Theodosius (son of Maurice) - Wikipedia Theodosius (son of Maurice) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Byzantine royal; co-emperor from 590-602 For other uses, see Theodosius. Theodosius Augustus Half-Siliqua of Emperor Theodosius Byzantine emperor (with Maurice) Predecessor Maurice Successor Phocas Born August 4, 583/585 Died after November 27, 602 (aged c. 16–19) Chalcedon Burial Saint Mamas Monastery, Constantinople Names Theodosius Regnal name Imperator Caesar Theodosius Augustus Dynasty Justinian Dynasty Father Maurice Mother Constantina Saint Theodosius the Emperor with family Holy and Right-Believing Emperor of the Romans Venerated in Eastern Orthodoxy[1] Major shrine Saint Mamas Monastery Feast 28 November Attributes Imperial attire Justinian dynasty Chronology Justin I 518–527 Justinian I 527–565 Justin II 565–578 with Sophia and Tiberius as regents, 574–578 Tiberius II 578–582 Maurice 582–602 with Theodosius as co-emperor, 590–602 Succession Preceded by Leonid dynasty Followed by Phocas and the Heraclian dynasty v t e Theodosius (Greek: Θεοδόσιος; August 4, 583/585 – after November 27, 602) was the eldest son of Byzantine Emperor Maurice (r. 582–602) and was co-emperor from 590 until his deposition and execution during a military revolt in November 602.[2][3] Along with his father-in-law Germanus, he was briefly proposed as successor to Maurice by the troops, but the army eventually favoured Phocas instead. Sent in an abortive mission to secure aid from Sassanid Persia by his father, Theodosius was captured and executed by Phocas's supporters a few days after Maurice. Nevertheless, rumours spread that he had survived the execution, and became popular to the extent that a man who purported to be Theodosius was entertained by the Persians as a pretext for launching a war against Byzantium. Contents 1 Biography 2 Rumours of survival and pseudo-Theodosius 3 Coinage 4 Notes 5 References 5.1 Citations 5.2 Sources Biography[edit] Theodosius was the first child of Maurice and his wife, the Augusta Constantina. He was born on August 4, 583 (according to the contemporary John of Ephesus and other chroniclers) or 585 (according to the later histories of Theophanes the Confessor and Kedrenos).[3][4] He was the first son to be born to a reigning emperor since Theodosius II in 401, and was accordingly named after the previous ruler. The papal envoy, or apocrisiarius, to Constantinople, the future Pope Gregory the Great, acted as his godfather.[3][4] The scholar Evagrius Scholasticus composed a work celebrating Theodosius' birth, for which he was rewarded by Maurice with the rank of consul.[5] A few years after his birth, possibly in 587, Theodosius was raised to the rank of Caesar and thus became his father's heir-apparent, while on March 26, 590, he was publicly proclaimed as co-emperor.[3] In November 601 or early February 602, Maurice married Theodosius to a daughter of the patrician Germanus, a leading member of the Byzantine Senate.[a][9] The historian Theophylact Simocatta, the major chronicler of Maurice's reign, also records that on February 2, 602, Germanus saved Theodosius from harm during food riots in Constantinople.[10] Later in the same year, during the revolt of the Danubian armies in autumn, Theodosius and his father-in-law were hunting in the outskirts of Constantinople. There they received a letter from the mutinous troops, in which they demanded Maurice's resignation, a redress of their grievances, and offered the crown to either of the two.[2][9][11] They presented the letter to Maurice, who rejected the army's demands. The emperor however began suspecting Germanus of playing a part in the revolt. Theodosius promptly informed his father-in-law of this and advised him to hide, and on November 21, Germanus fled first to a local church and then to the Hagia Sophia, seeking sanctuary from the Byzantine emperor's emissaries.