5 – Phocas (602-610)
Phocas is often regarded as one of the worst Byzantine emperors. Little is known about his early life but he may have been as old as 55 when he usurped the throne from the emperor Maurice in 602. He was reasonably popular at first since he reduced taxes which had been a point of contention during the rule of his predecessor. In one sense, Phocas may be the victim of overly harsh criticism from Byzantine historians. After all, he had no legitimate claim to the throne and ended up losing a civil war; as you know, history is seldom kind to losers.
The initial adulation didn’t last very long as Phocas was faced with the same problem as Maurice was; the Byzantine empire had overstretched itself and keeping things in check was proving to be too difficult. The Persian king Chosroes began a war against the Byzantines that was to last for over a quarter of a century and would significantly weaken the Roman empire in the East while ultimately leading to the demise of the Persian empire.
While Phocas fared reasonably well in the early stages of the war, he was forced to deal with a rebellion in Egypt in 609 which meant taking most of his troops away from the war with the Persians. This rebellion became a civil war as Heraclius, son of the governor-general in Africa (with the same name), began the revolt with a view to taking the throne. In 610, Heraclius defeated Phocas and executed his enemy.
It may well be a case of history being unfair to Phocas. He was likely not as bad as historians tried to suggest but he was cruel and tyrannical and was unable to prevent the Persians from starting and continuing a war that would last for over 25 years and ultimately weaken the Byzantine empire. His successor, Heraclius, is viewed in a far more positive light.