Libius Severus - Wikipedia Libius Severus From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Roman emperor from 461 to 465 Roman emperor of the West Libius Severus Solidus of Emperor Libius Severus Roman emperor of the West (unrecognized in the East) Reign 19 November 461 – 14 November 465 Predecessor Majorian Successor Anthemius Co-emperor Leo I (in the East) Born Lucania Died 14 November 465[1] Names Libius Severus Serpentius (possibly)[2] Religion Christianity Libius Severus (died 465), sometimes enumerated as Severus III,[3][4][5][6][7] was Roman emperor of the West from 461 to his death in 465. A Roman senator from Lucania[8] Severus was one of the last Western emperors, emptied of any effective power (the real power was in the hands of the magister militum Ricimer), and unable to solve the many problems affecting the empire; the sources describe him as a pious Christian.[9] Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Rise to the throne 1.2 Reign 1.2.1 Unrest in the provinces 1.2.2 Under Ricimer's control 1.2.3 Vandals 1.2.4 Relationship with the Eastern Empire 1.3 Death 2 Notes 3 Bibliography 4 External links Biography[edit] This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Rise to the throne[edit] On 7 August 461, the magister militum (commander in chief) of the Western Roman army, Ricimer, had Emperor Majorian killed, thus leaving the western throne empty. A struggle for the succession thus ensued, with the Eastern Emperor, Leo I, the King of the Vandals, Gaiseric, and Ricimer himself involved. The Eastern Emperor traditionally had the right to accept his "colleague," for the empire was nominally still united. Ricimer needed a weak emperor on the throne, in order to control him: his barbaric descent barred him from taking the throne for himself. Gaiseric had captured the wife and the two daughters of the Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III – Licinia Eudoxia, Placidia and Eudocia – during the sack of Rome (455), and, through the marriage of one of them, Eudocia, with his son Huneric, he had entered the imperial family. Gaiseric's candidate to the Western throne was Olybrius, who had married Placidia and was thus a member of his family. In order to push for Olybrius' election, Gaiseric decided to put pressure on the empire with several raids on the coasts of Italy and Sicily, maintaining that the peace treaty he had signed with Majorian was no longer valid; Ricimer reacted by sending an embassy to Gaiseric and asking him to respect the treaty, while a second embassy was sent by Leo I asking for the end of the raids and the release of the wife and daughters of Valentinian. Despite the pressure of the Vandal raids, Ricimer ignored Olybrius and put the senator Libius Severus on the Western throne; he was probably chosen in order to please the Italian aristocracy. Severus was elected Emperor by the Roman Senate on 19 November 461, in Ravenna.[10] Reign[edit] Severus had to face several problems during his reign, because of the presence of Ricimer and because his rule was not recognised in several provinces. Unrest in the provinces[edit] At the beginning of the 460s the Western Roman Empire no longer ruled several imperial provinces even nominally: Britain had been abandoned; Africa had been conquered by the Vandals; and Hispania was occupied by the Suebi and the Visigoths (who were foederati of the empire). However, the area under Libius' control was even smaller, as the governors of several provinces did not recognise him as Emperor: both Aegidius, who controlled Gaul, and Marcellinus, who ruled semi-autonomously over Illyricum, had been supporters of Majorian and thus did not accept Libius' election. Even the Eastern Emperor Leo did not recognise Libius Severus; the historical sources related to the Eastern part of the empire, Marcellinus Comes and Jordanes, consider Libius a usurper of the Western throne.[11] Libius Severus feared that Marcellinus, who commanded a powerful army, could descend upon Italy, and asked for Leo's help; the Eastern Emperor sent Philarcus as envoy to Marcellinus and dissuaded him from the attack. This episode is also important because it marks the passage of Illyricum from the Western to the Eastern sphere of influence. To oppose Aegidius, Severus appointed his own supporter Agrippinus to the office of magister militum per Gallias, thus officially giving him power over Aegidius. During Majorian's reign Agrippinus had been accused by Aegidius of treachery; found guilty and condemned to death, he had been pardoned, probably because of Ricimer, who then supported him in opposition to Aegidius. Agrippinus asked for support from the Visigoths, and with their help moved against Aegidius and his Frankish allies, led by King Childeric I. In exchange for their support, in 462 the Visigoths received the city of Narbonne from Severus, thus getting access to the Mediterranean Sea and separating Aegidius from the rest of the empire. Among Severus' few official acts is the (464) appointment of Arvandus as Praetorian prefect of Gaul who, in 468, was to be prosecuted for treachery and condemned to death for having tried to obtain the throne. Therefore, Severus actually ruled only over Italy, even if in 465, with the death