"Byzantium was just tired from the Persian War. Every empire deserves a timeout."
>>902863
Khalid ibn Waleed, best general after Genghis Khan OWNED Byzantine and Sassanid Cucks
Memes aside guys, how did the Persians get so far in that final, cataclysmic war? The Roman Empire was an existential threat to Persian dominance of Mesopotamia, the wealthiest part of its nation. Hell, the Romans had even sacked Ctesiphon a few times. So how did the tables turn, with the Persians basically owning a third of the empire for about twenty years?
>>902863
>be in a war for almost 30 entire years
>"NAH THEY WERE TOTALLY HAPPY TO FIGHT ON ANOTHER WAR"
Not to fucking mention that slavs and Avars were constantly invading the Balkans
>>903145
An early version of the Black Plague wrecking havoc on the empire, running the empire over in Italy, constant campaigns against the Slavs and Avars in the Balkans, and the first ever violent coup d'etat resulting in a new, shitty emperor(Phocas) that many army leaders hated left the empire in a weak spot.
The emperor Phocas had overthrown, Maurice, was actually decent. He had pacified the Persians by helping Khosaru II onto the throne. With the east pacified as such, Maurice could turn his armies on the Balkan problems. With Maurice dead, Khosaru had no problems attacking the Byzantines.
Finally, Heraclius and company had to wage a civil war out of yet another part of the empire, Africa, to take the throne in 610, eight years into the war. This further contributed to imperial weakness.
>>903499
without heraclius the empire wouldve lost its territories faster than the persians, he did the right with pulling back the garrison behind the tarsus to defend there, and he also managed to hold on north africa for some years
>>903518
Oh I agree Heraclius did what he could against the Persians, and generally did it well aside from the absolute disaster at Yarmouk. Really it is Yarmouk alone that tars his whole legacy, otherwise he'd right up there alongside Justinian, Basil II, and Leo III. I'd say he is on the next tier though.
>>903543
*did what he could against the muslims. It's late, i'm going to bed.
