Libius Severus
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Libius Severus (died 465), sometimes enumerated as Severus III, was
emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
of the
Western Roman Empire The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...
from 461 to his death in 465. A native of
Lucania Lucania was a historical region of Southern Italy. It was the land of the Lucani, an Oscan people. It extended from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto. It bordered with Samnium and Campania in the north, Apulia in the east, and Brutti ...
,
Cassiodorus Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (c. 485 – c. 585), commonly known as Cassiodorus (), was a Roman statesman, renowned scholar of antiquity, and writer serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. ''Senator'' w ...
, ''Chronicle''; ''
Chronica Gallica of 511 The ''Chronica'' or ''Cronaca Gallica of 511'', also called the ''Gallic Chronicle of 511'', is a chronicle of late antiquity preserved today in a single manuscript of the thirteenth century now in Madrid. It resembles in all its traits another lat ...
'',
636 Year 636 ( DCXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 636 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became t ...
.
Severus was the fourth of the so-called Shadow Emperors who followed the deposition of the
Valentinianic dynasty The Valentinianic or Valentinian dynasty was a ruling house of five generations of dynasts, including five Roman emperors during Late Antiquity, lasting nearly a hundred years from the mid fourth to the mid fifth century. They succeeded the ...
in 455. He ruled for just under four years, attaining the throne after his predecessor,
Majorian Majorian ( la, Iulius Valerius Maiorianus; died 7 August 461) was the western Roman emperor from 457 to 461. A prominent general of the Roman army, Majorian deposed Emperor Avitus in 457 and succeeded him. Majorian was the last emperor to make ...
, was overthrown by his ''
magister militum (Latin for "master of soldiers", plural ) 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 (equivalent to a war theatre commander, ...
'',
Ricimer Flavius Ricimer ( , ; – 18/19 August 472) was a Romanized Germanic general who effectively ruled the remaining territory of the Western Roman Empire from 461 until his death in 472, with a brief interlude in which he contested power with An ...
. Severus was the first of a series of emperors who were highly dependent on the general, and it is often presumed that Ricimer held most of the ''
de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
'' power during Severus' reign Severus' reign was marked by diplomatic tension and an erosion of Rome's control over the non-Italian provinces. Diplomatically, Severus failed to secure the
eastern emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...
Leo's recognition, and the alliance Majorian had made with
Vandal The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The Vandals migrated to the area betw ...
king
Gaiseric Gaiseric ( – 25 January 477), also known as Geiseric or Genseric ( la, Gaisericus, Geisericus; reconstructed Vandalic: ) was King of the Vandals and Alans (428–477), ruling a kingdom he established, and was one of the key players in the diff ...
crumbled as the Vandals raided
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. In
Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
and
Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...
officials loyal to Majorian refused to submit to Severus' rule, and Northern Italy was invaded by the
Alans The Alans (Latin: ''Alani'') were an ancient and medieval Iranian nomadic pastoral people of the North Caucasus – generally regarded as part of the Sarmatians, and possibly related to the Massagetae. Modern historians have connected the Al ...
. Severus remains an extremely obscure figure. The ancient sources are almost completely mute on his life and character. Because of the size of Ricimer's influence, no single imperial action can be definitively attributed to Severus; thus the extent of Ricimer's control over imperial affairs during the reign of Severus remains a point of contention among scholars.


Name

Modern scholars are in agreement that Severus' first two names are ''Libius Severus''. However, in
Late Latin Late Latin ( la, Latinitas serior) is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the , and continuing into the 7th century in t ...
, the interchanging of ''b'' and ''v'' became common, and thus Severus' cognomen is sometimes rendered incorrectly as ''Livius''. In addition to these two names, Severus is sometimes referred to by a third name, ''Serpentius''. The ''
Chronicon Paschale ''Chronicon Paschale'' (the ''Paschal'' or ''Easter Chronicle''), also called ''Chronicum Alexandrinum'', ''Constantinopolitanum'' or ''Fasti Siculi'', is the conventional name of a 7th-century Greek Christian chronicle of the world. Its name com ...
'' uses only this name for the emperor, and the chronicle of
Theophanes the Confessor Theophanes the Confessor ( el, Θεοφάνης Ὁμολογητής; c. 758/760 – 12 March 817/818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler. He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before taking u ...
uses both ''Severus'' and ''Serpentius''. Modern scholars are divided as to the authority of this attribution: some (including the ''PLRE'') say the text is corrupt and its meaning uncertain, while others argue it was a ''signum'' or ''supernomen'' deriving from the word for serpent. Among those who accept the name, its source—whether it is of Eastern or Western origin—is also disputed.


