In the year 602 AD, the capable emperor Maurice faced a military rebellion led by a man named Phocas. The latter killed his sovereign and took power. The murder of the legitimate emperor Maurice provided Sassanian shah Khosrow II with a convenient casus belli to invade Roman territory. This war would set the entire near east ablaze and mark the end of Antiquity. The crucial decades that followed would be defined by the deeds of one man above all, Heraclius.

⏰ Timestamps
0:00 Introduction
1:40 Crisis of Legitimacy
17:10 The Fight for Survival
30:23 A New Threat

Support
You can support me and donate a Follis or more on Patreon :
  / ancientsight  

Music
https://www.epidemicsound.com/
This Is Our Land Bonnie Grace
Deconstructing the Empire Christian Andersen
Faith Collapsing Reynard Seidel
Heroes on Horses Wendel Scherer
Zero Hours Reynard Seidel
Phantasm Jo Wandrini
Happily Unknowing Christian Andersen
Faith Collapsing Reynard Seidel
The Last of Our Kind Jon Bjork
Night of the Drowned Dream Cave
The Great War Jon Bjork
The Story Begins Hampus Naeselius
Signal to Noise Hampus Naeselius
Forever to Run Howard HarperBarnes
March Towards the End Bonnie Grace
Force Matrix Jon Bjork
Protector Of The Sky Jo Wandrini
Disciples of Sun Tzu Christian Andersen
The Thin Line Hampus Naeselius

Main sources
Walter E. Kaegi, Heraclius Emperor of Byzantium: Cambridge; 2003
Hugh Elton, The Roman Empire of Late Antiquity; 2016
Morisson Cécile, Le Monde Byzantin I L'empire rome d'Orient (330641): puf; 2012

Internet sources
Wikipedia fr eng, 2023
The History of Byzantium Podcast https://thehistoryofbyzantium.com/
Roman Emperors : http://www.romanemperors.org/
Byzantine Battles : https://byzantium.gr/battles.html
Historical Map Animators, Youtube