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Beginning in the second half of the 500s, the Roman Empire found itself in dire straits due to overgrown frontiers and a shortage of men and money, complicit in the great plague of 541. Emperor Maurice did his best not only to reorganize the military and administrative system of the state, but also to drive enemies back out of the northern borders. After concluding an "eternal" peace treaty with the Persians, he turned against Avars and Slavs ravaging the Balkans, reaching as far as Thessalonica. Mauritius had realized that the limes on the Danube was no longer a secure defense and that the only way to stop the enemies was to strike them directly in their camps across the river. This move, combined with various unpopular fiscal measures and a refusal to let troops return to winter in the warm south, caused the Danubian armies to revolt and elect Phocas emperor. Who was Phoca? No one, is the best answer. A miserable centurion, semi-barbarian originally from Thrace and almost certainly illiterate, who won the favor of the troops by promising a lot of money and to abandon the cold northern frontier. By a series of fortunate events he managed to enter Constantinople and be crowned emperor, buying the favor of the people of the city with onerous donations. Patriarch Cyriacus and the factions of the hippodrome joined him, and Maurice's fate was sealed. During the eight years of his reign, as the frontiers collapsed everywhere, the emperor implemented a series of purges very similar to the Stalinist purges, at least this is what the sources hand down to us, which are not at all benevolent toward him. Administrators and magisters (generals) were tortured and killed on mere suspicion, then replaced by the friends and relatives of Phocas himself, who did not have the necessary skills to carry out their duties. All veteran and highly capable magisters were either exiled or killed, with the exception of Priscus, who married Phocas' daughter Domezia and obtained a variety of positions within Constantinople. I give some examples of this policy of recommendations by Phocas: his brother Comentiolus became magister militum praesentalis, while his brother/grandson Domentiolus became magister militum per Orientem. His reign was characterized by the absence of justice: trials of opponents were often summary and characterized by cruelty, as the emperor had a personal predilection for torture and was certainly a sadist, so much so that he killed Maurice's children under the gaze of their father and their mother a few years later. He energetically persecuted Jews and Monophysites, causing large-scale riots. After the very early years, continued donations were not enough to buy the favor of the people, who handed him over on a silver platter to Heraclius' insurgents. In fact, there was not even a civil war, and the new basileus entered Constantinople triumphant supported by the Green faction. I would now like to elaborate a little on the characteristics of his rule as we know it: Once he conquered the capital and seized power, Phocas immediately showed himself to be the stereotype of the worst plebeian: a choleric, irascible, resentful man, prone to violence, given to alcohol and to exploiting power for his own personal vendettas and opinions. Perhaps the emperor, given his humble condition, really thought he was doing something good, but he proved incapable of reflection and taking advice. The administrative class laboriously built by Maurice, serious and competent, was exterminated making the bureaucratic machine slow. Once the capital was settled, Phocas turned his wrath to the rest of the empire, crushing senators, landowners, and associates of Maurice and investing large sums of money in the hippodrome games that had instead been virtually absent during the previous years due to a careful policy of economizing. Monophysites, Jews, and various minorities who had enjoyed to during Maurice's reign were then well disposed to side with the Persians. The Persians, whose overlord had been a friend of Maurice who had obtained the throne because of him, moved an immense army with the intention