Galla Placidia, daughter of the Roman emperor Theodosius I, was a mother, tutor, and advisor to emperor Valentinian III. She was queen consort to Ataulf, king of the Visigoths from 414 until his death in 415, briefly empress consort to Constantius III in 421, and managed the government administration as a regent during the early reign of Valentinian III until her death.
Year 432 (CDXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aetius and Valerius. The denomination 432 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.
The 400s decade ran from January 1, 400, to December 31, 409.
The 430s decade ran from January 1, 430, to December 31, 439.
The 420s decade ran from January 1, 420, to December 31, 429.
The 450s decade ran from January 1, 450, to December 31, 459.
Year 427 (CDXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Hierus and Ardabur. The denomination 427 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.
The 440s decade ran from January 1, 440, to December 31, 449.
Marcian was Roman emperor of the East from 450 to 457. Very little of his life before becoming emperor is known, other than that he was a domesticus who served under the commanders Ardabur and his son Aspar for fifteen years. After the death of Emperor Theodosius II on 28 July 450, Marcian was made a candidate for the throne by Aspar, who held much influence because of his military power. After a month of negotiations Pulcheria, Theodosius' sister, agreed to marry Marcian. Zeno, a military leader whose influence was similar to Aspar's, may have been involved in these negotiations, as he was given the high-ranking court title of patrician upon Marcian's accession. Marcian was elected and inaugurated on 25 August 450.
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.
Valentinian III was Roman emperor in the West from 425 to 455. Made emperor in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by powerful generals vying for power amid civil wars and the invasions of Late antiquity's Migration Period, including the campaigns of Attila the Hun.
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.
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.
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.
Petronius Maximus was Roman emperor of the West for two and a half months in 455. A wealthy senator and a prominent aristocrat, he was instrumental in the murders of the Western Roman magister militum, Aëtius, and the Western Roman emperor, Valentinian III.
Bonifatius was a Roman general and governor of the diocese of Africa. He campaigned against the Visigoths in Gaul and the Vandals in North Africa. An ally of Galla Placidia, mother and advisor of Valentinian III, Bonifacius engaged in Roman civil wars on her behalf against the generals Felix in 427-429 and Aetius in 432. Although he defeated the latter at the Battle of Rimini, Bonifacius suffered a fatal wound and was succeeded by his son-in-law Sebastianus as patricius of the Western Roman Empire.
Licinia Eudoxia was a Roman Empress, daughter of Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II. Her husbands included the Western Roman Emperors Valentinian III and Petronius Maximus.
Marcellinus was a Roman general and patrician who ruled over the region of Dalmatia in the Western Roman Empire and held sway with the army there from 454 until his death.
Zerco or Zercon was a Moorish dwarf and the jester of the magistri militum Aspar and Aetius and of the Hunnic kings Bleda and Attila.
The Roman Civil War (432) was a military conflict between the Roman generals Aëtius and Bonifatius during the reign of Emperor Valentinian III. This war took place on Italian soil and was decided in the Battle of Rimini. Despite the fact that Aëtius lost the battle, the civil war did end in his favor, because Bonifatius was wounded in battle and eventually died of his injuries.
