Phocas - Wikipedia Phocas From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Byzantine emperor from 602 to 610 For other uses, see Phocas (disambiguation). The neutrality of this article is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met. (August 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Byzantine emperor Phocas 7th century bronze steelyard-weight housed at the British Museum, probably representing Emperor Phocas Byzantine emperor Reign 23 November 602 – 5 October 610 Predecessor Maurice and Theodosius Successor Heraclius Born 547 Thracia (probably) Died 5 October 610 (aged 62–63) Constantinople Spouse Leontia Issue Domentzia Names Flavius Phocas Mother Domentzia Coin of Phocas. Constantinople mint, 4th officina. Struck 604–607. ON FOCAS PЄRP AVI, crowned and cuirassed facing bust, holding globus cruciger / VICTORI A AVςЧ, Angel standing facing, holding globus cruciger and long staff terminating in staurogram; Δ//CONOB. Flavius Phocas (Greek: Φωκᾶς; 547 – 5 October 610) was Byzantine emperor from 602 to 610. The early life of Phocas is largely unknown, but he rose to prominence in 602, as a leader in the revolt against Emperor Maurice. Phocas captured Constantinople and overthrew Maurice on 23 November 602, and declared himself emperor on the same day. Phocas deeply mistrusted the elite of Constantinople, and therefore installed his relatives in high military positions, and brutally purged his opponents. Phocas is widely regarded as an incompetent leader, both of the administration and army.[citation needed] Under his reign the Byzantine Empire was threatened by multiple enemies, with frequent raids in the Balkans from the Avars and Slavs, and a Sassanid invasion of the eastern provinces. Because of Phocas' alleged incompetence and brutality, the Exarch of Africa, Heraclius the Elder, rebelled against him. Heraclius the Elder's son, Heraclius, succeeded in taking Constantinople on 5 October 610, and executed Phocas on the same day, before declaring himself the emperor. Contents 1 Life 1.1 Early life 1.2 Usurpation 1.3 Foreign conflict 1.4 Administration 1.5 Italian policy 1.6 Downfall 2 Legacy 3 References 3.1 Bibliography 4 External links Life[edit] Early life[edit] Phocas was probably born in 547, as he was said to be aged 55 when he became emperor.[1] He and his family were likely of Thraco-Roman origin.[2] The life of Phocas before his usurpation of the Byzantine Empire's throne is obscure, but it is known that he served as a low-ranking officer under Emperor Maurice. Usurpation[edit] In 602, the Byzantine army rebelled against Emperor Maurice, largely due to exhaustion and outrage over orders to continue campaigning north of the Danube in winter as well as previous cuts in wages. The army declared Phocas, by then a centurion, to be the new emperor, raising him on a shield (the traditional method of declaring emperors) on 23 November 602.[3][4] Phocas was crowned the new emperor by the patriarch in the church of St John the Baptist at the Hebdomon. Several days afterwards he entered Constantinople unopposed. Maurice fled the city with his sons, Theodosius and Tiberius, but they were soon after captured and executed. Maurice's wife and daughters were put in the monastery of Nea Metanoia and later killed.[5] Foreign conflict[edit] Despite the executions of the previous emperor and his dynastic successors, Phocas remained in a precarious position, which led him to devote his energy to purging enemies and destroying conspiracies. Because of this focus, and the local resistance he faced all throughout the Byzantine Empire, he was unable to confront foreign attacks on the empire's frontiers. The Avars and Slavs launched numerous raids into the Balkan provinces of the Byzantine Empire, and the Sassanian Empire launched an invasion of the eastern provinces of the empire. The Avars were able to take all land in the Balkans north of Thessalonica. The populations of Christian cities were slaughtered or captured. The Byzantines transferred most of their forces to the eastern front due to the threat from the Persians. The Sassanid Persians had formerly been at peace with Maurice as a result of a treaty they made with him in 591. After Phocas usurped and killed Maurice, the Persians invaded the empire in 603. [3] The Sassanids rapidly occupied the eastern provinces, leading the Magister militum per Orientem, Narses, to defect to their side. Phocas swiftly dealt with him, by inviting him to Constantinople under the promise of safe conduct, then having him burnt alive when he arrived. By 607, the Sassanids had occupied Mesopotamia, Syria, and much of Asia Minor, as far as the Bosphorus.