Roman Civil War of 456 | |||||||
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Part of Fall of the Western Roman Empire | |||||||
![]() Northern Italy | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Imperial government | Rebels | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Avitus Remistus Messianus | Majorianus Ricimer | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
5,000 - 10,000 | 15,000 [1] |
The Roman Civil War of 456 was a civil war fought in the Western Roman Empire during the second half of 456 AD.
The Roman generals Majorianus and Ricimer revolted against the Western Roman emperor Avitus who was appointed by the Visigoths after the Sack of Rome in 455. Avitus went to Gaul to gather support for his rule which he lacked from the Roman Senate and people. Avitus was defeated by the stronger rebel army at a battle in Piacenza, deposed as emperor, and died shortly thereafter in mysterious circumstances. Eastern Roman emperor Leo I appointed Majorianus and Ricimer as magister militum before Majorianus appointed himself Western emperor with support from the Senate and army.
For the events in the Western Roman Empire in the period after the death of Valentinian III (455), historians have only scarce chronicles and fragments from historiography at their disposal. In addition, the Panegyric of Sidonius Apollinaris about Avitus and his letters provides important information about this phase of Roman rule in the west.
Since its founding in 395 AD, the Western Roman Empire was in a prolonged state of decline, and under pressure from the influx of Germanic and other non-Roman peoples known as the Migration Period. In 442, Emperor Valentinian III negotiated a peace treaty with the Vandal Kingdom of Genseric, one of the Germanic states that was encroaching on the empire. The treaty included a marriage of state between Valentinian's daughter Eudocia and Genseric's son Huneric, though Valentinian was killed in 455 before the marriage could take place. His successor Petronius Maximus, to strengthen his legitimacy as emperor, had Eudocia marry his own son Palladius instead. Genseric proclaimed that their peace treaty was null and void and used it as a casus belli to attack the Romans, which resulted in the Sack of Rome and the death of Maximus.
Avitus, a Gallo-Roman magister militum , was appointed emperor by the Visigothic king Theodoric II in the aftermath. Among historians, there is a consensus that Avitus' reign was not strongly rooted at the beginning. He was rather dependent on the support of all major players in the Western Roman Empire about that time. That support was indispensable to gain sufficient control over both the civil institutions, the Senate and the East Roman Emperor Marcian, as well as those of the army and its commanders, the generals Majorianus and Ricimer. Moreover, his relationship with the eastern part of the empire was not optimal. In contrast, his relationship with the Theodoric was excellent. [2] An explanation for Avitus' weak position might be, that he had been put forward by the Gallic senators with support of Theodoric as the successor of Maximus. In Italia, where the core of the power of the Western Empire was established, he was considered as an outsider by the Senate in Rome. According to Sidonius Apollonaris, Majorianus and Ricimer were also interested in the throne, and had already had plans in that direction after the death of Valentinian. [3] Initially, they supported Avitus' reign, but turned against him when he got into trouble.
There were two major conflicts at the time of Avitus' reign: the Suebians in northern Hispania were on a warpath, and the Vandals that the Romans were now at war with again. The Visigothic army, together with the Burgundy, campaigned for Avitus in Hispania to restore power there. [4] The Roman army under Ricimer took action against the Vandals in the Mediterranean and achieved some successes, but Genseric proved difficult to beat at sea. [5] The Vandals blocked the port of Rome, causing famine to break out in the capital which depended on grain from Africa for its food supply.
Halfway through 456, during the food blockade, Avitus stayed in Rome where he was confronted by hungry and dissatisfied residents. The fact that he belonged to the Gallic aristocracy and had appointed several Gauls to high posts worked to his disadvantage. Some senatorial circles blamed him for the famine. In addition, he also had problems with his Roman army because he did not have enough cash to pay their wages. At this stage, Ricimer and Majorianus seriously began plans to depose Avitus. Ricimer had gained prestige after his victories and Majorian had a strong following among the troops previously loyal to Flavius Aetius. [6] Avitus, who was never loved much by the Roman people, lost his support in the Senate in the course of 456. For Ricimer and Majorianus this was the perfect moment to draw power to them and revolted, causing the emperor to flee because a large part of the army sided against him. Avitus fled to Gaul to gather reinforcements, arriving in Arles where he scraped some troops together, but had to do it without the support of the Theodoric who was campaiging in Hispania. [7]
The first action in the revolt of Ricimer and Majorian was the assassination of Avitus' magister militum Remistus, the commander-in-chief of the Roman army, who had been commissioned to preserve the imperial seat Ravenna for him. In September 456, Ricimer went with an army to Ravenna and surprised Remistus near the city. The sources do not clearly indicate under what circumstances the attack took place, but Remistus was killed as a result. [8] Then, the troops of Ricimer and Majorianus moved north to intercept the reinforcements Avitus had gathered in Arles.
