Avitus
Encyclopedia
Eparchius Avitus was Western Roman Emperor from July 8 or July 9, 455 to October 17, 456. A Gallic-Roman aristocrat, he was a senator and a high-ranking officer both in the civil and military administration, as well as Bishop of Piacenza
.
A representative of the Gallic-Roman aristocracy, he opposed the reduction of the Western Roman Empire to Italy alone, both politically and from the administrative point of view. For this reason, as Emperor he introduced several Gallic senators in the Imperial administration; this policy, however, was opposed by both the Senatorial aristocracy and by the people of Rome, which had suffered because of the Vandalic sack of the city in 455
.
Avitus had a good relationship with the Visigoths, in particular with their king Theodoric II
, who was a friend of his and who acclaimed Avitus Emperor, but the possibility of a strong and useful alliance between Visigoths and Romans ended when Theodoric invaded Roman Hispania
and then refused to help Avitus against the rebel Roman generals who deposed him.
, in a noble family of the senatorial aristocracy of Gallic-Roman origin; his father was possibly Flavius Julius Agricola
, consul in 421. He had at least two sons and a daughter: Agricola
(440 – after 507, a vir inlustris), Ecdicius Avitus
(later patricius and magister militum
under Emperor Julius Nepos
), and, clarissima femina (who married the praetorian prefect of Gaul Tonantius Ferreolus). He was also related to Magnus Felix and Priscus Valerianus
. Agricola's daughter, also named Papianilla (490–530), married her relative Parthenius (485–548), a Patron
in 542 and perhaps a great-grandson of Felix Ennodius
.
Avitus followed a course of study typical for a young man of his rank: he studied law. Before 421 he was sent to the powerful patricius Flavius Constantius
(shortly Emperor in 421), to ask for a tax reduction for his own country. This embassy was successful. A relative of his, Theodorus, was hostage at the court of the King of Visigoths, Theodoric I
: in 425/426 Avitus went and met him, thus meeting the King, who let Avitus enter his own court. Here, around 439, Avitus met the son of Theodoric, Theodoric II
, who later became King. Avitus inspired the young Theodoric to study Latin poets.
He then started a military career: he served under the magister militum
Aetius
in his campaign against the Juthungi
and the Norics
(430–431) and also against the Burgundians
(436). In 437, after being elevated to the rank of vir inlustris, he returned to Alvernia
, where he held a high office, probably magister militum
per Gallias; in that same year he defeated near Clermont a group of Hunnic raiders and obliged Theodoric to lift the siege of Narbonne
. In 439 he became Praetorian prefect of Gaul
; in that same year he renewed the friendship treaty with the Visigoths.
Before the summer of 440, he retired to private life in his lands, called Avitacum, near Clermont. Here he lived until 451, when the Huns
, led by Attila, invaded the Western Roman Empire; Avitus used his own influence over Theodoric to convince him to an alliance between Visigoths and Romans. Theodoric and Aetius defeated Attila in the Battle of Châlons
, although Theodoric was killed there.
In the late spring of 455, Avitus was recalled to service by emperor Petronius Maximus
and was elevated to the rank of magister militum
, probably praesentalis; Maximus sent Avitus in an embassy to the court of Theodoric II
, who had succeeded to his father, at Toulouse
: this embassy probably confirmed the new King and his people the condition of foederati
of the Empire and asked for their support to the new Emperor.
While Avitus was at Theodoric's court, news came of the death of Petronius Maximus (May 22) and of the sack of Rome
by the Vandals
of Gaiseric. Theodoric acclaimed Avitus Emperor in Toulouse, on July 9, the new Emperor was acclaimed by the Gallic chiefs gathered in Viernum, near Arelate
, and later, around August 5, before Avitus reached Rome, he received the recognition of the Roman Senate
.
Avitus stayed in Gaul for three months, to consolidate his power in the region that was the center of his support, and later went to Italy with a Gallic army, probably reinforced with a Gothic force. He probably travelled to Noricum
to restore the imperial authority in that province, and then passed through Ravenna
, where he left a Gothic force under the new patricius and magister militum
Remistus
, a Visigoth. On September 21, finally, he entered Rome.
and the Eastern Roman Emperor Marcian
, as well as that of the army and its commanders (the generals Majorian
and Ricimer
) and the Vandals
of Gaiseric.
