Germanus Justinus

Germanus
Died	550 Serdica
Allegiance	Byzantine Empire
Rank	magister militum
Relations	Justinian I (cousin) Boraides and Justus (brothers) Justin and Justinian (sons) John (son-in-law)

Germanus (Greek: Γερμανός; died 550) was an East Roman (Byzantine) general, one of the leading commanders of Emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565). Germanus was Emperor Justinian's cousin, and a member of the ruling dynasty. He held commands in Thrace, North Africa, and the East against Persia, and was slated to command the final Byzantine expedition against the Ostrogoths. Having married into the Gothic Amal royal line through his second wife Matasuntha and a distinguished service record, at the time of his sudden death, he was considered the probable heir to Emperor Justinian.

Germanus was born before 505, the nephew of Emperor Justin I (r. 518–527) and thus cousin of Emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565), and not his nephew, as is often erroneously stated. According to a statement in Jordanes's Getica, Germanus was a descendant of the noble Roman clan of the Anicii. The exact nature of his connection, however, if indeed 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. During the reign of Emperor Justin I, he was raised to high office (he is recorded as a vir illustris in a 519 letter addressed to him by Pope Hormisdas), eventually being appointed as magister militum per Thraciae. In this capacity, he scored a crushing victory over an invasion of the Antae.

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