fme_1009041 - VALENTINIAN III Médaille, Reproduction solidus, n°109

VALENTINIAN III

(23/10/425-16/03/455)

Born in 419, Valentinian III is the son of Constantius III and Galla Placidia, and the nephew of Honorius. Her mother having become angry with her half-brother, she left Ravenna for Constantinople in order to find refuge with Theodosius II. Upon the death of Honorius in 423, John usurped the throne. It was Theodosius II who allowed his cousin to take possession of his throne two years later. His mother, Galla Placidia, assures the regency in the name of her son. In 437, Valentinian III married Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of Theodosius II. In the West, Valentinian III left power to General Aetius. The latter tries to organize the defense of the West against the thrust of the Germanic tribes at the gates of the Empire. In 451, Aétius won a great victory in the Catalaunian fields, near Châlons-en-Champagne, thanks to the contribution of federated troops, in particular Visigoths. Aetius was finally assassinated in 454. The following year, Valentinian III was in turn eliminated at the instigation of Petronius Maximus, an old senator. The same year, Rome was besieged and taken by the Barbarians for the second time in less than fifty years..