600 – 610s

Events in the 600s 1

• 600 – 610 Persian wars exhaust the empire The wars of Maurice and Phocas against Sassanid Persia (572-628) drain Byzantine resources to the point of collapse. Phocas's brutal usurpation (602) triggers a Persian invasion that overruns Syria, Egypt and Anatolia. Only Heraclius's extraordinary campaigns (622-628) recover these territories -- too late to prevent the Arab conquests that follow within a decade.