Olybrius
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| Olybrius | |
| Emperor of the Western Roman Empire |
|
| Reign | March 23 or July 11 - October 23 or November 2, 472 |
|---|---|
| Full name | Flavius Anicius Olybrius |
| Died | October 23, 472 |
| Predecessor | Anthemius |
| Successor | Glycerius |
| Wife | Placidia, daughter of Valentinian III |
| Issue | Anicia Juliana |
Flavius Anicius Olybrius, Western Roman Emperor with the designation and name Dominus Noster Flavius Anicius Olybrius Augustus from March 23 or July 11, 472 to October 23 or November 2, 472, was a member of the Anicii family - related to Petronius Maximus - and a native of Rome. He was the son of Flavius Anicius Hermogenianus Olybrius, Consul in 395, and wife and relative Anicia Juliana.
After the sack of the city by the Vandal king Geiseric in 455, Olybrius fled to Constantinople, where in 464 he was made Consul, and about the same time married Placidia, daughter of Valentinian III and Licinia Eudoxia. This afforded Geiseric, whose son Huneric had married Princess Eudocia, the elder sister of Placidia, the opportunity of claiming the empire of the West for Olybrius. In fact, Geiseric had attempted in 461 and again in 465 to get Olybrius made emperor.
In 472 Olybrius was sent to Italy by the emperor Leo I to assist the emperor Anthemius against his son-in-law Ricimer, but, having entered into negotiations with the latter, was himself proclaimed emperor against his will, and on the murder of his rival ascended the throne unopposed. Because of his marriage to Placidia, Olybrius can be considered the last member of the House of Theodosius. His reign was otherwise as uneventful as it was brief. He died of natural causes later in 472.
Olybrius was survived by his wife and their daughter, Anicia Juliana. He appears, in a wholly unhistorical light, in the medieval Golden Legend as the persecutor of Saint Margaret the Virgin after she refused to marry him.
[edit] Rise To Power
Olybrius was a member of the highly distinguished family of the Anicii which enjoyed excellent connections. One of Olybrius' ancestors had been Sextus Petronius Probus, a powerful ministerial figure during the reign of Valentinian I. Meanwhile Olybrius himself was married to Valentinian III's daughter Galla Placidia the Younger. But most important of all were his connections to the Vandal court. Olybrius enjoyed good relations with king Geiseric whose son Huneric was married to Placidia's sister Eudocia.
When in AD 465 Libius Severus died, Geiseric proposed Olybrius as a successor, hoping to increase his influence over the western empire. Though Leo I, the emperor of the east, instead saw to it that in AD 467 his nominee, Anthemius, took the throne.
When alas the powerful 'Master of Soldiers' Ricimer fell out with Anthemius, Leo sent Olybrius to Italy to try and bring the two parties back together peaceably. But as Olybrius arrived in Italy early in AD 472, Ricimer was already besieging Rome to see Anthemius killed. Their relationship was indeed irreconcilable. However, Olybrius' arrival in Italy was welcomed by Ricimer, for it provided him with a credible candidate to succeed his opponent Anthemius.
Leo realizing the danger of an emperor on the western throne who was a friend of the Vandals, sent a letter to Anthemius, urging him to see to it that Olybrius was assassinated. But Ricimer intercepted the message.
In any case Anthemius was most likely no longer in a situation to act. Shortly after, Rome fell and Anthemius was beheaded.
This left the way clear for Olybrius to succeed to the throne in March or April AD 472. Although Leo naturally refused to recognize his accession.
[edit] Death of Olybrius and Ricimer
Only forty days after his conquest of Rome, Ricimer died a gruesome death, vomiting blood. He was succeeded as 'Master of Soldiers' by his nephew Gundobad.
But Olybrius was not to spend much time on the throne. Only five or six months after the death of Ricimer he too died from illness, more exactly of hidropysia.
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The article is available here.
- Bishop of Tours Gregory, Historia Francorum (The History of the Franks) (London, England: Penguin Books, Ltd., 1974).
- Ford Mommaerts-Browne, "A Speculation".
- Christian Settipani, Les Ancêtres de Charlemagne (France: Éditions Christian, 1989).
- Sidonius Apollinaris, The Letters of Sidonius (Oxford: Clarendon, 1915) (orig.), pp. clx-clxxxiii; List of Correspondents, Notes, V.ix.1.
| Preceded by Anthemius |
Western Roman Emperor | Succeeded by Glycerius |
| Preceded by Anthemius |
Western Roman Emperor 472-472 |
Succeeded by Glycerius |
