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Flavius Orestes (died August 28, 476) was a Roman politician, who was briefly in control of the Western Roman Empire
Western Roman Empire

The Western Roman Empire refers to the western half of the Roman Empire, from its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, today widely known as the Byzantine Empire....
 in 475–6.

an aristocrat of Pannonia Savia
Pannonia Savia

The Pannonia Savia, also known as Savia and Pannonia Ripariensis, was an ancient Roman Empire province. It was formed in the year 296, during the reign of emperor Diocletian....
, Orestes was probably at least partly of Germanic descent. He was son of Tatulus, a Pagan, and son-in-law to Romulus who served as comes
Comes

Comes is the Latin word for companion, either individually or as a member of a collective known as comitatus , especially the suite of a magnate, in some cases large and/or formal enough to have a specific name, such as a cohors amicorum. The word comes derives from com- "with" + ire "go."...
 in the Western Roman Empire. After Pannonia was ceded to Attila the Hun
Attila the Hun

Attila , also known as Attila the Hun, was leader of the Huns from 434 until his death in 453. He was leader of the Hunnic Empire which stretched from Germany to the Ural River and from the Danube to the Baltic Sea ....
, Orestes joined Attila's court, reaching high position as a secretary (notarius) in 449 and 452.






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Flavius Orestes (died August 28, 476) was a Roman politician, who was briefly in control of the Western Roman Empire
Western Roman Empire

The Western Roman Empire refers to the western half of the Roman Empire, from its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, today widely known as the Byzantine Empire....
 in 475–6.

Early life

Born an aristocrat of Pannonia Savia
Pannonia Savia

The Pannonia Savia, also known as Savia and Pannonia Ripariensis, was an ancient Roman Empire province. It was formed in the year 296, during the reign of emperor Diocletian....
, Orestes was probably at least partly of Germanic descent. He was son of Tatulus, a Pagan, and son-in-law to Romulus who served as comes
Comes

Comes is the Latin word for companion, either individually or as a member of a collective known as comitatus , especially the suite of a magnate, in some cases large and/or formal enough to have a specific name, such as a cohors amicorum. The word comes derives from com- "with" + ire "go."...
 in the Western Roman Empire. After Pannonia was ceded to Attila the Hun
Attila the Hun

Attila , also known as Attila the Hun, was leader of the Huns from 434 until his death in 453. He was leader of the Hunnic Empire which stretched from Germany to the Ural River and from the Danube to the Baltic Sea ....
, Orestes joined Attila's court, reaching high position as a secretary (notarius) in 449 and 452. In 449 Orestes was sent by Attila twice to Constantinople as envoy to Emperor Valentinian III
Valentinian III

Flavius Placidus Valentinianus , known in English as Valentinian III, was among the last Western Roman Emperors ....
.

In 475, Orestes was appointed magister militum
Magister militum

Magister militum was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine I . Used alone, the term referred to the senior military officer of the Empire....
 and patricius
Patricius

Patricius may refer to:People* Patricius, a leader of the War against Gallus, 4th-century Jewish revolt* Patricius, father of Saint Augustine of Hippo...
 by Western Roman Emperor Julius Nepos
Julius Nepos

Flavius Julius Nepos was a Roman Emperor of the West during the Roman Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Some historians consider him to be the last De jure Western Emperor, others consider the western line to have ended with Romulus Augustus in 476....
. This proved to be a mistake on the part of Nepos. By August 28, 475, Orestes, at the head of the foederati
Foederati

Foederatus is a Latin term whose definition and usage drifted in the time between the early Roman Republic and the end of the Western Roman Empire....
, managed to take control of the government in Ravenna
Ravenna

Ravenna is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. The city is inland, but is connected to the Adriatic Sea by a canal. Ravenna once served as the seat of the Western Roman Empire and later the Ostrogoths and the Exarchate of Ravenna....
, which had acted as the capital of the Western Roman Empire since 402. Julius Nepos fled without a fight to Dalmatia
Dalmatia

Dalmatia is a region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, situated mostly in modern Croatia and spreading between the island of Rab in the northwest and the Bay of Kotor in the southeast....
, where he would continue to reign until his assassination in 480. With the emperor far away, Orestes elevated his son Romulus to the rank of Augustus, so that the last Western Roman emperor is known as Romulus Augustus.

