A relative of his, Theodorus, was hostage at the court of the King of Visigoths, Theodoric I: in 425 / 426 Avitus went and met him, thus meeting the King, who let Avitus enter his own court.

However, his consulate sine collega ( without a second Consul ) was not recognised by the Eastern court, which nominated two consuls, Iohannes and Varanes: the fact that the two courts did not agree on a couple of consuls but each nominated its own means that, despite Avitus ' actions to receive the recognition of the Eastern Emperor the relationship between the two halves was not optimal.

During Avitus ' reign, the Visigoths expanded into Hispania, nominally under Roman authorisation but actually in their own interests.

The contemporary historian Hydatius, who lived in Spain, considered the year 457 the third of Avitus ' reign ; Avitus ' own intentions are not known ; nor are the manner and date of his death, of which there are several versions.

Avitus was in turn overthrown ( but not killed ) by his own master of the soldiers, Ricimer, who was responsible for both the installation and removal of Majorian and of Libius Severus, the removal of Anthemius ( installed as the Eastern Emperor's candidate ), and the installation of Olybrius – husband of Valentinian III's daughter ( and Petronius Maximus's stepdaughter ) Placidia, and loosely a member of the Theodosian dynasty.

* 456 – The Visigoths under king Theodoric II, acting on orders of the Roman emperor Avitus, invade Spain with an army of Burgundians, Franks and Goths, led by the kings Chilperic I and Gondioc.

* 455 – Emperor Avitus enters Rome with a Gallic army and consolidates his power.

* September 21 – Avitus enters Rome with a Gallic army.

* October 5 – The Visigoths under king Theodoric II, acting on orders of Avitus, invade Spain with an army of Burgundians, Franks and Goths, led by their kings Chilperic I and Gondioc.

Meanwhile Hormisdas reported to Avitus of Vienne that an additional number of Balkan bishops had entered into relations with Rome, and Bishop John of Nicopolis, who was also the archbishop of Epirus, had broken communion with Constantinople and resumed it with Rome.

First Majorian and Ricimer killed Remistus, the magister militum entrusted by Avitus with the defence of the capital, Ravenna.

But the general chosen by the army was the only viable candidate to the throne: the Eastern court was not displeased with the deposition of Avitus, an Emperor chosen by the Visigoths ; on the other side, the only other candidate, Olybrius, had a politically difficult relationship with the Vandal king Genseric, and no influence on the army.

Despite the fact that the Gallic-Roman aristocracy had sided with Avitus, however, Majorian wanted a reconciliation, not a punishment.

Ricimer went to meet Majorian with a military detachment ; the magister militum met the Emperor near Tortona ( not far from Piacenza, where Avitus had been killed ), and had him arrested and deposed ( August 3 ).

Avitus had a good relationship with the Visigoths, in particular with their king Theodoric II, who was a friend of his and who acclaimed Avitus Emperor, but the possibility of a strong and useful alliance between Visigoths and Romans ended when Theodoric invaded Roman Hispania and then refused to help Avitus against the rebel Roman generals who deposed him.

Here he lived until 451, when the Huns, led by Attila, invaded the Western Roman Empire ; Avitus persuaded Theodoric into an alliance with Rome, and the combined forces of Theodoric and Aetius defeated Attila in the Battle of Châlons ; Theodoric died in the battle.

Avitus stayed in Gaul for three months, to consolidate his power in the region that was the center of his support, and later went to Italy with a Gallic army, probably reinforced with a Gothic force.

Furthermore the population of Rome, devastated by the Vandal sack, suffered a scarcity of food due to the Vandal control of the naval routes, a scarcity aggravated by the requirements of the foreign troops that had arrived with Avitus.

Aëtius turned then to the powerful local magnate Avitus for help, who was not only able to convince Theodoric to join with the Romans, but also a number of other wavering " barbarians " resident in Gaul.

* 5th century-the son of Avitus, Roman Emperor 455-456, from the Celtic tribe of the Arverni who fought at the Battle of Châlons with the Goths against the Huns introduced falconry in Rome.

In 455 Avitus had sent an ambassador, comes Fronto, to the Suebi and then to Theodoric II to ask them formally to recognise Roman rule.

