Germanus (Caesar)
Caesar of the Byzantine Empire
Germanus was a Caesar of the Byzantine Empire . He married Charito, a daughter of Tiberius II Constantine and Ino Anastasia .
According to Michael Whitby , Germanus was a patrician and governor of the praetorian prefecture of Africa . 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 ." [1]
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 . [1]
According to a statement in Jordanes ' Getica , 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 hypothesized that his mother could have been a daughter of Anicia Juliana . [2] Matasuntha was a daughter of Eutharic and Amalasuintha . She was a sister of Athalaric , King of the Ostrogoths . Their maternal grandparents were Theodoric the Great and Audofleda . [ citation needed ] Tours]] which also records Byzantine events. He depicts Maurice as hand-picked to be heir, first by dowager empress Sophia and then by Tiberius II. [1]
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. [3]
References
Sources
- Bury, John Bagnell (1958), History of the Later Roman Empire: From the Death of Theodosius I to the Death of Justinian, Volume 2 , Courier Dover Publications, ISBN 978-0-486-20399-7
- Charles, Robert H. (2007) [1916]. The Chronicle of John, Bishop of Nikiu: Translated from Zotenberg's Ethiopic Text . Merchantville, NJ: Evolution Publishing. ISBN 9781889758879 .
- Whitby, Michael (1988), The Emperor Maurice and his historian: Theophylact Simocatta on Persian and Balkan warfare , Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-822945-3
- Ostrogorsky, George (1956). History of the Byzantine State . Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
External links
- The Emperor Maurice and his historian: Theophylact Simocatta on Persian and Balkan warfare
- Gold medallion commemorating Germanus' marriage to Charito