Short reign

The new administration was not recognized by the rival Eastern Roman Emperors
List of Byzantine Emperors

This is a list of the Emperors of the late Eastern Roman Empire, commonly known as the Byzantine Empire by modern historians. This list does not include numerous co-emperors who never attained sole or senior status as rulers....
  Zeno
Zeno (emperor)

Flavius Zeno Perpetuus, original name Tarasicodissa or Trascalissaeus, Eastern Roman Empire was one of the more prominent of the early Byzantine Emperors....
 and Basiliscus
Basiliscus

Flavius Basiliscus was an Eastern Roman Emperor of the House of Leo, who ruled briefly , when Emperor Zeno had been forced out of Constantinople by a revolt....
, who still considered Julius Nepos to be their legitimate partner in the administration of the Empire. But as they were engaged in a civil war
Civil war

A civil war is a war between organized groups to take control of a nation or region, or to change government policies. It is high-intensity conflict, often involving Regular Army, that is sustained, organized and large-scale....
 with each other, neither emperor was about to oppose Orestes in battle.

Orestes was free to issue new solidi
Solidus (coin)

The solidus was originally a gold coin issued by the Ancient Rome.The solidus was first introduced by Diocletian around 301, struck at 60 to the Roman pound of pure gold and with an initial value equal to 1000 denarius....
 in the mints
Mint (coin)

A mint is an industrial facility which manufacturing coins for currency.The history of mints correlates closely with the history of coins. One difference is that the history of the mint is normally related in a fashion that more closely ties to the political situation of an era....
 of Arles
Arles

Arles is a city in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rh?ne Departments of France, of which it is a Subprefectures in France, in the former Provinces of France of Provence....
, Milan
Milan

Milan is the second largest city of Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. It is the capital in the Province of Milan, as well as the Regions of Italy capital of Lombardy....
, Ravenna
Ravenna

Ravenna is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. The city is inland, but is connected to the Adriatic Sea by a canal. Ravenna once served as the seat of the Western Roman Empire and later the Ostrogoths and the Exarchate of Ravenna....
 and Rome
Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
, enabling him to pay the barbarian
Barbarian

"Barbarian" is a pejorative term for an uncivilized person, either in a general reference to a member of a nation or ethnos, typically a tribal society as seen by an urban civilization either viewed as inferior, or admired as a noble savage....
  mercenaries
Mercenary

A mercenary is a person who takes part in an armed conflict, who is not a national or a party to the conflict, and is "motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or p...
 who constituted most of the contemporary Roman Army
Roman army

The Roman Army was employed by the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire, as part of the Roman military. Its most important infantry constituent for much of its history was the Roman legion....
.

However Orestes denied the demands of Heruli
Heruli

The Heruli were a nomadic Germanic people, who were subjugated by the Ostrogoths, Huns, and Byzantine Empires in the 3rd to 5th centuries. The name is related to earl and was probably an honorific military title....
, Scirian and Torcilingi mercenaries to be granted Italian lands in which to settle. The dissatisfied mercenaries revolted under the Germanic chieftain
Germanic chieftain

In pre-Christian times tribal chiefs were both political and religious leaders, tasked to use their luck to secure the people fred . Arminius was a famous example....
 Odoacer
Odoacer

Odoacer , also known as Odovacar , was a Germanic general and the first non-Roman King of Italy after 476. He deposed the last Western Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustus, that year, but continued to rule first as a nominal client of Julius Nepos and, after Nepos' death in AD 480, as a client of the Eastern Roman Emperor....
, whom they declared to be their king on August 23, 476. Odoacer led them against their former employer. Orestes was captured near Piacenza
Piacenza

Piacenza is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza....
 on August 28 and was swiftly executed. Within weeks, Ravenna was captured and Romulus Augustus was deposed, the event that has been traditionally considered the fall of the Western Roman Empire
Decline of the Roman Empire

The English historian Edward Gibbon, author of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire made this concept part of the framework of the English language, but he was neither the first nor the last to speculate on why and when the Empire collapsed....
.

The last emperor: Romulus Augustus or Julius Nepos?

Because Augustus was an usurper, Julius Nepos legally held the title of emperor when Odoacer took power. Some have argued that Nepos, who ruled in Dalmatia until his murder in 480, should be recognized as the last Western Roman Emperor, noting that Odoacer struck coins in Nepos' name and did not take the imperial title for himself. But few of Nepos' contemporaries in Italy (Dalmatia and Gaul had been always loyal to Nepos) were willing to support his cause after he fled this province. Following Odoacer's coup, the Roman Senate sent a letter to Zeno, saying that "the majesty of a sole monarch is sufficient to pervade and protect, at the same time, both the East and the West."[8] While Zeno told the Senate that Nepos was their lawful sovereign, he did not press the point. Upon Odoacer's demand to become Patrician of Italy, the eastern emperor answered that he (Odoacer) had been made Patrician by Nepos, and that this was still valid. When Odoacer sent the Imperial insignia to Constantinople, Zeno accepted them gratefully.

See also

  • Roman usurper
    Roman usurper

    Usurpers are individuals or groups of individuals who obtain and maintain the power or rights of another by force and without legal authority. Usurpers were a common feature of the late Roman Empire, especially from the crisis of the third century onwards, when political instability became the rule....


External links

  • part v, chapter xxxvi