From our modern perspective, around the mid
5th century we see a collapsing Roman Empire; a collapse that was decades in the making. Political instability, weak emperors and barbarian
migrations had seemingly set the course for the Western Empire’s final demise, just
20 years from where the story of this video begins. However, to fifth-century contemporaries,
this decline was not an inevitable process and the destruction of Rome was far from guaranteed. Defiant figures, such as Majorian, were in
no doubt that the decline could be reversed. And, even at a time when Rome was at its weakest,
Majorian would show that it was still possible to recover what was lost and restore the Western
Empire. Julius Flavius Valerius Maiorianus, known
simply as Majorian , was born sometime between 420 and 426 into a family that was part of
the Roman lower aristocracy. The family’s position was attained largely
through distinguished military careers. Both Majorian’s father and grandfather were
capable military men and were thus well connected. His grandfather was close to Emperor Theodosius
I, ruling Illyricum and the Danube regions as magister militum, while his father was
a friend and lifelong ally of Aetius , Rome’s legendary commander who famously stopped Attila
and his Huns in the battle of the Catalaunian Plains, which we covered in-depth in a previous
video . These political connections undoubtedly benefited
Majorian, who joined Aetius’ army at a very young age. As he matured, he exceled on the battlefield
as a leader and tactician, quickly rising through the ranks, and by his early 20’s
he was one of Aetius’ best commanding officers and a member of his personal staff. Among his early military achievements, in
445 Majorian defeated the Frankish siege of Tours ; supressed a Bagaudae revolt in Armorica
in early 448; and with Aetius in overall command, Majorian led the cavalry in a successful ambush
of the Franks at Vicus Helena in late 448. Unsurprisingly , Emperor Valentinian III took
note of the young rising star and considered the possibility of marrying his daughter Placidia
to Majorian. Because Valentinian had no male heirs, having
Majorian as son-in-law would solve the problem of succession and would leave the empire in
the hands of a capable general. In addition, it would strengthen Valentinian’s
position against other powerful generals, such as Aetius, who used his armies to exert
enormous influence over the emperor. But needless to say, Valentinian’s intention
to marry his daughter to Majorian clashed with Aetius’ own dynastic ambitions. The Roman general wanted to marry his own
son Gaudentius to Placidia and thus secure his family’s ties to the Imperial throne
. Being the most powerful man in the West, Aetius could afford to openly oppose Valentinian’s
plan, and he ended Majorian’s military career, expelled him from his staff and retired him
to his country estate, in 450 . Majorian would re-entered public life only
four years later in 454 . In that year, Valentinian assassinated Aetius but, fearful that the
dead general’s troops would revolt, he recalled Majorian into service to take command of Aetius’
army and quell any dissent. However , Valentinian was himself assassinated
the following year by two former members of Aetius' staff .
Without an heir to the throne, many candidates were considered for the title of Emperor during
the chaos of the interregnum, Majorian being one of them. But the title of Emperor went to Petronius
Maximus, who managed to outmaneuver other candidates. He was the very senator who first persuaded
Valentinian to kill Aetius, and was then involved in orchestrating the murder of Emperor Valentinian
himself . To consolidate power, Petronius forced Licinia
Eudoxia, the widow of Valentinian and daughter of Theodosius II the Eastern Roman Emperor,
to marry him. But his accession was not recognized by the
court at Constantinople. Furthermore, he promoted Majorian to commander-in-chief
of the imperial guard . But Petronius’ rule wouldn’t be long. Mere weeks after ascending the throne, he
received word that Geiseric, the Vandal king, was sailing for Italy. As panic gripped the city, the Emperor attempted
to escape, but amidst the chaos he was separated from his bodyguards. He rode out of the city on his own, where
he was caught by an angry mob and stoned to death. The Vandal army landed three days later , capturing
Rome and sacking the city for weeks. Temples, public buildings, private houses and
even the emperor’s palace were stripped of valuables. Worse , ships were loaded with Roman citizens
who were transported to Africa to be sold as slaves, and the empress Licinia was taken
into captivity along with her daughters. This plunged the empire into a political crisis
, and cracks widened in the imperial framework . This would make it difficult for any future
emperor to maintain hold on power and to govern successfully, because he would require support
from key areas. Namely, the Roman Senate and the army in Italy. The Gallo-Roman aristocracy and the army in
Gaul. The federate allies, most notably the Visigoths,
Burgundians, Franks, and the Alans. The army in Dalmatia, commanded by Marcellinus
, a Roman patrician, general, and a staunch ally of the assassinated general Aetius .
