Cambridge Ancient Hi.. - Index of

conclusion 111
troops north of the Taurus. At his death in 640 Roman control in Egypt
was virtually confined to Alexandria. In his later years Heraclius had been
seriously ill, and between 638 and 641 dynastic rivalries within the imperial
family again distracted attention from external events at a crucial time. The
world of east Rome, which had united the Balkans and Asia Minor with the
Levant and Egypt, was conclusively destroyed; the near east adopted its
Byzantine shape, with the Anatolian plateau as the frontier between
Christian and Islamic worlds.
Justinian has been described as the last Roman emperor to occupy the
throne, 51 but his immediate successors in their different ways strove to
uphold Roman authority along the important frontiers and to preserve
efficient administration internally. Difficult decisions were repeatedly
required, and Justin II, Tiberius and Maurice took these when necessary,
with a reasonable measure of success. Phocas, however, lacked the authority,
and perhaps also the ability and inclination, to sustain these efforts. In
610 Phocas, on the point of being executed, had responded to Heraclius’
question, ‘Is this how you have governed the state?’ with the challenge,
‘Will you be able to do better?’ In spite of the transient victories of the
620s, Heraclius failed the test; the year 602, adopted by Jones, 52 is an appropriate
terminus for the Roman empire in the east.
51 Ostrogorsky (1956) 77. 52 Jones, LRE.
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