Europe 462: Betrayal of Narbona

With his new regime under threat from all sides, Libius Severus turned to the Visigoths for support in 462. The Visigoths quickly ousted Nepotianus in Hispaniae and, in return for the city of Narbona (Narbonne), agreed to take on Aegidius in Gaul.

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462?–463 Saragur–Akatziri war ▲

In the early 460s the Saragurs emerged from the Caspian steppe to reach the lands of the Akatziri Huns, on the north coast of the Black Sea. After “many battles” they subjugated the Akatziri, who remained under Saragur domination for several years. in wikipedia

462 Arborius ▲

In 462 the Visigothic king Thedoric II ordered Nepotianus, magister militum of Hispaniae, to step down in favor of a Roman officer named Arborius. Nepotianus acquiesced, effectively yielding authority over the Roman legions in Spain to the Visigoths. He then went peacefully into retirement, ultimately dying in 465. in wikipedia

462? Phylarchus–Marcellinus agreement ▲

In late 461 the Western Roman emperor Libius Severus sent an embassy to the Eastern emperor Leo I, requesting that he help restore relations with the rebel Roman general Marcellinus in Dalmatia and the Vandals in Africa. To deal with the former, Leo sent the diplomat Phylarchus, who persuaded Marcellinus not to invade Italy and to make peace with the West. It may also have been at this point that Leo agreed to recognize Marcellinus’ authority in the region by awarding him the title of magister militum Dalmatiae. in wikipedia

462? Adovacrius ▲

In the early 460s a force of Saxon ‘pirates’ led by Adovacrius (or Eadwacer) settled on the Loire river islands west of Andecavorum (Angers). Modern historians are divided as to whether these Saxons were aligned with the Visigoths or were recruited by the rebel Roman general Aegidius, but as their position secured the line of the Loire with the Alans, the latter seems more likely. in wikipedia

462? Recovery of Colonia Agrippina ▲

At some point in the early 460s Colonia Agrippina (Cologne) fell under the control of ‘Roman partisans of Aegidius’, after several years of Ripuarian Frankish occupation. This event may be related to Aegidius’ support of Childeric, who returned from exile to resume his rule over the Salian Franks in the same period. in wikipedia

462 Return of Licinia Eudoxia and Placidia ▲

Following the death of the Western Roman emperor Majorian in late 461, the Vandal king Gaiseric considered the treaty that he had signed with that emperor void and in the spring of 462 resumed his raids on Italy and Sicily. In response, the Western generalissimo Ricimer and the Eastern emperor Leo I sent embassies to Gaiseric, demanding that he abide by the treaty, that he cease his attacks, and that he return Valentinian III’s widow Licinia Eudoxia and her daughter Placidia (who had both been captured in the Vandal sack of Rome in 455). Eventually, after several more embassies, it was agreed that the Vandals would release the two women if the Romans provided dowry payments and property for the marriage of Licinia’s eldest daughter Eudocia to Gaiseric’s son Huneric. The East accepted these terms—allowing for the return of Licinia and Placidia to Constantinople—but the West refused, provoking further Vandal raids. in wikipedia

462 Betrayal of Narbona ▲

After becoming Western Roman emperor in November 461, Libius Severus restored Agrippinus—the disgraced former magister militum per Gallias and a firm rival of the powerful rebel general Aegidius—as magister militum per Gallias. Agrippinus then traveled to the court of the Visigothic king Theodoric II in order to persuade him to align with Severus against Aegidius. As a reward for the king’s support, Aegidius betrayed the Gallic city of Narbona (Narbonne) to him in 462, giving the Visigoths access to the Mediterranean. in wikipedia