Lost Roman Heroes - Episode 94: Mauricius (Part 2 - Apogee & Disaster)

About this episode

The episode explores the downfall of Mauricius as internal strife and external pressures threaten the empire he built.

In Part 2 of Mauricius' tale, the empire that he spent twenty years building begins to crack from within. We meet the generals he trusted, the ones he sidelined, and the ones he should never have appointed (like brother Petrus). We follow the Avars and the Slavs as they push the Balkans to the breaking point. And we watch as one man's iron discipline, the very quality that made him great , becomes the thing that destroys him. A fatal order. A mutiny. A centurion named Phocas. And an ending that even Gibbon of the severe and vicious tongue could barely bring himself to describe.

People in this episode

Hosts: Matteo, Matthew Storm

Topics covered

• Roman Empire
• military history
• leadership
• betrayal
• historical figures

Keywords

• Mauricius
• Avars
• Slavs
• Balkans
• military discipline
• mutiny
• historical analysis

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Gibbon

Places: Balkans

More episodes of LOST ROMAN HEROES

• Lost Roman Heroes - Episode 96 - Gregory the Great (Part 1) · May 31, 2026 · 43 min
• Lost Roman Heroes - Episode 95: Lost Roman Women with Ladies of Lore · May 17, 2026 · 1h 30m
• Lost Roman Heroes - Episode 93: Mauricius (Part 1 - The Rise) · April 19, 2026 · 48 min
• Lost Roman Heroes - Episode 92: Gregory of Tours · March 29, 2026 · 1h 0m
• Lost Roman Heroes - Episode 91: Tiberius II · March 15, 2026 · 1h 18m
• Lost Roman Heroes - Episode 90: Belisarius, Man Behind the Myth with Dr. David Parnell · March 1, 2026 · 1h 3m