[6] By the time his reign ended in 610, the Persians had already crossed the Euphrates and taken Zenobia. Contemporary accounts describe the Persians as being very brutal to the occupied population. The 'miracle of St Demetrios' described the carnage: [T]he devil raised the whirlwind of hatred in all the East, Cilicia, Asia, Palestine and all the lands from there to Constantinople: the factions, no longer content simply to spill blood in public places, attacked homes, slaughtered women, children, the aged, and the young who were sick; those whose youth and frailty impeded their escape from the massacre, [saw] their friends, acquaintances, and parents pillaged, and after all that, even set on fire so that the most wretched inhabitant was not able to escape.[5] The Column of Phocas in Rome Administration[edit] Phocas was unable to control either the state or the army effectively.[7] Due to his distrust of the bulk of Constantinople's elite, with whom he had had no connection before becoming emperor, Phocas practised nepotism, frequently filling senior military positions with his relatives. He installed: his brother Domentziolus as Magister officiorum in 603; his nephew Domentziolus as Magister militum per Orientem in 604, giving him command over the eastern provinces; and his brother Comentiolus as Magister militum per Orientem around 610. All three remained loyal to Phocas until they were killed by Heraclius.[8] Of the three known male blood-relatives of Phocas, all three were appointed to senior posts, two in military positions and one in an administrative position. Phocas also appointed Priscus, who was his son-in-law by way of his marriage to Phocas' daughter Domentzia, as Comes excubitorum, the captain of the Excubitors, in 603.[9] Italian policy[edit] When Phocas was emperor, Byzantine Italy was under continual attack from Lombards, but the Byzantine government spent few resources to aid Italy due to troubles elsewhere. In the entirety of Phocas' reign the only public structure built with government money in the city of Rome was a statue of Phocas completed in 608.[5] When Phocas usurped Maurice, Gregory the Great was bishop of Rome and he praised Phocas as a restorer of liberty. Gregory referred to him as a pious and clement lord, and compared his wife (the new Empress) Leontia to Marcian's consort Pulcheria (whom the Council of Chalcedon called the new Helena). In May 603, portraits of the imperial couple arrived in Rome and were ordered by the pope to be placed in the oratory of St Caesarius in the imperial palace on the Palatine.[5] The deposition of Phocas 610 AD. Imperial approval was needed in that time to appoint a new pope, but the approval was delayed by a year upon the death of Pope Sabinian in 606, as Phocas was occupied with killing internal enemies that threatened his rule.[5] He finally gave approval in 607 and Boniface III became pope. Phocas declared Rome "the head of all churches".[5] Shortly afterwards, Phocas had a gilded statue of himself erected on a monumental column in the Roman Forum, known as the Column of Phocas. Miniature 41 from the Constantine Manasses Chronicle, 14 century: Usurper Phocas and the assault against him from the armies of Heraclius. Downfall[edit] See also: Heraclian revolt Despite being appointed as Comes excubitorum, Priscus was not loyal to Phocas, and in 608 he appealed to Heraclius the Elder, the Exarch of Carthage, to rebel against Phocas.[9] Heraclius the Elder agreed, and began to prepare to invade, by cutting off the supply of grain to Constantinople and assembling a large army and navy. Heraclius the Elder launched his invasion in 609, with his cousin, Nicetas, marching troops overland to the capital, and his son, Heraclius, leading a naval invasion of Thessalonica, before marching to Constantinople. Heraclius arrived outside Constantinople on 3 October 610, and seized the city on 5 October. Heraclius was declared emperor on the same day, and swiftly had Phocas executed.