Libius Severus

Solidus of Libius Severus

Flavius Libius Severus (seldom also called Severus III. , † August 15 or after September 25, 465 in Rome ) was Western Roman Emperor from 461 to 465 .

Life

The senator Libius Severus, about whose origin almost nothing is known, was elevated to the position of Emperor of the West on July 7th or rather on November 19th 461 at the instigation of the army master Ricimer , the actual ruler of the western empire , after Majorian's execution . Both the Eastern Roman Emperor Leo and the army masters in Gaul and Dalmatia , Aegidius and Marcellinus , however, refused to recognize him. Aegidius created his own domain in northern Gaul, while the Vandals repeatedly plundered the coastal areas of Italy from their empire in North Africa . In southern Gaul, however, Severus was recognized as emperor; in Arles coins were minted with his image, and in 464 the emperor Arvandus was able to use as the new praefectus praetorio per Gallias . Meanwhile, Ricimer was able to repel an Alan attack on Italy. For 464, Severus (or Ricimer) did not appoint a consul of his own , but instead allowed the Eastern Emperor Leo to name two candidates, who were then also dated in the West. If this was an attempt to get closer to Constantinople, it was probably unsuccessful.

Severus was evidently never more than a shadow emperor who did not rule himself, but was only intended to give the military government under Ricimer additional legitimacy. Later historians assumed that Ricimer eventually poisoned him, while a contemporary of the emperor, Sidonius Apollinaris , speaks of a natural death.

literature

Henning Börm: Westrom. From Honorius to Justinian. Stuttgart 2013, p. 106f.
Dirk Henning: Periclitans res Publica. Empire and elites in the crisis of the Western Roman Empire 454 / 5-493 AD Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-515-07485-6 .
Stewart Irvin Oost: DN Libivs Severvs PF Avg. In: Classical Philology 65, 1970, pp. 228-240.
Ralf Scharf: On some dates the emperors Libius Severus and Maiorian. In: Rheinisches Museum für Philologie 139, 1996, pp. 180–188.

For further literature see under Ricimer .

Web links

Commons : Libius Severus - collection of images, videos and audio files

Ralph W. Mathisen: Short biography (English) at De Imperatoribus Romanis (with references).

Remarks

↑ Flavius can only be deduced from an Egyptian papyrus dated 462 . Jordanes , Historia Romana 335 , has Severianus instead of Severus. In addition to his name, Severus might also have the signum Serpentius , the origin and meaning of which can no longer be determined. Theophanes , Annus Mundi (AM) 5955.
↑ Cf. Dirk Henning, Periclitans res Publica , p. 41. In the Fasti Vindobonenses Priores , August 15, 465 is mentioned as the date of death ("Herminerico et Basilio. His consulibus defunctus est imp. Severus Rome XVIII cal. Septembris") . This is very likely wrong, since a law was passed in the name of Severus on September 25, 465; see also Ralf Scharf, On some dates of the emperors Libius Severus and Maiorian, p. 188.
↑ Theophanes AM 5955: " καί ἐπήρθη εἰς βασιλέα Σευήρος (ὁ) καί Σερπέντιος νώναις Ίουλίαις " and also Victor von Tunnuna Chronica sub anno 461: imperium noniorianus Severus et. Jul. sumit ”, maybe the two authors are using the same source.
↑ Fasti Vindobonenses Priores see also 461 : “ et levatus est imp. do. n. Severus XIII cal. Decembr. “Since Majorian was only overthrown at the beginning of August and it is also known that Ricimer acted in the meantime without Kaiser, this date is much more likely than the previous one.
↑ Cf. Dirk Henning, Periclitans res Publica , p. 198. The assumption of Hennings that the consulate of Libius Severus 462 was not taken into account in the east, however, seems to contradict the papyrus text mentioned under note 1.
↑ Sidonius Appolinaris, Carmen 2.317 f.

predecessor	Office	successor
Majorian	Western Roman Emperor 461–465	Anthemius

personal data
SURNAME	Severus, Libius
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Severus, Flavius Libius (full name); Severus III.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Western Roman Emperor (461–465)
DATE OF BIRTH	4th century or 5th century
DATE OF DEATH	after September 25, 465

[1] Flavius can only be deduced from an Egyptian papyrus dated 462 . Jordanes , Historia Romana 335 , has Severianus instead of Severus. In addition to his name, Severus might also have the signum Serpentius , the origin and meaning of which can no longer be determined. Theophanes , Annus Mundi (AM) 5955.

[2] Cf. Dirk Henning, Periclitans res Publica , p. 41. In the Fasti Vindobonenses Priores , August 15, 465 is mentioned as the date of death ("Herminerico et Basilio. His consulibus defunctus est imp. Severus Rome XVIII cal. Septembris") . This is very likely wrong, since a law was passed in the name of Severus on September 25, 465; see also Ralf Scharf, On some dates of the emperors Libius Severus and Maiorian, p. 188.

[3] Theophanes AM 5955: " καί ἐπήρθη εἰς βασιλέα Σευήρος (ὁ) καί Σερπέντιος νώναις Ίουλίαις " and also Victor von Tunnuna Chronica sub anno 461: imperium noniorianus Severus et. Jul. sumit ”, maybe the two authors are using the same source.

[4] Fasti Vindobonenses Priores see also 461 : “ et levatus est imp. do. n. Severus XIII cal. Decembr. “Since Majorian was only overthrown at the beginning of August and it is also known that Ricimer acted in the meantime without Kaiser, this date is much more likely than the previous one.

[5] Cf. Dirk Henning, Periclitans res Publica , p. 198. The assumption of Hennings that the consulate of Libius Severus 462 was not taken into account in the east, however, seems to contradict the papyrus text mentioned under note 1.

[6] Sidonius Appolinaris, Carmen 2.317 f.