Philippicus | |
|---|---|
 Exile of Philippicus (right). Miniature from the 12th centuryManasses Chronicle. | |
| Allegiance | East Roman Empire |
| Rank | magister militum per Orientem,comes excubitorum |
| Battles / wars | Byzantine–Sassanid War of 572–591,Maurice's Balkan campaigns,Byzantine–Sassanid War of 602–628 |
| Relations | EmperorMaurice andPeter (brothers-in-law) |
Philippicus (Greek:Φιλιππικός;fl. 580s–610s) was anEastern Roman general,comes excubitorum, and brother-in-law of EmperorMaurice (r. 582–602). His successful career as a general spanned three decades, chiefly against theSassanid Persians.
Little is known about Philippicus's early years. He was married to Gordia, sister of EmperorMaurice (reigned 582–602), probably in 583,[1] and was at some point raised to the high rank ofpatricius.[2] At about the same time, he was appointedcomes excubitorum (Commander of theExcubitors, the imperial bodyguard), and in 584, he replacedJohn Mystacon asmagister militum for the East, thus becoming responsible for the conduct of theongoing war against theSassanid Persians.[1]
He commanded numerous raids into Persian territory in 584–585, ravaging the plains nearNisibis,[1] and making inroads in the regions ofArzanene and easternMesopotamia.[3] During the same period, he actively tried to improve the discipline and efficiency of his troops.[4]
Philippicus spent the winter of 585–586 inConstantinople, and returned to his headquarters inAmida in the spring.[3] After Persian peace proposals were rejected, he advanced his troops to the frontier, where he defeated a superior Persian force underKardarigan at theBattle of Solachon.[3] He then proceeded to invade and plunder Arzanene and laid siege to the fortress of Chlomaron.[3] However, the approach of a Persian relief army panicked the Romans, who fled in disorder back into Roman territory.[3] There, possibly due to illness, he handed over command of his army to hishypostrategos (lieutenant general)Heraclius, the father of the future emperorHeraclius (r. 610–641).[3] In spring 587, he was again ill, and unable to campaign in person. He assigned two thirds of his army to Heraclius and the remainder to generals Theodore and Andreas, and sent them to raid Persian territory. He did not campaign himself that year, and in the winter, he set off towards Constantinople. On his way, he learned that he had been replaced byPriscus.[3][5]
When Priscus arrived in the East, however, the soldiers refused to obey him, and elected thedux ofPhoenice Libanensis, Germanus, as their leader in his stead. Philippicus, who was soon re-appointed as commander of the East, could only assume his command after the mutiny was quelled through the intervention of thePatriarch ofAntioch.[6] After a public reconciliation with his troops, in the summer of 589 he campaigned against the city ofMartyropolis, which had recently fallen to the Persians through the treacherous defection of a Roman officer named Sittas. Philippicus failed to retake it and was defeated by a Persian relief force led byMahbodh and Aphrarat, after which he was replaced byComentiolus.[6][7]
Except for a diplomatic mission in 590 to the recently deposed Persian rulerKhosrau II (r. 590–628), who had taken refuge in Roman territory, Philippicus disappears from the scene for several years.[6] In 598, he was briefly appointed general in theongoing war in the Balkans,[8] and is credited by some sources with a victory over theAvars inThrace,[9] although this is most likely due to a confusion with general Priscus.[10]
At some point in 602, suspicions fell upon him of plotting against Emperor Maurice, since aprophecy stated that the name of Maurice's successor would begin with aΦ (Phi).[2] Indeed, soon after, Maurice was deposed and killed by a revolt in the Balkan army led byPhocas. As a close associate of Maurice, Philippicus wastonsured and forced to enter a monastery inChrysopolis.[2][11] He was still at the monastery when Heraclius overthrew Phocas in 610. The new emperor recalled him and sent him to negotiate with Phocas's brother,Comentiolus, who commanded the eastern army.[2] Comentiolus imprisoned him and intended to execute him, but Philippicus was saved when Comentiolus himself was murdered.[2]
In 612, he was again appointed by Heraclius asmagister militum per Orientem succeeding the disgraced Priscus, and campaigned against the Persians inArmenia. In 614, as a Persian army underShahininvaded Asia Minor and reached the shores of theBosporus atChalcedon, Philippicus invaded Persian territory in turn, hoping to cause Shahin to withdraw.[2]
Philippicus died shortly thereafter and was buried in a church he had built at Chrysopolis.[2]
As one of the leading generals of his day, and with both the time and opportunity to write it sometime after 603, during the years he spent in a monastery, Philippicus is one of the possible authors of themilitary treatise known as theStrategikon and traditionally attributed to Maurice.[12]