Aristomachus ( Egypt ) Aristomachus ( ) was a Byzantine official in Egypt . He was active in the reigns of Tiberius II Constantine ( r . 574 - 582 ) and Maurice ( r . 582 - 602 ) . He eventually rose to become prefect of Constantinople and " curator domus Augustae " ( caretaker of the household of the Augusta . But later fell out of favor and ended his life in exile . The main source about him is John of Nikiû . Biography . Aristomachus was a citizen of Nikiû . His father " prefect " Theodosius was from Absay . Theodosius reportedly advised the young Aristomachus to rest content with the wealth and rank available to him . But the young man was exceedingly ambitious . He reportedly established his own armed following . He seems to have held a military command in Egypt , though his rank is unspecified . He was presumably appointed by Tiberius II Constantine . John reports on his conduct : " He built vessels by means of which he could visit all the cities of Egypt with pleasure and delight . And so he became proud and forced all the military officers to be subject to the emperor ; for he had received the command in the reign of the emperor Tiberius . And by reason of this command he became more and more presumptuous , and made all the troops submit to his orders , and led a fearless life . And he posted cavalry in the city of Nikiu without any authorization of the emperor . And all the troops under his command were without means , and he seized all the houses of those who were richer than he , and he esteemed them of no account . And when men of high or low degree came to him from the emperor , he let them remain at the door and did not admit them for a longtime . " But he is , sometime later , mentioned leading campaigns against the Nubians and the Moors . " And he vanquished the barbarians in the province of Nubia and Africa , who are named Mauritanians , and others named Marikos . He destroyed them and laid waste their country , and took their possessions as a booty and brought them all in chains by the river Gihon into the land of Egypt ; for the engagement had taken place on the banks of the river . " Gihon is an alternative name for the Blue Nile . It is unclear what John terms acting without authorization . A possible interpretation is that Aristomachus ' proper position was in Upper Egypt , close to Nubia . Perhaps as the military governor of Thebaid . But then the man attempted to illegally extend his authority . Nikiu laid out of his jurisdiction . Complaints about him reached eventually reached Tiberius . He send Andreas ( Andrew ) to arrest Aristomachus . Aristomachus was summoned to Alexandria . " Aristomachus . . . proceeded to the city of Alexandria with only a few attendants ; for he was not aware of the treacherous device they had prepared against him . And when the patriarch and Andrew saw him , they were delighted , and got ready a light ship on the sea close at hand to the Church of St . Mark the Evangelist . Then they celebrated . . . the festival of St . Mark the Evangelist . And at the close of the divine service , Andrew went forth accompanied by Aristomachus and walked towards the seashore . And thereupon Andrew made a signal to his attendants and to the soldiers to seize Aristomachus and to cast him into the vessel . And immediately they seized him , and , bearing him on their shoulders , cast him into the vessel , without his being aware ( of the reason ) , and loosing thence they set sail to go to the emperor . " Aristomachus was transported to Constantinople . But the investigation of Tiberius found no fault with his conduct . He was returned to Egypt and allowed to resume his office . He later visited Maurice to dispel accusations against him . He brought the emperor many gifts and apparently became a favourite of his . Maurice made him prefect of Constantinople ( " prefect of the imperial city " ) . While the empress Constantina created him " curator domus Augustae " ( caretaker of the household of the Augusta . The text narrates " the empress Constantina appointed him controller of all her house and loaded him with honours , until he was second only in rank to the emperor , and he became a very great personage in the city of Byzantium " . He is credited with building aqueduct s and reservoirs . Which would argue that he actually held that the title of prefect was not merely honorific . " And he constructed aqueducts throughout all the city , for its inhabitants complained greatly of the want of water . And he had a reservoir of bronze made for them by a clever engineer , such as had never been made previously . And so the water flowed into the reservoir of bronze which had been appointed . And the city was thus delivered from disquiet through the abundant supply of water ; and when a fire broke out in the city , they went to the reservoir and extinguished the fire . And all the people loved and respected him . And he was fond of constructing public works , and his deeds were noble . " He was at point some targeted by a conspiracy , which made him appear disloyal to his imperial patrons . The instigator of the plot is identified as Leo ( Leon ) the logothete . They reportedly first used an astrologer to publish a prediction " of a revolt against the emperor " and " the assassination of the emperor " . They then warned Constantina about said prediction and the supposed ambitions of Aristomachus . She brought the tale to Maurice . " And he imagined that Aristomachus intended to slay him and take his wife . And the emperor became hostile forthwith to Aristomachus , and he robbed him of every hope , and exposed him to numerous humiliations , and sent him in exile to the island of Gaul where he had to remain till he died . " The location of his exile is not recorded elsewhere .