Olybrius

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Tremissis of Olybrius

Flavius ​​Anicius Olybrius († 472 ) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from March or April to October or November 472 .

Life

Olybrius came from the very influential Anicii family , who were one of the most powerful senatorial families in the East and West in the 5th and 6th centuries. Through his marriage to Valentinians III. His daughter Placidia was married into the Theodosian dynasty . In 455, after the murder of his father-in-law, he had to flee from Italy to the east; In 457 he stayed in Constantinople and was traded as a promising candidate for the throne after the unexpected death of Emperor Markian . But he was left with Leo . 464 consul , he was repeatedly proposed as emperor of the west by the vandal king Geiserich in vain; Geiserich's son Hunerich had married Placidia's sister Eudocia and was therefore related by marriage to Olybrius. In 472 he was then sent to Italy with soldiers by the Eastern Roman Emperor Leo to settle the disputes there (according to other sources, to become the new Augustus himself ).

In any case, with the support of the powerful Western Roman army master Ricimer , who had fallen out with Augustus Anthemius , he was made emperor. The background may be that they tried to get closer to the mighty Geiseric in this way. Ricimer, however, probably incurred the wrath of Emperor Leo, who had sustained Anthemius; the statements of the sources with regard to the question of whether he ever formally recognized Olybrius are contradictory. The mighty Ricimer died shortly afterwards. Olybrius was unable to take advantage of the opportunities this opened up, because the already ailing emperor died a little later of dropsy . His reign therefore only lasted about half a year (depending on the source between six and seven months). Olybrius' daughter Anicia Juliana was to be one of the most influential people in East and West Rome in the following decades.

literature

  • Henning Börm: Westrom. From Honorius to Justinian . Stuttgart 2013, p. 112 ff.
  • Frank Clover: The family and early career of Anicius Olybrius. In: Historia . Volume 27, 1978, pp. 169-196.
  • Dirk Henning: Periclitans res Publica: Empire and Elites in the Crisis of the Western Roman Empire 454 / 5-493 AD Stuttgart 1999, p. 47 ff.

Web links

predecessor Office successor
Anthemius Western Roman Emperor
472 		Glycerius
personal data
SURNAME Olybrius
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Olybrius, Flavius ​​Anicius (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Emperor of the Western Roman Empire 472
DATE OF BIRTH 4th century or 5th century
DATE OF DEATH 472