 586 the Avars besieged [[Thessalonica]], while the Slavs went as far as the [[Peloponnese]].{{sfn|Norwich|1988|p=274}} 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 (magister militum)|Priscus]] defeated 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 the same year the Byzantines concluded a peace treaty with the Avar leader [[Bayan I]], which allowed the Byzantines to send expeditions into [[Wallachia]].{{sfn|Pohl|2002|p=154}} 

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 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.{{sfn|Sebeos|p= 56}}{{sfn|Ostrogorsky|1956|p=75}}

===Domestic policy===
[[File:Exarchate of Ravenna 600 AD.png|thumb|{{center|The Exarchate of Italy under Maurice}}]]
[[File:Exarchate of Africa 600 AD.png|thumb|{{center|The Exarchate of Africa under Maurice}}]]
In the west, Maurice organised the threatened Byzantine dominions in [[Italy]] into the [[Exarchate of Ravenna|Exarchate of Italy]]. The Late Roman administrative system provided for 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 the Lombard advance in Italy. In 591, he created a [[Exarchate of Africa|second Exarchate]] in [[Byzantine North Africa]], along similar lines.{{sfn|Ostrogorsky|1956|p=74}}

In 597, an ailing Maurice wrote his last will, in which he described his ideas of governing the empire. His eldest son, [[Theodosius (son of Maurice)|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 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.{{sfn|Ostrogorsky|1956|p=74}}

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]].<ref>{{Cite CE1913 |last=Fortescuen|first=Adrian |wstitle=Maurice |volume=10}}</ref>{{sfn|Ostrogorsky|1956|p=76}}

Maurice's efforts to consolidate 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 and the prisoners were killed.{{sfn|Norwich|1988|pp=275–278}}

==Family==
Maurice's marriage produced nine known children:{{sfn|Martindale|1992|p=856}}{{sfn|Norwich|1988|p=277}}
* [[Theodosius (son of Maurice)|Theodosius]] (4 August 583/585 – after 27 November 602). According to John of Ephesus, he was the first son born to a reigning emperor since the birth of [[Theodosius II]] in 401.{{sfn|Garland|1999}} He was appointed Caesar in 587 and co-emperor on 26 March 590.{{sfn|Whitby|1988|p=18}}
* [[Tiberius (son of Maurice)|Tiberius]] (died 27 November 602)
* Petrus (died 27 November 602)
* Paulus (died 27 November 602)
* Justin (died 27 November 602)
* Justinian (died 27 November 602)
* Anastasia (died c. 605)
* Theoctista (died c. 605)
* Cleopatra (died c. 605)

A daughter, [[Maria (daughter of Maurice)|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.<ref name="Baum24">Baum (2004), pp. 24–26</ref>

His brother [[Peter (curopalates)|Petrus]] (c. 550 – 602) became 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.{{sfn|Whitby|1988|p=5}} Maurice's nephew [[Domitian of Melitene]] was probably a son of Petrus.{{sfn|Martindale|1992|p=411}}
<!-- Requires referencing:
His sister Theoctista (c. 540 – after 582) married a husband who died before 582, and had a daughter Gordia (c. 560 – after 597), who married Marinus (c. 555 – after 597), son of Nerses (c. 530 – after 595) and wife Hesychia (born c. 535), by whom she had a daughter Theoctista (c. 575/c. 580 – after 597), married to Christodorus or Christodoros (born c. 570) and had issue.

His sister Gordia (c. 550 – after 602) married [[Philippicus (comes excubitorum)|Philippicus]] (c. 550 – [[Üsküdar#Chrysopolis|Chrysopolis]], 614), General, ''[[comes excubitorum]]'' and ''[[magister militum]]'' in 582, by whom she had a daughter, who married Artabastus (Artavazd) Mamikonian (born c. 565), and had issue.-->

