Title: Byzantine Emperor

Alternate names/spellings:

Dates: 539 - 602 () 

Maurice, born in Cappadocia in 539, started his career as a soldier fighting against the Persians of the Sassanid Empire. In 578 he was appointed the commander of the imperial forces in the East. Because of his great military successes, Emperor Tiberius II named Maurice his successor and gave him his daughter in marriage. The Empire was in a bad financial state when Maurice inherited it and it became worse as a result of the constant warfare in Persia, the Balkans and Italy. These problems resulted in a decline in the emperor’s popularity. In 602 soldiers marched on Constantinople in a revolt led by Phocas. Maurice fled the city with his family but was overtaken at Chalcedon and murdered along with his five sons. TLM