Maurice (môrˈĭs) [key], c.539–602, Byzantine emperor (582–602). He was a successful general when, on his deathbed, Tiberius II, his father-in-law and the successor of Justin II, proclaimed him emperor. He failed to halt the Lombards in Italy but ended (591) the war with Persia, restored Khosru II to the throne, and defeated the Avars. His strict discipline caused mutiny in the Danubian army, and he was obliged to flee. He was killed by order of the usurper Phocas, who was deposed (610), in turn, by Heraclius I.
