MAURICE

born March 21, 1521, Freiberg, Saxony died July 9, 1553, Sievershausen, Saxony duke (154153) and later elector (154753) of Saxony, whose clever manipulation of alliances and disputes gained the Albertine branch of the Wettin dynasty extensive lands and the electoral dignity. Maurice succeeded his father, Duke Henry of Saxony, in 1541. Although a Protestant, he aided the Roman Catholic emperor Charles V against the Turks (1542), Cleve (1543), and France (1544). In 1545, he was dissuaded from supporting the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League by an imperial promise of the Saxon electorship, held by John Frederick the Magnanimous of the rival Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty; Maurice returned to Charles's camp and conquered electoral Saxony. Ousted in 1547, he returned after John Frederick's defeat in the Battle of Mhlberg (April 24, 1547) and received the electoral dignity and sizable lands. Soon, however, Maurice began to resent Charles's plans to reintroduce Catholicism in Germany's Protestant territories and the continued imprisonment of his father-in-law, Philip the Magnanimous, landgrave of Hesse, whose freedom Charles had guaranteed. Commissioned to capture the rebellious Lutheran city of Magdeburg (1550), Maurice seized the occasion to raise an army and signed anti-Habsburg compacts with France and Germany's Protestant princes. In March 1552 the rebels overran southern Germany and parts of Austria, forcing the Emperor to flee and release Philip. In August 1552 the Lutheran position was provisionally guaranteed by the Treaty of Passau. Again returning to the Emperor's camp, Maurice campaigned against the Turks in Hungary. Finally, in northwestern Germany, he confronted his former ally Albert II Alcibiades of Brandenburg, who had rejected the Passau armistice. He defeated Albert at Sievershausen but was himself killed in the battle. born c. 539, , Cappadocia died 602, Constantinople Latin in full Mauricius Flavius Tiberius outstanding general and emperor (582602) who helped transform the shattered late Roman Empire into a new and well-organized medieval Byzantine Empire. Maurice first entered the government as a notary but in 578 was made commander of the imperial forces in the East. Distinguished by his successes against the Persians, he was selected by the emperor Tiberius II as his successor. On Aug. 5, 582, he was made emperor and betrothed to Tiberius' daughter Constantina. He was crowned on August 13, the day preceding Tiberius' death. In the East, Maurice led his armies against Persia, reaching a satisfactory peace settlement after helping Khosrow II gain the Persian throne. With peace restored, Maurice could turn to the North, where nomadic Slavs and Avars were establishing permanent settlements in the empire. His campaign had some success, for in 602 the Avars went over to the imperial side. In the West, Maurice is credited with establishing a new kind of civil administration in war-torn Italy. He appointed military governors for Rome and Ravennathe exarchate of Ravennawhen he realized that the civil authorities were unable to protect remaining Byzantine territory from the advancing Lombards. He later created an exarchate at Carthage, in North Africa, designed to withstand the attacks of Berber tribesmen. The two exarchates were provinces whose civil administration was placed in the hands of military officials. They are believed to have been the basis for the system of provincial rule (themes) used in the later Byzantine Empire. Maurice's campaigns against Persians, Slavs, Avars, and Lombards drained the imperial treasury and necessitated the collection of high taxes. Dissatisfaction grew within the army, and, when he ordered some troops to set up winter quarters on the far side of the Danube River, a revolt broke out. The mutinous soldiers rallied behind Phocas, one of their junior officers, and marched on Constantinople. The citizens revolted, Maurice was overthrown, and Phocas was crowned emperor. born Nov. 13, 1567, Dillenburg, Nassau died April 23, 1625, The Hague in full Maurice, Prince Of Orange, Count Of Nassau, Dutch Maurits, Prins Van Oranje, Graaf Van Nassau hereditary stadholder (15851625) of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, or Dutch Republic, successor to his father, William I the Silent. His development of military strategy, tactics, and engineering made the Dutch army the most modern in the Europe of his time. Additional reading G. Groen van Prinsterer, Maurice et Barnevelt (1875), remains the classic Dutch biography. The outstanding recent work that assesses Maurice's contribution to history is Jan den Tex, Oldenbarnevelt, 3 vol. (1960; Eng. trans., 2 vol., 1972). A shrewd appreciation of Maurice appears in The Dutch Nation by G.J. Renier (1944). J.L. Motley, The Life and Death of John of Barneveld, 2 vol. (1874), and his History of the United Netherlands, 4 vol. (186168), contain much valuable information.