Paul (father of Maurice)

Paul (died 593) was the father of Maurice, Byzantine Emperor. He served as head of the Byzantine Senate.

According to Evagrius Scholasticus, Maurice and his family could trace their lineage from "elder Rome". The future Emperor had been born in Arabissus, Cappadocia. The family's hometown was in the vicinity of modern Elbistan. The town was relatively insignificant for centuries. Justinian I had increased its importance, turning it to a recruiting centre and staging area for his forces. It was part of a military route starting from Caesarea Mazaca (modern Kayseri) and proceeding to Comana and Melitene.

The primary source about Paul is the "Ecclesiastical History" of John of Ephesus. It reports: "At the beginning of his reign, the king sent for his father, an old man named Paul, and his mother, and his brother, whose name was Peter, and his two sisters, one of whom was a widow, and the other the wife of Philippicus. ... And next he made his father head of the senate, and chief of all the patricians, and gave him and his son Peter, the king's brother, the entire property of the great patrician Marcellus, brother of the late king Justin, which was not much less than the royal demesnes themselves, with his houses and landed estates, and gold and silver, and his wardrobe, and every thing that he had everywhere without exception.". And next he gave his father and mother another house near the church (of S. Sophia) and his own palace. John continues to detail the honours bestowed by Maurice to his extended family, placing special focus on Domitian, Bishop of Malatya. While mentioning Domitian as a kinsman of Maurice, John does not specify the exact relation of the Bishop to Maurice or to Paul.Theophanes the Confessor records the death of Paul in 593.

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