of Aegidius, Gaul returned to his sphere of influence for a short time. It is probably to this temporary control over Gaul that the limited issue of his coins by the mint of Arelate is to be dated. Under Ricimer's control[edit] Ricimer put Libius Severus on the throne, though he retained actual power. Some coins exist issued in Severus' name yet bearing a monogram sometimes identified with Ricimer; even if these coins were actually issued in the period between the reign of Severus and of his successor, Anthemius, it is nonetheless an honour unheard of for a barbarian, who was even mentioned on the inscriptions just after the emperors («salvis dd. nn. et patricio Ricimere», CIL X, 8072). Ricimer's control was so clear that, in recording the defeat and death of Bergor, the King of the Alans, by his hand (February 6, 464, near Bergamo), the historian Marcellinus Comes calls Ricimer a king: "Bergor, King of the Alans, is killed by King Ricimer" (Beorgor rex Alanorum a Ricimere rege occiditur, Marcellinus Comes, Chronicle, s.a. 464). Vandals[edit] The Vandals continued their raids during the reign of Severus. On one hand Gaiseric justified the raids complaining that he had not received part of Valentinian's legacy; on the other hand, he still hoped to put Olybrius on the Western throne. Vandal raids deeply affected the economy of the Italian landowners, typically senators; some representatives of the Italian aristocracy went to the Emperor to plead for a reconciliation with Gaiseric. Severus chose the patrician Tatian and sent him to the king of the Vandals, who, however, rejected the peace proposal. Relationship with the Eastern Empire[edit] Even if Severus was not officially recognised by Leo, nonetheless the Eastern and Western Empires did collaborate, as shown by the episode of Leo's intercession with Marcellinus and the embassy led by Philarcus. Another sign of the collaboration between the two courts is the choice of Consuls. According to tradition, each court chose a consul and accepted the one chosen by the other court. Without Eastern recognition, Severus named himself consul for 462 (his first year as Emperor) and chose an influential member of the Roman senatorial aristocracy (Caecina Decius Basilius, praetorian prefect of Italy from 463 to 465) for the following year. Severus then decided not to indicate a consul for the years 464 and 465 and chose to accept the two designated by the Eastern court. Death[edit] The details of Severus' death are obscure, but the majority of modern scholars agree that he died of natural causes in 465. In a passage from his Getica, Jordanes claims Severus ruled for only three years;[12] it is probable, however, that this is a mistake by the 6th-century historian. As regards the day of his death, it is recorded as August 15 by Fasti vindobonenses priores, but a law by Severus dated September 25 has been preserved; either he died after that day or the law was issued after his death in his name. Cassiodorus, in the 6th century, maintains that Severus was treacherously poisoned by Ricimer in his own palace,[13] but three years after Severus' death, the poet Sidonius Apollinaris wrote that he had died a natural death.[14] According to modern historians, Ricimer had no reason to kill Severus, who was actually a puppet under his control, unless he was an obstacle to Ricimer's reconciliation with Leo.[15] Notes[edit] ^ PLRE, vol. 2, pp. 1004–1005 ^ The Chronica Paschale and Theophanes Confessor (AM 5955) suggest he had the nickname "Serpentius", but the PLRE (vol. II p. 1004) says the text is corrupt and its meaning uncertain. ^ "Libius Severus (Severus III)". British Museum. Retrieved 2021-04-02. ^ "Severus III (Libius Severus), Roman Imperial Coins of, at WildWinds.com". www.wildwinds.com. Retrieved 2021-04-02. ^ Adkins, Lesley; Adkins, Roy A.; Adkins, Both Professional Archaeologists Roy A. (2014). Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome. Infobase Publishing. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-8160-7482-2. ^ Nimgade, Ashok (2016). "Instability and violence in Imperial Rome: A "laboratory" for studying social contagion?". Complexity. 21 (S2): 613–622. doi:10.1002/cplx.21839. ISSN 1099-0526. ^ Naylor, John (2020-07-02). "Portable Antiquities Scheme". Medieval Archaeology. 64 (2): 354–375. doi:10.1080/00766097.2020.1835283. ISSN 0076-6097. S2CID 229366624. ^ Cassiodorus, Chronicle; Chronica Gallica of 511, 636. ^ Laterculus imperatorum. ^ Theophanes, Chronografia, AM 5955; Chronica Gallica of 511, 636. ^ Marcellinus, Chronicle, s.a. 465. Jordanes, Romana, 336. ^ Jordanes, Getica, 236. ^ Cassiodorus, Chronicles, s.a. 465. ^ Sidonius Apollinaris, Carmina, ii.317–318. ^ O'Flynn, John Michael, Generalissimos of the Western Roman Empire, University of Alberta, 1983, ISBN 0-88864-031-5, pp. 111–114. Bibliography[edit] Mathisen, Ralph W., "Libius Severus (461–465 A.D.)", De Imperatoribus Romanis, 1997 D. Woods, "A Misunderstood Monogram: Ricimer or Severus?," Hermathena 172 (2002), 5–21. 