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Domentzia (Greek:Δομεντζία) was a name shared by the mother of theByzantine emperorPhocas (r. 602–610), and a daughter of the same emperor, likely named after her paternal grandmother.[1]
The mother is only named byJohn of Antioch, who renders her name inGreek as "Dysmenziane" (Δυσμενζιανή). All other occurrences of the name refer to the daughter. The more familiar form "Domentzia" (Δομεντζία) is given byTheophanes the Confessor.Anastasius Bibliothecarius, who translated the work of Theophanes toLatin, renders the name "Domnentzia". The later historianJoannes Zonaras gives the name as "Domnentia" (Δομνεντία), whileNikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos gives her name as "Dysmenziane", indicating that both women used the same name.[1]
Phocas and his family were likely ofThraco-Roman origin.[2] The husband of the elder Domentzia is unknown. She had three known sons: Phocas,Comentiolus[3] andDomentziolus. The latter seems to have beenmagister officiorum by 610.[4] A grandson, also namedDomentziolus, was granted the title ofcuropalates on the ascension of Phocas to the throne in 602.[5]
The younger Domentzia was a daughter of Phocas andLeontia. In 607, she married the generalPriscus, who served ascomes excubitorum, commander of theExcubitors bodyguard.[1] As she was the only known child of the Emperor, the marriage effectively made Priscus anheir presumptive to the throne. Her husband fell into disfavour however when the citizenry ofConstantinople began erecting statues in their honour.[6]
Her marriage took place in the palace of Marina, named after its original owner, a daughter ofArcadius andAelia Eudoxia. Achariot racing event was arranged to be held in theHippodrome of Constantinople, in honor of the newlyweds. The leaders of theBlues (Vénetoi) and theGreens (Prásinoi) racing factions (demoi) decided to honor the occasion by erecting statues of the imperial family. Thus they placed images of Phocas, Leontia, Domentzia, and Priscus in the Hippodrome. The images of the reigning imperial couple belonged there by tradition, but the latter two implied that Priscus was the heir or co-emperor of Phocas. Phocas was enraged at the implication and ordered the depictions of his daughter and son-in-law to be destroyed.[7]
Phocas further treated the matter as an attemptedcoup d'état, demanding further investigation of the matter, arresting thedemarchs responsible with accusations oftreason. While their lives may have been spared due to popular demand, Phocas likely viewed Priscus himself as the culprit, and seems to have started viewing his son-in-law as a potential rival.[7] By alienating Priscus however, Phocas undermined his own hold on the throne. By 608, John of Antioch reports Priscus initiating contact withHeraclius the Elder, theExarch of Africa, and instigating the revolt that would eventually remove Phocas from power.[8]