Germanus, called "patricius" (Greek: πατρίκιος; died c. 605), was a leading member of the Byzantine senate during the reign of Maurice.
[9] In November 601 or more likely, in February 602, an unnamed daughter of Germanus married Theodosius, the eldest son of Maurice and Constantina.
The marriage was recorded by Theophylact Simocatta, the Chronicon Paschale, Theophanes the Confessor, Joannes Zonaras and Georgios Kedrenos.
[10] On 2 February 602, Theophylact records Germanus rescuing the life of Theodosius from a rioting mob in Constantinople, angry over a food shortage.
The rebels demanded the deposition of Maurice and offered their support to elevate either Theodosius or Germanus to the throne.
[11] On 21 November, Germanus and his bodyguard sought sanctuary, first in the church to the Theotokos created by Cyrus of Panopolis, then in the Hagia Sophia.
[11] The crowd soon included the members of the circus factions, and riots intensified, during which the house of the praetorian prefect Constantine Lardys burned down.
He tried to enlist the support of the Green circus faction in the Hippodrome of Constantinople by conveying an agreement to their leader.
[14] A rumor of the time suggested that Germanus had managed to save the life of Theodosius by bribing Phocas' men.
[11] For this plot, he writes that Germanus organized Constantina's escape to Hagia Sophia and tried to win over the Greens, but the faction members rejected them.
Theophanes records that Constantina maintained contact with Germanus and that both were conspiring against Phocas after hearing the reports of Theodosius' survival.