Hypatius was the nephew of Emperor
Anastasius I, who ruled before Justin. He was also associated by marriage to the noble
Anicii clan, which gave him a serious claim to the imperial
diadem; however, Hypatius showed no such ambition. He and the other nephews of Anastasius were well-treated by both Justin and his successor to the Byzantine throne,
Justinian I. In the height of the
Nika riots, Hypatius, along with his brother
Pompeius and cousin
Probus (another nephew of Anastasius), were among the prime candidates for the imperial throne. As it became clear that the mob wanted a new emperor, Probus fled the city and Hypatius and Pompeius took shelter in the
Imperial Palace, along with Justinian and the rest of the
Byzantine Senate. They did not wish to rebel against Justinian, fearing they would have too little popular support. Nevertheless, Justinian, fearing treachery, expelled the Senate from the Palace, thus ushering the two brothers into the mob's arms. Hypatius was dragged away from his house, despite the efforts of his wife, Mary, to prevent this. Hypatius was acclaimed by the mob at the
Constantine forum before being paraded to the
Hippodrome, where the mob proclaimed him emperor. He was seated within the
kathisma, where the emperor would usually sit. Hypatius seems to have thereafter overcome his initial reluctance, and began to play up to the part of emperor, though it is unknown whether this was due to genuine support for the attempted usurpation or simply to appease the mob. However, the riots were soon successfully (if bloodily) quelled by the
Imperial Guard, and Hypatius was captured by Justinian's men. Justinian is reported to have wanted to spare Hypatius's life, but his wife
Theodora prevailed upon him to see the punishment meted out, and the involuntary usurper was executed. According to
Procopius, Hypatius's properties were also promptly seized by the Imperial Treasury although some of these were later restored to Hypatius's children.
Julianus, the
Praetorian Prefect of the East (530/531), supported Hypatius, and wrote two epigrams about him after his death, which were later included in the
Greek Anthology (7.591 and 7.592). == See also ==