On January 1, 456, Avitus took the consulate, as traditionally the Emperors always held the consulate in the first year upon assuming the purple. However, his consulate sine collega (without a second Consul) was not recognised by the Eastern court, which nominated two consuls, Iohannes
and Varanes: the fact that the two courts did not agree on a couple of consuls but each nominated its own means that, despite Avitus' actions to receive the recognition of the Eastern Emperor (Hydatius writes – Chronicle, 166, that Avitus sent some ambassadors to Marcian to discuss the separation of their spheres of influences, and later adds that the two Emperors ruled in agreement – Chronicle, 169), the relationship between the two halves was non optimal.
in 442 and entrusting the defence of the Empire to the Roman army and its allies. The Vandal raids restarted after the winter truce in March 456, despite a further embassy by Marcian
, with the destruction of Capua
. Avitus sent Ricimer
to defend Sicily
, and the Romans defeated the Vandals twice, once in a land battle near Agrigento
and another in a naval battle off Corsica
.
During Avitus' reign, the Visigoths expanded into Hispania
, nominally under Roman authorisation but actually for their own interests. In 455 Avitus had sent an ambassador, comes Fronto, to the Suebi
and then to Theodoric II
to ask them formally to recognise Roman rule. When the Suebi invaded the Roman province of Hispania Tarraconensis
the Visigoths attacked and defeated them in the Battle of the Urbicus River (October 5, 456), occupying the province as foederati
of the Empire, at least nominally.
In the meantime, the resentment of the Italic population against Avitus grew. The Gallic-Roman Emperor, in fact, had given to members of the Gallic-Roman aristocracy many key offices of the public administration. Furthermore the population of Rome, devastated by the Vandal sack
, suffered a scarcity of food due to the Vandal naval supremacy that controlled the naval routes, a scarcity aggravated by the foreign troops which had arrived with Avitus. The imperial treasury was almost empty and, after disbanding his Visigoth guard because of popular pressure, Avitus was obliged to pay their huge wages by melting down and selling the bronze of some statues. All these events caused the Emperor to grow unpopular.
Counting on the popular discontent, on the disbandment of the imperial guard, and on the prestige gained through their victories, Ricimer
and the comes domesticorum Majorian
rebelled against Avitus; the Emperor was obliged to leave Rome in early autumn and to move north. Ricimer had the Roman Senate depose Avitus and ordered the murder of the magister militum
Remistus
at Ravenna
, in the in Classis Palace, on September 17 456.
Avitus decided to react. First he chose Messianus, one of his collaborators in his embassy to the Visigoths ordered by Petronius Maximus
, as the new magister militum; then he probably went to Gaul (Hydatius says to Arelate) to collect all the available forces, probably the Visigoth guard he had just disbanded; finally he led his forces against the troops of Ricimer, near Piacenza
. The Emperor and his army entered the city and attacked the huge army led by Ricimer, but after a great massacre of his men, including Messianus, Avitus fled (October 17 or 18).
Ricimer and Majorian decided to spare the life of the defeated Emperor; they deposed Avitus and obliged him to become Bishop of Piacenza.
, who lived in Spain, considered the year 457 the third of Avitus' reign; furthermore Sidonius Apollinaris
tells about a failed coup d'etat in Gaul, organised by one Marcellus and probably aimed at bringing Avitus back on the throne.
Avitus was informed that the Roman Senate
had condemned him to death, and tried to flee to Gaul, officially travelling there to bring donations to the basilica of Saint Julian in Alvernia
, his homeland. According to Gregory of Tours
, Avitus died during the journey; according to other sources, he was killed by Majorian and Ricimer, who had him strangled or starved to death.
He was buried at Brioude
, next to Saint Julian's tomb.
For the history of his reign, the major sources are the Spaniard historian Hydatius (400 c. – 469 c.) and the Byzantine chronicler John of Antioch (first half of the 7th century):
Roman Catholic Diocese of Piacenza-Bobbio
The Italian Catholic diocese of Piacenza-Bobbio, in central Italy, has existed since 1989. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Modena-Nonantola. The historic diocese of Piacenza was combined with the territory of the diocese of Bobbio-San Colombano, which was briefly united with the archdiocese...
.