And, lastly, the Eastern Empire could provide legitimacy, diplomatic influence, as well
as military and financial aid. Failing to secure support from these groups,
the position of the central government in the West would remain weak and at risk of
civil war. In the wake of the political turmoil after
Petronius’ death, his magister militum Avitus, a prominent Gallo-Roman aristocrat, found
himself in Toulouse. A personal friend and ally of the Visigothic
ruling family, Avitus was probably on a diplomatic mission at the court of King Theodoric II,
to reaffirm his federate status and his support for the new Emperor. It was in Toulouse that Avitus received news
about the sack of Rome and the death of emperor Petronius. Seeing this as an opportunity to strengthen
his own position within the Empire, King Theodoric quickly acclaimed Avitus as Emperor in Toulouse. Subsequently , just weeks later, Gallic chiefs
gathered near Arelate to proclaim him Emperor in Gaul. While on his way to Rome, around August 5th,
Avitus’ accession was hesitantly recognized by the Roman Senate and most of the Western
Empire. But Marcellinus, commander of the army in Dalmatia,
broke away and seized control of the province. He was an ally of Majorian and Ricimer , a
Romanized Germanic general, and all three faithfully served under the assassinated Flavius
Aetius. Exploiting the turmoil in Rome, Vandal raids
continued across the Mediterranean, and Capua was sacked in spring of 456. But the Romans were victorious in Sicily and
in a naval encounter near Corsica. Still Avitus lacked an imperial fleet strong
enough to launch a full scale invasion against the Vandal kingdom. In the west, the Suebi attacked Tarraconensis,
pushing as far as the Pyrenees mountains. Avitus called upon the Visigoths to aid the
empire. Seeing an opportunity to expand his realm,
Theodoric answered the emperor’s call and advanced deep into Suebi territory before
achieving a decisive victory at the river Urbicus. The Visigothic king nominally restored the
empire in Hispania. But, counting that he won’t face opposition
from his ally Avitus, he became the de-facto ruler of Roman lands in Spain. Meanwhile in Italy, resentment grew against
Avitus, whom the populace considered a foreigner, given that he was chosen by the Visigoths. The Emperor did little to help his cause by
mostly appointing his Gallo-Roman aristocratic friends to key imperial offices, causing discontent
among the Roman elite, who were used to filling these important government positions. Worse, after the devastation of Rome by the
Vandals, the population suffered from a severe food shortage. This was compounded by the presence of Avitus’
Gallo-Roman and barbarian Visigothic troops that needed to be fed. To calm the situation, Avitus agreed to disband
the Visigoths, but in order to pay them he had to melt bronze statues from across the
city, because the imperial treasury was nearly empty. With half of his troops gone, the emperor
was left vulnerable. Observing the unfolding crisis, Majorian and
Ricimer, both popular with their own troops, rebelled against Avitus and instructed the
Roman Senate to depose him. The Emperor marched out of Rome at once, in an attempt
to cross into Gaul before he was trapped in Italy. He sent messengers to recall the Visigoths,
whom he had disbanded just recently. But he was intercepted near Placentia, where
he suffered a crushing defeat, and was captured and killed soon after. Furious with Avitus’ demise, his many allies
rose against Rome. The Gallo-Roman aristocracy broke away from
the Empire. The Visigoths invaded Septimania and officially
ended their federate status. The Burgundians advanced into the Rhone valley. It was now up to the new Eastern Roman Emperor,
Leo I, to select a colleague in the West. But he failed to do so, perhaps planning to
rule alone. Leo appointed Majorian as magister militum,
and Ricimer as patricius and magister militum, tasking them with governing Italy in his name. A precarious equilibrium was restored, but
Majorian’s rise to the Imperial throne was almost certain, since his barbarian colleague
Ricimer was ineligible. Things came to a head when a small Alemanni
raid was defeated by Burco, one of Majorian’s officers. The victory was exaggerated and celebrated
as Majorian’s own, providing enough political momentum for his acclamation as Emperor on
April 1st 457, with weak approval from the Senate. Soon after, he departed south when word came
that an army led by Geiseric’s brother-in-law landed in Campania and began devastating the
region. Majorian personally led the Roman army and
defeated the Vandals, driving them back to their ships. Majorian now understood how vulnerable Italy
was. He rushed a series of reforms to stop corruption with tax
collection and prevent oppression of the provincials. These reforms faced opposition from the corrupt
aristocracy, but it stabilized Rome’s finances with a stream of revenue going into imperial
coffers. With these funds Majorian financed the defence
