John, surnamed Mystacon, "the mustachioed", ( el, , '' fl.'' 580–590),. was a prominent East Roman (

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

) general in the

wars War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

with

Sassanid Persia The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

during the reigns of

Byzantine emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, to Fall of Constantinople, its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. On ...

Tiberius II Tiberius II Constantine ( grc-gre, Τιβέριος Κωνσταντῖνος, Tiberios Konstantinos; died 14 August 582) was Eastern Roman emperor from 574 to 582. Tiberius rose to power in 574 when Justin II, prior to a mental breakdown, procl ...

(r. 578–582) and

Maurice Maurice may refer to: People * Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr * Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...

(r. 582–602).

Biography

A native

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...

, John first appears in history as a general in

Roman Armenia Roman Armenia refers to the rule of parts of Greater Armenia by the Roman Empire, from the 1st century AD to the end of Late Antiquity. While Armenia Minor had become a client state and incorporated into the Roman Empire proper during the 1st c ...

in 579, along with Cours. If not already holding the post of ''

magister militum (Latin for "master of soldiers", plural ) was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, ...

per Armeniam'' at that time, he had been elevated to it by 582, when he was named ''magister militum per Orientem'' by the newly crowned Maurice. Soon after this, possibly in autumn 582, he fought a major pitched battle with the Sassanid Persians under Kardarigan near the junction of the rivers Nymphius (modern Batman) and

Tigris The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the ...

. In this battle, John commanded the center, while his old colleague Cours commanded the right wing and general Ariulf the left wing. Initially the battle went well, the center and left pushing the Persians back, but Cours did not follow up, allegedly due to his

jealousy Jealousy generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety. Jealousy can consist of one or more emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, helplessness or disgus ...

of John, causing the East Roman army to retreat in defeat. After another defeat during an unsuccessful siege of the fort Acbas, he was replaced (in late 583) by Philippicus.. In 587, he was briefly entrusted with command in Thrace against the Avars after their defeat and capture of the local commander Castus. John successfully relieved the Avar siege of Adrianople after defeating them in battle, but refused to pursue them out of caution. By 589, he was back in command in Armenia as ''magister militum'', a post he held until a few years after the 591 peace with Persia, when relieved by

Heraclius the Elder Heraclius the Elder ( el, Ἡράκλειος, ''Herákleios''; died 610) was a Byzantine general and the father of Byzantine emperor Heraclius (r. 610–641). Generally considered to be of Armenian origin Heraclius the Elder distinguished him ...

. At about the same time, he was raised to the rank of '' patricius''.. In 589, he laid siege to the Armenian capital Dvin, but raised it when he heard of the rebellion of general

Bahram Chobin Bahrām Chōbīn ( fa, بهرام چوبین) or Wahrām Chōbēn ( Middle Persian: ), also known by his epithet Mehrbandak ("servant of Mithra"), was a nobleman, general, and political leader of the late Sasanian Empire and briefly its ruler as ...

against the Persian

shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

Hormizd IV Hormizd IV (also spelled Hormozd IV or Ohrmazd IV; pal, 𐭠𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭬𐭦𐭣) was the Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 579 to 590. He was the son and successor of Khosrow I () and his mother was a Khazar princess. During his reign, Ho ...

(r. 579–590). Taking advantage of the Persian infighting, he raided into Persian-held

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

, carrying off much booty and many captives. In 591, he took part in the joint Roman–Persian campaign under

Narses , image=Narses.jpg , image_size=250 , caption=Man traditionally identified as Narses, from the mosaic depicting Justinian and his entourage in the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna , birth_date=478 or 480 , death_date=566 or 573 (aged 86/95) , allegi ...

to restore

Khosrau II Khosrow II (spelled Chosroes II in classical sources; pal, 𐭧𐭥𐭮𐭫𐭥𐭣𐭩, Husrō), also known as Khosrow Parviz (New Persian: , "Khosrow the Victorious"), is considered to be the last great Sasanian king (shah) of Iran, ruling fr ...

(r. 590–628), the rightful Persian ruler, to his throne. At the head of his Armenian troops, he fought in the decisive

Battle of Blarathon The Battle of the Blarathon, also known as the Battle of Ganzak, was fought in 591 near Ganzak between a combined Byzantine– Persian force and a Persian army led by the usurper Bahram Chobin. Background In 590, Sasanian Shah Hormizd IV grew ...

, which signalled the final defeat of the usurper Bahram.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:John Mystacon 6th-century Byzantine generals Generals of Maurice Magistri militum Patricii Roman-era Thracians People of the Roman–Sasanian Wars