[12][13] On the very next day however, Maurice and his family and closest associates fled the capital before the advancing rebel army under Phocas, and crossed over to Chalcedon. From there, Theodosius was dispatched along with the praetorian prefect Constantine Lardys to seek the aid of Khosrau II, the ruler of Sassanid Persia. Maurice, however, soon recalled him, and on his return Theodosius fell into the hands of Phocas' men and was executed at Chalcedon. His father and younger brothers had been executed a few days earlier on November 27.[13][14] Rumours of survival and pseudo-Theodosius[edit] Subsequently, rumours of Theodosius's survival spread far and wide. It was alleged that his father-in-law Germanus had bribed his executioner, a leading Phocas supporter named Alexander, to spare his life. In this story, Theodosius then fled, eventually reaching Lazica, where he died. Theophylact Simocatta reports that he thoroughly investigated these rumours and found them false.[2][15][16] Modern historian Paul Speck, however, argues that doubts about the genuineness of Theodosius only began to be expressed late in the reign of Heraclius.[17] The general Narses, who rose against Phocas in Mesopotamia, exploited the rumours about Theodosius. He produced a man claiming to be Theodosius and then presented him to Khosrau II. The Persian ruler, in turn, used him as a pretext for his own invasion of Byzantium, claiming that it was done in order to avenge the murder of Maurice and his family and place the "rightful" heir Theodosius on the throne.[2][18] According to the Khuzistan Chronicle, he even had Theodosius re-crowned as Roman emperor by the Nestorian patriarch Sabrisho I in a ceremony in Ctesiphon.[17][19][20] In the Armenian campaign of 606–7, the pretender accompanied the commander Ashtat Yeztayar. His presence convinced the garrison of Theodosiopolis (Erzurum) to surrender.[21] According to James Howard-Johnston, it is unlikely that both people of Edessa in 603 and the notables of Theodosiopolis who met him in 608 were deceived by an impostor.[20] Coinage[edit] Theodosius does not appear on most of the regular coinage of Maurice's reign, with two exceptions: the copper nummi of the Cherson mint, which show him along with his father and mother, and a special silver siliqua issue (apparently cut in 591/592 to celebrate his proclamation as co-emperor)[18] from the Carthage mint.[22] Notes[edit] ^ Germanus's identity is unclear. He has been sometimes identified with the son of the magister militum Germanus and Matasuntha,[6] but also with Germanus, a son-in-law of Tiberius II Constantine who became Caesar alongside Maurice but refused the throne.[7][8] References[edit] Citations[edit] ^ Sanidopoulos 2019. ^ a b c d ODB, "Theodosios" (W. E. Kaegi, A. Kazhdan), p. 2050. ^ a b c d Martindale 1992, p. 1293. ^ a b Whitby 1988, p. 18. ^ Whitby 1988, p. 21. ^ Martindale 1992, p. 528. ^ Martindale 1992, p. 529. ^ Whitby 1988, p. 25. ^ a b Martindale 1992, pp. 531, 1293. ^ Martindale 1992, p. 531. ^ Whitby 1988, p. 168. ^ Martindale 1992, pp. 531–532. ^ a b Whitby 1988, p. 26. ^ Martindale 1992, pp. 1293–1294. ^ Martindale 1992, pp. 47, 532, 1294. ^ Whitby 1988, pp. 312, 316. ^ a b Greatrex & Lieu 2002, p. 297. ^ a b Martindale 1992, p. 1294. ^ Wilmshurst 2011, p. 46. ^ a b Howard-Johnston 2000. ^ Greatrex & Lieu 2002, p. 186. ^ Grierson 1999, pp. 44–45, 58. Sources[edit] Greatrex, Geoffrey; Lieu, Samuel N. C. (2002). The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars (Part II, 363–630 AD). Routledge. Grierson, Philip (1999). Byzantine Coins. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks. ISBN 0-88402-274-9. Howard-Johnston, James (1 January 2000). "ḴOSROW II". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Retrieved 2020-08-28. Kazhdan, Alexander, ed. (1991). The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-504652-8. Martindale, John R., ed. (1992). The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire: Volume III, AD 527–641. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-20160-8. Sanidopoulos, John (28 November 2019). "Saint Maurice, Emperor of Romans, With His Six Sons". Mystagogy Resource Center. Whitby, Michael (1988). The Emperor Maurice and his Historian: Theophylact Simocatta on Persian and Balkan Warfare. