The Burgundians were an early Germanic tribe or group of tribes. They appeared in the middle Rhine region, near the Roman Empire, and were later moved into the empire, in eastern Gaul. They were possibly mentioned much earlier in the time of the Roman Empire as living in part of the region of Germania that is now part of Poland.
Ricimer was a Romanized Germanic general who effectively ruled the remaining territory of the Western Roman Empire from 456 after defeating Avitus, until his death in 472, with a brief interlude in which he contested power with Anthemius. Deriving his power from his position as magister militum of the Western Empire, Ricimer exercised political control through a series of puppet emperors. Ricimer's death led to unrest across Italy and the establishment of a Germanic kingdom on the Italian Peninsula.
Majorian was the Western Roman emperor from 457 to 461. A prominent commander in the Western military, Majorian deposed Avitus in 457 with the aid of his ally Ricimer at the Battle of Placentia. Possessing little more than Italy, Dalmatia, as well as some territory in Hispania and northern Gaul, Majorian campaigned rigorously for three years against the Empire's enemies. In 461, he was murdered at Dertona in a conspiracy, and his successors until the Fall of the Empire in 476 were puppets either of barbarian generals or the Eastern Roman court.
Procopius Anthemius was the Western Roman emperor from 467 to 472. Born in the Eastern Roman Empire, Anthemius quickly worked his way up the ranks. He married into the Theodosian dynasty through Marcia Euphemia, daughter of Eastern emperor Marcian. He soon received a significant number of promotions to various posts, and was presumed to be Marcian's planned successor. However, Marcian's sudden death in 457, together with that of Western emperor Avitus, left the imperial succession in the hands of Aspar, who instead appointed Leo, a low-ranking officer, to the Eastern throne, probably out of fear that Anthemius would be too independent. Eventually, this same Leo designated Anthemius as Western emperor in 467, following a two-year interregnum that started in November 465.
Eparchius Avitus was Roman emperor of the Western Empire from July 455 to October 456. He was a senator of Gallic extraction and a high-ranking officer both in the civil and military administration, as well as Bishop of Piacenza.
Gaius Sollius Modestus Apollinaris Sidonius, better known as Sidonius Apollinaris, was a poet, diplomat, and bishop. Born into the Gallo-Roman aristocracy, he was son-in-law to Emperor Avitus and was appointed Urban prefect of Rome by Emperor Anthemius in 468. In 469 he was appointed Bishop of Clermont and he led the defence of the city from Euric, King of the Visigoths, from 473 to 475. He retained his position as bishop after the city's conquest, until his death in the 480s. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic church, the Orthodox Church, and the True Orthodox Church, with his feast day on 21 August.
The Arverni were a Gallic people dwelling in the modern Auvergne region during the Iron Age and the Roman period. They were one of the most powerful tribes of ancient Gaul, contesting primacy over the region with the neighbouring Aedui.
Alcimus EcdiciusAvitus was a Latin poet and bishop of Vienne in Gaul. His fame rests in part on his poetry, but also on the role he played as secretary for the Burgundian kings.
Ruricius I was a Gallo-Roman aristocrat and bishop of Limoges from c. 485 to 510. He is one of the writers whose letters survive from late Roman Gaul, depicting the influence of the Visigoths on the Roman lifestyle. He should not be confused with his son-in-law, Saint Rusticus.
Arvandus was a Gaul who rose through the hierarchy of Imperial Roman society to twice be appointed Praetorian prefect of Gaul.
Ecdicius Avitus was an Arverni aristocrat, senator, and magister militum praesentalis from 474 until 475.
Saint Viventiolus was the Archbishop of Lyon 514–523. Later canonized and venerated as a saint within the Catholic Church, Archdiocese of Lyon, France his feast Day is July 12. He is recognised in the Orthodox Church and the True Orthodox Church, including amongst the Tikhonites, as a pre-Great Schism Western Saint.
Tonantius Ferreolus was the praetorian prefect of Gaul from 451.
Theodoric I was the King of the Visigoths from 418 to 451. Theodoric is famous for his part in stopping Attila the Hun at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains in 451, where he was killed.
Flavius Severinus was a Senator and a politician of the Western Roman Empire.
Apollinaris was a Count of Auvergne who led a auvergnat army for the Visigoths in the
The gens Maecilia or Mecilia was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. Although of great antiquity, few members of this gens are mentioned in republican times, including two tribunes of the plebs in the first century of the Republic. The Maecilii appear again, somewhat sporadically, in imperial times, even obtaining the consulship during the early fourth century. One of the last emperors of the Western Empire was Marcus Maecilius Avitus.
Apollinaris was Praetorian Prefect of Gaul from May 408 or earlier until 409 AD, when he was succeeded by his friend Decimus Rusticus. He was the grandfather of Sidonius Apollinaris and was the son or grandson of another Apollinaris who was Prefect of Gaul under Constantine II between 337 and 340.
The Gothic War of 457-458 was a military conflict between the Visigoths of Theoderic II against the Western Roman Empire of Emperor Majorian. The war began in 457 with a revolt of the Goths in Aquitania that pushed aside Roman authority, followed by an aggressive conquest in the adjacent Septimania aimed at area expansion. The war ended with a Roman victory over the Goths in the Battle of Arles in 458.
The Roman Civil War of 456 was a military conflict in the 2nd half of 456 in which the generals Majorianus and Ricimer revolted against the West Roman Emperor Avitus. The war ended with a victory by the insurgents. Avitus was deposed as emperor and died shortly thereafter in mysterious circumstances.