Maurice's accession in 582 had inaugurated a reign of twenty years marked by success against Persia and a reorganization of imperial government in the West.
His campaigns against Persians, Slavs, Avars, and Lombards have drained the imperial treasury and necessitated the collection of high taxes.
The major thrust of Maurice's efforts during the last years of his reign is to be found in the Balkans, where, by dint of constant campaigning, his armies have forced the Avars back across the Danube by 602.
However, in the course of these military operations, Maurice has made two mistakes: the first has weakened him; the second will destroy him together with his dynasty.
Rather than constantly accompanying his armies in the field (as his seventh- and eighth-century successors will do), Maurice has remained for the most part in Constantinople, losing an opportunity to engage the personal loyalty of his troops.
He could not count on their obedience when he issued unwelcome commands from afar that decreased their pay in 588 and ordered them to accept uniforms and weapons in kind rather than in cash equivalents.
Moreover, after the Avars had defeated the imperial forces in 598, taken a large number of prisoners, and demanded a ransom, Maurice’s refusal to pay and the resultant slaughter of the prisoners has caused consternation among the army.
Lest their requirements prove too great a strain on the agricultural and financial resources of the empire's provinces south of the Danube, he had required the soldiers to establish winter quarters in enemy lands across the river in 602.
Exasperated by this last demand, the soldiers rise in revolt, put a junior officer named Phocas at their head, and march on Constantinople.
The Blues and Greens, again becoming politically active, unite against Maurice, and the aged emperor is made to watch as his five teenaged sons are slaughtered before he himself is beheaded.
Phocas takes the imperial crown.
