[dN MAuRICI] - TIbER AVG, Diademed, helmeted and cuirassed facing bust, holding globus cruciger / Large K; uII in the right field, cross above, crude TE below. Thessalonica mint, Year 7 (588/590). 24mm, 6.00 grams. SB 509, MIB 112D-113D.

Maurice (Flavius Mauricius Tiberius, c. 539–602), commonly called Maurice Tiberius, was a Byzantine emperor who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 582 to 602. Born in Arabissus, he rose through the military ranks under Emperor Tiberius II Constantine and became his son-in-law and successor. Maurice proved to be a capable general and administrator, conducting successful campaigns against the Sasanian Empire and stabilizing the eastern frontier, while also fighting the incursions of the Avars and Slavs in the Balkans. Despite his military successes, his strict financial policies and unpopular order for troops to winter beyond the Danube led to a revolt by the army, which proclaimed the officer Phocas as emperor. Maurice was captured and executed in 602, marking the violent end of his reign and ushering in a period of instability in the Byzantine Empire.