Peter the Patrician
| Peter | |
|---|---|
|
Magister officiorum of the East Roman Empire |
|
|
In office 539–565 |
|
| Monarch | Justinian I |
| Preceded by | Basilides |
| Succeeded by | Anastasius |
| Personal details | |
| Born | ca. 500 |
| Died | 565 |
Peter the Patrician (Latin: Petrus Patricius, Greek: Πέτρος ὁ Πατρίκιος, Petros ho Patrikios; c. 500–565) was a senior East Roman or Byzantine official, diplomat, and historian. A well-educated and successful lawyer, he was repeatedly sent as envoy to Ostrogothic Italy in the prelude to the Gothic War of 535–554. Despite his diplomatic skill, he was not able to avert war, and was imprisoned by the Goths in Ravenna for a few years. Upon his release, he was appointed to the post of magister officiorum, head of the imperial secretariat, which he held for an unparalleled 26 years. In this capacity, he was one of the leading ministers of Emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565), playing an important role in the Byzantine emperor's religious policies and the relations with Sassanid Persia; most notably he led the negotiations for the peace agreement of 562 that ended the 20-year-long Lazic War. His historical writings survive only in fragments, but provide unique source material on early Byzantine ceremonies and diplomatic issues between Byzantium and the Sassanids.
Peter was born in Thessalonica about the year 500, and was of Illyrian origin according to Procopius; according to Theophylact Simocatta, however, his origin was from Solachon, near Dara in Mesopotamia. After studying law, he embarked on a successful career as a lawyer in Constantinople, which brought him to the attention of Empress Theodora. In 534, on account of his rhetorical skills, he was employed as an imperial envoy to the Ostrogothic court at Ravenna. At the time, a power struggle was developing there between Queen Amalasuntha, regent to the young king Athalaric, and her cousin Theodahad. Following the death of Athalaric, Theodahad usurped the throne, imprisoned Amalasuntha, and sent messages to Emperor Justinian hoping for recognition. Peter met the envoys at Aulon, on his way to Italy, and notified Constantinople, seeking new instructions. Emperor Justinian ordered him to convey the message to Theodahad that Amalasuntha was under the Emperor's protection and not to be harmed. Nevertheless, at the time Peter arrived in Italy, Amalasuntha had been killed; Procopius's narrative in the Gothic War is ambiguous here, but in his Secret History, he explicitly claims that Peter arranged the murder of Amalasuntha on instructions from Theodora, who feared her as a potential rival for Justinian's attentions. Whatever assurances might have been privately given by Theodora to Theodahad, in public, Peter strongly condemned the act, and declared that there would be "war without truce between the emperor and themselves" as a result.
...
Wikipedia