==Overthrow and death==
In the autumn of 602, Maurice decreed that the army should stay for winter beyond the [[Danube]] in [[Sclaveni]] territory, seeking to capitalize the earlier campaign successes by maintaining pressure on the foreign enemies.{{sfn|Whitby|1988|pp=165}} The exhausted troops mutinied against the emperor, demanding permission to return to winter quarters. However, Maurice repeatedly ordered his troops to start a new offensive.{{efn|Per the [[Strategikon of Maurice|''Strategikon'']], winter was considered to be the best time to campaign against the Slavs, as the bare forests provided minimal protection for ambushes, snows would reveal the enemies' tracks, and frozen rivers could be crossed easily by Roman soldiers.{{sfn|Whitby|Whitby|1986|pp=217, 219}}}} Enraged, the army proclaimed [[Phocas]] their leader and marched to Constantinople. They demanded that Maurice abdicate and proclaim as successor either his son Theodosius or [[Germanus (patricius)|Germanus]],{{efn|Though not conclusive, many historians equate him with [[Germanus (Caesar)|Germanus]], the son-in-law of Tiberius II who became ''caesar'' alongside Maurice but refused the throne.<ref>{{harvnb|Martindale|1992|p=529}}; {{harvnb|Whitby|1988|pp=7, 25}}; {{harvnb|Martindale|1992|pp=531, 1293}}; {{harvnb|Howard-Johnston|2021|p=14}}</ref> He has also been sometimes identified with the identically named posthumous son ({{born in|550/551}}) of the ''[[magister militum]]'' [[Germanus (cousin of Justinian I)|Germanus]] ({{died in|550}}) and [[Mataswintha]],{{sfn|Martindale|1992|p=528}}{{sfn|Whitby|1988|p=7}} or an unnamed son of the general [[Justinian (magister militum per Orientem)|Justinian]], the second son of the ''magister militum'' Germanus.{{sfn|Stephenson|2022|p=223}}}} Theodosius' father-in-law. In response, Maurice enlisted the [[Chariot racing#Byzantine racing factions|circus factions]] and general [[Comentiolus]] to defend the [[Walls of Constantinople|Theodosian Walls]]. On 21 November, Germanus was accused of treason by Maurice and he sought sanctuary in [[Hagia Sophia]]. As riots against Maurice erupted in Constantinople, the emperor, taking his family with him, left the city on a warship heading to [[Nicomedia]] in the middle of the night of 22 November.{{sfn|Whitby|Whitby|1986|pp=218–224}}  Theodosius was put ashore with direction to seek support from the Persians, though sources claim that he never reached his destination.{{sfn|Howard-Johnston|2021|pp=16–18}} According to Theophylact, Germanus made an attempt for the throne but when it failed, he paid homage to Phocas, who had emerged as the heavy favorite.{{sfn|Whitby|Whitby|1986|pp=224}} 

On 23 November 602, Phocas was crowned emperor in Hebdomon and two days later, entered Constantinople with unanimous support.{{sfn|Whitby|1988|p=26}}<ref>''Chronicon Pascale'' 602</ref> His troops captured Maurice and his remaining family, and brought them to the [[Harbor of Eutropius]] at Chalcedon.{{sfn|Norwich|1988|pp=275–278}} Maurice was murdered at the harbor of Eutropius on 27 November 602.{{sfn|Martindale|1992|p=860. Some sources give 23 November, but, as the ''[[Chronicon Paschale]]'' [https://archive.org/details/chronicon-p/page/142/mode/1up (O.345)] points out, this was the date of Phocas' coronation.}} The deposed emperor was forced to watch his five younger sons executed before he was beheaded himself.{{sfn|Norwich|1988|p=278}} There is debate over whether Theodosius [[Theodosius (son of Maurice)#Theory of survival and pseudo-Theodosius|managed to escape]]. The Persian king Khosrow II used this coup and the murder of his patron as an excuse for a renewed war against the empire.{{sfn|Norwich|1988|pp=275–278}}

Empress Constantina and her three daughters were temporarily spared and sent to a monastery. A few years later, Constantina and her daughters were all executed at the harbor of Eutropius when she and Germanus were found guilty of plotting 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.{{sfn|Garland|1999}}

==Legacy==
[[File:Roman Empire 600 AD.PNG|thumb|300px|right|{{center|The Roman Empire in 600}}]]
===Assessments===
In ancient sources, Maurice is seen as an able emperor and commander-in-chief, though the description of him by Theophylact may exaggerate these traits. He possessed insight, public spirit, and courage.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}} He was successful in military efforts against the Persians, Avars and Slavs, and in diplomacy with Khosrow II. His administrative reforms were the basis for the later introduction of [[Theme (Byzantine district)|themes]] as military districts.{{sfn|Ostrogorsky|1956|p=74}}

Maurice is traditionally named as author of the military treatise ''[[Strategikon of Maurice|Strategikon]]''. Some historians now believe the ''Strategikon'' is the work of his brother or another general in his court, however.{{sfn|Ostrogorsky|1956|p=24}}<ref>{{cite web|last=McCotter|first=Stephen|title='The Nation which Forgets its Defenders will Itself be Forgotten': Emperor Maurice and the Persians|website=Queen's University of Belfast|year=2003|access-date=26 January 2012|publisher=deremilitari.org|url=http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/articles/mccotter2.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120022142/http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/articles/mccotter2.htm|archive-date=20 November 2008}}</ref>

Historian [[Charles Previté-Orton|C. W. Previté-Orton]] believes his greatest weakness was his inability to judge how unpopular his decisions were.{{efn|He writes, "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."{{sfn|Previté-Orton|1952|p=203}}}} According to [[Anthony Kaldellis]], his failure to keep the public opinion on his side cost him his life, which was a turning point in the fortunes of the empire.{{sfn|Kaldellis|2023|p=338}} The war against Persia which it caused weakened both empires, enabling the Slavs to permanently settle the Balkans and paving the way for the [[Early Muslim conquests|Arab-Muslim expansion]].

