Germanus (Caesar)

Germanus ( ancient Greek Γερμανός , * 551 ?; † 605 in Constantinople ?) Was briefly heir to the Eastern Roman throne in 582 .

Life

Germanus is often identified with Germanus Postumus , the son of the general Germanus († 550), born in 551, and the Matasuentha , which is possible, but not reliably verifiable.

In 582, Emperor Tiberios I gave his first daughter Charito to Germanus as his wife and raised him to Caesar together with Maurikios . Germanus, then governor in Africa , is said to have refused the succession, according to later sources, so that Maurikios ascended the throne in Constantinople as sole ruler after the death of Tiberios on August 14, 582. But it is also possible that Maurikios had the rival eliminated. What became of Germanus after 582 is therefore uncertain, especially since the name was quite common in late antiquity .

When the Balkan army revolted against Maurikios in 602 , a Germanus, whose daughter Maurikios' eldest son Theodosius had married and who held the rank of consul ( Th. Sim. 8,8,12), was temporarily considered a possible successor. It is possible that this was the Caesar of the year 582, but it is noteworthy that no source makes this connection. Of high treason accused, tried in vain Germanus in Constantinople Opel with the help of the circus parties to come to power, while the troops of Phocas marched on the capital. Phocas pardoned his rival on the condition that he should become a priest. Regardless of this, Germanus took part in a failed conspiracy against the emperor in 605 (or 607) and was executed along with his family.

literature

John Robert Martindale: Germanus 5. In: The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire (PLRE). Volume 3A, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1992, ISBN 0-521-20160-8 , pp. 531-532.

Remarks

↑ Mikael Nichanian thinks he is the grandfather of Johannes Athalarich , an illegitimate son of the emperor Herakleios ; see. Mikael Nichanian: Le maître des milices d′Orient, Vahan, et la bataille de Yarmouk (636) au complot d′Athalaric (637). In: Barlow Der Mugrdechian (ed.): Between Paris and Fresno: Armenian Studies in Honor of Dickran Kouymjian . Mazda Press, Costa Mesa 2008, ISBN 1-56859-168-3 , pp. 321-337, here p. 328.
↑ The problem with this identification would be the fact that the daughter of Germanus and the son of Maurikios in this case would have been first cousins (their mothers Charito and Constantina were sisters) and, according to the legal understanding of the time, such a relationship would have been considered incestuous . However, the contemporary example of Herakleius and Martina shows that marriages between close relatives were still possible in the leading Eastern Roman families.

personal data
SURNAME	Germanus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Germanos; Germanus Postumus; Γερμανός (Greek)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Lower Emperor of the Eastern Roman Emperor Tiberios I.
DATE OF BIRTH	at 551
DATE OF DEATH	uncertain: 605
Place of death	uncertain: Constantinople

[1] Mikael Nichanian thinks he is the grandfather of Johannes Athalarich , an illegitimate son of the emperor Herakleios ; see. Mikael Nichanian: Le maître des milices d′Orient, Vahan, et la bataille de Yarmouk (636) au complot d′Athalaric (637). In: Barlow Der Mugrdechian (ed.): Between Paris and Fresno: Armenian Studies in Honor of Dickran Kouymjian . Mazda Press, Costa Mesa 2008, ISBN 1-56859-168-3 , pp. 321-337, here p. 328.

[2] The problem with this identification would be the fact that the daughter of Germanus and the son of Maurikios in this case would have been first cousins (their mothers Charito and Constantina were sisters) and, according to the legal understanding of the time, such a relationship would have been considered incestuous . However, the contemporary example of Herakleius and Martina shows that marriages between close relatives were still possible in the leading Eastern Roman families.