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-822945-3. Wilmshurst, David J. (2011). The Martyred Church: A History of the Church of the East. East and West Publishing. v t e Roman and Byzantine emperors and ruling empresses Principate 27 BC – AD 235 Augustus Tiberius Caligula Claudius Nero Galba Otho Vitellius Vespasian Titus Domitian Nerva Trajan Hadrian Antoninus Pius Marcus Aurelius Lucius Verus Commodus Pertinax Didius Julianus (Pescennius Niger) (Clodius Albinus) Septimius Severus Caracalla Geta Macrinus Diadumenian Elagabalus Severus Alexander Crisis 235–285 Maximinus Thrax Gordian I Gordian II Pupienus Balbinus Gordian III Philip the Arab Philip II Decius Herennius Etruscus Hostilian Trebonianus Gallus Volusianus Aemilianus Valerian Gallienus Saloninus Claudius Gothicus Quintillus Aurelian Ulpia Severina Tacitus Florian Probus Carus Carinus Numerian Gallic emperors Postumus (Laelianus) Marius Victorinus (Domitianus II) Tetricus I with Tetricus II as caesar Palmyrene emperors Vaballathus Zenobia Septimius Antiochus Dominate 284–395 Diocletian Maximian Galerius Constantius I Severus Constantine the Great Maxentius Licinius Maximinus Daza (Valerius Valens) (Martinian) Constantine II Constantius II Constans I Magnentius Vetranio Julian Jovian Valentinian I (west) Valens (east) Gratian (west) Valentinian II (west) Theodosius I Magnus Maximus Victor (Eugenius) Western Empire 395–480 Honorius Constantine III with son Constans II Constantius III Joannes Valentinian III Petronius Maximus Avitus Majorian Libius Severus Anthemius Olybrius Glycerius Julius Nepos Romulus Augustulus Eastern/ Byzantine Empire 395–1204 Arcadius Theodosius II Marcian Leo I Leo II Zeno Basiliscus Marcus Anastasius I Dicorus Justin I Justinian I Justin II Tiberius II Constantine Maurice with son Theodosius as co-emperor Phocas Heraclius Constantine III Heraklonas Constans II Constantine IV with brothers Heraclius and Tiberius and then Justinian II as co-emperors Justinian II (first reign) Leontios Tiberius III Justinian II (second reign) with son Tiberius as co-emperor Philippikos Anastasios II Theodosius III Leo III the Isaurian Constantine V Artabasdos Leo IV the Khazar Constantine VI Irene Nikephoros I Staurakios Michael I Rangabe with son Theophylact as co-emperor Leo V the Armenian with Symbatios-Constantine as junior emperor Michael II the Amorian Theophilos Michael III Basil I the Macedonian Leo VI the Wise Alexander Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos Romanos I Lekapenos with sons Christopher, Stephen and Constantine as junior co-emperors Romanos II Nikephoros II Phokas John I Tzimiskes Basil II Constantine VIII Zoë (first reign) and Romanos III Argyros Zoë (first reign) and Michael IV the Paphlagonian Michael V Kalaphates Zoë (second reign) with Theodora Zoë (second reign) and Constantine IX Monomachos Constantine IX Monomachos (sole emperor) Theodora Michael VI Bringas Isaac I Komnenos Constantine X Doukas Romanos IV Diogenes Michael VII Doukas with brothers Andronikos and Konstantios and son Constantine Nikephoros III Botaneiates Alexios I Komnenos John II Komnenos with Alexios Komnenos as co-emperor Manuel I Komnenos Alexios II Komnenos Andronikos I Komnenos with John Komnenos as co-emperor Isaac II Angelos Alexios III Angelos Alexios IV Angelos Nicholas Kanabos (chosen by the Senate) Alexios V Doukas Empire of Nicaea 1204–1261 Constantine Laskaris Theodore I Laskaris John III Doukas Vatatzes Theodore II Laskaris John IV Laskaris Byzantine Empire 1261–1453 Michael VIII Palaiologos Andronikos II Palaiologos with Michael IX Palaiologos as co-emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos John V Palaiologos John VI Kantakouzenos with John V Palaiologos and Matthew Kantakouzenos as co-emperors John V Palaiologos Andronikos IV Palaiologos John VII Palaiologos Andronikos V Palaiologos Manuel II Palaiologos John VIII Palaiologos Constantine XI Palaiologos Italics indicates a junior co-emperor, while underlining indicates a usurper. 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