| Phocas | |
| Byzantine Emperor | |
 Phocas wearing consular robes |
|
| Reign | 602 – 610 |
|---|---|
| Full name | Flavius Phocas Augustus |
| Died | 610 |
| Place of death | Constantinople |
| Predecessor | Maurice |
| Successor | Heraclius |
| Consort | Leontia |
Flavius Phocas Augustus, Byzantine Emperor (reigned 602–610), usurped the throne from the Emperor Maurice, and was himself overthrown by Heraclius after losing a civil war. Events By Place Byzantine Empire Maurice, at war with the Avars and always dealing with the lack of money decrees that the army should This article is about the year 610. Events By Place Byzantine Empire October 4 — Heraclius arrives Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (Φλάβιος Μαυρίκιος Τιβέριος Αύγουστος Մավրիկ Mavrig; 539 &ndash November 27 Heraclius, or Herakleios (Flavius Heraclius Augustus;) (c 575 - February 11, 641) was a Byzantine Emperor, who ruled the East Leontia was the Empress consort of Phocas of the Byzantine Empire. This is a list of the Emperors of the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly known as the Byzantine Empire by modern historians Events By Place Byzantine Empire Maurice, at war with the Avars and always dealing with the lack of money decrees that the army should This article is about the year 610. Events By Place Byzantine Empire October 4 — Heraclius arrives Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (Φλάβιος Μαυρίκιος Τιβέριος Αύγουστος Մավրիկ Mavrig; 539 &ndash November 27 Heraclius, or Herakleios (Flavius Heraclius Augustus;) (c 575 - February 11, 641) was a Byzantine Emperor, who ruled the East
Contents |
Origins
Almost nothing is known of Phocas's early life, although he may have been a native of Thrace. Thrace (Тракия Trakiya or "Trakija" or Trakia, Θράκη Thráki, Trakya is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe By 600, he was a subaltern officer in the Roman army that served during Maurice’s Balkan campaigns, and apparently was viewed as a leader by his fellow soldiers. Events By Place World The population of the Earth rises to about 208 million people The Roman army was a set of military forces employed by the Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic and later Roman Empire as part of the Roman military He was a member of a delegation sent by the army in that year to Constantinople to submit grievances to the government. Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS The Avars had defeated the Byzantines in 598 and taken a large number of prisoners, and demanded a ransom. The Caucasian Avars are a modern people of Caucasus, mainly of Dagestan. Maurice refused to pay and all the prisoners were killed, causing consternation among the army. The delegation's complaints were rejected, and, according to several sources, Phocas himself was slapped and humiliated by prominent court officials at this time.
Accession
In 602, having created unrest in the legions by reforms intended to reduce the expenses of their maintenance, Maurice ordered the Balkan army, then campaigning against the Avars, to winter on the north side of the Danube, the unprotected far side of the river's protective boundary. Events By Place Byzantine Empire Maurice, at war with the Avars and always dealing with the lack of money decrees that the army should The Danube (In Donau from earlier Danuvius, Celtic *dānu, meaning "to flow run" Slovak and Polish Dunaj A limes (or the Limes Romanus) was a Border defense or delimiting system of Ancient Rome. The army almost immediately revolted and marched on the capital, with Phocas at its head. Within a month, Maurice's government had collapsed, the emperor abdicated and fled the city, and the "Green" faction in Constantinople acclaimed Phocas as emperor. He was crowned in the Church of St. John the Baptist and his wife Leontia was invested with the rank of Augusta. Leontia was the Empress consort of Phocas of the Byzantine Empire. Maurice, who represented little genuine threat, was dragged from his monastic sanctuary at Chalcedon, and killed along with his five sons. For the Ecumenical Council of 451 see Council of Chalcedon; For the religious/political organization see Chalcedon Foundation. It is said that he had to watch as his sons were executed in front of his eyes. The bodies were thrown in the sea and the heads of all were exhibited in Constantinople before Phocas made arrangements for a Christian burial for the relics of his deeply pious predecessor. A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth
Phocas's rule was welcomed at first by many because he lowered taxes, which had been high during the reign of Maurice. Fulsome letters of courtly praise from Pope Gregory I are attested. The pope, Saint Gregory, appreciated his acceptance of the reforms he had begun. The agrarian reforms of the Church in Italy and particularly in Sicily had been followed in Egypt by the Orthodox Patriarchs. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Sicily ( Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region of Italy. The reform consisted in naming "rectores" as administrators of the latifunds and eliminating all sort of contractors and parasites who exploited the tenant farmers, reducing them to misery, while undermining the income of the owners.
The Church needed money to pay for hospitals, maternities, orphanotrophies - all social infrastructures that the state had left to the clergy. Phocas faced great opposition and was regarded by many as a "populist". His coup d'état was the first violent regime change in Constantinople since its foundation by Constantine. Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus (27 February ca. 272 &ndash 22 May 337 commonly known as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or Saint Constantine He is reported to have responded to this opposition with cruelty, allegedly killing thousands in an effort to keep control of the government. This was probably an exaggeration. No histories actually written under Phocas survive, and thus we are dependent for information on historians writing under his successors, who had an interest in blackening Phocas' reputation.
