Majorian
Majorian was Western Roman emperor from 457 to 461. A prominent commander in the Western military, Majorian deposed Avitus in 457 with the aid of his ally Ricimer at the Battle of Placentia. Possessing little more than Italy and Dalmatia, as well as some territory in Hispania and northern Gaul, Majorian campaigned vigorously for three years against the Empire's enemies. In 461, he was murdered at Dertona in a conspiracy, and his successors until the fall of the Empire in 476 were puppets either of barbarian generals or the Eastern Roman court.
After defeating a Vandal attack on Italy in 457, Majorian intercepted the Visigoths in the Battle of Arelate, defeating them and saving the city. Securing Septimania, he reduced the Goths to federate status, returning Hispania to the empire. Meanwhile, Marcellinus was convinced to recognise Majorian, reconquering Sicily in the emperor's name. Majorian then attacked the Burgundians, reconquering Lugdunum and expelling them from the Rhône valley. Marching into Gaul, he reintegrated the Gallo-Romans and appointed Aegidius commander of the region, whilst Nepotianus invaded the Kingdom of the Suebi and reconquered Scalabis. In 460, Majorian entered Hispania and readied a fleet for an invasion of Africa. However, the Vandals bribed traitors into defection and destroyed the fleet in the Battle of Cartagena, forcing Majorian to return to Italy.
During his reign, Majorian instituted reforms to reduce corruption, rebuild the state's institutions and preserve ancient monuments. This led to an antagonistic relationship with the Roman Senate, which was exploited by Ricimer to behead Majorian upon his arrival in Italy in 461. The 6th-century writer Procopius asserted that Majorian "surpassed in every virtue all who have ever been emperors of the Romans", whilst Sidonius Apollinaris, a contemporary of the emperor, stated, "That he was gentle to his subjects; that he was terrible to his enemies; and that he excelled in every virtue, all his predecessors who had reigned over the Romans."
Early life
The life of Majorian and his reign are better known than those of the other Western Emperors of the same period. The most important sources are the chronicles that cover the second half of the 5th century—those of Hydatius and Marcellinus Comes, as well as the fragments of Priscus and John of Antioch.Besides these sources, which are useful also for the biographies of the other emperors, some peculiar sources are available that make Majorian's life known in some detail, both before and after his rise to the throne. The Gallo-Roman aristocrat and poet Sidonius Apollinaris was an acquaintance of the Emperor and composed a panegyric that is the major source for Majorian's life up to 459. As regards his policy, twelve of his laws have been preserved: the so-called Novellae Maioriani were included in the Breviary of Alaric, compiled for Alaric II in 506, which helps to understand the problems that pressed Majorian's government.
Majorian was probably born after 420, as in 458 he was described as a iuvenis. He belonged to the military aristocracy of the Roman Empire. His grandfather of the same name reached the rank of magister militum under Emperor Theodosius I and, as commander-in-chief of the Illyrian army, was present at his coronation at Sirmium in 379. The magister militum's daughter then married an officer, probably called Domninus, who administered the finances of Aetius, the most powerful general of the West. The couple gave the name Maiorianus to their child in honour of his influential grandfather, as was the custom for the firstborn son.
It was under the same Aetius that Majorian started his military career. He followed Aetius to Gallia, where he met two officers also under Aetius's command who were to play an important role in Majorian's life: the Suebic-Visigoth Ricimer and the Gallo-Roman Aegidius. Majorian distinguished himself in the defence of the city of Turonensis and in a battle near Vicus Helena against the Franks under Chlodio. In the latter, Majorian fought at the head of his cavalry on a bridge, while Aetius controlled the roads leading to the battlefield:
File: théodosienne de la villa romaine de Chiragan - Musée Saint-Raymond Ra 82.jpg |thumb|left|Placidia was the younger daughter of Emperor Valentinian III, who planned to marry her to Majorian. As the powerful magister militum Aetius realised that this marriage would weaken his position, he sent Majorian away from his staff to private life, thus hindering the marriage.
Around 450, the Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III considered the possibility of marrying his daughter Placidia to Majorian. Valentinian had two daughters but no sons, and therefore no heir to the throne. Having Majorian as son-in-law would have strengthened Valentinian in the face of other powerful generals and would have solved the problem of the succession. Furthermore, as Emperor, Majorian could have led the army himself, freed from the dangerous bond with a powerful general, such as Valentinian had been obliged to contract with Aetius.