His court still used [[Latin]] alongside [[Greek language|Greek]], as did the army and administration.{{sfn|Davis|1990|p=260}}{{sfn|Jenkins|1987|p=24}} Historian [[A. H. M. Jones]] characterises the death of Maurice as 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.{{sfn|Norwich|1988|pp=278–279}}{{Better source needed|reason=citation is Norwich, not Jones.|date=January 2025}}

===Legends===
{{stack|
{{Infobox saint
|name          = Maurice, Emperor of the Romans, With His Six Sons

|death_date    =
|feast_day     = 28 November
|venerated_in  = [[Eastern Orthodoxy]]
|image         = 82_-_Maurice_(Mutinensis_-_color).png
|imagesize     =
|caption       = From the [[Mutinensis gr. 122]] codex
|birth_place   =
|death_place   =
|titles        = Emperor
|beatified_date=
|beatified_place=
|beatified_by=
|canonized_date=
|canonized_place=
|canonized_by=
|attributes    = Imperial Vestment
|patronage     =
|major_shrine  = [[Church of the Holy Apostles]], [[Constantinople]] modern day [[Istanbul, Turkey]]
|issues=
|prayer=
|prayer_attrib=
}}
}}
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 the emperor to choose between a long reign or death and acceptance in the kingdom of heaven. Maurice preferred the second choice.<ref>{{harvnb|Mango|Scott|1997|p=410}}: Theophanes ({{c.}} 815) AM 6094.</ref>

The same story has been recorded in a short [[Syriac language|Syriac]] hagiography on the life of the emperor. It is of [[Church of the East|East Syrian]] origin.{{sfn|Whitby|1988|p=21}}{{sfn|Brock|1976|p=29}} This was later sanctified by the Eastern Orthodox Church.{{efn|Commemorated on 28 November according to the Typikon of the Great Church and on 28 August, according to the Palestinian-Georgian Synaxarion.{{sfn|Wortley|1980}}}} According to the Syriac author, the emperor asked in prayer to receive a punishment in this world and a "perfect reward" in the kingdom of heaven. The choice was offered by an angel.<ref>Turnhout: Brepols, 1981, pp. 774–775.</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=February 2025}} Anthony Alcock has published an English translation.{{sfn|Alcock|2018}}

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.<ref>Nau, 1981, pp. 776–778.</ref>

