Majorian

Majorian
Coin of Emperor Majorian
Emperor of the Western Roman Empire
Reign	April 1, 457 – August 2, 461
Coronation	December 28, 457
Predecessor	Avitus
Successor	Libius Severus
Born	ca. 420
Died	August 7, 461(461-08-07) (aged 40) Tortona
Full name Flavius Julius Valerius Majorianus

Flavius Julius Valerius Majorianus (c. AD 420 – August 7, 461), usually known simply as Majorian, was the Western Roman Emperor from 457 to 461.

A prominent general of the Late Roman army, Majorian deposed Emperor Avitus in 457 and succeeded him. Majorian was one of the last emperors to make a concerted effort to restore the Western Roman Empire. Possessing little more than Italy, Dalmatia, and some territory in northern Gaul, Majorian campaigned rigorously for three years against the Empire's enemies.

Majorian was the last of the Western Roman Emperors who was able to try to recover the Western Empire with its own forces. His successors until the fall of the Empire, in 476/480, were actually instruments in the hands of their barbarian generals, or emperors chosen and controlled by the Eastern Roman court.

After defeating a Vandal attack on Italy, Majorian launched a campaign against the Visigothic Kingdom in southern Gaul. Defeating king Theodoric II at the Battle of Arelate, Majorian forced the Goths to abandon their possessions in Septimania and Hispania and return to federate status immediately. Majorian then attacked the Burgundian Kingdom, defeating them at the Siege of Lugdunum, expelling them from the Rhone valley and reducing them to federate status.

In 460, Majorian left Gaul to consolidate his hold on Hispania. His generals launched a campaign against the Suebic Kingdom in northwest Hispania, defeating them at the battles of Lucus Augusti and Scallabis and reducing them to federate status as well. His fleet for his campaign to restore Africa to the empire from the Vandals was destroyed due to treachery.