Background


Geopolitical background

By the time of Severus, the
Roman empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
's governance had been firmly split between two centers of power: one in the
East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...
centered at
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
and one in the
West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
centered at either
Mediolanum Mediolanum, the ancient city where Milan now stands, was originally an Insubrian city, but afterwards became an important Roman city in northern Italy. The city was settled by the Insubres around 600 BC, conquered by the Romans in 222 BC, and d ...
or
Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...
. During the late fourth and early fifth century the East saw a period of relative peace. The West on the other hand underwent a series of invasions, major political upheavals, and losses of important provinces. By the early 460s,
Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
had been abandoned,
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
had been conquered by the
Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The ...
, and
Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania ...
was occupied by the
Suebi The Suebi (or Suebians, also spelled Suevi, Suavi) were a large group of Germanic peoples originally from the Elbe river region in what is now Germany and the Czech Republic. In the early Roman era they included many peoples with their own names ...
and the
Visigoths The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...
(who were ''
foederati ''Foederati'' (, singular: ''foederatus'' ) were peoples and cities bound by a treaty, known as ''foedus'', with Rome. During the Roman Republic, the term identified the ''socii'', but during the Roman Empire, it was used to describe foreign stat ...
'' of the empire). During this time, in both the Eastern and Western courts,
barbarian A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either Civilization, uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by som ...
generals became increasingly influential; at times, these generals' power rivaled even the emperors'. Of these figures, the most prominent in the West were
Stilicho Flavius Stilicho (; c. 359 – 22 August 408) was a military commander in the Roman army who, for a time, became the most powerful man in the Western Roman Empire. He was of Vandal origins and married to Serena, the niece of emperor Theodosius ...
(under the emperor Honorius) and Aëtius (under
Valentinian III Valentinian III ( la, Placidus Valentinianus; 2 July 41916 March 455) 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 ...
). After Aëtius' assassination in 454, the western empire entered a downward spiral. Valentinian was deposed, his surviving family was taken captive by
Gaiseric Gaiseric ( – 25 January 477), also known as Geiseric or Genseric ( la, Gaisericus, Geisericus; reconstructed Vandalic: ) was King of the Vandals and Alans (428–477), ruling a kingdom he established, and was one of the key players in the diff ...
, and the replacement emperor (
Maximus Maximus (Hellenised as Maximos) is the Latin term for "greatest" or "largest". In this connection it may refer to: * Circus Maximus (disambiguation) * Pontifex maximus, the highest priest of the College of Pontiffs in ancient Rome People Roman h ...
) was killed while Rome was sacked. Out of this political chaos, the ''
magister militum (Latin for "master of soldiers", plural ) 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 (equivalent to a war theatre commander, ...
''
Ricimer Flavius Ricimer ( , ; – 18/19 August 472) was a Romanized Germanic general who effectively ruled the remaining territory of the Western Roman Empire from 461 until his death in 472, with a brief interlude in which he contested power with An ...
and general
Majorian Majorian ( la, Iulius Valerius Maiorianus; died 7 August 461) was the western Roman emperor from 457 to 461. A prominent general of the Roman army, Majorian deposed Emperor Avitus in 457 and succeeded him. Majorian was the last emperor to make ...
were able to quickly seize power. Ricimer was a popular and successful military commander, but because he was of non-Roman origin, he was not an acceptable candidate for emperor in the minds of the Senate and people of Rome. Thus, Majorian became emperor with Ricimer still retaining significant political and military authority. Majorian's reign proved to be an active and healthy one. Recognized by the eastern emperor
Leo I The LEO I (Lyons Electronic Office I) was the first computer used for commercial business applications. The prototype LEO I was modelled closely on the Cambridge EDSAC. Its construction was overseen by Oliver Standingford, Raymond Thompson and ...
, Majorian's reign saw political reform and the strengthening of Roman control over Gaul and Hispania. However, in 461, Ricimer had Majorian killed. Though the ancient sources are almost unanimous on that Majorian was assassinated by Ricimer, it remains unclear why Ricimer carried out this act. One reading suggests that Ricimer wanted absolute power from the outset, and that Majorian proved too independent and capable for Ricimer to effectively control. Whatever his motives, Majorian's death cemented Ricimer as the most powerful man in the Western empire.


