Germanus, called "patricius" (Greek: πατρίκιος), was a leading member of the

Byzantine Senate The Byzantine senate or eastern Roman senate ( el, Σύγκλητος, ''Synklētos'', or , ''Gerousia'') was a continuation of the Roman Senate, established in the 4th century by Constantine I. It survived for centuries, but the senate's powers ...

during the reign of

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 ...

.Martindale, Jones & Morris (1992), pp. 531–532

Family

Other than a wife called Leontia by

Theophanes the Confessor Theophanes the Confessor ( el, Θεοφάνης Ὁμολογητής; c. 758/760 – 12 March 817/818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler. He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before taking u ...

, there is no named relative of Germanus. His name has led to a possible identification with a similarly named son of Germanus (d. 550) and

Matasuntha Mataswintha, also spelled Matasuintha, Matasuentha, Mathesuentha, Matasvintha, or Matasuntha, (fl. 550), was a daughter of Eutharic and Amalasuintha. She was a sister of Athalaric, King of the Ostrogoths. Their maternal grandparents were Theodoric ...

.Martindale, Jones & Morris (1992), p. 528 But said son has also been identified with Germanus, a son-in-law of

Tiberius II Constantine 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 ...

and

Ino Anastasia Ino ( el, ), 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 ...

.Whitby (1988), p. 7 The common name "Germanus" may hint to these figures being related to each other but there is insufficient evidence for identifications.

Under Maurice

In November 601 or more likely, in February 602, an unnamed daughter of Germanus married

Theodosius Theodosius ( Latinized from the Greek "Θεοδόσιος", Theodosios, "given by god") is a given name. It may take the form Teodósio, Teodosie, Teodosije etc. Theodosia is a feminine version of the name. Emperors of ancient Rome and Byzantium ...

, the eldest son of Maurice and

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

. The marriage was recorded by

Theophylact Simocatta Theophylact Simocatta (Byzantine Greek: Θεοφύλακτος Σιμοκάτ(τ)ης ''Theophýlaktos Simokát(t)ēs''; la, Theophylactus Simocatta) was an early seventh-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine historiographer, arguably ranking as th ...

, the

Chronicon Paschale ''Chronicon Paschale'' (the ''Paschal'' or ''Easter Chronicle''), also called ''Chronicum Alexandrinum'', ''Constantinopolitanum'' or ''Fasti Siculi'', is the conventional name of a 7th-century Greek Christian chronicle of the world. Its name com ...

Joannes Zonaras Joannes or John Zonaras ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης Ζωναρᾶς ; 1070 – 1140) was a Byzantine Greek historian, chronicler and theologian who lived in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey). Under Emperor Alexios I Komnenos he held th ...

and

Georgios Kedrenos George Kedrenos, Cedrenus or Cedrinos ( el, Γεώργιος Κεδρηνός, fl. 11th century) was a Byzantine Greeks, Byzantine Greek historian. In the 1050s he compiled ''Synopsis historion'' (also known as ''A concise history of the world''), ...

. On 2 February 602, Theophylact records Germanus rescuing the life of Theodosius from a rioting mob in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, angry over a food shortage. Later that year, Germanus and Theodosius went hunting to Callicrateia, a brief distance from Constantinople. There they received correspondence from the rebellious army of Thrace. The rebels demanded the deposition of Maurice and offered their support to elevate either Theodosius or Germanus to the throne. Germanus was soon accused of treason by Maurice. The emperor suspected him of being responsible for the ongoing revolt. Besides the incriminating letter, there was another act pointing to the rebels being allied to Germanus. They were reportedly seizing all horses outside Constantinople, but had left Germanus' horses alone. Germanus pleaded for his innocence in vain. Theodosius convinced his father-in-law to flee before facing the wrath of Maurice. Germanus and his bodyguard sought

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

, first in the church to the

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are " ...

created by

Cyrus of Panopolis Flavius Taurus Seleucus Cyrus ( 426–441), better known as Cyrus of Panopolis ( el, ) from his birthplace of Panopolis in Egypt, was a senior East Roman official, epic poet, philosopher and a lover of Greek arts. He lived in Constantinople duri ...

, then in the

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia ( 'Holy Wisdom'; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque ( tr, Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi), is a mosque and major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The cathedral was originally built as a Greek Ortho ...

. Maurice send his own guards to capture Germanus and turmoil followed. Germanus considered surrendering but a crowd sympathetic to him convinced him otherwise. They were convinced that Maurice was intending to execute Germanus.

Under Phocas

In late November, 602, Maurice fled Constantinople to escape the advancing rebels. Germanus took his chance to claim the throne. He counted on the support of the Green faction in the

Hippodrome of Constantinople Sultanahmet Square ( tr, Sultanahmet Meydanı) or the Hippodrome of Constantinople ( el, Ἱππόδρομος τῆς Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, Hippódromos tēs Kōnstantinoupóleōs; la, Circus Maximus Constantinopolitanus; t ...

. He had miscalculated as the Greens firmly rejected him. The would-be-emperor immediately turned to support

Phocas Phocas ( la, Focas; grc-gre, Φωκάς, Phōkás; 5475 October 610) was Eastern Roman emperor from 602 to 610. Initially, a middle-ranking officer in the Eastern Roman army, Phocas rose to prominence as a spokesman for dissatisfied soldiers ...

, the leader of the rebels. According to Theophylact, Phocas had briefly considered elevating Germanus to the throne, but instead seized the throne for himself. A

rumor A rumor (American English), or rumour (British English; see spelling differences; derived from Latin:rumorem - noise), is "a tall tale of explanations of events circulating from person to person and pertaining to an object, event, or issue in p ...

of the time suggested that Germanus had managed to save the life of Theodosius by bribing Phocas' men. Theophylact dismisses any truth to the rumor. In any case, Phocas did not trust Germanus. The Chronicon mentions Germanus becoming a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

in 603. Theophanes considers this to be a direct decision by Phocas, who had discovered Germanus conspiring against him. If Phocas believed that he was finished with Germanus, he was wrong. Theophanes records that Constantina maintained contact with Germanus and that both were conspiring against Phocas. Their messages were entrusted to Petronia, a

maidservant A handmaiden, handmaid or maidservant is a personal maid or female servant. Depending on culture or historical period, a handmaiden may be of slave status or may be simply an employee. However, the term ''handmaiden'' generally implies lowly ...

under Constantina. Petronia proved disloyal and reported the conspiracy to Phocas. Constantina was arrested and placed in the custody of Theopemptus,

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

of Constantinople. Her

interrogation Interrogation (also called questioning) is interviewing as commonly employed by law enforcement officers, military personnel, intelligence agencies, organized crime syndicates, and terrorist organizations with the goal of eliciting useful informa ...

included

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

and she was forced to give the name of her fellow conspirators. Constantina and all three of her daughters were executed at

Chalcedon Chalcedon ( or ; , sometimes transliterated as ''Chalkedon'') was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor. It was located almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari (modern Üsküdar) and it is now a district of the cit ...

. Germanus and his unnamed daughter were also executed on the island of Prote. The daughter had been the widow of Theodosius. Theophanes places the deaths in 605/606 but the exact date is in doubt.Lynda Garland, "Constantina, Wife of Maurice"
/ref> The Chronicon Paschale reports that all six were decapitated.

Sources

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Germanus 600s deaths Justinian dynasty 7th-century Byzantine people Executed Byzantine people People executed by decapitation Year of birth unknown 7th-century executions by the Byzantine Empire