Avitus (395-457) was Western Roman Emperor from 9 July 455 to 17 October 456, succeeding Petronius Maximus and preceding Majorian.
Biography[]
Marcus Maecilius Flavius Eparchius Avitus was born in Clermont, Roman Gaul, Western Roman Empire in 395, the son of Roman consul Flavius Julius Agricola. He served in the Roman Army under Flavius Aetius and rose to the rank of magister militum in Gaul, and, in 437, he defeated a Hunnic raid on Clermont and a Visigothic siege of Narbonne. In 439, he became Praetorian Prefect of Gaul and renewed the friendship treaty with the Visigoths. From 440 to 451, he retired to his estate at Avitacum near Clermont, but he was forced out of retirement when Attila the Hun invaded Gaul. In 455, Emperor Petronius Maximus appointed Avitus magister militum, and, on Petronius' death and the Vandalic sack of Rome, Avitus himself became emperor at Arelate after being acclaimed by the Gallic chiefs. On 5 August, before reaching Rome, he achieved the recognition of the Roman Senate. He entered Rome on 21 September 455, and, on 1 January 456, he assumed the title of consul, as per tradition for first-year Roman emperors. However, he failed to receive Eastern Roman recognition, and the Eastern Romans nominated their own two consuls. In March 456, the Vandals destroyed Capua, but his general Ricimer twice defeated the Vandals at Agrigentum and off Corsica. When the Suebi in Hispania refused to recognize Western Roman overlordship, the Visigoths conquered much of Hispania for themselves, nominally as Roman foederati. However, the native Romans of Italia resented the Gallo-Roman emperor's appointment of several Gauls to public administration offices, and the people of Rome also grew angry with Avitus's stationing of foreign troops in the city, which was already on the brink of starvation due to food shortages. Under Avitus, the empire was bankrupted, and he was forced to disband his Visigoth guard due to popular pressure and pay them by melting down and selling the bronze of some statues. Ricimer and the comes domesticorum Majorian rebelled against Avitus, who was deposed at Ravenna on 17 September 456. His rebellious army was crushed by Majorian and Ricimer at Piacenza on 17 October 456, forcing Avitus to flee to Gaul and attempt to organize coups there. He died during his journey home.