of Italy, recruiting large numbers of barbarian mercenaries to protect the peninsula from
Vandal attacks. But most importantly, recognizing that the
recovery of the rich province of Africa would both solve Rome’s financial woes and secure
its southern flank, he began building two fleets in preparation to invade the Vandal
kingdom. Next, Majorian successfully negotiated with Marcellinus
the return of Dalmatia into the imperial fold. Now, he was able to muster an army big enough
to recover Gaul, leaving Ricimer in charge of the army in Italy. He crossed the Alps and dealt an overwhelming
defeat to the Visigoths at Arelate, in late 458. Severely weakened, Theodoric fled and was
left with no choice but to return Septimania and Hispania to Rome, and accept federate
status within the empire, which obliged him to provide troops to the Emperor. Majorian placed one of his closest lieutenants,
Nepotianus, in charge of Hispania before marshalling his army into the Rhone valley, where he defeated
the Burgundians at Lugdunum . Not wanting to punish the Gallo-Roman aristocracy
for siding with Avitus, he used diplomacy to reintegrate Gaul back into the empire. He left Aegidius, another one of his trusted
officers, in charge of Gaul. By the end of 458, Majorian had effective
control over the Western Empire. Next , he enlisted Marcellinus to march his
army of Huns to Sicily . Meanwhile Majorian marched to Hispania and ordered the fleet
to assemble at Portus Illicitanus , in preparation for an invasion of Africa. He had put the plan for the full restoration
of imperial territories into motion . Marcellinus recovered Sicily and remained
there to defend the island and prepare for a possible crossing into Africa. To the west, Majorian consolidated Roman control
of Hispania before recovering much of the Suebi territory. He turned back to Portus Illicitanus to meet
with his fleet. The invasion of the Vandal Kingdom was meticulously
planned, with extensive intelligence gathered on Geiseric’s army and navy. The Vandal king tried negotiating with Majorian,
but the Roman emperor refused. Fearing the invasion was imminent, Geiseric
strengthened Mauretania, thinking that the Romans would land there and also prepared naval patrols
in the waters near the probable invasion area. Finally , Majorian reached Portus Illicitanus. But the barbarian Germanic King in Africa
had one last trick up his sleeve. He managed to bribe traitors, possibly Majorian’s
political opponents, to sabotage the Roman fleet. Much of it was destroyed and many ships were
captured by the Vandals. The invasion was cancelled and Majorian marched
back to Arelate, his base of operation in Gaul. Meanwhile in Italy, his barbarian colleague
and friend Ricimer gathered around himself sections of the aristocracy who opposed the
Emperor. Majorian’s legislative reforms had shown
that he intended to intervene decisively on issues that plagued the empire, which interfered
with the interests of the corrupt and powerful Roman politicians. After spending some time in Arelate, Majorian
disbanded his mercenary army and, accompanied only by his retinue, set off to Rome, where
he intended to continue implementing his reforms and renew preparations for the recovery of
the province of Africa. Ricimer rode out with a military detachment
to meet the emperor. Majorian had no reason to suspect his friend,
together with whom, in the years past, he used to dream about restoring the glory of
Rome. But when the two met, Ricimer arrested Majorian
and desposed him. The emperor was stripped of his dress and
diadem, beaten and tortured. Five days later, he was dragged to the river
Iria where he was beheaded and his body discarded. He was only between 35 and 40 years old. Acting as kingmaker, Ricimer took control
over the empire by placing on the imperial throne a puppet whom he could easily manipulate,
selected to please the corrupt Senatorial aristocracy. But the great advances made by Majorian were
quickly lost. His loyal lieutenants, Aegidius in Gaul and
Nepotianus in Hispania, broke with the empire, furious at the treachery committed against
the late emperor. Marcellinus also broke away, seizing both
Sicily and Dalmatia, and he would later expel the Vandals from Sardinia. The Visigoths, Burgundians, and the Vandals
expanded into imperial territories that the young emperor fought so hard to restore. Majorian would be remembered as a brilliant
strategist and a capable statesman, who was determined to devote his life to fully restoring
Roman prosperity and authority in the West. He is described as a great and heroic character,
the likes of which sometimes arise in a degenerate age to vindicate the honour of the human species. He was the only man who managed to effectively
hold imperial office during the 5th century and at the same time had a claim to greatness. Majorian’s short four-year reign proved
to be Rome’s last chance to rally behind a capable emperor. Just 15 years after his death, the Western
Roman Empire would officially cease to exist.