A representative of the Gallic-Roman aristocracy, he opposed the reduction of the Western Roman Empire to Italy alone, both politically and from the administrative point of view. For this reason, as Emperor he introduced several Gallic senators in the Imperial administration; this policy, however, was opposed by both the Senatorial aristocracy and by the people of Rome, which had suffered because of the Vandalic sack of the city in 455
Sack of Rome (455)
The sack of 455 was the second of three barbarian sacks of Rome; it was executed by the Vandals, who were then at war with the usurping Western Roman Emperor Petronius Maximus....
.
Avitus had a good relationship with the Visigoths, in particular with their king Theodoric II
Theodoric II
Theodoric II was King of Visigoths from 453 to 466.Theoderic II, son of Theodoric I, obtained the throne by killing his elder brother Thorismund...
, who was a friend of his and who acclaimed Avitus Emperor, but the possibility of a strong and useful alliance between Visigoths and Romans ended when Theodoric invaded Roman Hispania
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
and then refused to help Avitus against the rebel Roman generals who deposed him.
Origins and early career
Avitus was born in ClermontClermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne region, with a population of 140,700 . Its metropolitan area had 409,558 inhabitants at the 1999 census. It is the prefecture of the Puy-de-Dôme department...
, in a noble family of the senatorial aristocracy of Gallic-Roman origin; his father was possibly Flavius Julius Agricola
Flavius Julius Agricola
Agricola, full name possibly Julius Agricola was a West Roman statesman who served twice as praetorian prefect and became consul for 421.- Biography :...
, consul in 421. He had at least two sons and a daughter: Agricola
Agricola (vir inlustris)
- Biography :Agricola was the son of Avitus, and therefore the brother of Ecdicius and Papianilla. His grandfather was probably the Agricola consul in 421. Agricola was related to the poet Sidonius Apollinaris, who married Papianila, and with Ruricius of Limonges, who was his father-in-law. He...
(440 – after 507, a vir inlustris), Ecdicius Avitus
Ecdicius
Ecdicius Avitus was a Gallo-Roman aristocrat, senator, and magister militum praesentalis from 474 until 475.As a son of the Emperor Avitus, Ecdicius was educated at Augustonemetum , where he lived and owned some land...
(later patricius and magister militum
Magister militum
Magister militum was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine. Used alone, the term referred to the senior military officer of the Empire...
under Emperor Julius Nepos
Julius Nepos
Julius Nepos was Western Roman Emperor de facto from 474 to 475 and de jure until 480. Some historians consider him to be the last Western Roman Emperor, while others consider the western line to have ended with Romulus Augustulus in 476...
), and, clarissima femina (who married the praetorian prefect of Gaul Tonantius Ferreolus). He was also related to Magnus Felix and Priscus Valerianus
Priscus Valerianus
Priscus Valerianus was a Roman praetorian prefect of patrician rank, connected to both the emperor Avitus and Bishop Eucherius of Lyons....
. Agricola's daughter, also named Papianilla (490–530), married her relative Parthenius (485–548), a Patron
Patrón
Patrón is a luxury brand of tequila produced in Mexico and sold in hand-blown, individually numbered bottles.Made entirely from Blue Agave "piñas" , Patrón comes in five varieties: Silver, Añejo, Reposado, Gran Patrón Platinum and Gran Patrón Burdeos. Patrón also sells a tequila-coffee blend known...
in 542 and perhaps a great-grandson of Felix Ennodius
Felix Ennodius
Felix Ennodius was a Proconsul of Africa in ca 420 or 423.His father, born ca 380, might have been the son of Ennodius, Proconsul of Africa. He might have been Flavius Constantius Felix , Consul of Rome in 428, who married Padusia and was an ancestor of Felix, Consul in 511 . His mother Felix...
.
Avitus followed a course of study typical for a young man of his rank: he studied law. Before 421 he was sent to the powerful patricius Flavius Constantius
Constantius III
Flavius Constantius , commonly known as Constantius III, was Western Roman Emperor for seven months in 421. A prominent general and politician, he was the power behind the throne for much of the 410s, and in 421 briefly became co-emperor of the Western Empire with Honorius.- Early life and rise to...
