Libius Severus

Libius Severus
Golden coin depicting Libius Severus
Solidus of Libius Severus marked:
d·n· libius severus p·f· aug·
Roman emperor
in the West
(unrecognized in the East)
Reign19 November 461 – 14 November 465[nb 1]
PredecessorMajorian
SuccessorAnthemius
Eastern emperorLeo I
BornLucania[5]
Died14 November 465[nb 1]
Names
Libius Severus (Serpentius?)
ReligionChristianity

Libius Severus, sometimes enumerated as Severus III,[6][7][8][9] was Western Roman emperor from November 19, 461 to his death on November 14, 465. A native of Lucania,[10][5] Severus was the fourth of the so-called "Shadow Emperors"[11][2][12][13] who followed the deposition of the Valentinianic dynasty in 455. He ruled for just under four years, attaining the throne after his predecessor, Majorian, was overthrown by his magister militum, Ricimer. Severus was the first of a series of emperors who were highly dependent on the general, and it is often presumed that Ricimer held most of the de facto power during Severus' reign[14][2]: 215 ff. [15]: 69 

Severus' reign was marked by diplomatic tension and an erosion of Rome's control over the non-Italian provinces. Diplomatically, Severus failed to secure the eastern emperor Leo's recognition, and the alliance Majorian had made with Vandal king Gaiseric crumbled as the Vandals raided Italy.[14]: 435 [2]: 227  In Gaul and Dalmatia officials loyal to Majorian refused to submit to Severus' rule, and Northern Italy was invaded by the Alans.[2]: 227 f. [16]

Severus remains an extremely obscure figure. The ancient sources are almost completely mute on his life and character.[15]: 69 [14]: 216  Because of the size of Ricimer's influence, no single imperial action can be definitively attributed to Severus; thus the extent of Ricimer's control over imperial affairs during the reign of Severus remains a point of contention among scholars.

  1. ^ a b c Jones, A. H. M; Martindale, J. R.; Morris, John (1971). The Prosopography of the later Roman Empire. Cambridge [England]: University Press. pp. 1004–1005.
  2. ^ a b c d e MacGeorge, Penny (2002). Late Roman Warlords. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199252442.
  3. ^ Theophanes the Confessor (1997). Mango, Cyril; Scott; Roger (eds.). The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor: Byzantine and Near Eastern History AD 284–813. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-822568-7.
  4. ^ Fasti Vindobonenses priores cum excerptis Sangallensibus. In Mommsen, Theodorus (Ed.). Chronica Minora. Volume 1, 305
  5. ^ a b Al-Tamimi, Aymenn Jawad (4 October 2019). "The Gallic Chronicle of 511: Translation and Commentary". Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi. Retrieved 14 April 2022..
  6. ^ "Libius Severus (Severus III)". British Museum.; "Severus III (Libius Severus)". Wildwinds.
  7. ^ Adkins, Lesley; Adkins, Roy A. (2014). Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome. Infobase Publishing. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-8160-7482-2.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ Naylor, John (2 July 2020). "Portable Antiquities Scheme". Medieval Archaeology. 64 (2): 354–375. doi:10.1080/00766097.2020.1835283. ISSN 0076-6097.
  10. ^ Cassiodorus, Chronicle; Chronica Gallica of 511, 636.
  11. ^ McEvoy, Meaghan (2017). "Shadow Emperors and the Choice of Rome (455–476)". AnTard (25): 95–112.
  12. ^ "The Roman Empire / Shadow Emperors at the Fall of the Western Roman Empire". NGC Collectors Society. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  13. ^ Mathisen, Ralph W. "Libius Severus (461–465 A.D.)". DeImperatoribus Romanis. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  14. ^ a b c Hodgkin, Thomas (1892). "Book II, Chapter VI". Italy and her Invaders. Vol. II (2 ed.). Oxford at the Clarendon Press.
  15. ^ a b Gibbon, Edward (1872) [1788]. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Vol. IV. London: Bell & Daldy.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference Oost was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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