Placidia

Placidia was the wife of Olybrius, Western Roman Emperor. Her full name is uncertain. The "Chronicle of the Roman Emperors: The reign by reign record of the rulers of Imperial Rome" (1995) by Chris Scarre gives her name as Galla Placidia Valentiniana or Galla Placidia the Younger, based on Roman naming conventions for females. [ [http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cousin/html/p83.htm#i10628 R. B. Stewart, "My Lines: Galla Placidia Valentiniana the younger"] ]

Family

Placidia was the second daughter of Valentinian III and Licinia Eudoxia. Her older sister was Eudocia, wife of Huneric. Their order of birth is given by Evagrius Scholasticus. [Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, vol. 2] who reports "Genseric... The elder daughter, Eudocia, he espouses to his own son, Huneric; but the younger, Placidia, he subsequently sends, together with her mother Eudoxia, with a royal escort to Byzantium". [ [http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/evagrius_2_book2.htm Evagrius Scholasticus, Ecclesiastical History, Book 2, chapter 7, 1846 translation by E. Walford] ] She is estimated to have been born between 439 and 443. [Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, vol. 2]

Their paternal grandparents were Constantius III and Galla Placidia. [ [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ITALY,%20Kings%20to%20962.htm#Constantiusdied421 Profile of Constantius III and his children in "Medieval Lands" by Charles Cawley] ] Their maternal grandparents were Theodosius II and Aelia Eudocia. [ [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/BYZANTIUM.htm#Eudoxiadiedafter462 Profile of Licinia Eudoxia in "Medieval Lands" by Charles Cawley] ] Both Galla Placidia and Theodosius were members of the Theodosian dynasty.

Marriage

In 454 or 455, Placidia married Olybrius, a member of the Anicii family. [Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, vol. 2] The Anicii were a prominent family with known members active in both Italia and Gaul. The exact relation of Olybrius to other members of the family is not known as his parents are not named in primary sources. Several theories exist as to their identity. [John Drinkwaterand Hugh Elton, "Fifth-century Gaul: A Crisis of Identity?" (1992), page 119] Also not known is if the marriage was arranged by Valentinian III or Petronius Maximus. Maximus was the successor of Valentinian III on the Western Roman throne in 455 and the second husband of Licinia Eudoxia, therefore the stepfather of Placidia. [ [http://www.roman-emperors.org/petmax.htm Ralph W. Mathisen, Petronius Maximus (17 March 455 - 22 May 455)] ] Valentinian might have sought the marriage as part of an alliance with the senatorial aristocracy of Italia [ [http://www.roman-emperors.org/olybrius.htm Ralph W. Mathisen, Anicius Olybrius (April/May 472 -- [11 July 472] -- 22 October or 2 November 472)] ] while Petronius himself was related to the Anicii and would be likely to support the dynastic marriage of a relative. [John Drinkwaterand Hugh Elton, "Fifth-century Gaul: A Crisis of Identity?" (1992), page 117- 119]

According to the historical study "Fifth-century Gaul: A Crisis of Identity?" (1992) by John Drinkwater and Hugh Elton, Olybrius was likely a son of Petronius Maximus himself. The writers reason that Petronius would be unlikely to promote distant relatives as potential claimants to the throne. Petronius is reported by Hydatius to have arranged the marriage of his eldest stepdaughter Eudocia to Palladius, his eldest son and Caesar. They thus suggest that the same pattern was followed in arranging the marriage of Placidia to one of his own younger sons. The writers thus consider the marriage of Placidia and Olybrius as the third marriage between a member of the Theodosian dynasty and a member of the extended Anicii family within the same year. [John Drinkwaterand Hugh Elton, "Fifth-century Gaul: A Crisis of Identity?" (1992), page 119]

Drinkwater and Elton suggested that Palladius and Olybrius had at least one more sibling, Flavius Magnus. They consider the mother of the three brothers to have been the first wife of Maximus. [John Drinkwaterand Hugh Elton, "Fifth-century Gaul: A Crisis of Identity?" (1992), page 118] John of Antioch, a 7th century monk tentatively identified with John of the Sedre, Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch from 641 to 648 [ [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08468a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia, "John of Antioch"] ] mentions, but does not name, a previous wife of Maximus. She had reportedly been raped by Valentinian III, an event which the chronicle sees as the reason turning Maximus against his former master. The eventual fate of his first wife is not recorded. [ [http://www.roman-emperors.org/petmax.htm Ralph W. Mathisen, Petronius Maximus (17 March 455 - 22 May 455)] ] She may be presumed to have committed suicide, following the example of Lucretia. [John Drinkwaterand Hugh Elton, "Fifth-century Gaul: A Crisis of Identity?" (1992), page 119] The writers have tentatively named this lady "Eparchia", suggesting her to be a sister of Avitus, the magister militum appointed by Maximus in 455. [John Drinkwaterand Hugh Elton, "Fifth-century Gaul: A Crisis of Identity?" (1992), page 112, 115, 118] Avitus is considered a likely son of Flavius Julius Agricola, Consul in 421. [ [http://www.roman-emperors.org/avitus.htm Ralph W. Mathisen, Avitus (9/10 July 455 - 17/18 October 456)] ] Drinkwater and Elton accept this theory, adding a possible relation of Agricola to the Palladii family of Bourges. Thus explaining why one of his grandsons was named "Palladius". [John Drinkwaterand Hugh Elton, "Fifth-century Gaul: A Crisis of Identity?" (1992), page 118]