(shortly Emperor in 421), to ask for a tax reduction for his own country. This embassy was successful. A relative of his, Theodorus, was hostage at the court of the King of Visigoths, Theodoric I
Theodoric I
Theodoric I sometimes called Theodorid and in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian Teodorico, was the King of the Visigoths from 418 to 451. An illegitimate son of Alaric, Theodoric is famous for defeating Attila at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains in 451, where he was mortally wounded.-Early...
: in 425/426 Avitus went and met him, thus meeting the King, who let Avitus enter his own court. Here, around 439, Avitus met the son of Theodoric, Theodoric II
Theodoric II
Theodoric II was King of Visigoths from 453 to 466.Theoderic II, son of Theodoric I, obtained the throne by killing his elder brother Thorismund...
, who later became King. Avitus inspired the young Theodoric to study Latin poets.
He then started a military career: he served under the magister militum
Magister militum
Magister militum was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine. Used alone, the term referred to the senior military officer of the Empire...
Aetius
Flavius Aëtius
Flavius Aëtius , dux et patricius, was a Roman general of the closing period of the Western Roman Empire. He was an able military commander and the most influential man in the Western Roman Empire for two decades . He managed policy in regard to the attacks of barbarian peoples pressing on the Empire...
in his campaign against the Juthungi
Juthungi
The Juthungi were a Germanic tribe in the region north of the rivers Danube and Altmühl in the modern German state of Bavaria....
and the Norics
Noricum
Noricum, in ancient geography, was a Celtic kingdom stretching over the area of today's Austria and a part of Slovenia. It became a province of the Roman Empire...
(430–431) and also against the Burgundians
Burgundians
The Burgundians were an East Germanic tribe which may have emigrated from mainland Scandinavia to the island of Bornholm, whose old form in Old Norse still was Burgundarholmr , and from there to mainland Europe...
(436). In 437, after being elevated to the rank of vir inlustris, he returned to Alvernia
Alvernia
Alvernia can refer to:*Alvernia University, a private university in Reading, Pennsylvania, United States*Mount Alvernia, highest point in the Bahamas*Mount Alvernia Hospital and Medical Centre, a private hospital in Singapore...
, where he held a high office, probably magister militum
Magister militum
Magister militum was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine. Used alone, the term referred to the senior military officer of the Empire...
per Gallias; in that same year he defeated near Clermont a group of Hunnic raiders and obliged Theodoric to lift the siege of Narbonne
Narbonne
Narbonne is a commune in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Once a prosperous port, it is now located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea...
. In 439 he became Praetorian prefect of Gaul
Praetorian prefecture of Gaul
The praetorian prefecture of the Gauls was one of four large praetorian prefectures into which the Late Roman Empire was divided.- History :...
; in that same year he renewed the friendship treaty with the Visigoths.
Before the summer of 440, he retired to private life in his lands, called Avitacum, near Clermont. Here he lived until 451, when the Huns
Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...
, led by Attila, invaded the Western Roman Empire; Avitus used his own influence over Theodoric to convince him to an alliance between Visigoths and Romans. Theodoric and Aetius defeated Attila in the Battle of Châlons
Battle of Chalons
The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains , also called the Battle of Châlons sur Marne, took place in AD 451 between a coalition led by the Visigothic king Theodoric I and the Roman general Flavius Aëtius, against the Huns and their allies commanded by their leader Attila...
, although Theodoric was killed there.
Rise to the throne
Petronius Maximus
Flavius Petronius Maximus was Western Roman Emperor 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, Flavius Aëtius, and the Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III...
and was elevated to the rank of magister militum
Magister militum
Magister militum was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine. Used alone, the term referred to the senior military officer of the Empire...
, probably praesentalis; Maximus sent Avitus in an embassy to the court of Theodoric II
Theodoric II
Theodoric II was King of Visigoths from 453 to 466.Theoderic II, son of Theodoric I, obtained the throne by killing his elder brother Thorismund...
, who had succeeded to his father, at Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
: this embassy probably confirmed the new King and his people the condition of foederati
Foederati
Foederatus is a Latin term whose definition and usage drifted in the time between the early Roman Republic and the end of the Western Roman Empire...
of the Empire and asked for their support to the new Emperor.
