Valentinian III
Valentinian III was a Roman emperor who ruled the Western Roman Empire from 425 to 455 CE. Born to the patrician Constantius III and Galla Placida, he became emperor after a period of exile with his mother at the court of the Eastern emperor, Theodosius II, following familial disputes. Initially proclaimed as Caesar in 424 CE and later as Augustus in 425 CE, his reign was marked by the significant influence of his mother until he reached maturity. Despite his position, Valentinian III is often characterized as a weak and ineffective ruler, leading to a gradual decline in the Western Empire during his rule. His concern over the power of Flavius Aetius, the magister militum, resulted in Aetius's assassination in 454 CE. However, this action led to Valentinian's own downfall, as he was murdered by Aetius's supporters in 455 CE. His death marked a critical turning point that accelerated the disintegration of the Western Roman Empire.
Valentinian III
Related civilizations: Imperial Rome, Byzantine Empire
Major role/position: Western Roman emperor
Life
Valentinian III (val-uhn-TIHN-ee-uhn) was the son of the patrician Constantius III and Galla Placida, daughter of the emperor Theodosius the Great. After a falling out between Galla Placida and her brother Honorius, the Western emperor, Valentinian III and his mother spent a period of exile at the court of the Eastern emperor, Theodosius II. Following Honorius’s death, Theodosius II proclaimed Valentinian III as Caesar in 424 c.e. and as Augustus in 425 c.e. for the Western half of the empire. Until Valentinian III reached legal age, Galla Placida controlled the Western court except for Flavius Aetius, the magister militum (master of the soldiers). Concerned with Aetius’s influence at court, Valentinian III had him murdered in 454 c.e. The following year, two of Valentinian’s bodyguards and former supporters of Aetius murdered the emperor.
Influence
Although Valentinian III was a weak and ineffective emperor and the West continued to crumble slowly under his reign, he provided a sense of continuity with past emperors. With his death in 455 c.e., the disintegration of the West rapidly accelerated.
Bibliography
Bury, J. B. History of the Later Roman Empire: From the Death of Theodosius I to the Death of Justinian. New York: Dover, 1978.
Jones, A. H. M. The Later Roman Empire, 284-602. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1964. Reprint. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986.
Liebeschuetz, J. H. W. G. From Diocletian to the Arab Conquest. Northhampton, England: Variorum, 1990.