Europe 450: Elevation of Marcian

In July 450 the Eastern Roman emperor Theodosius II died after falling from his horse, leaving no heirs. To resolve the situation, the Eastern court elevated the officer Marcian to the position of emperor and secured his reign by marrying him to Theodosius’ sister Pulcheria. Although Marcian would prove to be the first competent emperor in decades, the Western emperor Valentinian III considered his elevation illegitimate and would not recognize him for several years.

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Notes

Akatziri and the “Scythian Kingdom” (Kuban Huns)

Little is known about the region north and east of the Black Sea in the first half of the fifth century, except that in c. 400 a “Scythian King” (almost always assumed to be a Hun) lived in the Kuban region and by the 440s a Hunnic people known as the Akatziri lived east of the Dniester. Although fragmented, the Akatziri were powerful enough that, when the Eastern Romans aligned with all but one of their kingdoms in 447, it took over a year for Attila’s armies to crush them and install his son as their king. After this, Attila contemplated invading Persia, implying that suppressing the Akatziri had bought the periphery of his empire close to the Caucasus. All this suggests that the Akatziri may have extended into the North Caucasus and that the “Scythian King” may have been part of the Akatziri, although this is of course conjecture.

Main Events

450 Honoria’s appeal to Attila ▲

By 450 Honoria, the 32-year-old sister of the Western Roman emperor Valentinian III, had lost considerable political power, having been caught in a scandalous affair with her estate manager, divested of her title of Augusta, and forcibly betrothed to the wealthy senator Flavius Bassus Herculanus. Aggrieved by her situation, she sent a eunuch named Hyacinthus to the court of Attila with her ring, offering the Hunnic leader gold in return for his support. Learning of this communication—and that Attila intended to attack the Western Empire in Honoria’s support—an outraged Valentinian executed Hyacinthus and placed his sister under the custody of their mother Galla Placidia. in wikipedia

450 Anatolius–Nomus–Attila Treaty ▲

In 450 Chrysaphius, a eunuch and chief minister of the Eastern Roman Empire, dispatched the former consuls Anatolius and Nomus to Attila in order to placate the Hunnic ruler after a failed assassination attempt that Chrysaphius himself had orchestrated. Anatolius and Nomus appeased the enraged Attila with gold and gifts, and by agreeing to betroth a wealthy and high-ranking woman to the Hun’s secretary Constantius. Pleased by the embassy, Attila agreed to return Roman territory south of the Danube and to stop asking for the return of Hunnic fugitives. in wikipedia

450–451 Vardanants War ▲

In 449 Shah Yazdegerd II of the Sasanian Empire of Persia began pressuring the Caucasus peoples to renounce Christianity and adopt Zoroastrianism, provoking Armenia, Iberia, and Albania to revolt in the spring of 450. Led by the Armenian general Vardan Mamikonian, the rebels defeated a Persian army at Khakhkhagh (Qazax, Azerbaijan) before advancing to seize the Derbent Pass and establish an alliance with the Huns of the Caucasus. Supported by the Armenian governor Vasak Siwni, the Persians killed Vardan at the Battle of Avarayr the following year, but even so were forced to abandon their policy of religious conversion to restore order to the region. in wikipedia

28 Jul 450 Death of Theodosius II ▲

In July 450 the 49-year-old Eastern Roman emperor Theodosius II died unexpectedly, having fallen from his horse and injured his spine on a hunting trip on the outskirts of Constantinople. As Theodosius had no male heirs, a short interregnum followed, which Theodosius’ sister Pulcheria, with the backing of the Eastern Senate and the army, eventually settled by agreeing to marry the officer Marcian and elevating him to emperor. Outraged, the Western Roman emperor Valentinian III—who thought that he should have succeeded Theodosius to become sole emperor—refused to recognize Marcian and even threatened to lead an army to Constantinople. in wikipedia

25 Aug 450–27 Jan 457 Reign of Marcian ▲

In August 450, following the death of Theodosius II, the 58-year-old officer Marcian was elevated to the position of Eastern Roman emperor with the backing of Theodosius’ sister Pulcheria, the general Aspar, the Eastern Senate, and the army. Marrying Pulcheria to help legitimize his reign, Marcian ended the East’s treaties with the Huns, reversed Theodosius’ religious policies, and cracked down on corruption. His policies proved successful and, on his death just seven years later, he left the Eastern Empire with a treasury surplus of seven million solidi (gold coins). in wikipedia