While Avitus was at Theodoric's court, news came of the death of Petronius Maximus (May 22) and of the sack of Rome
Sack of Rome (455)
The sack of 455 was the second of three barbarian sacks of Rome; it was executed by the Vandals, who were then at war with the usurping Western Roman Emperor Petronius Maximus....
by the Vandals
Vandals
The Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century. The Vandals under king Genseric entered Africa in 429 and by 439 established a kingdom which included the Roman Africa province, besides the islands of Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and the Balearics....
of Gaiseric. Theodoric acclaimed Avitus Emperor in Toulouse, on July 9, the new Emperor was acclaimed by the Gallic chiefs gathered in Viernum, near Arelate
Arles
Arles is a city and commune in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of Provence....
, and later, around August 5, before Avitus reached Rome, he received the recognition of the Roman Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
.
Avitus stayed in Gaul for three months, to consolidate his power in the region that was the center of his support, and later went to Italy with a Gallic army, probably reinforced with a Gothic force. He probably travelled to Noricum
Noricum
Noricum, in ancient geography, was a Celtic kingdom stretching over the area of today's Austria and a part of Slovenia. It became a province of the Roman Empire...
to restore the imperial authority in that province, and then passed through Ravenna
Ravenna
Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...
, where he left a Gothic force under the new patricius and magister militum
Magister militum
Magister militum was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine. Used alone, the term referred to the senior military officer of the Empire...
Remistus
Remistus
Remistus was a general of the Western Roman Empire, commander-in-chief of the army under Emperor Avitus.- Life :Remistus was a Visigoth, as shown by his Germanic name...
, a Visigoth. On September 21, finally, he entered Rome.
Consolidation of power
The effective power of Avitus depended on the support of all the major players in the Western Roman Empire in the mid-5th century. The new Emperor needed the support of both the civil institutions, the Roman senateRoman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
and the Eastern Roman Emperor Marcian
Marcian
Marcian was Byzantine Emperor from 450 to 457. Marcian's rule marked a recovery of the Eastern Empire, which the Emperor protected from external menaces and reformed economically and financially...
, as well as that of the army and its commanders (the generals Majorian
Majorian
Majorian , was the Western Roman Emperor from 457 to 461.A prominent general of the Late Roman army, Majorian deposed Emperor Avitus in 457 and succeeded him. Majorian was one of the last emperors to make a concerted effort to restore the Western Roman Empire...
and Ricimer
Ricimer
Flavius Ricimer was a Germanic general who achieved effective control of the remaining parts of the Western Roman Empire, during the middle of the 5th century...
) and the Vandals
Vandals
The Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century. The Vandals under king Genseric entered Africa in 429 and by 439 established a kingdom which included the Roman Africa province, besides the islands of Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and the Balearics....
of Gaiseric.
On January 1, 456, Avitus took the consulate, as traditionally the Emperors always held the consulate in the first year upon assuming the purple. However, his consulate sine collega (without a second Consul) was not recognised by the Eastern court, which nominated two consuls, Iohannes
Iohannes (consul 456)
Iohannes was a politician of the Eastern Roman Empire.- Biography :Iohannes is known only through the inscriptions that recorded him as the Consul of year 456, when he was chosen by the Eastern court to hold this office together with Varanes; in the West, however, he was not recognised, as the...
and Varanes: the fact that the two courts did not agree on a couple of consuls but each nominated its own means that, despite Avitus' actions to receive the recognition of the Eastern Emperor (Hydatius writes – Chronicle, 166, that Avitus sent some ambassadors to Marcian to discuss the separation of their spheres of influences, and later adds that the two Emperors ruled in agreement – Chronicle, 169), the relationship between the two halves was non optimal.
Foreign policy
The problem posed by the Vandal incursions was so big that Marcian had already tried to obtain the interruption of the raids in the Italian coasts, with no success. Avitus reiterated this initiative, recalling the treaty subscribed by Gaiseric and Valentinian IIIValentinian III
-Family:Valentinian was born in the western capital of Ravenna, the only son of Galla Placidia and Flavius Constantius. The former was the younger half-sister of the western emperor Honorius, and the latter was at the time Patrician and the power behind the throne....
in 442 and entrusting the defence of the Empire to the Roman army and its allies. The Vandal raids restarted after the winter truce in March 456, despite a further embassy by Marcian
Marcian
Marcian was Byzantine Emperor from 450 to 457. Marcian's rule marked a recovery of the Eastern Empire, which the Emperor protected from external menaces and reformed economically and financially...