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[edit] Wikimedia Commons has media related to Libius Severus. Coins of Libius Severus Regnal titles Preceded by Majorian Western Roman emperor 461–465 Succeeded by Anthemius Political offices Preceded by Severinus Dagalaifus Roman consul 462 with Leo Augustus II Succeeded by Caecina Decius Basilius Vivianus v t e Roman and Byzantine emperors and ruling empresses Principate 27 BC – AD 235 Augustus Tiberius Caligula Claudius Nero Galba Otho Vitellius Vespasian Titus Domitian Nerva Trajan Hadrian Antoninus Pius Marcus Aurelius Lucius Verus Commodus Pertinax Didius Julianus (Pescennius Niger) (Clodius Albinus) Septimius Severus Caracalla Geta Macrinus Diadumenian Elagabalus Severus Alexander Crisis 235–285 Maximinus Thrax Gordian I Gordian II Pupienus Balbinus Gordian III Philip the Arab Philip II Decius Herennius Etruscus Hostilian Trebonianus Gallus Volusianus Aemilianus Valerian Gallienus Saloninus Claudius Gothicus Quintillus Aurelian Ulpia Severina Tacitus Florian Probus Carus Carinus Numerian Gallic emperors Postumus (Laelianus) Marius Victorinus (Domitianus II) Tetricus I with Tetricus II as caesar Palmyrene emperors Vaballathus Zenobia Septimius Antiochus Dominate 284–395 Diocletian Maximian Galerius Constantius I Severus Constantine the Great Maxentius Licinius Maximinus Daza (Valerius Valens) (Martinian) Constantine II Constantius II Constans I Magnentius Vetranio Julian Jovian Valentinian I (west) Valens (east) Gratian (west) Valentinian II (west) Theodosius I Magnus Maximus Victor (Eugenius) Western Empire 395–480 Honorius Constantine III with son Constans II Constantius III Joannes Valentinian III Petronius Maximus Avitus Majorian Libius Severus Anthemius Olybrius Glycerius Julius Nepos Romulus Augustulus Eastern/ Byzantine Empire 395–1204 Arcadius Theodosius II Marcian Leo I Leo II Zeno Basiliscus Marcus Anastasius I Dicorus Justin I Justinian I Justin II Tiberius II Constantine Maurice with son Theodosius as co-emperor Phocas Heraclius Constantine III Heraklonas Constans II Constantine IV with brothers Heraclius and Tiberius and then Justinian II as co-emperors Justinian II (first reign) Leontios Tiberius III Justinian II (second reign) with son Tiberius as co-emperor Philippikos Anastasios II Theodosius III Leo III the Isaurian Constantine V Artabasdos Leo IV the Khazar Constantine VI Irene Nikephoros I Staurakios Michael I Rangabe with son Theophylact as co-emperor Leo V the Armenian with Symbatios-Constantine as junior emperor Michael II the Amorian Theophilos Michael III Basil I the Macedonian Leo VI the Wise Alexander Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos Romanos I Lekapenos with sons Christopher, Stephen and Constantine as junior co-emperors Romanos II Nikephoros II Phokas John I Tzimiskes Basil II Constantine VIII Zoë (first reign) and Romanos III Argyros Zoë (first reign) and Michael IV the Paphlagonian Michael V Kalaphates Zoë (second reign) with Theodora Zoë (second reign) and Constantine IX Monomachos Constantine IX Monomachos (sole emperor) Theodora Michael VI Bringas Isaac I Komnenos Constantine X Doukas Romanos IV Diogenes Michael VII Doukas with brothers Andronikos and Konstantios and son Constantine Nikephoros III Botaneiates Alexios I Komnenos John II Komnenos with Alexios Komnenos as co-emperor Manuel I Komnenos Alexios II Komnenos Andronikos I Komnenos with John Komnenos as co-emperor Isaac II Angelos Alexios III Angelos Alexios IV Angelos Nicholas Kanabos (chosen by the Senate) Alexios V Doukas Empire of Nicaea 1204–1261 Constantine Laskaris Theodore I Laskaris John III Doukas Vatatzes Theodore II Laskaris John IV Laskaris Byzantine Empire 1261–1453 Michael VIII Palaiologos Andronikos II Palaiologos with Michael IX Palaiologos as co-emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos John V Palaiologos John VI Kantakouzenos with John V Palaiologos and Matthew Kantakouzenos as co-emperors John V Palaiologos Andronikos IV Palaiologos John VII Palaiologos Andronikos V Palaiologos Manuel II Palaiologos John VIII Palaiologos Constantine XI Palaiologos Italics indicates a junior co-emperor, while underlining indicates a usurper. Authority control General Integrated Authority File ISNI 1 VIAF 1 WorldCat National libraries France (data) United States Vatican Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Libius_Severus&oldid=1021325338" Categories: 5th-century births 465 deaths 5th-century Christians 5th-century Roman emperors Imperial Roman consuls Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata Articles needing additional references from November 2012 All articles needing additional references Commons category link is on Wikidata Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with VcBA identifiers Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers Year of birth uncertain Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikimedia Commons Languages العربية Aragonés تۆرکجه Bân-lâm-gú Беларуская Български Bosanski Català Čeština Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Frysk Galego Hrvatski Italiano עברית Kiswahili Latina Lietuvių Magyar Македонски مصرى Nederlands 日本語 Norsk bokmål Occitan Polski Português Română Русский Scots Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Tagalog Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt Yorùbá Zazaki 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 4 May 2021, at 03:13 (UTC). 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