Germanus was a ''

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war. He ...

'' of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

. He married Charito, a daughter of

Tiberius II Constantine Tiberius II Constantine (; ; 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, proclaimed him ''caesar'' and adopted him as his own son. In 578, the dying ...

and

Ino Anastasia Ino (), renamed Aelia Anastasia (died 593) was the Empress consort of Tiberius II Constantine (r. 578–582) of the Byzantine Empire, and '' Augusta'' from 578 until her death. Life Early life and marriages According to the account of John of ...

. According to

Michael Whitby Lionel Michael Whitby (born February 1952) is a British ancient historian of Late Antiquity. He specialises in History of the Later Roman Empire, late Roman and early Byzantine history and historiography. He is currently pro-vice-chancellor and h ...

, Germanus was a patrician and governor of the

praetorian prefecture of Africa The Praetorian Prefecture of Africa () was an administrative division of the Byzantine Empire in the Maghreb. With its seat at Carthage, it was established after the reconquest of northwestern Africa from the Vandals in 533–534 by the Byzantine ...

. He was chosen by the dying Tiberius II as a viable heir for his throne in 582. "In a dual ceremony on 5 August Germanus ... and Maurice were elevated to the rank of Caesar and betrothed to Tiberius' two daughters, Charito and

Constantina Flavia Valeria Constantina (also sometimes called ''Constantia'' and ''Constantiana''; ; b. after 307/before 317 – d. 354), later known as Saint Constance, was the eldest daughter of Roman emperor Constantine the Great and his second wife Faust ...

." Whitby regards the arrangement as indicating Tiberius' plans to have two co-rulers as successors. He suggests that the dying emperor might have even been trying to reintroduce the concept of a

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

and Eastern Roman Emperor, with Germanus and Maurice chosen for their respective connections to the western and eastern provinces. Germanus apparently rejected this proposition; John of Nikiû records that: "Before iberiusdied he gave orders that his son-in-law, named Germanus, should be raised to the imperial throne. Now he had formerly been patrician. But owing to his humility of heart he refused to be emperor. Thereupon Maurice, who was of the province of

Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...

, was made emperor". This narrative is somewhat contradicted by the ''Historia Francorum'' of

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (born ; 30 November – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours during the Merovingian period and is known as the "father of French history". He was a prelate in the Merovingian kingdom, encom ...

, which also records Byzantine events. He depicts Maurice as hand-picked to be heir, first by dowager empress Sophia and then by Tiberius II, but this account is doubted by Whitby. Germanus is not recorded afterwards, and on 11 August 582, only Maurice is recorded as ''Caesar'' in the subscription of a law of Tiberius. His parentage is uncertain. Whitby identifies Germanus with a similarly named son () born to Germanus () and

Matasuntha Mataswintha, also spelled Matasuintha, Matasuentha, Mathesuentha, Matasvintha, or Matasuntha, () was a daughter of Eutharic and Amalasuintha. She was a sister of Athalaric, King of the Ostrogoths. Their maternal grandparents were Theodoric the Gr ...

. Matasuntha was a daughter of

Eutharic Eutharic Cilliga (Latin: ''Eutharicus Cillica'') was an Ostrogothic prince from Iberia who, during the early 6th century, served as Roman Consul and "son in weapons" (''filius per arma'') alongside the Byzantine emperor Justin I. He was the son-in- ...

and

Amalasuintha Amalasuintha (495 – 30 April 535) was a ruler of the Ostrogothic Kingdom from 526 to 535. Initially serving as regent for her son Athalaric, she became queen regnant after his premature death. Highly educated, Amalasuintha was praised by both ...

, and a sister of Athalaric, king of the

Ostrogoths The Ostrogoths () were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Western Roman Empire, drawing upon the large Gothic populatio ...

. Another possible father of Germanus is general Justinian, who was a son of the senior Germanus. According to a statement in

Jordanes Jordanes (; Greek language, Greek: Ιορδάνης), also written as Jordanis or Jornandes, was a 6th-century Eastern Roman bureaucrat, claimed to be of Goths, Gothic descent, who became a historian later in life. He wrote two works, one on R ...

' ''

Getica ''De origine actibusque Getarum'' (''The Origin and Deeds of the Getae''), commonly abbreviated ''Getica'' (), written in Late Latin by Jordanes in or shortly after 551 AD, claims to be a summary of a voluminous account by Cassiodorus of the ori ...

'', the senior Germanus was a descendant of the noble Roman clan of the Anicii. The exact nature of his connection, however, if it is anything more than a literary device to indicate noble descent, is unclear.

Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; ; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th ce ...

hypothesized that his mother could have been a daughter of

Anicia Juliana Anicia Juliana (Greek: Ανικία Ίουλιανή, Constantinople, after 461 – 527/528) was a Late Antique Roman imperial princess, wife of the ''magister militum'' of the eastern Roman empire, Areobindus Dagalaiphus Areobindus, patron of ...

.Bury (1958), p. 255 Germanus disappears from sources following his marriage. A number of historians identify him with the ''patricius'' Germanus mentioned in the 7th century, whose daughter married Maurice's eldest son Theodosius,

Lynda Garland Lynda Garland (born 13 October 1955) is a scholar and professor at the University of Queensland. Her research focuses on female images in the Late Antiquity period and Byzantine Society. Biography Professor Lynda Garland is currently the Hono ...

"Constantina, Wife of Maurice". 1999 article
though the identification is not conclusive.

References

Sources

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External links

The Emperor Maurice and his historian: Theophylact Simocatta on Persian and Balkan warfareGold medallion commemorating Germanus' marriage to Charito
{{DEFAULTSORT:Germanus Justinian dynasty 6th-century Byzantine people Caesars (heirs apparent) Anicii