, with the destruction of Capua
Capua
Capua is a city and comune in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, situated 25 km north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. Ancient Capua was situated where Santa Maria Capua Vetere is now...
. Avitus sent Ricimer
Ricimer
Flavius Ricimer was a Germanic general who achieved effective control of the remaining parts of the Western Roman Empire, during the middle of the 5th century...
to defend Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, and the Romans defeated the Vandals twice, once in a land battle near Agrigento
Agrigento
Agrigento , is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy, and capital of the province of Agrigento. It is renowned as the site of the ancient Greek city of Akragas , one of the leading cities of Magna Graecia during the golden...
and another in a naval battle off Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
.
During Avitus' reign, the Visigoths expanded into Hispania
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
, nominally under Roman authorisation but actually for their own interests. In 455 Avitus had sent an ambassador, comes Fronto, to the Suebi
Suebi
The Suebi or Suevi were a group of Germanic peoples who were first mentioned by Julius Caesar in connection with Ariovistus' campaign, c...
and then to Theodoric II
Theodoric II
Theodoric II was King of Visigoths from 453 to 466.Theoderic II, son of Theodoric I, obtained the throne by killing his elder brother Thorismund...
to ask them formally to recognise Roman rule. When the Suebi invaded the Roman province of Hispania Tarraconensis
Hispania Tarraconensis
Hispania Tarraconensis was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania. It encompassed much of the Mediterranean coast of Spain along with the central plateau. Southern Spain, the region now called Andalusia, was the province of Hispania Baetica...
the Visigoths attacked and defeated them in the Battle of the Urbicus River (October 5, 456), occupying the province as foederati
Foederati
Foederatus is a Latin term whose definition and usage drifted in the time between the early Roman Republic and the end of the Western Roman Empire...
of the Empire, at least nominally.
Fall
Sack of Rome (455)
The sack of 455 was the second of three barbarian sacks of Rome; it was executed by the Vandals, who were then at war with the usurping Western Roman Emperor Petronius Maximus....
, suffered a scarcity of food due to the Vandal naval supremacy that controlled the naval routes, a scarcity aggravated by the foreign troops which had arrived with Avitus. The imperial treasury was almost empty and, after disbanding his Visigoth guard because of popular pressure, Avitus was obliged to pay their huge wages by melting down and selling the bronze of some statues. All these events caused the Emperor to grow unpopular.
Counting on the popular discontent, on the disbandment of the imperial guard, and on the prestige gained through their victories, Ricimer
Ricimer
Flavius Ricimer was a Germanic general who achieved effective control of the remaining parts of the Western Roman Empire, during the middle of the 5th century...
and the comes domesticorum Majorian
Majorian
Majorian , was the Western Roman Emperor from 457 to 461.A prominent general of the Late Roman army, Majorian deposed Emperor Avitus in 457 and succeeded him. Majorian was one of the last emperors to make a concerted effort to restore the Western Roman Empire...
rebelled against Avitus; the Emperor was obliged to leave Rome in early autumn and to move north. Ricimer had the Roman Senate depose Avitus and ordered the murder of the magister militum
Magister militum
Magister militum was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine. Used alone, the term referred to the senior military officer of the Empire...
Remistus
Remistus
Remistus was a general of the Western Roman Empire, commander-in-chief of the army under Emperor Avitus.- Life :Remistus was a Visigoth, as shown by his Germanic name...
at Ravenna
Ravenna
Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...
, in the in Classis Palace, on September 17 456.
Avitus decided to react. First he chose Messianus, one of his collaborators in his embassy to the Visigoths ordered by Petronius Maximus
Petronius Maximus
Flavius Petronius Maximus was Western Roman Emperor 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, Flavius Aëtius, and the Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III...
, as the new magister militum; then he probably went to Gaul (Hydatius says to Arelate) to collect all the available forces, probably the Visigoth guard he had just disbanded; finally he led his forces against the troops of Ricimer, near Piacenza
Piacenza
Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...
. The Emperor and his army entered the city and attacked the huge army led by Ricimer, but after a great massacre of his men, including Messianus, Avitus fled (October 17 or 18).
Ricimer and Majorian decided to spare the life of the defeated Emperor; they deposed Avitus and obliged him to become Bishop of Piacenza.
