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.

Eudoxia promoted her own candidate, in the person of Majorian.

* August 7 – Majorian is beaten and tortured for five days, and later beheaded near the Iria River ( Lombardy ).

After Petronius, the Gallic-Roman senator Avitus was proclaimed Emperor by the Visigoth king Theodoric II and ruled for two years, then was deposed by Majorian, who ruled for four years, before being killed by his general Ricimer ( 461 ).

Possessing little more than Italy, Dalmatia, and some territory in northern Gaul, Majorian campaigned rigorously for three years against the Empire's enemies.

Leo I and Majorian jointly assumed the consulate for the year 458 ; it was customary that a new Emperor took this magistracy on the first year started as Emperor.

The recovery of the lost provinces of Hispania and Africa was a project that Majorian had to leave for later.

Another clue is the fact that at the death of Avitus, the citizens of Lugdunum had allowed the Burgundians of king Gondioc to occupy the city, and that they sent an envoy to Leo, and not to Majorian, to ask for a reduction of the taxation.

Majorian planned to reconquer Hispania and use it as the basis for the conquest of Africa: the richest province of the Western Empire, which provided for the very important grain supply to the city of Rome, was in fact under Vandal control.

Majorian, deprived of the fleet that was necessary for the invasion, cancelled the attack on the Vandals.

Even if their style was close to the Roman originals, Visigothic coins contained less precious metal ; it was probably for this reason that Majorian issued a law obliging the tax collectors to accept golden coins at their nominal value, with the exception of the " Gallic " coin, of lesser value.

On these coins the Emperor is depicted, with few exceptions, with an combat helmet, a spear, a shield and a chi-rho, looking towards right ; this typology was derived by a rare type minted in Ravenna for Honorius and used in great quantities only by Majorian, while it was dropped by his successors.

No series of semisses are attested for these two mints, probably because the semisses were typically minted by the mint of Rome and this mint was not active under Majorian, who never visited the ancient capital of his Empire during his four years of rule.

The minting of solidi is attested for the mint of Arelate in 458, a fact compatible with the presence of Majorian in Gaul in that year.

In first year ( 458 ) Majorian reserved the honour for himself, as the Emperors usually did in the first year they started as augusti, while in the second year he appointed his former colleague and powerful magister militum, Ricimer.

After five days, Majorian was beheaded near the river Iria ( August 7, 461 ): He was about forty years old and had reigned for four.

After the death of Majorian, Ricimer waited for three months before putting someone on the imperial throne he believed he could manipulate.

Carmen 5 is a panegyric to Majorian, which offers evidence that Sidonius was able to overcome the natural suspicion and hostility towards the man who was responsible for the death of his father-in-law.

" In late 458 Western Roman Emperor Majorian entered Septimania to attack Theodoric and reclaim the province for the empire.

After some months, allowing for negotiation with the new emperor of Constantinople and the defeat of 900 Alamannic invaders of Italia by one of his subordinates, Majorian was acclaimed as Augustus.

) Majorian prepared a fleet at Carthago Nova for the essential reconquest of the Diocese of Africa, and Marcellinus recovered Sicily from the Vandals.

Originally Emperor Valentinian had intended for Placidia to marry a young man named Majorian ( the future emperor ), whom Oost describes as having " distinguished himself in a subaltern capacity fighting in Gaul against the Franks under Aëtius ' own command.

There were actually two magistri militum to choose between, Majorian and Ricimer, but the barbarian origin of the latter barred him from the throne.

Avitus, the predecessor of Majorian on the imperial throne, had alienated the Roman senatorial aristocracy support appointing members of Gallo-Roman aristocracy, which he was part of, to the most important offices of the imperial administration.

As Aspar could not sit on the throne because of his barbaric origin, he opposed Anthemius whose prestige would have made him independent and chose a low-ranking military officer, Leo ; in the West, as his barbaric origin barred Ricimer from the throne, it was Majorian who received the purple.

It was Majorian who succeeded Avitus on the throne.

In particular, the army ’ s support was split between three main candidates: Maximianus, the former domesticus (" bodyguard ") of Aëtius, who was the son of an Egyptian merchant named Domninus who had become rich in Italy ; the future emperor Majorian, who commanded the army after the death of Aetius and who had the backing of the Empress Licinia Eudoxia ; and Maximus himself, who had the support of the Roman Senate and who in the end, on 17 March, defeated his rivals and secured the throne by distributing money to officials of the imperial palace.

Priscus and John of Antioch report that Geiseric entertained the idea of placing Olybrius on the throne of the Western Roman Empire, at least as early as the death of Majorian in 461.

To strengthen his position, he obliged Licinia to marry him and promoted Majorian to the rank of comes domesticorum ( commander-in-chief of the imperial guard ).

* 461 – Majorian is arrested near Tortona ( Northern Italy ) and deposed by the Suebian general Ricimer as puppet emperor.

* 461 – Roman Emperor Majorian is beheaded near the river Iria in north-west Italy following his arrest and deposition by the magister militum Ricimer.

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

* October 17 – Battle of Placentia: Ricimer, supported by Majorian ( comes domesticorum ), defeats near Piacenza ( Northern Italy ) the usurper Avitus.

* August 2 – Majorian is arrested near Tortona ( Northern Italy ) and deposed by Ricimer ( magister militum ) as puppet emperor.

The powerful general Ricimer deposed and killed Majorian, who had become unpopular with the senatorial aristocracy because of his reforms.

Both Majorian, comes domesticorum, and Ricimer, comes, initially supported Avitus, but when the Emperor lost the loyalty of the Italian aristocracy, the two generals revolted against him.

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

On the other hand, Leo rewarded both Majorian and Ricimer: the former was appointed magister militum, the latter patricius and magister militum ( February 28, 457 ).

The fate of Avitus had been marked by the betrayal of Ricimer and of Majorian and by the dismissal of his German guard, so the fate of Majorian himself was decided by the disbandment of his army and a plot organised by Ricimer.

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 ).

Therefore both empires had no Emperor, and the power was in the hands of the Western generals, Ricimer and Majorian, and of the Eastern Magister militum, the Alan Aspar.

The new Emperor needed the support of both the civil institutions, the Roman senate and the Eastern Roman Emperor Marcian, as well as that of the army and its commanders ( the generals Majorian and Ricimer ) and the Vandals of Gaiseric.

Majorian, comes domesticorum of Avitus, and Ricimer, a general of barbaric descent, rebelled against their Emperor, defeated him near Piacenza, and obliged him to become Bishop of the city.

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.

An ardent supporter of Majorian, Aegidius rebelled when Ricimer deposed Majorian, engaging in several campaigns against the Visigoths and creating a Roman rump state that came to be known as the Domain of Soissons.