Reign
The Column of Phocas was the last Imperial monument ever to be erected in the Roman forum. The Column of Phocas, which was erected before the Rostra in the Roman Forum and dedicated or rededicated in honour of the Byzantine emperor Phocas This page refers to the main forum in the center of Rome See Imperial forums or Other forums in Rome (below for other forums in Rome and In Phocas's reign, the Byzantines were sovereign over the city of Rome, although the Pope was the most powerful figure resident in the city. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and Phocas tended to support the popes in many of the theological controversies of the time, and thus enjoyed good relations with the papacy. Phocas gave the Pantheon to Pope Boniface IV for use as a church and intervened to restore Smaragdus to the Exarchate of Ravenna. The Pantheon ( Latin Pantheon, from Greek Πάνθειον Pantheon, meaning "Temple of all the gods" is a building in Rome Pope Smaragdus was Exarch of Ravenna twice (585-589 and 603-611 Smaragdus was known for his violence toward the adherents of the Three-Chapter Controversy. The Exarchate of Ravenna or of Italy was a centre of Byzantine power in Italy, from the end of the 6th century to 751, when the In gratitude Smaragdus erected in the Roman Forum a gilded statue atop the rededicated "Column of Phocas" (illustration, right), which featured a new inscription on its base in the emperor's honour. The Column of Phocas, which was erected before the Rostra in the Roman Forum and dedicated or rededicated in honour of the Byzantine emperor Phocas The fluted Corinthian column and the marble plinth on which it sits were already standing in situ, scavenged previously from yet other monuments. The Corinthian order is one of the Classical orders of Greek and Roman Architecture, characterized
It was during Phocas's reign that the traditional frontiers of the Eastern Roman Empire began to collapse. The Balkans had been pacified under Maurice, the Avars and Slavs having been kept at bay. With the removal of the army from the Danube after 605, the way was paved for new attacks which were to put an end to the Roman Balkans. In the east, the situation was grave. The Persian King Khosrau II had been helped onto his throne years earlier by Maurice during a civil war in Persia. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Khosrau II or Khosrow II ( Chosroes II or Xosrov II in classical sources sometimes called Now, he used the death of his erstwhile patron as an excuse to break his treaty with the empire. He received at his court an individual claiming falsely to be Maurice's son Theodosius. Khosrau arranged a coronation for this pretender and demanded that the Byzantines accept him as emperor. He also took advantage of the difficulties in the Roman military, coming to the aid of Narses, a Roman general who refused to acknowedge the new emperor's authority and who was besieged by troops loyal to Phocas in Edessa. Narses was a Byzantine general active during the reigns of the emperors Maurice and Phocas in the late sixth and early seventh centuries Edessa ( Greek:) is the historical name of a Syriac town in northern Mesopotamia, refounded on an ancient site by Seleucus I Nicator This expedition was part of a war of attrition Khosrau waged against Byzantine forts in northern Mesopotamia, and by 607 or so he had advanced Persian control to the Euphrates. Events By Place Europe Ceolwulf of Wessex fights the South Saxons. The Euphrates ( ( Arabic: ar نهر الفرات; Turkish: tr Fırat Syriac: syr ܦܪܬ; Hebrew: he פרת
Overthrow and death
In 608, the Exarch of Africa and his son, both named Heraclius, began a revolt against Phocas, issuing coins depicting the two of them in consular (though not imperial) regalia. Events By Place Europe Eochaid Buide succeeds Áedán mac Gabráin as king of Dál Riata. The Exarchate of Africa or of Carthage, after its capital was the name of an administrative division of the Eastern Roman Empire encompassing its possessions Heraclius, or Herakleios (Flavius Heraclius Augustus;) (c 575 - February 11, 641) was a Byzantine Emperor, who ruled the East Consul (abbrev cos; Latin plural consules) was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire Phocas responded with executions, among them of the ex-Empress Constantina and her three daughters. Nicetas, a nephew of Heraclius the Elder, led an overland invasion of Egypt; the younger Heraclius began to sail westward with another force via Sicily and Cyprus. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Sicily ( Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region of Italy. Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía With the outbreak of civil war came serious urban rioting in Syria and Palestine; Phocas sent his general Bonosus to quell the disturbances and reconquer Egypt. Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية Palestine is a name which has been widely used since Roman times to refer to the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. Bonosus dealt with the eastern cities so harshly that his severity was remembered centuries later. He then took almost the entire eastern army with him to Egypt, where he was defeated by Nicetas after some hard fighting. The Persians took advantage of this conflict to occupy a significant part of the eastern provinces and even begin a penetration into Anatolia.
By 610, the younger Heraclius had reached the vicinity of Constantinople, and most of the military loyal to Phocas had gone down in defeat or defected. This article is about the year 610. Events By Place Byzantine Empire October 4 — Heraclius arrives Some prominent Byzantine aristocrats came to meet Heraclius, and he arranged to be crowned and acclaimed as Emperor. When he reached the capital, the Excubitors, an elite imperial guard unit led by Phocas's own son-in-law Priscus, deserted to Heraclius, and he entered the city without serious resistance. The Excubitors (Excubitores or Excubiti, literally "those out of bed" i Phocas was captured and brought before Heraclius, who asked, "Is this how you have ruled, wretch?" Phocas replied, "And will you rule better?" Enraged, Heraclius personally killed and beheaded Phocas on the spot. Phocas's body was mutilated, paraded through the capital, and burned.
References
- Charles, R. H. The Chronicle of John, Bishop of Nikiu Translated from Zotenberg's Ethiopic Text, 1916. Hermann Zotenberg (1836 Silesia – 1894 Paris) was an Orientalist and Arabist. Reprinted 2007. Evolution Publishing, ISBN 978-1-889758-87-9.
- Olster, David Michael, The Politics of Usurpation in the Seventh Century: Rhetoric and Revolution in Byzantium, (Adolf M Hakkert, 1993) ISBN 90-256-1010-2
External links
Media related to Phocas from the Wikimedia Commons.
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Phocas
Born: unknown Died: 610 |
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| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Maurice |
Byzantine Emperor 602–610 |
Succeeded by Heraclius |
| Preceded by Imp. Caesar Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus in 583, then lapsed |
Consul of the Roman Empire 603 |
Succeeded by Lapsed, Heraclius the Elder and Flavius Heraclius Augustus in 608 |
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