The usurper Phocas at the turn of the eras and his solidus

Today's article is devoted to an interesting period of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium) and a coin that is a witness to this era. This coin is the solid of Emperor Phocas.  Emperor Mauritius Tiberius was the predecessor of Emperor Phocas on the throne of the empire. An outstanding commander, author of works on military theory, Mauritius pushed back the Avars and the Slavs subordinate to them beyond the Danube. But in 602, a revolt caused by the difficulties of the war began in the Danubian army, led by Foka. The rebels managed to capture the capital of the country, Constantinople, Tiberius and his entire family were killed. The accession of Phocas did not bring peace to the empire. The state administration was upset, endless bloody massacres with the aim of confiscation of property were characteristic of this government. In addition to the war with the Avars, the Shah of Persia, offended by the assassination of Tiberius, began a war to seize the eastern part of the empire. Phocas supported the Roman pontiffs to the detriment of the Patriarchs of Constantinople. He endowed the Roman patriarchs with the right to be called ecumenical, which gave their followers the right to be called Catholics. In honor of Phocas, a column was erected at the forum in Rome. Changes took place in the internal life of the empire, allowing researchers to single out the reign of Phocas as a boundary between the Eastern Roman and Byzantine empires. This was expressed both in the change of the state language (from Latin to Greek) and in the habits and appearance of the inhabitants of the empire. This is clearly seen on the coins - before the Phocas period, emperors were depicted as beardless, after - with a beard. An uprising in the territory of the African exarchate put an end to the reign of Phocas - the father and son of Heraclius created an army and navy, with the help of which they managed to overthrow the usurper Phocas. In 610, the fleet of Heraclius occupied Constantinople. Phocas was killed. The relatively large number of Phocas solidi can be explained by the fact that a huge amount of gold accumulated by the empire was minted into coins and used both to pay for the army and distribute to the people. and to pay huge tribute to the Avars.