food. In this state, Tiberius initially named two heirs, each of whom married one of his daughters. Maurice was betrothed to Constantina, and Germanus, related through blood to the great emperor Justinian, was married to Charito. It appears that his plan was to divide the empire in two, with Maurice receiving the eastern provinces and Germanus the western provinces. This plan was never implemented, and on 13 August 582, he elevated Maurice to the rank of Augustus. Tiberius died on the following day, 14 August 582, and his last words were spoken to his successor: Let my sovereignty be delivered to thee with this girl. Be happy in the use of it, mindful always to love equity and justice. Character and legacy A native of the Latin-speaking part of Thrace, Tiberius was nonetheless distinguished as the first of the "Greek[-speaking] Caesars" by Edward Gibbon, who cited the 13th-century Syriac Orthodox bishop and writer Bar Hebraeus. Tiberius reportedly was tall and handsome, with a regal bearing. He was gentle and humane, both as a man and a ruler, with a reputation for generosity. Unlike his predecessor, he largely refrained from persecuting his Monophysite subjects, but his Arian subjects in the west did not fare as well. He also spent a good deal of money on building projects, most notably the continued expansion of the Great Palace of Constantinople. According to Gibbon, Tiberius II was a good emperor: With the odious name of Tiberius, he assumed the more popular appellation of Constantine, and imitated the purer virtues of the Antonines. After recording the vice or folly of so many Roman princes, it is pleasing to repose, for a moment, on a character conspicuous by the qualities of humanity, justice, temperance, and fortitude; to contemplate a sovereign affable in his palace, pious in the church, impartial on the seat of judgment, and victorious, at least by his generals, in the Persian war. The most glorious trophy of his victory consisted in a multitude of captives, whom Tiberius entertained, redeemed, and dismissed to their native homes with the charitable spirit of a Christian hero. The merit or misfortunes of his own subjects had a dearer claim to his beneficence, and he measured his bounty not so much by their expectations as by his own dignity. This maxim, however dangerous in a trustee of the public wealth, was balanced by a principle of humanity and