Corrupt M...NINT PP V, crowned and mantled bust facing, holding mappa and eagle-tipped sceptre / Large M, ANNO to left, cross above, regnal year to right (III/u = regnal year 8 = 589/590 CE); mintmark THEUP below. 30mm, 11.48 grams. Theupolis (Antioch) mint. SB 532, MIB 95.

Antioch was officially renamed Theoupolis, “City of God,” in 528 AD, during the reign of Justinian I, following a series of devastating earthquakes, particularly those of 526 and 528. The new Christian name was apparently intended to place the stricken city under divine protection; it continued to appear as Theoupolis on the coinage of the Antioch mint under Justinian and his successors, including Tiberius II Constantine. 

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.