Personal background

Almost nothing is known about the person of Severus; perhaps the only definitive piece of personal information that has come down to us, aside from his
name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A personal ...
, is a single line in the
Chronica Gallica of 511 The ''Chronica'' or ''Cronaca Gallica of 511'', also called the ''Gallic Chronicle of 511'', is a chronicle of late antiquity preserved today in a single manuscript of the thirteenth century now in Madrid. It resembles in all its traits another lat ...
: "and Severus, from the
Lucania Lucania was a historical region of Southern Italy. It was the land of the Lucani, an Oscan people. It extended from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto. It bordered with Samnium and Campania in the north, Apulia in the east, and Brutti ...
n lands, was elevated as emperor and consul." One other source notes that Severus "lived religiously." Modern scholars speculate that he was a high-ranking member of society and very likely a senator. He seems to have spent most of his rule in Rome rather than Ravenna, but whether this was out of personal preference, political expediency, precedent set by Valentinian, or Ricimer's prerogative is unknown.


Reign

After the death of Majorian, a three-month
interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next (coming from Latin '' ...
followed, where the title of Western Emperor remained unclaimed. During this interregnum, a political struggle for the succession ensued between
Ricimer Flavius Ricimer ( , ; – 18/19 August 472) was a Romanized Germanic general who effectively ruled the remaining territory of the Western Roman Empire from 461 until his death in 472, with a brief interlude in which he contested power with An ...
, eastern emperor
Leo I The LEO I (Lyons Electronic Office I) was the first computer used for commercial business applications. The prototype LEO I was modelled closely on the Cambridge EDSAC. Its construction was overseen by Oliver Standingford, Raymond Thompson and ...
, and
Gaiseric Gaiseric ( – 25 January 477), also known as Geiseric or Genseric ( la, Gaisericus, Geisericus; reconstructed Vandalic: ) was King of the Vandals and Alans (428–477), ruling a kingdom he established, and was one of the key players in the diff ...
, the King of the Vandals. Eventually, however, on 19 November 461, Severus was acclaimed ''
augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
'' by the senate in
Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...
.


Contested legitimacy

Throughout his reign, Severus' legitimacy proved to be a major political issue. Immediately after the death of Majorian, the western court faced three political obstacles: * Gaiseric, after capturing many of the women of Valentinian's family during the sack of Rome in 455, married them to his son
Huneric Huneric, Hunneric or Honeric (died December 23, 484) was King of the (North African) Vandal Kingdom (477–484) and the oldest son of Gaiseric. He abandoned the imperial politics of his father and concentrated mainly on internal affairs. He was m ...
and Italian nobleman
Olybrius Anicius Olybrius (died 2 November 472) 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 ...
. Olybrius was now one of the senior male members of the Valentinian Dynasty and also Gaiseric's nephew-in-law. After the murder of Majorian, some ancient sources report that Gaiseric began raiding the Italian coast in an attempt to pressure Ricimer to depose Severus and elevate Olybrius. * The eastern emperor Leo refused to recognize Severus, either as an ''augustus'' or as a consul. It seems that the official line in the east was that Severus' rule was invalid—the eastern historians who mention him, namely
Marcellinus Comes Marcellinus Comes (Greek: Μαρκελλίνος ό Κόμης, died c. 534) was a Latin chronicler of the Eastern Roman Empire. An Illyrian by birth, he spent most of his life at the court of Constantinople. His only surviving work, the ''Chronicl ...
and
Jordanes Jordanes (), also written as Jordanis or Jornandes, was a 6th-century Eastern Roman bureaucrat widely believed to be of Goths, Gothic descent who became a historian later in life. Late in life he wrote two works, one on Roman history (''Romana ...
, describe him as a usurper of the Western throne. This lack of recognition severely impeded cooperation between the two courts, and requests from the West for ships to relieve the besieged Italian coastlines were rejected. The eastern court did, however, recognize the western-appointed consul of 463,
Caecina Decius Basilius Caecina Decius Basilius ( 458–468) was a politician of the Western Roman Empire, Consul and twice Praetorian prefect of Italy. Biography Basilius belonged to the Italian nobility, and was member of the influential ''gens'' Caecinia. He was Pr ...
, whose appointment some historians characterize as the result of negotiations between the two courts. * Severus' reign was explicitly rejected by the ''
magister militum per Gallias (Latin for "master of soldiers", plural ) 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 (equivalent to a war theatre commander, ...
''
Aegidius Aegidius (died 464 or 465) was the ruler of the short-lived Kingdom of Soissons from 461 to 464/465AD. Before his ascension, he became ''magister militum per Gallias'' (Master of the Soldiers for Gaul) serving under Majorian, in 458AD. An arden ...
and the semi-autonomous ruler of Illyricum Marcellinus. The revolt of these two commanders, formerly loyal to Majorian, meant the effective loss of two additional western provinces. These problems would persist for the entirety of Severus' reign. Though Ricimer would eventually subdue both Aegidius and Marcellinus, the separation of Dalmacia from the western empire would prove permanent.