The intention of this plan was to avoid the possibility that barbarian generals like Huneric or Attila should succeed to Aetius, but clashed with the plans of Aetius himself. The Roman general, in fact, planned to marry his own son Gaudentius to Placidia. He therefore opposed Valentinian's plan, and put an end to Majorian's military career, expelling him from his staff and sending him to his country estate. According to the poet Sidonius Apollinaris, the cause of the fall of Majorian was the jealousy of Aetius's wife, who feared that Majorian could overshadow Aetius's prestige.
It was only in 454 that Majorian was able to return to public life. In that year, Valentinian III killed Aetius with his own hands. Fearing that Aetius's troops might revolt, he called Majorian back to office to quell any dissent. In the following year, Valentinian III was killed by two former officers of Aetius's staff. There was then a fight for the succession, as no heir existed. Majorian played the role of the candidate for the throne of Licinia Eudoxia, Valentinian's widow, and of Ricimer, who reserved for himself a role similar to Aetius's.
In the end, the new emperor was Petronius Maximus, a senator involved in Valentinian's murder, who outmanoeuvred the other candidates. To strengthen his position, he obliged Licinia to marry him and promoted Majorian to the rank of comes domesticorum.
Rise to the throne
The revolt against Avitus
Petronius ruled only for a few weeks, as he was killed during the Vandal sack of Rome. He was succeeded, not by Majorian, but by the Gallo-Roman noble Avitus, who had the support of the Visigoths. Both Majorian, comes domesticorum, and Ricimer, comes rei militaris of Italy, initially supported Avitus, but when the Emperor lost the loyalty of the Italian aristocracy, the two generals revolted against him. First Majorian and Ricimer killed Remistus, the magister militum entrusted by Avitus with the defence of the capital, Ravenna. Then Ricimer defeated Avitus' troops near Placentia, taking the Emperor himself prisoner, and obliging him to abdicate. Finally, Majorian caused Avitus' death, possibly starving him, in early 457.Emperor of the West
was dead and the Western throne without an emperor. It was thus for the Eastern Roman Emperor to choose the successor, but Marcian could do nothing, as he died on 27 January 457. His successor on the Eastern throne was the general Leo I, who instead decided to rule alone. On 28 February, Majorian became magister militum, while Ricimer became patricius and magister militum. This was more likely an act of usurpation rather than an appointment made by Leo.While the situation was in a precarious equilibrium, a troop of 900 Alemanni invaded Italy. They entered from Raetia and penetrated Italian territory down to Lake Maggiore. There they were intercepted and defeated in the Battle of Campi Cannini by the troops of comes Burco, sent by Majorian to stop them:
This victory was celebrated as Majorian's own, and the magister militum was acclaimed Emperor by the army, six miles outside Ravenna, at a place called ad Columellas, "at the Little Columns".
In his panegyric to Majorian, the poet Sidonius Apollinaris tells that Majorian initially refused the election:
Majorian was formally declared emperor on 28 December. Majorian assumed the consulate for the year 458; it was customary that a new Emperor took this magistracy on the first year started as Emperor. He apparently never obtained recognition from the eastern court, as almost all contemporary eastern sources refer to Leo I as sole consul.
Foreign affairs
Defence of Italy
In summer 457, a group of Vandals, led by the brother-in-law of Genseric, landed in Campania, at the mouth of the Liri river, and started devastating and sacking the region. Majorian personally led the Roman army to a victory over the invaders near Sinuessa and followed the defeated Vandals, loaded with their booty, as far as their own ships, killing many of them including their commander.After this event, Majorian understood that he had to take the initiative if he wanted to defend the heart of his Empire, the only territory he actually controlled. So he decided to strengthen its defences. First, he issued a law, the Novella Maioriani 8 known as De reddito iure armorum, concerning the personal right to bear arms; in 440, Valentinian III had already promulgated a law with the same name, Novella Valentiniani 9, after another attack of the Vandals. It is probably to this time that another law is to be dated, the Novella Maioriani 12 known as De aurigis et seditiosis, to quell the disorders that sprang up during the chariot races. Both these laws are now lost.
He then strengthened the army, recruiting a large number of barbarian mercenaries, including Gepids, Ostrogoths, Rugii, Burgundians, Huns, Bastarnae, Suebi, Scythians and Alans. Finally, he rebuilt two fleets, probably those of Miseno and Ravenna, since the Vandals had a strong navy: