He rose to the rank of caesar under Emperor Leo I, before his father's murder in 471 led to his own downfall and possibly death.
Patricius was the third son of Aspar, the Alan magister militum of Emperor Leo I, and like his father—and most of the Germanic peoples—he was an Arian.
The name "Patricius", of ostentatious Roman origin, suggests that the father had plans for him, up to the imperial throne.
However, the clergy and people of Constantinople believed an Arian was not eligible to become an Emperor, and on hearing of the appointment riots broke out in the city hippodrome, led by the head of the Sleepless Monks, Marcellus.
Aspar and Leo had to promise to the bishops that Patricius would convert to Chalcedonian Orthodoxy before becoming Emperor, and that he would marry Leontia only after his conversion.