OrestesNo other names are known, according to J.R. Martindale ''The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'' vol. II pp. 811–812. Cambridge University Press, 1980 (died 28 August 476) was a Roman general and politician of

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now west ...

n ancestry, who held considerable influence in the late

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 ...

Biography

Born to a Roman

aristocratic Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word' ...

family from

Pannonia Savia Pannonia Savia or simply Savia, also known as Pannonia Ripariensis, was a Late Roman province. It was formed in the year 295, during the Tetrarchy reform of Roman emperor Diocletian, and assigned to the civil diocese of Pannonia, which was at ...

, Orestes was son of Tatulus, a pagan, and son-in-law to Romulus, who served as ''

comes ''Comes'' ( ), plural ''comites'' ( ), was a Roman title or office, and the origin Latin form of the medieval and modern title "count". Before becoming a word for various types of title or office, the word originally meant "companion", either i ...

'' in the Western Roman Empire. After

was ceded to

Attila the Hun Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in March 453. He was also the leader of a tribal empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Bulgars, among others, in Central and E ...

, Orestes joined Attila's court, reaching high position as a secretary (''notarius'') in 449 and 452. In 449 Attila sent him twice to

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 (" ...

with ambassador Eslas.Priscus, ''History'', fragment 7.Priscus, ''History'', fragment 8. In 475, Orestes was appointed ''

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, ...

'' and '' patricius'' by Western Roman Emperor

Julius Nepos Julius Nepos (died 9 May 480), or simply Nepos, ruled as Roman emperor of the West from 24 June 474 to 28 August 475. After losing power in Italy, Nepos retreated to his home province of Dalmatia, from which he continued to claim the western im ...

. This proved to be a mistake on the part of Nepos. By 28 August 475, Orestes, at the head of the ''

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 ...

'' levies, managed to take control of the government 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 c ...

, which had been the de facto capital of the Western Roman Empire since 402. Julius Nepos fled without a fight to

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see names in other languages) is one of the four historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of the Adriatic Sea, str ...

, where he would continue to reign until his assassination in 480. With the emperor far away, Orestes elevated his son Romulus to the rank of ''

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 Pr ...

'', so that the last Western Roman emperor is known as

Romulus Augustulus Romulus Augustus ( 465 – after 511), nicknamed Augustulus, was Roman emperor of the West from 31 October 475 until 4 September 476. Romulus was placed on the imperial throne by his father, the ''magister militum'' Orestes, and, at that time ...

meaning "little Augustus" as the emperor was only a child, somewhere between 12 and 15 years old, at the time he became emperor in 475.

In popular culture

*''Orestes'' was played by Andrew Pleavin in the 2001 miniseries ''

Attila Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in March 453. He was also the leader of a tribal empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Bulgars, among others, in Central and E ...

'', which depicts his time in service of the Hunnic king. *The character of ''Orestes'' was played by

Iain Glen Iain Alan Sutherland Glen (born 24 June 1961) is a Scottish actor. Glen is best known for his roles as Dr. Alexander Isaacs/Tyrant in three films of the ''Resident Evil'' film series (2004–2016) and as Ser Jorah Mormont in the HBO fantasy t ...

in the 2007 historical-fiction film '' The Last Legion'', which shows the character during his period of rule in Rome, although the film deviates significantly from the historical record of these events. * ''Orestes'' is portrayed as the primary villain in Michael Curtis Ford's novel ''The Fall of Rome''.

References

External links

Gibbon, ''Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire''
part v, chapter xxxvi Year of birth unknown 476 deaths Ancient Roman politicians Magistri militum 5th-century Romans Romans from Pannonia Romulus Augustulus {{AncientRome-mil-bio-stub

Biography

In popular culture

See also

References

External links