result. It affected the whole world.

We shall gain a clear view of this great event, if we consider
separately the two acts into which it may be decomposed: 1. The
temporary overthrow of Asiatic Christianity by the Persians; 2.
The decisive and final reformation under the Arabians.

1. It happened (A.D. 590) that, by one of those revolutions so
frequent in Oriental courts, Chosroes, the lawful heir to the
Persian throne, was compelled to seek refuge in the Byzantine
Empire, and implore the aid of the Emperor Maurice. That aid was
cheerfully given. A brief and successful campaign restored
Chosroes to the throne of his ancestors.

But the glories of this generous campaign could not preserve
Maurice himself. A mutiny broke out in the Roman army, headed by
Phocas, a centurion. The statues of the emperor were overthrown.
The Patriarch of Constantinople, having declared that he had
assured himself of the orthodoxy of Phocas, consecrated him
emperor. The unfortunate Maurice was dragged from a sanctuary, in
which he had sought refuge; his five sons were beheaded before
his eyes, and then he was put to death. His empress was inveigled
from the church of St. Sophia, tortured, and with her three young
daughters beheaded. The adherents of the massacred family were
pursued with ferocious vindictiveness; of some the eyes were
blinded, of others the tongues were torn out, or the feet and
hands cut off, some were whipped to death, others were burnt.

When the news reached Rome, Pope Gregory received it with
exultation, praying that the hands of Phocas might be