It has been proposed that the name of the Albanian folk hero [[Muji (Albanian mythology)|Muji]] derives from that of Emperor Maurice (Murik, Muji). Similarly, 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.<ref>[https://ashak.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/WEB_Studime-shoqerore-9.pdf Akademia e Shkencave te Kosoves; Shuka Gj. (2023). "Nenshtresa ne tri kenge te Ciklit te Kosoves". Studime Shoqerore (9)]: 245–285.</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Byzantine Empire}}
* [[List of Byzantine emperors]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Sources==
*{{cite journal |first=Anthony |last=Alcock |title=Maurice the Emperor: A Short Syriac Text |url=https://www.academia.edu/36515704 |year=2018 |website=[[Academia.edu]]}}
* {{cite book | last=Baum | first=Wilhelm | title=Christian, queen, myth of love, a woman of late antiquity, historical reality and literary effect | publisher=Gorgias Press LLC| year=2004 | isbn=1-59333-282-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bgdRHNpHLeIC&pg=PA27 }}
*{{cite journal |last=Brock |first=Sebastian P. |author-link=Sebastian Brock |title=Syriac Sources for Seventh-Century History |journal=Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies |volume=2 |issue=1 |year=1976 |pages=17–36|doi=10.1179/030701376790206207 |s2cid=162305771 }}
* {{cite book | last = Bury | first = J.B. | author-link = J.B. Bury | title = A History of the Later Roman Empire from Arcadius to Irene, 395 A.D. to 800 A.D. | volume = II | publisher = MacMillan & Co. | year = 1889 | oclc=168739195 | url = https://archive.org/details/historyoflaterro02buryuoft }}
* {{cite book|last=Corradini|first=Richard|date=2006|title= Texts and identities in the early Middle Ages|location=Wien|publisher=Verl. der Österr. Akad. der Wiss|isbn=978-3700137474}}
* {{cite book |last=Davis |first=Leo Donald |year=1990 |title=The first seven ecumenical councils (325–787): their history and theology |publisher=Liturgical Press |isbn=0-8146-5616-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/firstsevenec_davi_1990_000_6702418 |url-access=registration}}
*{{Cite web|last=Garland|first=Lynda|date=1999|url=http://www.roman-emperors.org/tina.htm|title=Constantina (Wife of the Emperor Maurice)|website=De Imperatoribus Romanis|access-date=8 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722213752/http://www.roman-emperors.org/tina.htm|archive-date=22 July 2018}}
* {{cite book|last1=Greatrex|first1=Geoffrey|last2=Lieu|first2=Samuel N. C.|title=The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars (Part II, 363–630 AD)|location=New York, London|publisher=Routledge (Taylor & Francis)|year=2002|isbn=978-0-415-14687-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zc8iAQAAIAAJ}}
* {{cite book|last=Howard-Johnston|first=James|title=The Last Great War of Antiquity|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|year=2021|isbn=9780198830191|url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-last-great-war-of-antiquity-9780198830191}}
* {{cite book |last=Jenkins |first=Romilly James Heald |title=Byzantium: The Imperial Centuries, AD 610-1071 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=1987 |isbn=0-8020-6667-4  }}
* {{cite book |last=Kaldellis |first=Anthony |title=The New Roman Empire: A History of Byzantium |date=2023 |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0197549322}}
* {{citation |editor-first=Alexander |editor-last=Kazhdan |editor-link=Alexander Kazhdan |title=Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford|year=1991 |isbn=978-0-19-504652-6|mode=cs1|title-link=Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium|chapter=Maurice|page=1318|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/odb_20210521/page/1318/mode/1up}}
* {{cite book| year=1997|title=The Chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor|translator1-last=Mango|translator1-first=Cyril|translator2-last=Scott|translator2-first=Roger|publisher=Clarendon Press|url=https://archive.org/details/chronicle-of-theophanes-the-confessor|ref ={{harvid|Mango|Scott|1997}}}}
* {{Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire|volume=3}}	
* {{cite book|last1=Mitchell|first1=Stephen|title=A History of the Later Roman Empire|date=2007|location=Oxford|publisher=Blackwell Publishing|isbn=978-1-4051-0856-0}}
* {{Cite book|last=Norwich|first=John|title=Byzantium: The Early Centuries|year=1988|publisher=Viking|isbn=978-0670802517|location=London|oclc=18834505}}
* {{Cite book|title = History of The Byzantine State|last = Ostrogorsky|first = George|publisher = Rutgers University Press|year = 1956|oclc=422217218|location = New Brunswick}}
* {{Cite book|last=Paul the Deacon|editor1-last=Peters|editor1-first=Edward|title=History of the Lombards|year=2011|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=978-0812205589}}
* {{cite book | last = Payne | first = Richard E. | title = A State of Mixture: Christians, Zoroastrians, and Iranian Political Culture in Late Antiquity |publisher=Univ of California Press|year=2015|isbn=978-0-520-29245-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rtjsCQAAQBAJ&q=false}}
* {{cite book|last1=Petersen|first1=Leif Inge Ree|title=Siege Warfare and Military Organization in the Successor States (400–800 AD) Byzantium, the West and Islam|year=2013|publisher=Brill|location=Leiden|isbn=978-9004254466}}
* {{cite book|last1=Pohl|first1=Walter|title=The Avars: a Steppe People in Central Europe, 567–822 AD|date=2002|publisher=Beck|isbn=9783406489693|location=Munich|language=de}}
* {{cite book|last=Previté-Orton|first=Charles William|title=The shorter Cambridge medieval history|location=Cambridge|publisher=University Press|date=1952|oclc=263439650}}
* {{cite book | last = Rösch | first = Gerhard | title = Onoma Basileias: Studien zum offiziellen Gebrauch der Kaisertitel in spätantiker und frühbyzantinischer Zeit | language = de | series = Byzantina et Neograeca Vindobonensia | publisher = Verlag der österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften | year = 1978 | isbn = 978-3-7001-0260-1 }} 
* {{cite book|last=Rosser|first=John H.|title=Historical Dictionary of Byzantium|year=2011|publisher=Scarecrow Press|location=Boston|isbn=978-0810874770}}
* {{cite book|title=The Armenian History attributed to Sebēos, Part 1, translation and notes|year=1999|translator-last1=Thomson|translator-first1=R.W.|translator-last2=Howard-Johnston|translator-first2=J.D.|series=Translated Texts for Historians|volume=31|publisher=Liverpool University Press|ref ={{harvid|Sebeos}}}}
* {{cite book|last=Shahîd|first=Irfan|authorlink=Irfan Shahid|title=Byzantium and the Arabs in the Sixth Century, Volume 1|location=Washington, District of Columbia|publisher=Dumbarton Oaks|year=1995|isbn=978-0-88402-214-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BEvEV9OVzacC}}
* {{cite book|last=Stark|first=Freya|date=2012|title=Rome on the Euphrates: The Story of a Frontier|publisher=Tauris Parke Paperbacks|location=London|isbn=978-1848853140}}
* {{cite book|last=Stephenson|first=Paul|title=New Rome: The Empire in the East|year=2022|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=9780674659629}}
* {{cite book|last=Treadgold |first=Warren T. |title=A History of the Byzantine State and Society |year=1997 |publisher=Stanford University Press |location=[[Stanford, CA]] |isbn=978-0-8047-2630-6}}
* Walford, Edward, transl. (1846) ''The Ecclesiastical History of Evagrius: A History of the Church from AD 431 to AD 594'', Reprinted 2008. Evolution Publishing, Merchantville, NJ {{ISBN|978-1-889758-88-6}}.
* {{cite book |last=Whitby |first=Michael |title= The Emperor Maurice and his Historian – Theophylact Simocatta on Persian and Balkan Warfare |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=VAcAJfJP9KUC |year=1988 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location= Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-822945-2}}
* {{cite book |last1=Whitby |first1=Michael |last2=Whitby |first2=Mary |year=1986 |title=The History of Theophylact Simocatta |location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=978-0-19-822799-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AtRfAAAAMAAJ}}
* {{cite book |last=Wortley |first=J. | chapter=The legend of the Emperor Maurice | pages = 382–391 | title=Actes du XVe Congrès International d'Etudes byzantines, Athènes, 1976 | volume = IV | location = Athens | year = 1980 }}

