The 470s decade ran from January 1, 470, to December 31, 479.
Julius Nepos, or simply Nepos, ruled as Roman emperor of the West from 24 June 474 to 28 August 475. After losing power in Italy, Nepos retreated to his home province of Dalmatia, from which he continued to claim the western imperial title, with recognition from the Eastern Roman Empire, until he was murdered in 480. Though Nepos' successor in Italy, Romulus Augustulus, is traditionally deemed the last western Roman emperor, Nepos is regarded by some historians as the true last emperor of the west, being the last widely recognised claimant to the position.
Leo I, also known as "the Thracian", was Roman emperor of the East from 457 to 474. He was a native of Dacia Aureliana near historic Thrace. He is sometimes surnamed with the epithet "the Great", probably to distinguish him from his young grandson and co-augustus Leo II.
Zeno was Eastern Roman emperor from 474 to 475 and again from 476 to 491. Domestic revolts and religious dissension plagued his reign, which nevertheless succeeded to some extent in foreign issues. His reign saw the end of the Western Roman Empire following the deposition of Romulus Augustus and the death of Julius Nepos, but he was credited with contributing much to stabilising the Eastern Empire.
Basiliscus was Eastern Roman emperor from 9 January 475 to August 476. He became magister militum per Thracias in 464, under his brother-in-law, Emperor Leo I. Basiliscus commanded the army for an invasion of the Vandal Kingdom in 468, which was defeated at the Battle of Cape Bon. There were accusations at the time that Basiliscus was bribed by Aspar, the magister militum; many historians dismiss this, instead concluding that Basiliscus was either incompetent or foolish for accepting Vandal King Gaiseric's offer of a truce, which the latter used to construct fireships. Basiliscus's defeat cost the Eastern Empire 130,000 pounds (59,000 kg) of gold, causing the empire to hover above bankruptcy for 30 years. When Basiliscus returned to Constantinople, he sought refuge in the Church of St. Sophia. His sister, Empress Verina, secured him a pardon and he left the church to retire in Neapolis.
Magister militum was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer of the empire. In Greek sources, the term is translated either as strategos or as stratelates.
Leo II, called the Younger, briefly ruled as emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire from 473 to 474. He was the son of Zeno, the Isaurian general and future emperor, and Ariadne, a daughter of the emperor Leo I. Leo II was made co-emperor with his grandfather Leo I on 17 November 473, and became sole emperor on 18 January 474 after Leo I died of dysentery. His father Zeno was made co-emperor by the Byzantine Senate on 29 January, and they co-ruled for a short time before Leo II died in late 474.
Aelia Verina was the Empress consort of Leo I of the Eastern Roman Empire. She was a sister of Basiliscus. Her daughter Ariadne was Empress consort of first Zeno and then Anastasius I. Verina was the maternal grandmother of Leo II.
Procopius Anthemius was a politician of the Eastern Roman Empire, son of Western Roman Emperor Anthemius. After the death of the Eastern Roman Emperor Leo I, Procopius sided with his brother Marcianus's attempt to overthrow Zeno. When Marcianus's rebellion failed, Procopius fled to Thrace and then to Rome, returning to Constatinople after the death of Zeno and accession of Anastasius I. After his return to Constantinople, he was consul in 515.
Flavius Illus was a Roman general, who played an important role in the reigns of the eastern emperors Zeno and Basiliscus.
Flavius Armatus, also known as Harmatius, was an Eastern Roman military commander, magister militum under Emperors Leo I, Basiliscus and Zeno, and consul. He was instrumental in the rebellion of Basiliscus against Zeno, and in his subsequent fall.
Flavius Marcianus was a member of the Leonid dynasty. The son of the Western emperor Anthemius, Marcianus married Leontia, the daughter of the Eastern Roman emperor Leo I. He was consul twice, and in 479 unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow the emperor Zeno. After his capture he was forced to become a monk; he escaped and raised an army but was defeated and recaptured by Flavius Appalius Illus Trocundes. In 484, when the Isaurian general Illus revolted against Zeno, Marcianus was freed and Illus proclaimed him emperor, before deposing him in favour of Leontius.
Aelia Ariadne was Eastern Roman empress as the wife of Zeno and Anastasius I. She is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, with her feast day falling on August 22.
Aelia Zenonis was Eastern Roman empress as the wife of Basiliscus. Her ancestry is unknown.
Flavius Olybrius was an aristocrat of the Eastern Roman Empire and a consul for the year 491. He is sometimes referred to as "Olybrius Junior" in the sources, probably referencing his young age. Olybrius was through his mother Anicia Juliana a descendant of the conjoined Valentinianic and Theodosian dynasties, and the grandson of the emperor Olybrius and the great-grandson of Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III. He was also a potential augustus on the death of the Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno of the Leonid dynasty.
Leontia was the daughter of the Eastern Roman Emperor Leo I.
The wife of Julius Nepos was the last empress of the Roman Empire in the West, whose husband reigned from 474 through 480, although he was in exile from his capital after 475. His surname, Nepos, he obtained through his marriage. His wife's given name is not in any primary source, all of which report her as the neptis of Leo I the Thracian of the Roman Empire in the East (457–74), and his spouse Verina. The word neptis could translate as granddaughter, niece or (close) relative, but it is usually assumed that Julius' wife was Leo's niece, and more likely related by blood to Verina rather than Leo. The historian Malchus reports, "Verina also joined in urging this, giving a helping hand to the wife of Nepos, her relative".
Marcus was the son of the Eastern Roman general and usurper Basiliscus and Zenonis. He was acclaimed caesar in 475 and later promoted to augustus, ruling as junior co-emperor to his father. When Zeno reoccupied Constantinople in late August 476, Marcus, with his parents, hid in a church. Zeno swore he would not spill their blood, and instead had them exiled to Limnae in Cappadocia, where they were then starved to death.
Basiliscus was the only son of the Eastern Roman military commander Armatus and was briefly caesar of the Eastern Roman Empire in 476–477/478. After the death of Eastern Roman Emperor Leo in 474, his grandson Leo II took the throne. Leo II died in the same year and his father, Zeno, ascended the throne. Soon after Zeno's ascension, Basiliscus' great-uncle, similarly named Basiliscus, forced Zeno into exile and took the throne himself. However, Basiliscus soon lost support with Armatus, who betrayed him by arranging a deal with Zeno: Armatus would hold the rank of magister militum praesentalis for life, and the younger Basiliscus would be made caesar. Caesar was a senior imperial title, and implied that the holder was the heir to the throne. Although Basiliscus was crowned in late 476, Zeno soon moved against Basiliscus's father, executing Armatus and exiling Basiliscus to Blachernae on the Golden Horn as a church lector. Later in his life, Basiliscus became a priest and the bishop of Cyzicus. He may have survived into the reign of Justinian.
The Eastern Roman Empire was ruled by the House of Leo from AD 457, the accession of Leo I, to 518, the death of Anastasius I. The rule of the Leonid dynasty coincided with the rapid decline, collapse and eventual fall of the Western Roman Empire. Following the end of the Western Empire, Emperor Zeno abolished the position of Western Roman Emperor and declared himself the sole Roman Emperor. The Eastern Roman Empire would come to last for several more centuries, and subsequent dynasties would invest large amounts of resources in attempts to retake the western provinces.