[10] Legacy[edit] Phocas is generally depicted as a villain by Byzantine and modern historians alike, but some of the earliest sources available about Phocas’ reign were written during the reign of Heraclius. The writings that survive aren't reliably neutral and the writers would have good reason to demonize him in order to strengthen the rule of Heraclius.[11] In the cultural sphere, the reign of Phocas is marked by the change of Imperial fashion set by Constantine the Great. Constantine and all his successors, except Julian the Apostate, were beardless. Phocas again introduced the wearing of the beard. This fashion lasted until the end of the Byzantine Empire.[12] In calling the Pope the "head of all churches", Phocas' decree has been important in discussions about papal primacy and papal supremacy. Some Protestant historicist commentators have seen the decree of Phocas (usually taken to be in 606) as having eschatological significance.[13] For example, in his Horae Apocalypticae, Edward Bishop Elliott took the 1260 days of Revelation 11:3 to be the period between 606 and the Unification of Italy in 1866. References[edit] ^ PLRE 3B p. 1030 ^ Bury, John Bagnell (2009) [1889]. History of the Later Roman Empire from Arcadius to Irene. II. Cosimo, Inc. ISBN 978-1-60520-405-5. ^ a b Kleinhenz 2017, p. 890. ^ Carr 2015, p. 79. ^ a b c d e f Ekonomou, Andrew. Byzantine Rome and the Greek Popes. Lexington books, 2007 ^ Carr 2015, p. 80. ^ Parnell 2016, p. 6. ^ Parnell 2016, p. 136. ^ a b Parnell 2016, p. 137. ^ Carr 2015, p. 81. ^ Kevin, Crow (2002). "Phocas". De Imperatoribus Romanis. Retrieved 25 September 2019. ^ "Byzantine first & last times". Byzantium.xronikon.com. Retrieved 7 November 2012. ^ Newsom, Carol A. (2014). Daniel: A Commentary. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 317. ISBN 9781611645392. Retrieved 8 July 2020. Bibliography[edit] Carr, John (2015). Fighting Emperors of Byzantium. Pen and Sword. ISBN 9781473856400. Crawford, Peter (2013). The War of the Three Gods: Romans, Persians and the Rise of Islam. Pen and Sword. ISBN 9781473829510. Kleinhenz, Christopher (2017). Routledge Revivals: Medieval Italy (2004): An Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781351664431. Parnell, David Alan (2016). Justinian's Men: Careers and Relationships of Byzantine Army Officers, 518-610. Springer. ISBN 9781137562043. External links[edit] Media related to Phocas at Wikimedia Commons Phocas Non-dynastic Born: unknown Died: 610 Regnal titles Preceded by Maurice Byzantine Emperor 602–610 Succeeded by Heraclius Preceded by Lapsed; no consuls from 583 to 603 Consul of the Roman Empire 603 Succeeded by Lapsed; no consuls appointed until Heraclius the Elder and Heraclius were appointed in 608 v t e Roman and Byzantine emperors and ruling empresses Principate 27 BC – AD 235 Augustus Tiberius Caligula Claudius Nero Galba Otho Vitellius Vespasian Titus Domitian Nerva Trajan Hadrian Antoninus Pius Marcus Aurelius Lucius Verus Commodus Pertinax Didius Julianus (Pescennius Niger) (Clodius Albinus) Septimius Severus Caracalla Geta Macrinus Diadumenian Elagabalus Severus Alexander Crisis 235–285 Maximinus Thrax Gordian I Gordian II Pupienus Balbinus Gordian III Philip the Arab Philip II Decius Herennius Etruscus Hostilian Trebonianus Gallus Volusianus Aemilianus Valerian Gallienus Saloninus Claudius Gothicus Quintillus Aurelian Ulpia Severina Tacitus Florian Probus Carus Carinus Numerian Gallic emperors Postumus (Laelianus) Marius Victorinus (Domitianus II) Tetricus I with Tetricus II as caesar Palmyrene emperors Vaballathus Zenobia Septimius Antiochus Dominate 284–395 Diocletian Maximian Galerius Constantius I Severus Constantine the Great Maxentius Licinius Maximinus Daza (Valerius Valens) (Martinian) Constantine II Constantius II Constans I Magnentius Vetranio Julian Jovian Valentinian I (west) Valens (east) Gratian (west) Valentinian II (west) Theodosius I Magnus Maximus Victor (Eugenius) Western Empire 395–480 Honorius Constantine III with son Constans II Constantius III Joannes Valentinian III Petronius Maximus Avitus Majorian Libius