Roman civil war of 474
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| Roman Civil War of 474 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Northern Italy | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Western Roman Empire |
Julius Nepos Forces Supported by: Eastern Roman Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Glycerius |
Julius Nepos Leo I | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Glycerius Captured | Unknown | ||||||
The Roman Civil War of 474 was a war of succession fought in Italy within the Western Roman Empire during the summer of 474 AD. The conflict arose when the Eastern Roman Emperor Leo I rejected the elevation of Glycerius, who had been proclaimed Western Roman Emperor in early 473 by the Germanic magister militum Gundobad. In response, Leo designated his relative by marriage, Julius Nepos as the legitimate Western Emperor and dispatched him with an army and fleet to overthrow Glycerius. Abandoned by Gundobad and lacking substantial support from the Roman Senate, Glycerius surrendered without major bloodshed, was deposed, and was forced into the priesthood as Bishop of Salona.
Background
Following the death of Emperor Olybrius and the influential kingmaker Ricimer in late 472 AD, power in Italy passed to Ricimer's nephew, the Burgundian prince Gundobad, who he appointed Glycerius as Emperor of the West in March 473 which was approved by the Roman senate. Glycerius's position was inherently precarious due to a lack of recognition from Eastern Emperor Leo I, ongoing threats from Ostrogoths and Visigoths, and weak support among the Italian senatorial and Gallo-Roman aristocracy.[1] Despite Glycerius successfully averting an Ostrogothic invasion by bribing King Videmir to divert his forces to Gaul, Leo, viewed him as an illegitimate puppet and appointed Julius Nepos, magister militum per Dalmatia, to reclaim the Western throne. Following Leo I's death in January 474, joint Eastern rulers Leo II and Zeno confirmed the military expedition, dispatching Nepos with an army and fleet to Italy.[2]
Timeline
Prelude
In the spring of 474, Julius Nepos assembled a naval fleet in Dalmatia and crossed the Adriatic Sea toward Italy. During the same period, Glycerius suffered a critical blow when his primary military benefactor, Gundobad, departed Italy for Gaul to claim his inheritance following the death of his father, King Gondioc. Left without Gundobad's troops or broad political backing, Glycerius was isolated and ill-prepared to counter the incoming Eastern expeditionary force.[2][3]
Expedition and Deposition of Glycerius
In June 474, Julius Nepos landed with his fleet at Portus, the harbor of Rome near Ostia, and advanced rapidly against the capital. Realizing that he lacked sufficient military forces to oppose the invasion and that the Roman Senate refused to take up arms in his defense, Glycerius surrendered without offering armed resistance on or around 24 June 474. To neutralize him as a political threat while avoiding execution, Nepos stripped Glycerius of the imperial purple and immediately forced him into the priesthood, ordaining him as the Bishop of Salona in Dalmatia.[4][5]
Aftermath
Julius Nepos was officially proclaimed Augustus in Rome on 24 June 474, briefly restoring legal unity between the Eastern and Western halves of the Empire, though his rule remained deeply unstable. Just over a year later, in August 475, Nepos was overthrown by his own magister militum, Orestes, who forced him to flee back to Dalmatia and installed his young son Romulus Augustulus on the throne. Glycerius spent his remaining years in exile as Bishop of Salona, where chronicler Malchus suggests he may have later played a role in the 480 AD assassination of Nepos, though his exact involvement remains a subject of historical debate.[6][4]
See also
- Fall of Western Roman Empire
- List of Roman civil wars and revolts
References
- ↑ Thiele, Albrecht; Lohse, Wolfram (1997). Lohse, Wolfram, ed. Stahlbau. doi:10.1007/978-3-663-05669-0. ISBN 978-3-663-05670-6. Search this book on
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Meijer, Fik (2004-07-31). Emperors Don't Die in Bed. doi:10.4324/9780203477052. ISBN 978-1-134-38406-8. Search this book on
- ↑ "J.J. O'Donnell, "The Aims of Jordanes"". faculty.georgetown.edu. Retrieved 2026-07-26.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Arnheim, M. T. W. (1983-06-01). "J. R. Martindale. The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire. Volume 2, A.D. 395–527. New York: Cambridge University Press. 1980. Pp. xii, 1342. $140.00". The American Historical Review. 88 (3): 659–660. doi:10.1086/ahr/88.3.659. ISSN 1937-5239.
- ↑ Liebeschuetz, J. H. W. G. (October 1981). "Persons No Longer Missing - J. R. Martindale: The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire. Vol. II: A.D. 395–527. Pp. xli+1342: Cambridge University Press, 1980. £50". The Classical Review. 31 (2): 256–258. doi:10.1017/s0009840x00237785. ISSN 0009-840X.
- ↑ Heather, Peter (2015-07-06), "Romulus Augustulus, Roman emperor, 475–476 CE", Oxford Classical Dictionary, Oxford University PressNew York, NY, doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.5611, ISBN 978-0-19-785137-1, retrieved 2026-07-26
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