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| 565–78 |
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| Justin II, nephew of Justinian, who seized the throne with the aid of Tiberius, commander of the guard. Justin was a careful, economical ruler; he continued the policies of his predecessor but attempted to concentrate attention on the economic plight of the empire and the growing danger from the barbarians. In 574 he became insane, after which the empire was ruled by Tiberius, in conjunction with the Empress Sophia. | 1 |
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| 568–71 |
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| The Lombard invasion of Italy led to the loss of most of the imperial possessions in the north and center, though Ravenna, Rome, and Naples were retained. | 2 |
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| 572–91 |
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| War with Persia, growing out of an insurrection in Armenia, which was supported by the emperor. The Persians took Dara (573) and devastated Syria. In 575, Khusru ravaged the country as far as Cappadocia, but was finally driven back by the imperial commander Maurikios. | 3 |
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| 578–82 |
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| Tiberius, emperor. His reign was marked by a great inundation of the Slavs, who advanced into Thrace and Greece and settled in large numbers, thus changing profoundly the ethnographic composition of the Balkan populations. | 4 |
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| 582–602 |
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| Maurice (Maurikios), emperor. Like Justin, he pursued a policy of retrenchment, which only made him unpopular in the capital. | 5 |
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| 583 |
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| The Avars, an Altaic people grown to be a formidable power, took the forts along the Danube. | 6 |
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| 589–91 |
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| Last phase of the Persian War. Khusru I had died in 579. In 589 a military revolt led to the deposition of Khusru II, who fled to Constantinople. The emperor, espousing his cause, led a great army to the east (591) and restored him to the throne. In return the emperor received Dara and the larger part of Armenia. | 7 |
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| 591 |
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| The Avars raided to the very gates of Constantinople. | 8 |
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| 593 |
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| The imperial armies, under the general Priscus, proceeded against the Avars. The latter were defeated in 601 at Viminacium (now Kostolac, in Serbia), after which Priscus pushed on to the Tisza River. | 9 |
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| 602 |
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| A mutiny of the troops on the Danube, led by Phocas, resulted in a march to the capital, the outbreak of popular insurrection in the city, and the flight of the emperor. | 10 |
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| 602–10 |
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| Phocas, emperor. He was an untutored soldier, cruel and utterly incompetent. Maurice was captured and executed with his sons and all his supporters. | 11 |
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| 606–8 |
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| Resumption of the Persian War (See 603–606). The Persians again captured Dara and overran Syria and Mesopotamia (608), advancing through Anatolia as far as Chalcedon. | 12 |
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