A previously established theory considers Olybrius to have been a grandson of Flavius Anicius Hermogenianus Olybrius, co-consul with his brother Flavius Anicius Probinus in 395. His grandmother given as Anicia Juliana, the wife and cousin of the elder Olybrius. [ [http://www.roman-emperors.org/olybrius.htm Ralph W. Mathisen, Anicius Olybrius (April/May 472 -- [11 July 472] -- 22 October or 2 November 472)] ] However, Drinkwater and Elton note that the only known child of this couple was Demetrias, a devout Christian daughter who is considered to have died a virgin. They suggest that the actual grandfather was Probinus, suggesting him to be the father of Petronius Maximus and paternal grandfather of Olybrius. [John Drinkwaterand Hugh Elton, "Fifth-century Gaul: A Crisis of Identity?" (1992), page 119-120] The wife of Probinus is not mentioned in primary sources. The writers note the name "Ennodius" used by Anicii family members of the late 5th century, most prominently Magnus Felix Ennodius. They consider the name to have entered the Anicii family-line through the marriage of an "Ennodia" to Probinus. They suggest her to have been a daughter of Ennodius, Proconsul of Africa in 395. They consider this "Ennodia" to have been a sister of Felix Ennodius, who held the same position as his father in the 420s. [John Drinkwaterand Hugh Elton, "Fifth-century Gaul: A Crisis of Identity?" (1992), page 114-116, 119]

Theophanes the Confessor (AM 5947) considered Petronius Maximus to have been a descendant of Magnus Maximus. The possible relation has moostly been rejected by later historians. For example, the entry of Petronius in the Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire reports it as "untrustworthy and improbable". However Drinkwater and Elton note that Magnus was survived by at least one daughter. They suggest a daughter, tentatively named "Maxima", married Ennodius the proconsul of Africa in 395. This would make Magnus a great-grandfather of Petronius. [John Drinkwater and Hugh Elton, "Fifth-century Gaul: A Crisis of Identity?" (1992), page 118-119] Welsh tradition names Magnus' wife as Elen.

The elder Olybrius and Probinus were both sons of Sextus Claudius Petronius Probus, Consul in 371, by his wife and cousin Anicia Faltonia Proba. Proba was a daughter of Quintus Clodius Hermogenianus Olybrius, Consul in 379, and Turrenia Anicia Juliana. [John Drinkwater and Hugh Elton, "Fifth-century Gaul: A Crisis of Identity?" (1992), page 112]

Probus was a son of Petronius Probinus, Consul in 341 and "Claudia"/"Clodia", a sister of Clodius Celsinus Adelphus. Faltonia Betitia Proba, a Christian poet, was sister to this Probinus and wife of Adelphus. Hermogenianus was a son of Proba and Adelphus. [John Drinkwater and Hugh Elton, "Fifth-century Gaul: A Crisis of Identity?" (1992), page 112]

The elder Probinus and Proba were children of Petronius Probianus, Consul in 322. Drinkwater and Elton consider his wife to be an "Anicia", a sister to Amnius Anicius Julianus. Claudia and Adelphus were children of Clodius Celsinus and Demetrias. [John Drinkwater and Hugh Elton, "Fifth-century Gaul: A Crisis of Identity?" (1992), page 112]

The eldest Probianus was a son of Petronius Annianus, Consul in 314. Drinkwater and Elton consider his wife to be "Proba", a daughter of Probus. [John Drinkwater and Hugh Elton, "Fifth-century Gaul: A Crisis of Identity?" (1992), page 112]

