Majorian. Rome's last hope?

[Majorianus Invictus]

Last eve, after work, I was watching the series, Rome : Rise and Fall, which pertained to the so called puppet master, Ricimer. I am embarassed to admit it, but I knew little of this later Emperor, Majorian. He seems to receive extremely high praise from Gibbons and many of the writers of the period. Are these accolades well deserved? I know he planned to retake Africa from the Vandals, but seems to have met with misfortune when his fleet was burned.

 

The show claimed he was of Italian birth, which is why Ricimer helped him to the throne, given his own barbarian heritage. Apparently, Rome was desperate for a hero from within their own ranks. The show plays up the anti-barbarian sentiment within the Empire, and Rome itself.

 

Any information, or works on this man would be very helpful.

 

sincerely,

 

Helvidius Julius Bassianus "Invictus"

[barca]

I knew little of this later Emperor, Majorian. He seems to receive extremely high praise from Gibbons and many of the writers of the period. Are these accolades well deserved? I know he planned to retake Africa from the Vandals, but seems to have met with misfortune when his fleet was burned.

 

The attempted reconquest of the Vandal Kingdom was initiated by the Eastern Emperor Leo, who unfortunately assigned the incompetent Basilicus as the commander of the mission.

 

In the next century when Justinian was preparing to retake North Africa the Vandals were quick to remind him of their previous failure. As we all know, Justinian succeeded where Leo failed, so I would consider Justinian to be Rome's last hope.

Edited May 23, 2010 by barca

[Emperor Goblinus]

Majorian definitely did try to restore at least part of Rome's power in the West, which is a great deal more than can be said of most of the puppet emperors of the fifth century. The thing is, the situation had declined so much in so many way, it was like trying trying to fix a totaled car with wrench and some duct tape.

[barca]

Majorian definitely did try to restore at least part of Rome's power in the West, which is a great deal more than can be said of most of the puppet emperors of the fifth century. The thing is, the situation had declined so much in so many way, it was like trying trying to fix a totaled car with wrench and some duct tape.

 

I agree that the situation had deteriorated, but it was not beyond repair. It is important to remember that the Eastern Emperor still played a role in Western politics. Leo chose Majorian as the successor of Avitus. Majorian actually had some military success and it was only because of the treachery of Ricimer that he was overthrown and executed in 461.

 

The attempted reconquest of Vandal Africa was a joint effort by the East and West in about 468. It was actually a well-thought out plan that should have been successful. The problem lay in the execution, as I pointed out earlier Basilicus proved to be totally incompetent as a commander The Western emperor this time was Anthemius who was also appointed by Leo. And again Ricimer was responsible for the eventual overthrow of and execution of Anthemius.

Edited May 23, 2010 by barca

[Majorianus Invictus]

Well that explains the puppet master label they gave Ricimer. I assume Majorian was leading mostly barbarian troops into battle? Did he serve under Flavius Aetius?

[Majorianus Invictus]

Well that explains the puppet master label they gave Ricimer. I assume Majorian was leading mostly barbarian troops into battle? Did he serve under Flavius Aetius?

 

I forgot to ask what were Majorian's religious leanings? I know Christianity was now entrenched in power politically, but was he harsh toward Pagans? I know it is claimed that Marcellinus accepted his rule, and that he himself was a devout pagan, and is allegedly to have been a skilled soothsayer. Just curious.

[The Roadie]

Well that explains the puppet master label they gave Ricimer. I assume Majorian was leading mostly barbarian troops into battle? Did he serve under Flavius Aetius?

 

I forgot to ask what were Majorian's religious leanings? I know Christianity was now entrenched in power politically, but was he harsh toward Pagans? I know it is claimed that Marcellinus accepted his rule, and that he himself was a devout pagan, and is allegedly to have been a skilled soothsayer. Just curious.

 

The situation seem to basically have been beyond repair after the barbaro-roman alliance against Attila. As for Justinian being Rome's last hope, lets not forget that the Byzantine Empire shrunk down to a small remnant of what it had been in the century following him. It is generally seen as that he depleted the resources of the Empire in order to re-conquer the lost territories in the west. If the Byzantines had not tried to restore all of the Roman Empire in the sixth century, they might have had a better chance against Longobards, Slavs, Bulgars, Sasanids, Arabs and Normans.

[Gaiseric]

According to Sidonius Apollinarius, Majorian began his military career under Flavius Aetius, along with Ricimer and Aegidius (creator of the Kingdom of Soissons, which lasted beyond the fall of the Western empire).

 

The campaign against the Vandals by Majorian was the first 'attempt', since he was already planning it and preparing it in 459. The catastrophically disasterous campaign of Basiliscus wasn't until 468.

 

Majorian was probably the last, best hope of any sort of concept of Roman survival in the West, but the end of the Vandal campaign through 'treachery' ended any hopes he had of stabilization and secured his death at the hands of Ricimer. Not that it was particularly unexpected. By that time the Late Roman Empire army had become hopelessly dilluted and a shadow of it's former self. If anything, the introduction of barbarian troops and equiping them properly more than likely extended the life of the Western Empire. Most troops in the Roman Empire wore little to no armour and the infantry was ill-equiped and trained compared to those of the Trajanic or Augustan period. The Late Roman Empire became devoted to heavier cavalry based on influences from outside the Empire, such as those of the Goths, Alans, Sarmatians and the Persians/Parthians (in the form of the cataphractarii and clibinarii).