Severus Anthemius Olybrius Glycerius Julius Nepos Romulus Augustulus Eastern/ Byzantine Empire 395–1204 Arcadius Theodosius II Marcian Leo I Leo II Zeno Basiliscus Marcus Anastasius I Dicorus Justin I Justinian I Justin II Tiberius II Constantine Maurice with son Theodosius as co-emperor Phocas Heraclius Constantine III Heraklonas Constans II Constantine IV with brothers Heraclius and Tiberius and then Justinian II as co-emperors Justinian II (first reign) Leontios Tiberius III Justinian II (second reign) with son Tiberius as co-emperor Philippikos Anastasios II Theodosius III Leo III the Isaurian Constantine V Artabasdos Leo IV the Khazar Constantine VI Irene Nikephoros I Staurakios Michael I Rangabe with son Theophylact as co-emperor Leo V the Armenian with Symbatios-Constantine as junior emperor Michael II the Amorian Theophilos Michael III Basil I the Macedonian Leo VI the Wise Alexander Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos Romanos I Lekapenos with sons Christopher, Stephen and Constantine as junior co-emperors Romanos II Nikephoros II Phokas John I Tzimiskes Basil II Constantine VIII Zoë (first reign) and Romanos III Argyros Zoë (first reign) and Michael IV the Paphlagonian Michael V Kalaphates Zoë (second reign) with Theodora Zoë (second reign) and Constantine IX Monomachos Constantine IX Monomachos (sole emperor) Theodora Michael VI Bringas Isaac I Komnenos Constantine X Doukas Romanos IV Diogenes Michael VII Doukas with brothers Andronikos and Konstantios and son Constantine Nikephoros III Botaneiates Alexios I Komnenos John II Komnenos with Alexios Komnenos as co-emperor Manuel I Komnenos Alexios II Komnenos Andronikos I Komnenos with John Komnenos as co-emperor Isaac II Angelos Alexios III Angelos Alexios IV Angelos Nicholas Kanabos (chosen by the Senate) Alexios V Doukas Empire of Nicaea 1204–1261 Constantine Laskaris Theodore I Laskaris John III Doukas Vatatzes Theodore II Laskaris John IV Laskaris Byzantine Empire 1261–1453 Michael VIII Palaiologos Andronikos II Palaiologos with Michael IX Palaiologos as co-emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos John V Palaiologos John VI Kantakouzenos with John V Palaiologos and Matthew Kantakouzenos as co-emperors John V Palaiologos Andronikos IV Palaiologos John VII Palaiologos Andronikos V Palaiologos Manuel II Palaiologos John VIII Palaiologos Constantine XI Palaiologos Italics indicates a junior co-emperor, while underlining indicates a usurper. Authority control General Integrated Authority File ISNI 1 VIAF 1 WorldCat National libraries United States Vatican Other Faceted Application of Subject Terminology SUDOC (France) 1 Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phocas&oldid=1019342376" Categories: 540s births 610 deaths 600s in the Byzantine Empire 6th-century Byzantine military personnel 7th-century Byzantine emperors 7th-century executions by the Byzantine Empire 7th-century murdered monarchs Byzantine rebels Executed Byzantine people Executed monarchs Flavii Imperial Roman consuls Leaders who took power by coup Leaders ousted by a coup People executed by decapitation People of the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 Roman-era Thracians Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata NPOV disputes from August 2019 All NPOV disputes Articles containing Greek-language text All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from January 2021 Commons link is on Wikidata Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with VcBA identifiers Wikipedia articles with FAST identifiers Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikimedia Commons Languages Afrikaans Alemannisch العربية Aragonés تۆرکجه Беларуская Български Bosanski Català Čeština Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Galego 客家語/Hak-kâ-ngî 한국어 Հայերեն Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Latina Lietuvių Magyar Македонски Malagasy مصرى Nederlands 日本語 Norsk bokmål Polski Português Română Русский Slovenčina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Tagalog ไทย Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt Zazaki 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 22 April 2021, at 20:03 (UTC). 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