Litorius (died 439) was a Roman general of the closing period of the

Western Roman Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...

serving as Magister militum per Gallias mainly in

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

under

magister militum (Latin for "master of soldiers"; : ) was a top-level military command used in the late Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, the e ...

Flavius Aetius Flavius Aetius (also spelled Aëtius; ; 390 – 21 September 454) was a Roman Empire, Roman general and statesman of the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, closing period of the Western Roman Empire. He was a military commander and the most inf ...

(from 435 until his death). Litorius is noted for being the last Roman commander in the ancient Roman military history to perform pagan rites and the consultation of auspices before a battle. His military actions were mostly focused against

Visigoths The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian military group unite ...

who had gradually been attempting to spread their control over

. In 436 their king Theodoric I tried to conquer Narbo Martius to obtain access to the Mediterranean Sea and the roads to the Pyrenees. At the Battle of Narbonne Litorius, with the aid of the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...

, prevented the capture of the city and drove the Visigoths back to their capital Tolosa. But in the consequent battle at Tolosa in 439 the allied forces of Romans and Huns were defeated by the Visigoths and Litorius soon died during imprisonment from injuries which he had received in this battle.Prosper, ''Epitoma chronicon'' 1335, in: MGH AA 9, p. 476; Hydatius, ''chronicle'' 116, in: MGH AA 11, p. 23; Salvian, ''de gubernatione dei'' 7. 9. 39sqq.

References

Ancient Roman generals 439 deaths Year of birth unknown {{AncientRome-mil-bio-stub

See also

References