Avitus appointed a new commander-in-chief, Messianus, to succeed Remistus and prepared for the confrontation with Ricimer and Majorian. With the army he gathered in Gaul, he returned to Italia in early October. He encountered the army of Recimer and Majorian near Piacenza where there was a battle between the Roman armies. Avitus was clearly the lesser, lacking the support of the Gothic foederati and possibly could only have gathered part of the established Gallic army in that short time. The rebels, on the other hand, had most of the Italian comitatenses . On October 17 or 18, Avitus attacked the much stronger army led by Ricimer with his troops, and after a major massacre among his men including Messianus, he fled and took refuge in the city. In the immediate aftermath, Ricimer saved his life, but forced him to become Bishop of Piacenza. As for his death shortly after, the sources are vague or contradictory; it is enough to say that this was very convenient for Ricimer and Majorian.
After the deposition and death of Avitus, the Gallo-Roman aristocracy revolted, turning to the Burgundian and Visigothic foederati for support. [9] When Theodoric and Gundioc received the message about the overthrow of Avitus and the revolt in Gaul, Theodoric left the command to his generals Suneric and Cyril and returned to Toulouse, while Gundioc with his entire army returned to the mountains of Sapaudia. [10] Taking advantage of the confusing state, Theodoric saw opportunities to establish his own state on Roman soil. In the course of 457, he pushed the treaty with the Romans on the side with which the Gothic War began.
The recently appointed Eastern Emperor Leo I was now also emperor of the West until he had appointed a successor. Initially, Leo was not inclined to cooperate with the rebellious generals, but due the extremely unstable situation in the West he eventually accepted them. [11] Leo appointed Ricimer as patricius e magister militum (commander-in-chief with the title of Patrician) and Majorian as magister militum, making Majorian the subordinate of Ricimer. [12] Majorianus then forced Leo, with the support of the Senate, to appoint him as Caesar on 1 April 457. When Leo hesitated to acknowledge him, Majorian declared himself Emperor of the West on 28 December 457, with the support of the Senate and the army.
The 450s decade ran from January 1, 450, to December 31, 459.
The 460s decade ran from January 1, 460, to December 31, 469.
Year 455 (CDLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valentinianus and Anthemius. The denomination 455 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Year 456 (CDLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Avitus without colleague. The denomination 456 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
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.
Anicius Olybrius was Roman emperor from July 472 until his death later that same year; his rule as augustus in the western Roman Empire was not recognised as legitimate by the ruling augustus in the eastern Roman Empire, Leo I. He was in reality a puppet ruler raised to power by Ricimer, the magister militum of Germanic descent, and was mainly interested in religion, while the actual power was held by Ricimer and his nephew Gundobad.
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 and 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.
Flavius Aetius was a Roman general and statesman of the closing period of the Western Roman Empire. He was a military commander and the most influential man in the Empire for two decades (433–454). He managed policy in regard to the attacks of barbarian federates settled throughout the West. Notably, he mustered a large Roman and allied (foederati) army in the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, ending a devastating invasion of Gaul by Attila in 451, though the Hun and his subjugated allies still managed to invade Italy the following year, an incursion best remembered for the ruthless Sack of Aquileia and the intercession of Pope Leo I.
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.
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Placidia was a daughter of Valentinian III, Roman emperor of the West from 425 to 455, and from 454/455 the wife of Olybrius, who became western Roman emperor in 472. She was one of the last imperial spouses in the Roman west, during the Fall of the Western Roman Empire during Late Antiquity.
The Sack of Rome in 455 AD was carried out by the Vandals led by their king Genseric.
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Libius Severus, sometimes enumerated as Severus III, was Western Roman emperor from November 19, 461 to his death on November 14, 465. A native of Lucania, Severus was the fourth of the so-called "Shadow Emperors" who followed the deposition of the Valentinianic dynasty in 455. He ruled for just under four years, attaining the throne after his predecessor, Majorian, was overthrown by his magister militum, Ricimer. Severus was the first of a series of emperors who were highly dependent on the general, and it is often presumed that Ricimer held most of the de facto power during Severus' reign
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.
Agrippinus was a general of the Western Roman Empire, Magister militum per Gallias under emperors Valentinian III, Petronius Maximus, Avitus and Libius Severus.
The Gothic War in Spain of 456 was a military operation of the Visigoths commissioned by the West Roman emperor Avitus. This operation consisted of an extensive campaign aimed at reclaiming the Spanish provinces of Lusitania and Betica that were in the hands of the Suebi and threatened Roman power in the provinces of Cartaginensis and Tarraconensis. The main players in this war were Theoderic II who led the army of the Visigoths and Rechiar the king of the Suebi. The Visigothic army was supported by Franks and Burgundian auxiliary troops.
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.