Vandal captivity

According to the chronicler Malchus, "Around this time, the empress Eudoxia, the widow of the emperor Valentinian and the daughter of the emperor Theodosius and Eudocia, remained unhappily at Rome and, enraged at the tyrant Maximus because of the murder of her spouse, she summoned the Vandal Gaiseric, king of Africa, against Maximus, who was ruling Rome. He came suddenly to Rome with his forces and captured the city, and having destroyed Maximus and all his forces, he took everything from the palace, even the bronze statues. He even led away as captives surviving senators, accompanied by their wives; along with them he also carried off to Carthage in Africa the empress Eudoxia, who had summoned him; her daughter Placidia, the wife of the patrician Olybrius, who then was staying at Constantinople; and even the maiden Eudocia. After he had returned, Gaiseric gave the younger Eudocia, a maiden, the daughter of the empress Eudoxia, to his son Huneric in marriage, and he held them both, the mother and the daughter, in great honor "(Chron. 366). [ [http://www.roman-emperors.org/petmax.htm Ralph W. Mathisen, Petronius Maximus (17 March 455 - 22 May 455)] ]

Eudoxia was presumably following the example of her sister-in-law Justa Grata Honoria who had summoned Attila the Hun for help against an unwanted marriage. According to Prosper, Maximus was in Rome when the Vandals arrived. He gave anyone who could permission to flee the city. He attempted to flee himself but was assassinated by the imperial slaves. He had reigned for seventy-seven days. His body was thrown into the Tiber and never recovered. Victor of Tonnena agrees, adding the detail that Pope Leo I negotiated with Geiseric for the security of the city's population. [ [http://www.roman-emperors.org/petmax.htm Ralph W. Mathisen, Petronius Maximus (17 March 455 - 22 May 455)] ]

Hydatius attributes the assassination to revolting troops of the Roman army, enraged at Maximus' attempted flight. The Chronica Gallica of 511 attributes the assassination to a rioting crowd. Jordanes identifies a single assassin as "Ursus, a Roman soldier". Ursus is Latin for "bear". Sidonius Apollinaris makes a cryptic commend regarding a Burgundian whose "traitorous leadership" led the crowd to panic and to the slaughter of the Emperor. His identity is unknown, persumably a general who failed to face the Vandals for one reason or the other. Later historians have suggested two high-ranking Burgundians as possible candidates, Gondioc and his brother Chilperic. Both joined Theodoric II in invading Hispania later in 455. [ [http://www.roman-emperors.org/petmax.htm Ralph W. Mathisen, Petronius Maximus (17 March 455 - 22 May 455)] ]

Olybrius was in Constantinople at the time of the siege of Rome as noted by John Malalas. He was separated from his wife for the duration of her captivity. He reportedly visited Daniel the Stylite who predicted that Eudoxia and Placidia would return. [ [http://www.roman-emperors.org/olybrius.htm Ralph W. Mathisen, Anicius Olybrius (April/May 472 -- [11 July 472] -- 22 October or 2 November 472)] ]

Life in Constantinople

According to the accounts Priscus, Procopius, John Malalas, Theodorus Lector, Evagrius Scholasticus, Theophanes the Confessor, Joannes Zonaras and Cedrinus, Placidia can be estimated to have stayed a prisoner in Carthage for six to seven years. In 461 or 462, In 462, Leo I, Eastern Roman Emperor paid a large ransom for Eudoxia and Placidia. Placidia seems to have spend the rest of her life in Constantinople. [Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, vol. 2]

In 478, Malchus reported "Ambassadors came to Byzantium from Carthage, under the leadership of Alexander, the guardian of Olybrius' wife [sc. Placidia] . He formerly had been sent there by Zeno with the agreement of Placidia herself. The ambassadors said that Huneric had honestly set himself up as a friend of the emperor, and so loved all things Roman that he renounced everything that he had formerly claimed from the public revenues and also the other moneys that Leo had earlier seized from his wife [sc. Eudocia] ... He gave thanks that the emperor had honored the wife of Olybrius..." (fr. 13: Gordon trans. p.125)" [ [http://www.roman-emperors.org/olybrius.htm Ralph W. Mathisen, Anicius Olybrius (April/May 472 -- [11 July 472] -- 22 October or 2 November 472)] ] Placidia is last mentioned c. 484. [Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, vol. 2]

Her only known daughter was Anicia Juliana, born c. 462, who spent her life at the pre-Justinian court of Constantinople. Juliana was considered "both the most aristocratic and the wealthiest inhabitant". [Maas, Michael. "The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Justinian". Cambridge University Press, 2005. Page 439.]

