Romanus (died 470) was a Roman usurper in the Western Roman Empire who unsuccessfully rebelled against the Emperor Anthemius in 470 before being executed at Rome.
Career Romanus was a Roman Senator and a PatricianMathisen, Anthemius; Jones, p. 947 who had achieved the rank of Magister officiorum during the final decades of the Western Roman Empire.Jones, p. 947 A known supporter of Ricimer, the Magister militum,Mathisen, Anthemius this brought him into conflict with the Emperor Anthemius, who both distrusted and disliked Ricimer.MacGeorge, p. 246
In 470, Anthemius fell seriously ill, and it was rumored that sorcery had been used to afflict the emperor.MacGeorge, p. 246; Mathisen, Anthemius 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.MacGeorge, p. 246 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.Mathisen, Anthemius He had the senator beheaded in 470, an act which he hoped would secure his throne.Jones, p. 947
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.Mathisen, Anthemius; MacGeorge, pp. 246–247
Sources Mathisen, Ralph W., "Anthemius (12 April 467 – 11 July 472 A.D.)", De Imperatoribus Romanis, 1998 Jones, A. H. M., Martindale, J. R. The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Vol. II: AD 395–527, Cambridge University Press, 1980 MacGeorge, Penny, Late Roman Warlords, Oxford University Press, 2002
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