Provincial unrest

At the time of the ascension of Severus, Marcellinus, an important military official in Dalmacia, was in
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
in command of an army of ‘Scythians’—tribesmen (possibly Huns) from beyond the Danube—likely recruited by Marcellinus personally. Marcellinus, closely aligned with the eastern court, seems not to have recognized Severus. The size of the army so close to Italy alarmed Ricimer, who used a combination of political pressure on the eastern court and bribery of the soldiers under Marcellinus' command to force Marcellinus back across the sea: According to two fragments of
Priscus Priscus of Panium (; el, Πρίσκος; 410s AD/420s AD-after 472 AD) was a 5th-century Eastern Roman diplomat and Greek historian and rhetorician (or sophist)...: "For information about Attila, his court and the organization of life generall ...
' History of Byzantium, Ricimer bribed all the soldiers under Marcellinus' command to switch sides, and convinced the eastern court to send a man named Phylarchus to Marcellinus to persuade him not to attack the West. In Gaul,
Aegidius Aegidius (died 464 or 465) was the ruler of the short-lived Kingdom of Soissons from 461 to 464/465AD. Before his ascension, he became ''magister militum per Gallias'' (Master of the Soldiers for Gaul) serving under Majorian, in 458AD. An arden ...
, though in revolt against Severus, was unable to cross the Alps as he was tied down defending against the
Visigoths The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...
. Nevertheless, he maintained his independence in the north of Gaul for several years. To oppose Aegidius, Severus (or Ricimer) appointed Agrippinus to the office of ''magister militum per Gallias''. Agrippinus asked for support from the Visigoths, and with their help moved against Aegidius and his
Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...
allies, led by King
Childeric I Childeric I (; french: Childéric; la, Childericus; reconstructed Frankish: ''*Hildirīk''; – 481 AD) was a Frankish leader in the northern part of imperial Roman Gaul and a member of the Merovingian dynasty, described as a king (Latin ''rex ...
. However, in exchange for their support, in 462 the Visigoths received the city of
Narbonne Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in France, commune in Southern France in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. It lies from Paris in the Aude Departments of Franc ...
, thus gaining access to the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
and separating Aegidius from the rest of the empire. After the death of Aegidius,
Arvandus Arvandus was a Gaul who rose through the hierarchy of Imperial Roman society to twice be appointed Praetorian prefect of Gaul. On the first occasion, 461, he was appointed by Emperor Libius Severus. This appointment ended when Severus died in 46 ...
was appointed as
Praetorian prefect of Gaul The Praetorian Prefecture of Gaul ( la, praefectura praetorio Galliarum) was one of four large prefectures into which the Late Roman Empire was divided. History The prefecture was established after the death of Constantine I in 337, when th ...
in 464. In Northern Italy, there seems to have been an invasion of
Alans The Alans (Latin: ''Alani'') were an ancient and medieval Iranian nomadic pastoral people of the North Caucasus – generally regarded as part of the Sarmatians, and possibly related to the Massagetae. Modern historians have connected the Al ...
under a king named Beorgor. The invasion culminated in the defeat of Beorgor at the
Battle of Bergamo The Battle of Bergamo was fought between Alans and the Western Roman Empire in 464. In 464, the Alan king Beorgor led an invasion of Northern Italy, marching his force into the Po Valley. At Bergamo, near Milan, Beorgor was confronted by the ...
on 8 February 464. Little information is preserved about the invasion, but its presence in multiple sources including the ''
Fasti Vindobonenses The ''Fasti vindobonenses'' are two sets of late antique consular annals ("fasti"), found in the '' Vindobonensis'' manuscript MS. 3416, together with the Chronography of 354. They were previously known as ''Anonymus Cuspiniani'', since they were ...
'' indicates that the invasion was a major one.


