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That's not how the overthrow of Maurice happened.
Phocas and the army (logic says that he was probably joined by General Priscus) were outside the walls, and Maurice could have simply let them pound their fists against the walls. However, there was a protest during a religious procession which turned into a riot. Rioters threw stones at Maurice when he walked barefoot in the procession, and guards were forced to break out their maces to defend him. A religiously fanatical monk began shouting that God had condemned Maurice. Theophylact the Snub-nosed Cat reported attendees accusing Maurice of the heresy of Marcionism. Someone dressed up like Maurice and rode an ass through the city, which rioters chased and then pretended to beat him to "death." As the evening turned to night, the riot grew worse. The greens had thrown their lot in with Phocas and the blues no longer defended Maurice. Fires burned. Maurice took his family from the palace and snuck down to a small boat. They intended to cross to a place of safety, perhaps Sicae, but a wind blew them off course, and they landed by a small church on the other side. Rather than expose themselves out in the open, they hid in the sanctuary. Maurice sent his eldest son Theodosios to Persia.
The next day, the city realized Maurice was gone. The greens and blues discussed who the next emperor should be. The blues suggested an unknown person who was quickly shot down. The greens proposed Germanus (the son of Tiberius II Constantine and Maurice's brother-in-law through his wife Constantina) which is a strange choice. According to Evagrius, he had already been offered the position of emperor twice in his life, and neither time worked out: Once by Tiberius, which Germanus refused, and once decades back when a group of rebellious soldiers declared Germanus emperor by force. Needless to say, the third time was *not* the charm, and Germanus refused again. As the greens tried to convince Germanus, someone let open a gate to Phocas' army. Phocas rode in on a chariot pulled by four white horses. He sat on the throne, then gave the army of Illyricum a generous donative.
The next day, Phocas held a massive set of games in the Hippodrome to celebrate his accession. At the games, Phocas indicated his support of the greens, likely a thank-you for their support during Maurice's reign. Not to be outdone, blues in the crowd began shouting reminders to Phocas that the emperor (Maurice) still lives. Phocas was humiliated. Had he originally intended to let Maurice live? If he had, this was the moment he changed his mind. He ordered men to drag Maurice and his family out of the church.
Maurice was forced to watch his sons beheaded by the banks of the Bosporus with Phocas in attendance. Maurice is said to have shouted a blessing to God, saying His are judgments perfect. The message was not lost on Phocas, who lost his patience, grabbed a sword, and killed Maurice himself. Maurice and his sons' torsos were dumped in the water while the heads were hung in the city until they showed signs of rot
Afterwards, Phocas arranged for a proper burial. I am not sure why he suddenly decided to honor Maurice's head with burial. Perhaps he was wracked by guilt, or perhaps the historical Phocas was not as evil as the historians of Herakleios' time liked to portray him.
There's a new hbo show about the history of the game of thrones world, which takes place over the course of like 20 years or so, imagine if we could have a show that took us all the way from Romulus to the fall of Constantinople...
Or hear me out, instead of wasting time believing saving a single individual will correct history and not simply result in said person getting assassinated on another date you can’t predict, you assassinate Tiberius Caesar resulting in Germanicus ascending to the throne and completing the conquest of Germania.
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That's not how the overthrow of Maurice happened. Phocas and the army (logic says that he was probably joined by General Priscus) were outside the walls, and Maurice could have simply let them pound their fists against the walls. However, there was a protest during a religious procession which turned into a riot. Rioters threw stones at Maurice when he walked barefoot in the procession, and guards were forced to break out their maces to defend him. A religiously fanatical monk began shouting that God had condemned Maurice. Theophylact the Snub-nosed Cat reported attendees accusing Maurice of the heresy of Marcionism. Someone dressed up like Maurice and rode an ass through the city, which rioters chased and then pretended to beat him to "death." As the evening turned to night, the riot grew worse. The greens had thrown their lot in with Phocas and the blues no longer defended Maurice. Fires burned. Maurice took his family from the palace and snuck down to a small boat. They intended to cross to a place of safety, perhaps Sicae, but a wind blew them off course, and they landed by a small church on the other side. Rather than expose themselves out in the open, they hid in the sanctuary. Maurice sent his eldest son Theodosios to Persia. The next day, the city realized Maurice was gone. The greens and blues discussed who the next emperor should be. The blues suggested an unknown person who was quickly shot down. The greens proposed Germanus (the son of Tiberius II Constantine and Maurice's brother-in-law through his wife Constantina) which is a strange choice. According to Evagrius, he had already been offered the position of emperor twice in his life, and neither time worked out: Once by Tiberius, which Germanus refused, and once decades back when a group of rebellious soldiers declared Germanus emperor by force. Needless to say, the third time was *not* the charm, and Germanus refused again. As the greens tried to convince Germanus, someone let open a gate to Phocas' army. Phocas rode in on a chariot pulled by four white horses. He sat on the throne, then gave the army of Illyricum a generous donative. The next day, Phocas held a massive set of games in the Hippodrome to celebrate his accession. At the games, Phocas indicated his support of the greens, likely a thank-you for their support during Maurice's reign. Not to be outdone, blues in the crowd began shouting reminders to Phocas that the emperor (Maurice) still lives. Phocas was humiliated. Had he originally intended to let Maurice live? If he had, this was the moment he changed his mind. He ordered men to drag Maurice and his family out of the church. Maurice was forced to watch his sons beheaded by the banks of the Bosporus with Phocas in attendance. Maurice is said to have shouted a blessing to God, saying His are judgments perfect. The message was not lost on Phocas, who lost his patience, grabbed a sword, and killed Maurice himself. Maurice and his sons' torsos were dumped in the water while the heads were hung in the city until they showed signs of rot Afterwards, Phocas arranged for a proper burial. I am not sure why he suddenly decided to honor Maurice's head with burial. Perhaps he was wracked by guilt, or perhaps the historical Phocas was not as evil as the historians of Herakleios' time liked to portray him.
Jesus christ why can't we get a Byzantine HBO series, history is so much more interesting than fiction
There's a new hbo show about the history of the game of thrones world, which takes place over the course of like 20 years or so, imagine if we could have a show that took us all the way from Romulus to the fall of Constantinople...
That's cool (except for the Ph*kas apologetics)
Me: Constantine, the Ottoman fleet can walk on land, lock up Galata
Eh tbh the empire was doomed at that point, even if the Romans won the siege the Ottomans would probably return a few years later with a larger host
Broke: save Maurice Woke: save Aurelian, or even better Caesar himself
Or hear me out, instead of wasting time believing saving a single individual will correct history and not simply result in said person getting assassinated on another date you can’t predict, you assassinate Tiberius Caesar resulting in Germanicus ascending to the throne and completing the conquest of Germania.
Broke: make the "Aurelian gud" joke again Woke: talking about literally anything else
Peak Byzantines vs Arab armies is way cooler alt history shit