Europe 455: Accession of Avitus

Learning of the death of the Western Roman emperor Petronius Maximus and the sack of Rome in June 455, the Visigoths and the Roman army in Gaul proclaimed Maximus’ senior military commander Avitus as the new emperor. Returning to Italy to assume his reign, Avitus was recognized by the Roman Senate but not by the Eastern emperor Marcian.

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Notes

Akatziri and the “Scythian Kingdom” (Kuban Huns)

Little is known about the region north and east of the Black Sea in the first half of the fifth century, except that in c. 400 a “Scythian King” (almost always assumed to be a Hun) lived in the Kuban region and by the 440s a Hunnic people known as the Akatziri lived east of the Dniester. Although fragmented, the Akatziri were powerful enough that, when the Eastern Romans aligned with all but one of their kingdoms in 447, it took over a year for Attila’s armies to crush them and install his son as their king. After this, Attila contemplated invading Persia, implying that suppressing the Akatziri had bought the periphery of his empire close to the Caucasus. All this suggests that the Akatziri may have extended into the North Caucasus and that the “Scythian King” may have been part of the Akatziri, although this is of course conjecture.

Main Events

455 Vandal sack of Capua ▲

During or immediately after Gaiseric’s sack of Rome in 455, large numbers of Vandals and Mauri spread south into Campania, where they “leveled” the city of Capua. The invaders then turned on the rich city of Nola, which they “destroyed”. Unable to capture Neapolis (Naples) due to its fortifications, they then ravaged the countryside before finally returned to Africa with their captives and plunder. in wikipedia

Jun 455 Acclamation of Avitus in Tolosa ▲

In June 455 news of the death of Petronius Maximus and the sack of Rome reached the Visigothic capital of Tolosa (Toulouse), where Maximus’ magister militum Eparchius Avitus was in talks with King Theodoric II of the Visigoths. Theodoric immediately encouraged Avitus to claim the imperial throne and in late June, or early July, Avitus was proclaimed emperor with the support of both his officers and the Visigoths. in wikipedia

9 Jul 455 Acclamation of Avitus at Viernum ▲

After his acclamation by the Visigoths in Tolosa (Toulouse), Avitus marched to Viernum, on the outskirts of Arelate (Arles), where he was proclaimed emperor by the Roman army in Gaul and the Gallic aristocracy on 9 or 10 July 455. To emphasize the Gallic nature of his reign—he would appoint Gallo-Romans to almost all posts in his new regime—he was crowned with a Celtic torc rather than the traditional imperial diadem. Taking the Visigoth Remistus as his magister militum, Avitus then moved slowly towards Italy, where the Senate cautiously acknowledged him as emperor in early August. in wikipedia

455? Battle of the Huns ▲

By 455 the Amal-led Goths, known as the Ostrogoths, had thrown off Hunnic rule and were residing in Pannonia, south of the Danube, under the kingship of the brothers Theodemir, Videmir, and Valamir. However, the sons of Attila, who still considered the Ostrogoths their vassals, decided to launch an attack on Valamir while he was unsupported by his brothers. Despite being outnumbered, Valamir defeated the Huns and drove them back across the Danube. Allegedly, Theodoric the Great was born to Theodemir’s concubine Erelieva just days after this victory. in wikipedia

455 Rechiar’s attack on Carthaginensis ▲

In late 455, in the wake of Gaiseric’s sack of Rome, the Suebian king Rechiar broke his treaty with the Western Roman Empire and sacked the parts of Carthaginensis that he had returned to the Romans a few years earlier. Rechiar’s actions provoked the condemnation of his brother-in-law Theodoric II, King of the Visigoths, who accused Rechiar of intending to conquer all of Spain and demanded that he withdraw from the lands he had just seized. Rather than acquiesce, Rechiar allegedly retorted that he would march into the Visigothic capital of Tolosa (Toulouse) if Theodoric did not quieten down. in wikipedia

5 Aug 455–? Oct 456 Reign of Avitus ▲

In August 455 the Senate in Rome reluctantly recognized Petronius Maximus’ former magister militum Eparchius Avitus as Western Roman Emperor, following the acclamation of Avitus in Gaul the previous month. Avitus entered Italy in September, but he remained unrecognized by either the Eastern emperor Marcian or Marcellinus in Dalmatia, and his rule was seen as a Gallic/Gothic occupation by many Italians. In October 456, after just over a year in power, he was deposed in a rebellion led by the generals Ricimer and Majorian and forced to become a bishop. He died—or was killed—shortly afterwards. in wikipedia