This may not have occurred if Maurice had not been deposed. He was on the verge of defeating the Slavs and their allies and close to subjugating them in 602 AD. If the army had not mutinied and acclaimed Phocas as Emperor, the Slavs could have been kept out of the Balkans. Instead, by 680 AD, they occupied nearly all of the region and permanently changed its ethnic character.<ref> Curta, 202</ref>
====Conclusion====Maurice is rightly seen as a great general and administrator, but he was uncompromising and did not attend to his soldiers and the general population's interests. Maurice removed the Persian threat and secured the eastern flank of his Empire. He was on the verge of a complete victory in the Balkans. Maurice's inflexibility provoked a mutiny, which led to his deposition and death. There was a dramatic shift in the fortunes of the Empire. It led to a 26-year war with Persia that grievously weakened the Empire, even though it survived. The Christian Empire went into a protracted period of decline called the ‘Byzantine Dark Ages.’ At this time, the Slavs occupied the Balkans, and the Muslims permanently seized Syria, Palestine, and North Africa. This led to enduring cultural and religious changes in these regions. The decline of Byzantium could have been avoided if Phocas had not treacherously deposed and killed Maurice. The fate of the Roman Empire's successor shows that individual events, such as a usurpation, can change even radically alter a great statesempire' s future.
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