22 Facts About Valentinian III

Valentinian III was Roman emperor in the West from 425 to 455.

Valentinian III was the son of Galla Placidia and Constantius III, and as the great-grandson of Valentinian I he was the last emperor of the Valentinianic dynasty.

Valentinian III was assassinated in turn by Aetius's bodyguards, ending a reign marked by the ongoing collapse of the western empire.

Valentinian III's mother was the younger half-sister of the western emperor Honorius, while his father was at the time a patrician and the power behind the throne.

Valentinian III's mother had previously been married to Ataulf of the Visigoths, and had borne a son, Theodosius, in Barcelona in 414; but the child had died early in the following year, thus eliminating an opportunity for a Romano-Visigothic line.

In either 421 or 423, Valentinian III was given the title of nobilissimus by Honorius, although this title was not initially recognized in the eastern court of Theodosius II.

Concerned by this turn of events and determined to hold onto the African provinces at all costs, the court at Ravenna sought reconciliation with Bonifatius, who agreed in 430 to affirm his allegiance to Valentinian III and stop the Vandal king Gaiseric.

Galla Placidia's regency came to an end in 437 when Valentinian III travelled to Constantinople to marry his fiancee, Licinia Eudoxia.

Valentinian III enjoyed initial success against the Franks and the Burgundians, as well as putting down a revolt by the Bagaudae by 437.

In 442, Aetius and Valentinian III were compelled to acknowledge the Vandal conquests of Proconsular Africa, western Numidia, and Byzacena, in exchange for which Rome was returned the now devastated provinces of Tripolitana, Mauretania Sitifensis, Mauretania Caesariensis, and the remainder of Numidia.

Consequently, sometime before 446, he convinced Valentinian III to agree to a marriage between his eldest daughter, Eudocia, and Gaiseric's son, Huneric.

Valentinian III himself was not exempt, sacrificing part of his reduced personal income to help the State in its financial straits.

Valentinian III sacked and destroyed Aquileia and took Verona and Vincentia as well.

Valentinian III sent Pope Leo I and two leading senators to negotiate with Attila.

The ancient historian Priscus reported that Aetius was presenting a financial statement before the Emperor when Valentinian III suddenly leapt from his throne and accused him of drunken depravity.

Valentinian III held him responsible for the empire's tribulations and accused him of plotting to take the empire away from him.

Valentinian III then drew his sword and together with Heraclius, rushed at the weaponless Aetius and struck him on the head, killing him on the spot.

The assassination occurred as Valentinian III rode his horse on the Campus Martius.

Priscus reports a curious occurrence: a swarm of bees descended on the corpse of Valentinian III and sucked up his blood.

Valentinian III was not as prepared as he thought to take over and stabilize the depleted empire, however; after a reign of only 11 weeks, Maximus was stoned to death by a Roman mob.

Valentinian III's reign is marked by the dismemberment of the Western Empire; by the time of his death, virtually all of North Africa, all of western Spain, and the majority of Gaul had passed out of Roman hands.

Valentinian III is described as spoiled, pleasure-loving, and heavily influenced by sorcerers and astrologers, but devoted to religion, contributing to churches of Saint Lawrence in both Rome and Ravenna.