Germanus was a ''

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 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, an ...

'' of the

Byzantine Empire 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 Constanti ...

. He married Charito, a daughter 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, proc ...

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 Joh ...

. According to

Michael Whitby L. Michael Whitby is a British ancient historian of Late Antiquity. He specialises in late Roman history, early Byzantine history and historiography. He is currently pro-vice-chancellor and head of the College of Arts and Law at the University ...

, Germanus was a patrician and governor of the

praetorian prefecture of Africa The praetorian prefecture of Africa ( la, praefectura praetorio Africae) was an administrative division of the Eastern Roman Empire in the Maghreb. With its seat at Carthage, it was established after the reconquest of northwestern Africa from t ...

. 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''; el, Κωνσταντίνα; b. after 307/before 317 – d. 354), later known as Saint Constance, was the eldest daughter of Roman emperor Constantine the Great ...

."Whitby (1988), p. 7 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 and Eastern Roman Emperor, with Germanus and Maurice chosen for their respective connections to the western and eastern provinces of the Empire. Whitby identifies this Germanus with a similarly named son born to 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 ...

.Whitby (1988), p. 7 According to a statement in

Jordanes Jordanes (), also written as Jordanis or Jornandes, was a 6th-century Eastern Roman bureaucrat widely believed to be of Gothic descent who became a historian later in life. Late in life he wrote two works, one on Roman history ('' Romana'') an ...

' ''

Getica ''De origine actibusque Getarum'' (''The Origin and Deeds of the Getae oths'), 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 ...

'', the senior Germanus was a descendant of the noble Roman clan of the

Anicii The gens Anicia (or the Anicii) was a plebeian family at ancient Rome, mentioned first towards the end of the fourth century BC. The first of the Anicii to achieve prominence under the Republic was Lucius Anicius Gallus, who conducted the war aga ...

. 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 centu ...

hypothesized that his mother could have been a daughter of

Anicia Juliana Anicia Juliana ( Greek: Ανικία Ιουλιανή, Constantinople, 462 – 527/528) was a Late Antique Roman imperial princess, wife of the ''magister militum'' of the eastern Roman empire, Areobindus Dagalaiphus Areobindus, patron of the ...

.Bury (1958), p. 255 Matasuntha was a daughter of

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

and

Amalasuintha Amalasuintha (495 – 30 April 534/535) was a ruler of Ostrogothic Kingdom from 526 to 535. She ruled first as regent for her son and thereafter as queen on throne. A regent is "a person who governs a kingdom in the minority, absence, or disabili ...

. She was a sister of

Athalaric Athalaric (; 5162 October 534) was the king of the Ostrogoths in Italy between 526 and 534. He was a son of Eutharic and Amalasuntha, the youngest daughter of Theoderic the Great, whom Athalaric succeeded as king in 526. As Athalaric was only ...

, King of the

Ostrogoths The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the large Gothic populations wh ...

. Their maternal grandparents were

Theodoric the Great Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal ( got, , *Þiudareiks; Greek: , romanized: ; Latin: ), was king of the Ostrogoths (471–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Ital ...

and

Audofleda Audofleda (ca. 467 - ca. 511), was a Gothic queen of the Ostrogothic Kingdom by marriage to Theoderic the Great. She was the sister of Clovis I, King of the Franks. She married Theoderic the Great, King of the Ostrogoths (471–526), around 493 ...

. Whitby suggests that a dual origin from the Anicii and Ostrogoth royalty would indeed give the new Caesar a strong claim to ruling Africa and the

Praetorian prefecture of Italy The praetorian prefecture of Italy ( la, Praefectura praetorio Italiae, in its full form (until 356) ) was one of four praetorian prefectures into which the Late Roman Empire was divided. It comprised the Italian peninsula, the Western Balkans, ...

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

John of Nikiû John of Nikiû (fl. 680-690) was an Egyptian Coptic bishop of Nikiû (Pashati) in the Nile Delta and general administrator of the monasteries of Upper Egypt in 696. He is the author of a ''Chronicle'' extending from Adam to the end of the Muslim ...

records on the death of Tiberius: "He died in peace in the third year of his reign. It was owing to the sins of men that his days were so few; for they were not worthy of such a Godloving emperor, and so they lost this gracious and good man. Before he died 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 or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Revolt ...

, was made emperor." Whitby considers this to be the only primary source for Tiberius preferring Germanus over Maurice. He feels it has more to do with John's bias against Maurice than accuracy. John of Nikiû vehemently criticizes the religious policies of Maurice and even calls him a

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judais ...

.Whitby (1988), p. 7 The narrative of John of Nikiû is contradicted by the ''Historia Francorum'' of

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Floren ...

which also records Byzantine events. He depicts Maurice as hand-picked to be heir, first by dowager empress Sophia and then by Tiberius II.Whitby (1988), p. 7 Germanus disappears from sources following his marriage. He may have resurfaced as the ''patricius'' Germanus mentioned in the 7th century, whose daughter married Maurice's eldest son Theodosius. Once again, the identification is uncertain.Lynda Garland, "Constantina, Wife of Maurice". 1999 article
/ref>

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