The literary fame of Avitus rests on his many surviving letters ( his recent editors make them ninety-six in all ) and on a long poem, De spiritualis historiae gestis, in classical hexameters, in five books, dealing with the Biblical themes of Original Sin, Expulsion from Paradise, the Deluge, the Crossing of the Red Sea.

The spirit of Avitus breathes through them all.

It is not known if Majorian expected to succeed him ; the new Emperor was, in fact, the Gallic-Roman noble Avitus, who had the support of the Visigoths.

Avitus was dead and the Western throne without a pretender ; the Eastern Roman Emperor was to choose the successor, but Marcian could not do anything, as he died on January 27, 457.

In October 456, in fact, the Western Emperor Avitus had been deposed ; it is probable that Marcian considered Anthemius as successor, but the Eastern Emperor died in January 457 before choosing his colleague.

Avitus had two sons, Agricola ( 440 – after 507, a vir inlustris ) and Ecdicius Avitus ( later patricius and magister militum under Emperor Julius Nepos ) and a daughter Papianilla ; she married Sidonius Apollinaris, whose letters and panegyrics remain an important source for Avitus ' life and times.

In the late spring of 455, Avitus was recalled to service by emperor Petronius Maximus and was elevated to the rank of magister militum, probably praesentalis ; Maximus sent Avitus in an embassy to the court of Theodoric II, who had succeeded to his father, at Toulouse: this embassy probably confirmed to the new king and his people the condition of foederati of the Empire and asked for their support to the new Emperor.

Counting on the popular discontent, on the disbandment of the imperial guard, and on the prestige gained through their victories, Ricimer and the comes domesticorum Majorian rebelled against Avitus ; the Emperor was obliged to leave Rome in early autumn and to move north.

He was one of four fifth-to sixth-century Gallo-Roman aristocrats whose letters survive in quantity ; the others are Ruricius bishop of Limoges ( died 507 ), Alcimus Ecdicius Avitus, bishop of Vienne ( died 518 ) and Magnus Felix Ennodius of Arles, bishop of Ticinum ( died 534 ).

In 457 Majorian deprived Avitus of the empire and seized the city of Lyons ; Sidonius fell into his hands.

In 456 the Visigothic army was too heavily engaged in Hispania to be an effective threat to Italia, and Ricimer had just destroyed a pirate fleet of sixty Vandal ships ; Majorian and Ricimer marched against Avitus and defeated him near Placentia.

* 456 – Battle of Placentia: Ricimer, supported by Majorian ( comes domesticorum ), defeats near Piacenza ( Northern Italy ) the Roman usurper Avitus.

* 456 – Magister militum Ricimer defeats Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the Western Roman Empire.

The last indication that the Goths whose king reigned at Toulouse considered themselves Vesi is found in a panegyric on Avitus by Sidonius Apollinaris dated 1 January 456.

Eparchius Avitus ( c. 385 – after 17 October 456 or in 457 ) was Western Roman Emperor from 8 or 9 July 455 to 17 October 456.

On 1 January 456, Avitus took the consulate, as traditionally the Emperors always held the consulate in the first year upon assuming the purple.

Ricimer had the Roman Senate depose Avitus and ordered the murder of the magister militum Remistus in the Palatium at Classe, ancient port of Ravenna, on 17 September 456.

The Emperor and his army entered the city and attacked the huge army led by Ricimer, but after a great massacre of his men, including Messianus, Avitus fled on 17 or 18 October 456.

Avitus died in 457, or late in 456, very soon after his deposition, and was buried at Brioude, next to Saint Julian's tomb.

* Mathisen, Ralph W., " Avitus ( 9 / 10 July 455 – 17 / 18 October 456 )", De Imperatoribus Romanis

This is especially true of the narrative climax of his account, the sack in 456 of the Suevi capital at Braga by the Visigothic king Theodoric II, acting in the service of the Roman emperor Avitus.

Sidonius Apollinaris refers to Septimania as " theirs " during the reign of Avitus ( 455 – 456 ), but Sidonius is probably considering Visigothic settlement of and around Toulouse.

Aug ."; b. Flavius Eparchius Avitus ), 455 – 456