Palladius (c. 415/425 – May 455) was '' caesar'' 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 ...

for two months in 455. He was born between 415 and 425AD and may have held the position of

Praetorian Prefect The praetorian prefect ( la, praefectus praetorio, el, ) was a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders be ...

during the 450's. After his father,

Petronius Maximus Petronius Maximus ( 39731 May 455) was Roman emperor of the West for two and a half months in 455. A wealthy senator and a prominent aristocrat, he was instrumental in the murders of the Western Roman ''magister militum'', Aëtius, and the ...

, assassinated Emperor

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 vyin ...

and seized power, Palladius became heir-apparent with the title of ''caesar''. His marriage to Valentinian’s daughter Eudocia broke a pre-existing treaty in which Eudocia had been promised as a wife for

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 ...

, son of the Vandal king

Genseric 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 di ...

. The Vandals invaded and sacked Rome; while attempting to escape the city, Petronius Maximus and Palladius were killed by a mob of angry Romans on 31 May 455.

History

Solidus Petronius Maximus-RIC 2201 (obverse)

Palladius was born between 415 and 425AD. His father was the extremely wealthy senator

, who had held numerous public offices under Emperors Honorius and

, including two terms as

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

. According to Mommaerts and Kelley, Palladius' mother was Eparchia, sister of

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 ...

. Palladius may have been a

at some point during the 450's. Maximus became the Western Roman Emperor on 17 March 455, after assassinating Valentinian III. Palladius was elevated to '' caesar'', or designated heir, and married to Valentinian's daughter Eudocia. Along with Maximus' marriage to

Licinia Eudoxia Licinia Eudoxia (; Greek: Λικινία, 422 – c. 493) was a Roman Empress, daughter of Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II. Her husbands included the Western Roman Emperors Valentinian III and Petronius Maximus. Family Eudoxia was born in ...

, Valentinian's former wife, these acts were intended to link the new emperors to the

Theodosian dynasty The Theodosian dynasty was a Roman imperial family that produced five Roman emperors during Late Antiquity, reigning over the Roman Empire from 379 to 457. The dynasty's patriarch was Theodosius the Elder, whose son Theodosius the Great was ma ...

, and create a sense of stability and continuity for a regime which had begun in violence. While negotiating a treaty with

, the king of the

Vandals 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 ...

, Valentinian had offered a similar political marriage between Eudocia and

, Genseric's son. Declaring the treaty violated, Genseric assembled a fleet to lead an expedition to Rome. Maximus' failure to make any preparations led the nobles to flee the city of Rome ''en masse'', but lower-class inhabitants were not allowed to leave without governmental permission. As the Vandal fleet approached Rome, Maximus gave the order that any person wishing to leave could do so. On 31 May Maximus and Palladius themselves attempted to escape from Rome, but were intercepted by a mob of angry peasants. Ancient sources agree that both men were killed, but differ as to specifics. One account states that Maximus and Palladius were killed by their own palace servants, who were probably trying to win the favor of the rioting peasants. A second account attributes their deaths directly to the mob, who drove the emperors off their horses with a shower of stones, then tore them apart. Very little is recorded of Maximus and Palladius' shared rule.

Ferdinand Gregorovius Ferdinand Gregorovius (19 January 1821, Neidenburg, East Prussia, Kingdom of Prussia – 1 May 1891, Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria) was a German historian who specialized in the medieval history of Rome. Biography Gregorovius was the son of Neide ...

says that the marriages of Maximus and Palladius, and the elevation of Palladius to ''caesar'' were the only two significant actions of their 77 day reign. No coins were minted bearing Palladius' portrait, and among contemporary historians he is mentioned only by

Hydatius Hydatius, also spelled Idacius (c. 400 – c. 469) was a late Western Roman writer and clergyman. The bishop of Aquae Flaviae in the Roman province of Gallaecia (almost certainly the modern Chaves, Portugal, in the modern district of Vila Real), h ...

References

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Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * {{Roman emperors 420 births 455 deaths Tetrarchy Deaths by stoning Caesars (heirs apparent) Sons of Roman emperors