Empress

Priscus and John of Antioch report that Geiseric entertained the idea of placing Olybrius on the throne of the Western Roman Empire, at least as early as the death of Majorian in 461. Due to his marriage to Placidia, Olybrius could be considered both a heir to to Theodosian dynasty and a member of the Vandal royal family through marriage. In 465, Libius Severus died and Geiseric again promoted Olybrius as his candidate for the Western throne. Procopius report that Olybrius maintained a decent relationship with his Vandal supporter. [ [http://www.roman-emperors.org/olybrius.htm Ralph W. Mathisen, Anicius Olybrius (April/May 472 -- [11 July 472] -- 22 October or 2 November 472)] ]

In 472, Anthemius (Western Roman Emperor) was involved in a civil war with his magister militum and son-in-law Ricimer. According to John Malalas, Leo decided to intervene and send Olybrius to quell the hostilities. Olybrius had also been instructed to offer a peace treaty to Geiseric on behalf of Leo. However, Leo had also send Modestus, another messenger, to Anthemius with a different set of instructions. This message asked Anthemius to arrange the deaths of both Ricimer and Olybrius. But Ricimer had placed Goths loyal to him at the ports of Rome and Ostia Antica. They intercepted Modestus, delivering him and his message to Ricimer himself. Ricimer revealed the contents of the message to Olybrius and the two men formed a new alliance against their former masters. [ [http://www.roman-emperors.org/anthemiu.htm Ralph W. Mathisen, "Anthemius (12 April 467 - 11 July 472 A.D.)"] ]

In April or May 472, Olybrius was proclaimed emperor [ [http://www.roman-emperors.org/olybrius.htm Ralph W. Mathisen, Anicius Olybrius (April/May 472 -- [11 July 472] -- 22 October or 2 November 472)] ] and the civil war proper begun. John of Antioch claims that Anthemius was supported by most of the Romans while Ricimer by the barbarian mercenaries. Odoacer, leader of the foederati joined the cause of Ricimer. Gundobad, a nephew of Ricimer, also joined the cause of his kinsman. According to John Malalas and John of Antioch, Gundobad managed to slay Anthemius and end the conflict. They claim that Anthemius had been abandoned by his last followers and sought refuge in a church. Gundonad entered the church and killed him anyway. The two chroniclers differ on the location of the event. Malalas places it in the Old St. Peter's Basilica while the Antiochean places it in Santa Maria in Trastevere. However Cassiodorus, Marcellinus Comes and Procopius report that Anthemius was killed by Ricimer himself. The Chronica Gallica of 511 mentions both theories, uncertain of which of the two men had done the deed. [ [http://www.roman-emperors.org/anthemiu.htm Ralph W. Mathisen, "Anthemius (12 April 467 - 11 July 472 A.D.)"] ]

On 11 July, 472, Anthemius died and Olybrius became the sole Western Roman Emperor by default. Placidia became his Empress without actually leaving Constantinople, remaining there with their daughter. On 18 August, 472, Ricimer died of malignant fever. Paul the Deacon reports that Olybrius next appointed Gundobad as his Patrician. [ [http://www.roman-emperors.org/olybrius.htm Ralph W. Mathisen, Anicius Olybrius (April/May 472 -- [11 July 472] -- 22 October or 2 November 472)] ]

On 22 October or 2 November, 472, Olybrius himself died. John of Antioch attributes his death to dropsy. Cassiodorus and Magnus Felix Ennodius report the death without noting a cause. All report on how brief the reign was. [ [http://www.roman-emperors.org/olybrius.htm Ralph W. Mathisen, Anicius Olybrius (April/May 472 -- [11 July 472] -- 22 October or 2 November 472)] ]

Placidia was probably the last Western Roman Empress known by name. Glycerius and Romulus Augustus were not noted to have been married. Julius Nepos had married a niece of Verina and Leo I. Her name however is not mentioned. [ [http://www.roman-emperors.org/nepos.htm Ralph W. Mathisen, Julius Nepos (19/24 June 474 - [28 August 475] - 25 April/9 May/22 June 480)] ]

References

External links

* [http://books.google.gr/books?id=QCIaBQTCg0IC&pg=PA498&lpg=PA498&dq=Placidia+Prosopography&source=web&ots=5PL9tf_Fw0&sig=aSSIHPN7WDBQY1LfBRkw4_6g4FM&hl=el&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=7&ct=result#PPA887,M1- Her profile in the Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire]
* [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ITALY,%20Kings%20to%20962.htm#PlacidiaMOlybrius Her profile in "Medieval Lands" by Charles Cawley]
* [http://books.google.gr/books?id=lHGOvpQfFqcC&pg=PA119&lpg=PA119&dq=Petronius+Maximus+wife&source=web&ots=RhG057EwqS&sig=oMJbOo6-9eJSPxgCBEoq2AKJQC4&hl=el#PPA118,M1- Discussion of Petronius Maximus and his relations in "Fifth-Century Gaul"]