Maurice

Upon the death of Tiberius II, Maurice, a successful general who had married Tiberius's daughter, was proclaimed emperor. His accession marked the beginning of a reign focused on military and administrative reform.

Maurice reorganized the administration of the empire's remaining territories in Italy and Africa by creating the Exarchates of Ravenna and Carthage. These military-civilian districts concentrated authority in the hands of an exarch to better defend against external threats.

Maurice helped the deposed Sassanid prince Khosrow II regain his throne. In return, Khosrow ceded large territories in Armenia and Mesopotamia to the Byzantines, ending a long and costly war on favorable terms.

A mutiny by the Danube army, led by the centurion Phocas, marched on Constantinople. Maurice was forced to flee but was captured and executed along with his sons. His death plunged the empire into a destructive civil war.