of breathing space, Tiberius and Sophia agreed to a one-year truce with the Persians, at the cost of 45,000 nomismata. On 7 December 574, Justin, in one of his more lucid moments, had Tiberius proclaimed Caesar and adopted him as his own son. Tiberius added the name Constantine to his own. Although his position was now official, he was still subordinate to Justin. Sophia was determined to remain in power and kept Tiberius tightly controlled until Justin died, in 578. Elevation as caesar (574–578) The day after his appointment as Caesar, the plague abated, giving Tiberius more freedom of movement than Justin had been able to achieve. Tiberius also charted a very different course from his predecessor and proceeded to spend the money that Justin had doggedly saved in order to defend the imperial frontiers and win over the populace who had turned against him. According to Paul the Deacon, Tiberius found two treasures: the treasure of Narses and 1,000 centenaria: 100,000 pounds of gold or 7,200,000 solidi (nomismata), under a slab. The treasures were given away to the poor, to the consternation of Sophia. Alongside generous donations, he also proceeded to reduce state revenue by removing taxes on wine and bread instituted by Justinian I. He continued the official ban on the sale of governorships, which was highly popular. He also negotiated a truce with the Avars, paying them 80,000 nomismata per year for which the Avars agreed to defend the Danube frontier, thereby allowing Tiberius to transfer troops across to the east for a planned renewal of the conflict against the Persians. In 575, Tiberius began moving the armies of Thrace and Illyricum to the eastern provinces. Buying time to make the necessary preparations, he agreed to a three-year truce with the Persians, paying 30,000 nomismata, though the truce excluded action in the region around Armenia. Not content with making preparations, Tiberius also used this period to send reinforcements to Italy under the command of Baduarius with orders to stem the Lombard invasion. He saved Rome from the Lombards and allied the Empire with Childebert II, the King of the Franks, to defeat them. Unfortunately, Baduarius was defeated and killed in 576, allowing even more imperial territory in Italy to slip away. Tiberius was unable to respond as the Sassanid Emperor Khosrau I struck at the empire's Armenian provinces in 576, sacking Melitene and Sebastea. Shifting his attention