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. Patricius was appointed
consul in 459 by the Eastern court. In 470, in an episode of the struggle for power between Aspar and the
Isaurian general
Zeno, Aspar persuaded the Emperor to appoint Patricius as
caesar and give him in marriage his daughter
Leontia. 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. No coins of Patricius as
caesar were issued, and his only act in office was a trip to
Alexandria, where he was welcomed with all the honours attributed to a
caesar. In 471 an imperial conspiracy caused the death of Aspar and of his eldest son
Ardabur: it is possible that Patricius also was killed on this occasion, although some sources report that he recovered from his wounds; in any case, after this episode, Patricius disappears from the sources. The marriage with Leontia was annulled, and later she married
Marcian. == Notes ==