Byzantine Emperor. A professional soldier of obscure birth, he served as an officer in the Emperor Maurice's Balkan campaigns and came to be regarded by his fellow soldiers as their leader and spokesman. He was chosen by them to submit their grievances to the Emperor in 598 AD when he refused to pay a ransom to the Avars for captured Byzantine prisoners. In 602 AD the Balkan army revolted against Maurice when he ordered them to spend the winter on the unprotected north side of the Danube. Phocas led the army against the capital, where he was made Emperor when Maurice abdicated and was murdered. He sought to achieve popularity by lowering taxes and won the support of Pope Gregory I by accepting his agrarian reforms. According to later sources he ruthlessly crushed any opposition to his rule and allegedly killed thousands in order to keep control. The most famous monument of his reign is the "Column of Phocas", the last monument to be erected in the Roman forum. He was also responsible for presenting The Pantheon, Hadrian's great temple to all the pagan gods, to the Pope for use as a church. His reign saw the loss of large areas of Byzantine territory, with the Balkans falling to the Avars and Slavs and the Persians making conquests in the East. In 608 AD a revolt began in Africa, led by a father and son who shared the name Heraclius. In 610 AD the younger Heraclius was crowned Emperor outside Constantinople and entered the city without opposition. Heraclius then killed Phocas with his own hands and his body was paraded through the streets before being burned.
Byzantine Emperor. A professional soldier of obscure birth, he served as an officer in the Emperor Maurice's Balkan campaigns and came to be regarded by his fellow soldiers as their leader and spokesman. He was chosen by them to submit their grievances to the Emperor in 598 AD when he refused to pay a ransom to the Avars for captured Byzantine prisoners. In 602 AD the Balkan army revolted against Maurice when he ordered them to spend the winter on the unprotected north side of the Danube. Phocas led the army against the capital, where he was made Emperor when Maurice abdicated and was murdered. He sought to achieve popularity by lowering taxes and won the support of Pope Gregory I by accepting his agrarian reforms. According to later sources he ruthlessly crushed any opposition to his rule and allegedly killed thousands in order to keep control. The most famous monument of his reign is the "Column of Phocas", the last monument to be erected in the Roman forum. He was also responsible for presenting The Pantheon, Hadrian's great temple to all the pagan gods, to the Pope for use as a church. His reign saw the loss of large areas of Byzantine territory, with the Balkans falling to the Avars and Slavs and the Persians making conquests in the East. In 608 AD a revolt began in Africa, led by a father and son who shared the name Heraclius. In 610 AD the younger Heraclius was crowned Emperor outside Constantinople and entered the city without opposition. Heraclius then killed Phocas with his own hands and his body was paraded through the streets before being burned.
Bio by: js
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