==Further reading==
* {{citation|mode=cs1 |url= http://www.evolpub.com/CRE/CREseries.html#CRE5 |title= The Christian Roman Empire series |publisher= Evolpub.com |location= Merchantville, NJ|access-date=27 November 2013|date=2007|isbn=978-1-889758-87-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Shlosser |first=Franziska E. |year=1994 |title=The Reign of the Emperor Maurikios (582–602). A reassessment (Historical Monographs 14) |location=Montreal |publisher=McGill University |isbn=978-9607100788}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Whitby |first=Michael |year=2015 |title= Maurice| url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/maurice-emperor |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica |publisher=Columbia University Press |oclc=59605200 }}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Justinian dynasty]] || 539 || 602}}
{{s-reg|}}
{{s-bef |before=[[Tiberius II Constantine]]}}
{{s-ttl |title=[[List of Byzantine emperors|Byzantine emperor]] | years=582–602 | regent1=[[Tiberius II Constantine]] | years1=582 | regent2 = [[Theodosius (son of Maurice)|Theodosius]] | years2=590–602}}
{{s-aft |after=[[Phocas]]}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef |before=[[Tiberius II Constantine|Tiberius Constantinus Augustus]] in 579}}
{{s-ttl |title=[[Roman Consul]] I |years = 584}}
{{s-aft |after=Mauricius Tiberius Augustus in 602}}
{{s-bef |before= Mauricius Tiberius Augustus in 584}}
{{s-ttl |title=[[Roman Consul]] II |years = 6 July 602–31 December 602}}
{{s-aft |after=[[Phocas| Phocas Augustus]] in 603}}
{{s-end}}

{{Roman emperors}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Maurice (emperor)| ]]
[[Category:539 births]]
[[Category:602 deaths]]
[[Category:6th-century Byzantine emperors]]
[[Category:7th-century Byzantine emperors]]
[[Category:7th-century executions by the Byzantine Empire]]
[[Category:Justinian dynasty]]
[[Category:Byzantine Cappadocians]] 
[[Category:Cappadocian Greeks]]
[[Category:Patricii]]
[[Category:Magistri militum]]
[[Category:Comites excubitorum]]
[[Category:Executed Byzantine people]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek military writers]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman military writers]]
[[Category:People of the Roman–Sasanian Wars]]
[[Category:People executed by decapitation]]
[[Category:6th-century Byzantine writers]]
[[Category:Executed monarchs]]
[[Category:7th-century murdered monarchs]]
[[Category:Dethroned monarchs]]