Maurice
Maurice was a prominent military leader and the emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 582 until his overthrow in 602. He initially served as the commander of the eastern Byzantine army, where he achieved notable victories against Persian forces in Mesopotamia and Armenia. Despite these successes, Maurice faced significant challenges, particularly from the Avars and their Slav allies in southeastern Europe, which threatened Byzantine security. As emperor, he adeptly balanced military engagements on multiple fronts and engaged in strategic alliances, such as supporting Shah Khasraw II during a Persian civil war, which resulted in territorial gains for the Byzantine Empire.
Maurice implemented a military governance system known as the Exarchates, which helped to maintain Byzantine control over various regions, including Italy and parts of North Africa. However, his leadership was marred by unpopularity among troops, ultimately leading to his downfall when he was overthrown and killed by Phocas. Notably, Maurice authored the "Strategikon," a military manual that laid the groundwork for Byzantine military tactics and continued to influence military strategy for centuries after his reign. Maurice's complex legacy reflects both his military acumen and the challenges of leadership in a tumultuous period of Byzantine history.
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Maurice
Prince
- Born: March 21, 1521
- Birthplace: Freiberg, Germany
- Died: July 9, 1553
- Place of death: Lehrte, Germany
Full name: Flavius Tiberius Mauricius
Born: c. 539; Cappadocia
Died: November 27, 602; Constantinople
Principal wars: Byzantine-Persian Wars, Avar War
Principal battles: Dara (591), Lake Urmiah (591), Druzpara (597)
Military significance: A gifted Byzantine military leader and writer, Emperor Maurice won a two-front war in Asia and the Balkans.
As commander of the Byzantine army of the east from 572 to 581, Maurice distinguished himself campaigning in Persian Mesopotamia and Armenia. These victories, however, were virtually nullified by Byzantine defeats in southeastern Europe against the tribal armies of the Avars and their Slav vassals. Maurice’s skills—and Byzantium’s military peril—persuaded the dying Emperor Tiberius to designate him as his successor in 582.
Confronting Persians and Avars simultaneously, Emperor Maurice balanced demands on both fronts with holding actions, penetration raids, and bribery. In 590, Persia erupted in civil war, and Maurice threw his armies behind Shah Khasraw II. At Dara (590) and Lake Urmiah (591), Byzantine forces and Khasraw’s troops crushed the usurpers, and Maurice thereby won a peace guarantee and extensive land concessions from the grateful shah. The Byzantines then shifted to the Balkans, gradually reclaiming lost territory. Hard-pressed, the Avar khan launched a massive invasion in 597, marching south and taking Druzpara. Maurice spent a year assembling his forces and then drove the Avars back across the Danube in 599. His military governate system (the Exarchates) and astute diplomacy enabled him to retain Byzantine holdings in Italy, Tunisia, and southern Spain. Despite his successes, Emperor Maurice was unpopular with his troops, and he was overthrown and killed in 602 by his successor, Phocas. However, his work on military strategy, Strategikon (fifth century; Maurice’s Strategikon: Handbook of Byzantine Military Strategy, 1984), written before he became emperor, continued to influence the Byzantine military for centuries.
Bibliography
Maurice. Maurice’s Strategikon: Handbook of Byzantine Military Strategy. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1984.
Treadgold, Warren. A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1997.
Whitby, L. Micheal. The Emperor Maurice and His Historian: Theophylact Simocatta on Persian and Balkan Warfare. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988.