Roman Usurpers
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/ First Four Roman Emperors /
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/ First Four Roman Emperors /
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Galba-First
_On 1 January 69, two legions in Germania Superior refused to swear loyalty to Galba. They toppled his statues, demanding that a new emperor be chosen. On the following day, the soldiers of Germania Inferior also rebelled and took the decision of who should be the next emperor into their own hands, proclaiming the governor of the province, Vitellius, as Emperor. This outbreak of revolt made Galba aware of his own unpopularity and of the general discontent. In order to check the rising storm, he adopted as his coadjutor and successor L. Calpurnius Piso. The populace regarded the choice of successor as a sign of fear and the Praetorians were indignant, because the usual donative was not forthcoming.
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Romanus
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In 470, Anthemius fell seriously ill, and it was rumored that sorcery had been used to afflict the emperor.[6] Ricimer saw an opportunity to install a new puppet emperor, and began to lay the groundwork for the accession of Romanus to the imperial throne.[7] However, Anthemius eventually recovered, and accused a number of Ricimer’s supporters of using sorcery to try to bring about his death, including Romanus, whom he also accused of seeking to usurp his throne.[8] He had the senator beheaded in 470, an act which he hoped would secure his throne.[9] In fact, it did the opposite. Ricimer became furious about the death of Romanus, and was the trigger which he used to move against Anthemius, whom he deposed in 472. |
Anthemius-Last
_Procopius Anthemius[1] (c. 420 – 11 July 472) was Western Roman Emperor from 467 to 472. Perhaps the last capable Western Roman Emperor, Anthemius attempted to solve the two primary military challenges facing the remains of the Western Roman Empire: the resurgent Visigoths, under Euric, whose domain straddled the Pyrenees; and the unvanquished Vandals, under Geiseric, in undisputed control of North Africa. He failed, killed by Ricimer, his own general of German descent, who contested power with him.
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