Valentinian III (Emperor Of The Western Roman Empire - 425-455)

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Valentinian III, Latin in full, Flavius Placidius Valentinianus (b. 2July 419, Ravenna - d. 27 Mar 455, Rome), Roman emperor from 425 to 455.At no time in his long reign were the affairs of state personally managedby Valentinian. He was the son of the patrician Flavius Constantius (whoruled as Constantius III in 421) and Galla Placidia. When his uncle, theemperor Honorius, died in 423, the usurper John ruled for two yearsbefore he was deposed. Then Placidia controlled the West in her youngson's name until 437, although the powerful patrician Aetius became theeffective ruler toward the end of this regency. The most importantpolitical event of these years was the landing of the Vandals in Africain 429; 10 years later they threw off the overlordship of Valentinian'sgovernment.

On 29 Oct 437, Valentinian married Licinia Eudoxia, the daughter ofTheodosius II (Eastern emperor, 408-450) and Eudocia. Little is known ofValentinian in the years after his marriage. He spent his life in thepursuit of pleasure while Aetius controlled the government. In 444Valentinian, acting in conjunction with Pope Leo I the Great, issued thefamous Novel 17, which assigned to the bishop of Rome supremacy over theprovincial churches. The most important political events of the closingyears of his reign were the Hun invasions of Gaul (451) and of northernItaly (452), but it is not known whether Valentinian personally playedany significant part in meeting these crises.

As a result of false information that made him doubt Aetius's loyalty,Valentinian murdered the great patrician with his own hands in theimperial palace at Rome on 21 Sep 454. The following year, twobarbarians, Optila and Thraustila, who had been reatiners of Aetius,avenged their master by murdering the Emperor in the Campus Martius.[Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1995]

From Ralph W. Mathisen, University of South Carolina:

Valentinian's Early Years -Placidus Valentinianus, later the emperorValentinian III, was born in 419, the son of the emperor Honorius' sisterGalla Placidia and the patrician, later emperor, Constantius. He was thebrother of Justa Grata Honoria. In the early 420s he was proclaimed MostNoble (Nobilissimus) by his uncle Honorius, but neither this title norhis father's emperorship were initially recognized in the east. After hismother's falling out with Honorius, the young Valentinian accompanied herand his sister to exile at the court of his cousin Theodosius II(402-450) at Constantinople. The eastern attitude toward Valentinianchanged in 423, when the usurper Johannes seized power in the west.Valentinian was first reaffirmed as Nobilissimus in 423/424, and then wasnamed Caesar (junior emperor) in 424. In the same year he was betrothedto his cousin Licinia Eudoxia, the daughter of Theodosius II. In 425 hewas proclaimed Augustus at Rome after the defeat of Johannes, and in 437he returned to Constantinople for his marriage. A partially extant poemin honor of the nuptials was written by the poet Merobaudes.

Valentinian's Reign - In the early years of his reign, Valentinian wasovershadowed by his mother. After his marriage in 437, moreover, much ofthe real authority lay in the hands of the Patrician and Master ofSoldiers Aetius. Nor does Valentinian seem to have had much of anaptitude for rule. He is described as spoiled, pleasure-loving, andinfluenced by sorcerers and astrologers. He divided his time primarilybetween Rome and Ravenna. Like his mother, Valentinian was devoted toreligion. He contributed to churches of St. Laurence in both Rome andRavenna. He also oversaw the accumulation of ecclesiastical authority inthe hands of the bishop of Rome as he granted ever greater authority andprestige to pope Leo the Great (440-461) in particular.

Valentinian's Death - Valentinian's reign saw the continued dissolutionof the western empire. By 439, nearly all of North Africa was effectivelylost to the Vandals; Valentinian did attempt to neutralize that threat bybetrothing his sister Placidia to the Vandal prince Huneric. In Spain,the Suevi controlled the northwest, and much of Gaul was to all intentsand purposes controlled by groups of Visigoths, Burgundians, Franks, andAlans. In 454, Valentinian murdered his supreme general Aetius,presumably in an attempt to rule in his own right. But in the next year,he himself was murdered by two members of his bodyguard, ex-partisans ofAetius.

Although Valentinian was ineffectual as a ruler, his legitimate statusand connection to the old ruling dynasty provided a last vestige of unityfor the increasingly fragmented Roman empire. After his death, the decayof the west accelerated. The different regions of the west went their ownway, and the last several western emperors, the so-called "Shadow" or"Puppet" Emperors, not only were usually overshadowed by one barbariangeneral or other, but also were limited primarily to Italy.

Bibliography -
Editions - Primary sources: For legislation issued by Valentinian, seethe Constitutiones sirmondinianae and the Novella Valentiniani publishedin the Codex Theodosianus, see also the Codex Justinianus.

Critical Studies -
Barnes, Timothy D. "Patricii Under Valentinian III." Phoenix 29(1975):155-170
Ensslin, Wilhelm "Valentinians III. Novellen XVII und VIII von 445."Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte, RömanistischeAbteilung 57(1937): 367-378
Musumeci, Anna Maria, "La politica ecclesiastica di Valentiniano III."Siculorum gymnasium 30 ns(1977): 431-481.
Selb, Walter, "Episcopalis audientia von der Zeit Konstantins bis zurNov. XXXV Valentinians III." Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung fürRechtsgeschichte, Römanistische Abteilung 84(1967): 162-217.

Copyright (C) 1996, Ralph W. Mathisen. This file may be copied on thecondition that the entire contents,including the header and thiscopyright notice, remain intact.

Valentinian married Licinia Eudoxia Of The Eastern Roman Empire on 29 Oct 437 in Constantinople, Turkey. Licinia (daughter of Theodosius II (Emperor Of The Eastern Roman Empire - 408-450) and Eudocia (Athenais) Of Athens) was born in 422 in Constantinople, Turkey; died in in Constantinople, Turkey. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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Flacidia was the daughter of the Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III,sister of Eudoxia, and wife of the Western Roman Emperor Olybrius.

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The marriage of the Western Emperor Valentinian III's daughter to the sonof the brilliant Vandal king Gaiseric, Huneric, was a carefullythought-out political manoeuver.

Family/Spouse: Hunneric (King Of The African Vandals). Hunneric (son of Gaiseric (Genseric) (King Of The Vandals In Spain & Africa) VANDALS) was born in 440 in Carthage, Tunisia, Africa; died in 484 in Carthage, Tunisia, Africa. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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Hilderich was old and in alliance with Constantinople when he was deposedin 530 in favor of Gelimer.

In 533 the Byzantines under Belisarius invaded North Africa following thedeposition by the usurper Gelimer of Huneric's son, Hilderich, who was aclose friend of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. In one campaigningseason the Vandal kingdom was destroyed. Romer again ruled the area andrestored the churches to the Roman Catholics. The Vandals played nofurther role in history. [Encyclopaedia Britannica, article on Vandal]

Family/Spouse: Amfleda ('The Younger') Of The Vandals. Amfleda was born in 482 in Carthage Near Tunis, Africa; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• Name: Hildis Hildericsdottir
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Family/Spouse: King Frodi ('The Valiant') of Denmark) FRIDLEIFSSON. Frodi (son of King Fridleif FRODASSON, Of Denmark) was born in 479 in Denmark; died in 548. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]