Conflict with the Vandals

After Severus' ascension,
Gaiseric Gaiseric ( – 25 January 477), also known as Geiseric or Genseric ( la, Gaisericus, Geisericus; reconstructed Vandalic: ) was King of the Vandals and Alans (428–477), ruling a kingdom he established, and was one of the key players in the diff ...
led the
Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The ...
on a series of raids of the Italian coast. According to a fragment of
John of Antioch John of Antioch may refer to: People from Antioch * John Chrysostom (c. 347–407), born in Antioch, archbishop of Constantinople * John Scholasticus (died 577), born in Antioch, patriarch of Constantinople from 565 to 577 * John Malalas (died 578 ...
's ''Historia Chronike'',
Gaiseric Gaiseric ( – 25 January 477), also known as Geiseric or Genseric ( la, Gaisericus, Geisericus; reconstructed Vandalic: ) was King of the Vandals and Alans (428–477), ruling a kingdom he established, and was one of the key players in the diff ...
justified the raids by arguing that he was the rightful inheritor of Valentinian's and Aëtius' estates, as his son had married Valentinian's daughter
Eudocia Eudoxia ( grc, Εὐδοξία, ''Eudoxía''), Eudokia (, ''Eudokía'', anglicized as Eudocia) or Evdokia is a feminine given name, which originally meant "good fame or judgement" or "she whose fame or judgement is good" in Greek. The Slavic forms ...
. Despite not pressing for Olybrius' enthronement explicitly, Gaiseric never relinquished his claim. Vandal raids deeply affected the economy of the Italian landowners.
Priscus Priscus of Panium (; el, Πρίσκος; 410s AD/420s AD-after 472 AD) was a 5th-century Eastern Roman diplomat and Greek historian and rhetorician (or sophist)...: "For information about Attila, his court and the organization of life generall ...
reports that at some point during Severus' reign, some representatives of the Italian aristocracy went to the Emperor to plead for a reconciliation with Gaiseric. Severus sent the patrician Tatian on an embassy to the king of the Vandals, but Gaiseric rejected the terms outright.


Relationship with Ricimer

The relationship between Ricimer and Severus is a point of contention among scholars. The perhaps more traditional view has been to see Severus as a
puppet emperor A puppet monarch is a majority figurehead who is installed or patronized by an imperial power to provide the appearance of local authority but to allow political and economic control to remain among the dominating nation. A figurehead monarch ...
of
Ricimer Flavius Ricimer ( , ; – 18/19 August 472) was a Romanized Germanic general who effectively ruled the remaining territory of the Western Roman Empire from 461 until his death in 472, with a brief interlude in which he contested power with An ...
with little will of his own. This view is expressed by
Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English historian, writer, and member of parliament. His most important work, ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788, is k ...
, who wrote "during that period
he six years between Majorian and Anthemius He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
the government was in the hands of Ricimer alone." Many modern historians agree with this assessment, including
J. B. Bury John Bagnell Bury (; 16 October 1861 – 1 June 1927) was an Anglo-Irish historian, classical scholar, Medieval Roman historian and philologist. He objected to the label "Byzantinist" explicitly in the preface to the 1889 edition of his ''Lat ...
,
Thomas Hodgkin Thomas Hodgkin RMS (17 August 1798 – 5 April 1866) was a British physician, considered one of the most prominent pathologists of his time and a pioneer in preventive medicine. He is now best known for the first account of Hodgkin's disease, ...
, John M. O'Flynn, and C.D. Gordon. However, some modern historians dispute this view, arguing that Severus may have had much more agency than the ancient sources suggest. Important evidence for this controversy comes from inscriptions and
numismatics Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includ ...
. Some coins, dated approximately to Severus' reign, bear a monogram on the reverse sometimes identified with Ricimer. The monogram has been the source of significant scholarly disagreement; if the monogram is Ricimer's it represents a major shift in the constitution of the Late Empire. The monogram exists in two variant forms, and a number of interpretations (other than the traditional reading ''RICIMER'') have been suggested: John Kent reads the inscription as ''ROMAE'', making the monogram a mint mark. Some scholars suggest ''SEVERVS'', reading the ''A'' in the variant form as a
hypercorrection In sociolinguistics, hypercorrection is non-standard use of language that results from the over-application of a perceived rule of language-usage prescription. A speaker or writer who produces a hypercorrection generally believes through a mi ...
of ''E'' to ''AE''. A number of other identifications have been put forward, including
Avitus Eparchius Avitus (c. 390 – 457) was Roman emperor of the West 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. He o ...
,
Majorian Majorian ( la, Iulius Valerius Maiorianus; died 7 August 461) was the western Roman emperor from 457 to 461. A prominent general of the Roman army, Majorian deposed Emperor Avitus in 457 and succeeded him. Majorian was the last emperor to make ...
us,
Anthemius Procopius Anthemius (died 11 July 472) was western Roman emperor from 467 to 472. Perhaps the last capable Western Roman Emperor, Anthemius attempted to solve the two primary military challenges facing the remains of the Western Roman Empire: ...
, Alpia, and Marcellinus. Other physical evidence includes a rectangular bronze plaque (perhaps an ''exagium'', an official standard weight for coins) reading, "Health to our Lords eo and Severus/ and the patrician / Ricimer."'salvis dd. nn. / et patricio / Ricimere' The proximity of Ricimer's name to the emperors' indicates his ascendant position in the state. It is also in the context of Severus' reign that the title ''rex'', usually translated as ''king'', is first applied to Ricimer: the sixth-century historian
Marcellinus Comes Marcellinus Comes (Greek: Μαρκελλίνος ό Κόμης, died c. 534) was a Latin chronicler of the Eastern Roman Empire. An Illyrian by birth, he spent most of his life at the court of Constantinople. His only surviving work, the ''Chronicl ...
writes in his chronicle: " Beorgor, King of the Alans, was killed by King Ricimer". However, Marcellinus' use of the term has been interpreted a number of ways, including as a reflection of his royal Gothic heritage, his increased political power and autonomy, or early evidence for his monarchical ambitions.


