Fall of Empires

Author's Note

For purposes of plot I have been obliged to take outrageous liberties with the chronology in Fall of Empires. The events of the opening chapters in fact took place over a period of some twenty years. The emperor Maurice was overthrown and slain in the year 602 AD by the usurper Phocas who was in turn overthrown by Heraclius in 610. After a brief and unsuccessful clash with the Persians, the new emperor then spent the next decade consolidating his reign and rebuilding the shattered armies of the empire before finally launching his counter attack. All the while the armies of the Persian king Khusrow II took advantage of the chaos to push ever deeper into imperial territory until they had entirely overrun the eastern provinces. In the book I have condensed these events into a matter of months.

The manner of Maurice's death was as it is described in the prologue; forced to watch as his sons were beheaded one by one in front of him before being despatched in turn and his body flung into the sea. His last words are reported as 'Thou art just Lord, and just are thy judgements.'

The ruinous conduct of his predecessor Tiberius II had forced Maurice to operate his armies on a shoestring budget with ultimately disastrous consequences. The army in the Balkans mutinied and marched on Constantinople with the renegade centurion Phocas at their head, demanding the abdication of Maurice. For the defence of the city Maurice had looked to the Blues and Greens. The chariot racing factions were common to all the major cities of the empire and incorporated a hard core of supporters who were relied upon as an urban militia if the city was threatened. At other times however they could be beyond the control of the authorities and mob violence ensued with supporters of both factions taking to the streets. Both factions were fickle in the extreme. They were unwavering only in their hatred of each other and they loved nothing better than a good riot. As the rebel army had approached the city and the Blues had dutifully manned the walls, the Greens had decided instead to throw their lot in with Phocas and the city was taken.

When news of Maurice's murder reached the court of Khusrow II it was met with predictable outrage. Khusrow owed Maurice nothing less than his throne, having been driven from Persia by the rebellion of the general Bahram Chobin who had then claimed the crown. With Maurice's support, Khusrow had regained his throne but the manner in which he had done so and the high price that he had paid in territorial concessions had made him deeply unpopular. Nevertheless his personal sense of honour and the genuine gratitude and affection which he felt towards his benefactor Maurice had prevented him from seeking to regain the surrendered territories or breaching the peace with Byzantium whilst the emperor lived. Refusing to see the ambassadors sent from Constantinople, the King of Persia declared war upon the usurper Phocas and advanced at the head of his forces with the city of Dara as his first objective. At his side was a man who claimed to be a surviving son of Maurice named Theodosius but who was most likely an imposter as the real Theodosius is thought to have perished along with his siblings. It was hoped that his presence would tempt Byzantine forces to rebel against Phocas on behalf of the legitimate heir and the commander of the Edessa garrison did just this as described.

Dara fell in 604 and for the next six years Persian generals moved at will through Byzantine controlled Mesopotamia and Armenia capturing the key cities which protected the frontier whilst Phocas seemed intent on alienating his own subjects to such an extent that many would welcome the invaders as liberators.

The murder of Maurice and his family had been just the beginning of the reign of terror which Phocas unleashed upon his unfortunate subjects. All those who had been close supporters of Maurice or whose loyalty was suspect were arrested, tortured and executed. The new emperor had also for reasons unknown embarked upon a widespread persecution of the Jews who made up a significant proportion of the population of the eastern provinces and who now looked to Khusrow for their protection. In Antioch, the bloody insurrection feared in the book by Shimon and Theophanes the Elder did in fact come to pass. The Jews rose up and slaughtered the Christian populace in vengeance, even executing the Patriarch.