Maurice

* Young
* Elder

Maurice, or Mauricius, was the Eastern Roman Emperor who suceeded after Tiberius II. He was overthrown by Phocas, who massacred his entire family before his execution, in 602.

## In "Unbiased History"

### **"Byzantium III - Madness and Devils"**

Maurice was first welcomed by Tiberius under the rule of Justin II, joining the Excubitors with Philippicus. Maurice would later replace Justinian the Younger during a campaign against the Sassanid Empire, keeping Khosrow I out of Northern Mesopotamia shortly before his own death.

After Hormizd, the new Shanhanshah, refused to give back Dara, Maurice invaded deep into Sassanid Mesopotamia when he heard the news of the impending demise of Tiberius, who was emperor at the time. Maurice was then chosen by Tiberius to be the next emperor.

Maurice focused on breeding(he had nine children), the economy, fixing Tiberius II's mess, and killing barbarians, getting the likes of Priscus, Comentiolus, and Heraclius the Elder to command his armies. He continued his campaign by trying, and failing, to take Sassanid Armenia. Maurice would send Comentiolus to quell the Avar threat after he refused to pay their tribute, making them sign a peace treaty that would lead to war if it were ever broken. When the Avars refused to let go of Sirmium, he sent a legion led by Comentiolus to not only take it, but to eradicate any semblance of Slavic infestation in the nearby area.

Maurice would become unpopular because as a way of saving the economy, he would reduce military spending by equipping the soldiers directly. To relay this message, he replaced Philippicus with Priscus in the east, but sent Philippicus back after the legions revolted. Afterwards, he decided not to implement it for now.

Back in the east, Maurice convinced the Caucasian Iberians to fight for the Romans after Martyropolis was annexed by the Sassanids. After that, he would reform the government so that provincial governors, now known as exarchs, controlled both administrative and military affairs. He then baited the Franks to fight the Lombards, which didn't work out, followed up by him hearing the trade offer from Khosrow II of regaining Martyropolis, Dara, and most of Armenia, alongside Bahram's counteroffer of all those alongside the Sassanid city of Nisibus. Maurice was convinced that if he took Khosrow's deal, the young Sassanid could be relied on to be a good ally. Maurice would retract his armies from the east, sending most of them to fend off the Avars again.

Maurice sent Priscus and a legion to fight deep into the Slavic heartland, being requested to camp there to save costs. After that failed, his brother Peter was sent to quell the revolt alongside attempting to bring back the pay cut, along with some concessions, but the legions still would not have it. Mad with Peter, he transferred the legions back to Priscus to repel the reinvading Avars. He would then send Priscus again to fight the Avars in a punitive campaign after said Avars were struck hard by the plague, ending with him giving the captured barbarians back to the Avars, leading him to write the Strategikon, the foremost military book of Roman (and some Hunnic) military tactics.

He tried once more to invade the Slavic heartland, sending a legion led by Peter and told to camp there again, but this time, the plebeian legionnaires were sick of being ordered around by someone somewhat competent, so threw Peter out and chose Phocas to lead them. When Maurice heard that he'd lost all of his support to Phocas, he and his family fled. However, they would be caught soon after, being unable to travel further after contracting a crippling case of gout. He was forced to watch his daughters and wife be captured while his sons were slaughtered, until finally, he was killed himself.

## "Trivia"

* While Maurice was a capable emperor, the weakened economy and exhausted army meant that much of his austerity measures was unpopular--especially the latter that suffered from deplorable conditions with reduced payments--which ultimately led to his usurpation.
	+ In addition, he also refused to pay ransom to the Avars, so over 12,000 Roman soldiers were killed as a result. This caused an uproar with a delegation led by Phocas being humiliated and rejected in Constantinople.
* One of the omissions was Maurice's tolerance towards Monophysites despite his support of Chalcedonian Creed due to the series' negative portrayals of that denomination.
* Historically, Maurice installed Khosrow II as the Shah--even adopted him as a gesture of good-will--who rewarded him with Dara and lost Roman territories afterwards.
* He may compare to Severus Alexander, a wise, capable emperor but also was the author of his own death- alienating his troops because of their amazing logistics......Only the differences was Maurice could get a chance for distinguish himself while the latter didn't.