of overthrowing the usurper. As soon as they arrived in Armenia and after wreaking havoc in the frontier fortresses, General Narses, who commanded the defense of the city of Edessa, decided to switch sides, perhaps because he feared that he would be the next victim of Phocas' purges. The emperor would have needed an efficient army and money to replace his losses, but his "popular" policy had emptied the imperial coffers and the currency had depreciated by perhaps 50 percent in just eight years, and he clearly could not decrease the army's payroll or even less stop his public handouts, as the political situation had already caused his credibility to plummet. Thus, he gathered what troops he could and sent them to fight in the east, where they were disastrously defeated. His nephew Domentiolus, who was in charge of leading all the armies in the east, collected only defeats, and Phocas' only intervention was to replace him with another brother. At this point Narses parted with the Persians and returned to Constantinople, probably because Phocas had promised him peace and managed to convince him somehow, but once the general was in the city he was captured and burned alive at the stake; Phocas gained only by having killed one man, but left his army to fight on the side of the enemy (well done!) The Miracula Sancti Demetrii tells us of Phocas that he "stifled love and sowed hatred throughout the East, in Cilicia, Asia, Palestine, and the surrounding districts, even to the imperial city itself: the demi were not merely shedding the blood of their fellow citizens, but one broke into the houses of the other and ruthlessly murdered their inhabitants." Post by Emanuele Rizzardi Support us by reading a book from Assobyz: https://www.amazon.it/usurper-English-Emanuele-Rizzardi-ebook/dp/B08HVZ1PK9 https://assobyzantion.wixsite.com/assobyzantion/autori-e-pubblicazioni JOIN ASSOBYZ! https://assobyzantion.wixsite.com/assobyzantion

Questo post serve per una facile consultazione di tutte le mappe storiche realizzate, attualmente solo da Emanuele Rizzardi, e sarà aggiornato mano a mano ne usciranno di nuove. Le mappe rimangono di proprietà dell'autore Tarda antichità (330-476): Mappa della rivolta di Arbogaste (392-394): -Viola: impero d'Oriente, fedele a Teodosio -Verde: area iniziale della rivolta di Arbogaste (392) -Arancione: espansione e picco della rivolta (394) -Rosso: aree dell'impero d'Occidente sulle quali non abbiamo molti dati, ma che probabilmente appoggiarono Arbogaste. -Rosa: aree dell'impero d'Occidente sulle quali non abbiamo molti dati, ma che probabilmente non appoggiarono Arbogaste. Mappa della rivolta di Arbogaste secondo "Lo stendardo di Giove": - Giallo: intronizzazione di Eugenio e spedizione in Germania oltre il Reno. - Rosso: ritorno a Vienne, marcia verso l'Italia ed entrata a Grazianopoli - Verde: passaggio nella Transpadana e arrivo a Milano, capitale d'Occidente. - Blu: arrivo di rinforzi dalla Pannonia - Viola: arrivo dei rinforzi di Nicomaco Flaviano da Roma - Arancione: marcia dell'esercito di Arbogaste verso il Frigido; Verona, Padova, Altino e Aquileia. Cristianizzazione dell'Impero attorno al 395: In rosso le aree ad altissima cristianizzazione. In arancione le aree a cristianizzazione media o alta In verde le aree a bassa o assente cristianizzazione. Le aree più ricche dell'Impero romano nel 395: Verde: zone a bassa ricchezza Arancione: zone a ricchezza media Rosso: zone ricche Viola: zone estremamente ricche Diffusione e influenza della lingua greca nell'anno 395: Le maggiori battaglie dell'impero d'Oriente 300-500: Guerre bagaudiche (400-460/90): Legenda completa https://www.facebook.com/UltimoPaleologo/photos/1257867308031063 Impero Romano nel 470: Impero Romano nel 476 (Cirenaica contesa): Alto Medioevo (477-750): Ricchezza dell'impero romano attorno al 540: Rosso--> alta ricchezza: area della capitale, Egitto e Siria Arancione--> ricchezza media: zona di Cartagine, Balcani Meridionali, Dalmazia, Asia Minore occidentale, Ponto, Cilicia, Levante, Sicilia Giallo--> bassa ricchezza: Crimea, Balcani superiori, isole, Anatolia centrale, periferie orientali, Cirenaica, Libia, Africa