Death

Severus died in Rome on 14 November 465 after ruling for just under four years. The details of Severus' death are obscure, and the ancient sources are in disagreement, but the majority of modern scholars contend that Severus died of natural causes. Of the ancient sources which mention the death of Severus, two are of particular importance:
Cassiodorus Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (c. 485 – c. 585), commonly known as Cassiodorus (), was a Roman statesman, renowned scholar of antiquity, and writer serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. ''Senator'' w ...
, in the 6th century, wrote that Severus was poisoned by Ricimer in his palace,'ut dicitur Ricimeris fraude, Severus Romae in Palatio veneno peremptus est' Cassiodorus, ''Chronica '', ''s.a.'' 465 while the poet
Sidonius Apollinaris Gaius Sollius Modestus Apollinaris Sidonius, better known as Sidonius Apollinaris (5 November of an unknown year, 430 – 481/490 AD), was a poet, diplomat, and bishop. Sidonius is "the single most important surviving author from 5th-century Gaul ...
, in a
panegyric A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of grc, ...
to Majorian delivered at Rome, wrote that Severus died "according to the law of nature." The latter statement has been interpreted variously by historians, either as evidence for the existence of a rumor blaming Ricimer for Severus' death or as evidence against the existence of such a rumor. Ricimer may have been present at the reading of the panegyric, further complicating the situation. Historians who accept that Ricimer may have killed Severus have put forward several possible motivations. Severus may have been an obstacle to Ricimer's reconciliation with Leo. Another theory suggests that Severus was much more active than Ricimer desired. According to this theory, Ricimer may have killed Severus in the hopes of reigning solely or with a less powerful puppet emperor. Because of the scarcity of evidence, it is difficult to make any certain judgement on the nature of Severus' death.


Notes


References


Further reading

* * Ralf Scharf
"Zu einigen Daten der Kaiser Libius Severus und Maiorian
''Rheinisches Museum für Philologie'', 139 (1996), pp. 180–8. * https://web.archive.org/web/20120412041230/http://papyri-leipzig.dl.uni-leipzig.de/receive/UBLPapyri_schrift_00002250;jsessionid=D43D2172E6A5E08C1E4AD3DF76DBC021?XSL.Style=print


External links


Coins of Libius Severus
{{Authority control 5th-century births 465 deaths 5th-century Christians 5th-century Romans 5th-century Roman emperors 5th-century Roman consuls Imperial Roman consuls Year of birth uncertain