Death
The events that led to Avitus' death, in 457, are still obscure. One major reason of danger for Avitus was the fact that in some areas of the Western Empire he was still considered the lawful Emperor: for example, the contemporary historian HydatiusHydatius
Hydatius or Idacius , bishop of Aquae Flaviae in the Roman province of Gallaecia was the author of a chronicle of his own times that provides us with our best evidence for the history of the Iberian Peninsula in the 5th century.-Life:Hydatius was born around the year 400 in the...
, who lived in Spain, considered the year 457 the third of Avitus' reign; furthermore Sidonius Apollinaris
Sidonius Apollinaris
Gaius Sollius Apollinaris Sidonius or Saint Sidonius Apollinaris was a poet, diplomat, and bishop. Sidonius is "the single most important surviving author from fifth-century Gaul" according to Eric Goldberg...
tells about a failed coup d'etat in Gaul, organised by one Marcellus and probably aimed at bringing Avitus back on the throne.
Avitus was informed that the Roman Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
had condemned him to death, and tried to flee to Gaul, officially travelling there to bring donations to the basilica of Saint Julian in Alvernia
Alvernia
Alvernia can refer to:*Alvernia University, a private university in Reading, Pennsylvania, United States*Mount Alvernia, highest point in the Bahamas*Mount Alvernia Hospital and Medical Centre, a private hospital in Singapore...
, his homeland. According to Gregory of Tours
Gregory of Tours
Saint Gregory of Tours was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of Gaul. He was born Georgius Florentius, later adding the name Gregorius in honour of his maternal great-grandfather...
, Avitus died during the journey; according to other sources, he was killed by Majorian and Ricimer, who had him strangled or starved to death.
He was buried at Brioude
Brioude
Brioude is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in the Auvergne region in south-central France. It lies on the banks of the River Allier, a tributary of the Loire.-History:...
, next to Saint Julian's tomb.
Primary sources
Major source for Avitus' life until his rise to the throne is the panegyric written in occasion of his consulate by Sidonius Apollinaris (431–486):- Sidonius ApollinarisSidonius ApollinarisGaius Sollius Apollinaris Sidonius or Saint Sidonius Apollinaris was a poet, diplomat, and bishop. Sidonius is "the single most important surviving author from fifth-century Gaul" according to Eric Goldberg...
, Panegyric for Avitus
For the history of his reign, the major sources are the Spaniard historian Hydatius (400 c. – 469 c.) and the Byzantine chronicler John of Antioch (first half of the 7th century):
- HydatiusHydatiusHydatius or Idacius , bishop of Aquae Flaviae in the Roman province of Gallaecia was the author of a chronicle of his own times that provides us with our best evidence for the history of the Iberian Peninsula in the 5th century.-Life:Hydatius was born around the year 400 in the...
, Chronicle - John of AntiochJohn of AntiochJohn of Antioch was Patriarch of Antioch and led a group of moderate Eastern bishops during the Nestorian controversy. He is sometimes confused with John Chrysostom, who is occasionally also referred to as John of Antioch. John gave active support to his friend Nestorius in the latter's dispute...
, Chronicle
Secondary sources
- Jones, Arnold Hugh MartinArnold Hugh Martin JonesArnold Hugh Martin Jones — known as A.H.M. Jones — was a prominent 20th century British historian of classical antiquity, particularly of the later Roman Empire.-Biography:...
, John Robert Martindale, John MorrisJohn Morris (historian)John Robert Morris was an English historian who specialised in the study of the institutions of the Roman Empire and the history of Sub-Roman Britain...
, "Eparchius Avitus 5", Prosopography of the Later Roman EmpireProsopography of the Later Roman EmpireProsopography of the Later Roman Empire is a set of three volumes collectively describing every person attested or claimed to have lived in the Roman world from AD 260, the date of the beginning of Gallienus' sole rule, to 641, the date of the death of Heraclius, which is commonly held to mark the...
, Volume 2, Cambridge University Press, 1992, ISBN 0-521-20159-4, pp. 196–198. - Mathisen, Ralph W., "Avitus (9/10 July 455 – 17/18 October 456)", De Imperatoribus Romanis
- Randers-Pehrson, Justine Davis. "Barbarians and Romans: The Birth Struggle of Europe, A.D. 400-700". Norman University of Oklahoma Press, 1983. p. 251.