Europe 464: Death of Aegidius

Political map of Europe & the Mediterranean on win 464/465 (Fall of the Western Empire: Death of Aegidius), showing the following events: Fourth Sasanian–Kidarite War; Death of Aegidius.

In late 464 or early 465 the rebel Roman general Aegidius was killed, either by poison or in an ambush, and succeeded by his son Syagrius. The death of Aegidius severely weakened the Roman hold over Gaul, which quickly became contested between the Visigoths and the Franks.

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Main Events

464–467 Fourth Sasanian–Kidarite War

Towards the end of his reign, Shah Yazdegerd II (r. 438–457) had ended the tribute Sasanian Persia was paying to the Kidarite Huns. This ultimately led to war by 464, when the Kidarite leader Kounchas rejected efforts by Yazdegerd’s son Peroz I to resume the tribute, demanding a much larger amount than before. At first things went badly for the Persians and, after a number of defeats, they sent a fruitless embassy to the Romans, requesting both support in this war and help in maintaining the Caspian Gates should the tribes north of the Caucasus also attack. Eventually, however, Peroz secured an alliance with the Hephthalites and, with their help, captured the Kidarite capital of Balaam, forcing the Kidarites east into India. in wikipedia

464? Gubazes I’s treaty with Persia

Some time after the Roman invasion of Lazica in 456, the Kingdom of Iberia attacked Lazica and seized the territories of Svaneti and Abkhazia. Cowed, King Gubazes I of Lazica agreed to become a vassal of Iberia’s overlord, the Persian Empire. This change of affairs was announced to the Romans in late 464 or 465, when Gubazes visited Constantinople in his new Persian style and placated the court there by emphasizing his continued devotion to Christianity. in wikipedia

464?–465 Marcellinus in Sicily

In 464 the Western Roman emperor Libius Severus sent an embassy to the Eastern Roman emperor Leo I, asking for naval support against the Vandals, but Leo reluctantly turned him down on the grounds that he had a treaty with the Vandal king Gaiseric. However, Marcellinus, the semi-independent ruler of Dalmatia, was free to act and led an expedition to Sicily either later that year or in spring of 465. Once there he routed the Vandals and expelled them from the island before returning home in late 465. in wikipedia

464? Death of Aegidius

In late 464 or early 465, not long after losing Colonia Agrippina (Cologne) and Augusta Treverorum (Trier) to the Ripuarian Franks, the rebel Roman general Aegidius was killed in some way—either in an ambush or by poison. As his successor the Roman army in Gaul appointed his young son Syagrius, although Syagrius likely remained a figurehead for some years with the actual command held by a more experienced comes. Aegidius’ death weakened the Roman hold on Gaul, which soon became contested between the Visigoths, Franks, and Saxons. in wikipedia