occidentale, Salento Rosa--> zona di guerra, dati incerti. Il magister militum Francione e il suo territorio: / magister militum Francione and its territory In rosso, le terre sicuramente soggette al governo di Francione. In giallo, le aree in qualche modo legate a Francione In viola, il territorio che alcuni suppongono possa aver fatto parte del sedicente "limes bizantino" L'invasione longobarda del Piemonte: Giallo: Liguria Romana Verde: distretto di Turres, invaso probabilmente a partire dal 587 e caduto in massima parte tra il 588 e il 589 Rosso: aree di resistenza isolata I grandi cambiamenti dal 560 al 670: Rosso + Rosa = impero nel 560 Rosso = impero nel 670 Dimensioni dell'esercito romano nel 565: Mappa delle lingue dell'Impero nell'anno 570: Laguatan in Cirenaica: Aree occupate dai Laguatan prima della riconquista di Giustiano L'Impero attorno al 626: In blu i territori imperiali, in rosso quelli perduti Paganesimo nell'Impero a partire da Giustiniano: Legenda completa https://www.facebook.com/UltimoPaleologo/photos/1299748160509644 Nord Africa attorno al 700: Medioevo / Middle age (751-1203): Dimensione dell'esercito imperiale nell'anno 800: Esercito di terra: 68-75.000 + truppe palatine e marinai --> 80-90.000 Rematori della flotta imperiale: 19.000-2000 + 14-15.000 dalle province --> 32.000 rematori Impero di Basilio II: In nero le aree riconquistate da Basilio II Tardo Medioevo / late Middle age (1204-1453): Impero Romano dopo la Quarta Crociata: / Roman empire after 4th Crusade Giallo: Impero Latino di Costantinopoli (crociati) Verde scuro: area contesa, dominazione incerta Blu: dominio dell'imperatore decaduto Alessio III Rosso: Despotato di Epiro di Michele Ducas Porpora: Impero di Nicea di Teodoro Lascaris Verde chiaro: dominio di Teodoro Mangafas Fuxia: dominio di Giovanni Angelo Ducas Grigioverde: dominio del mercenario Aldebrano Grigio: dominio di Leone Gabras (o Gavras) Nero: dominio di Leone Sguros Arancione: dominio di Leone Camerateo (Kamerateos) Azzurro: incerto, popolazione locale comandata da un tale Michele Rosa: incerto, popolazione locale senza una guida nota Viola chiaro: dominio indipendentista di Manuele Maurozome Città di interesse della campagna di Alessio Filantropeno secondo il romanzo "L'usurpatore": 4 momenti "d'oro" dell'Impero: - Giustiniano (560): tutti i colori (se escludiamo parte della Mesopotamia) - Basilio II (1025): Rosso, puntini neri, verde - Manuele Comneno (1180): rosso e puntini neri - Michele VIII Paleologo (1261): puntini neri Mappe che attraversano molti periodi storici: Durata di tutte le capitali dell'impero Romano (27 ac - 1453 dc): - Verde chiaro, almeno 1000 anni: Costantinopoli con 1066 anni in totale. - Rosso scuro, almeno 300 anni: Roma con 313. - Marrone, almeno 100 anni: Milano (116) - Rosa, almeno 50 anni: Nicea (57) e Ravenna (74) - Arancione, almeno 30 anni: Nicomedia (44) e Antiochia (35) - Verde scuro, almeno 20 anni: Treviri (27) e Sirmium (20) - Viola, almeno 10 anni: Tessalonica, con 16 anni. - Rosso, almeno 4 anni: Siracusa (5) e Vienne (4) Luogo di nascita di tutti gli imperatori romani (27 AC-1453 DC): Legenda: Viola = nessun imperatore Verde = un imperatore Giallo = due imperatori Rosa = tre imperatori Arancione = quattro imperatori Marrone = nove imperatori Blu = quattordici imperatori Rosso = quarantotto imperatori Luogo di morte di tutti gli imperatori romani da Augusto a Costantino XI: Rosso chiaro = 64 Rosso scuro = 22 Arancione = 7 Verde chiaro = 5 Marrone = 4 Blu = 3 Rosa = 2 Verde= 1 Fuori dai confini imperiali =4 Luogo impreciso/sconosciuto = 4 Diffusione ed estinzione delle lingue Trace e Dace (100 AC - 650 DC): - In Verde, estensione del Trace e del Dacio attorno al 100 AC, la linea puntinata nera indica una separazione approssimativa tra le due comunità. - In Rosso, le due lingue nel 350 DC - In Blu, le due lingue nel 650 DC, poco prima della scomparsa Autore: Emanuele Rizzardi Aiutaci leggendo uno dei nostri libri o iscrivendoti ad Assobyz! https://www.amazon.it/Lo-stendardo-Giove-Emanuele-Rizzardi-ebook/dp/B0968Y1GM6 https://assobyzantion.wixsite.com/assobyzantion/autori-e-pubblicazioni https://assobyzantion.wixsite.com/assobyzantion