Gongju becomes the capital of Baekje, and…
475 CE
Gongju becomes the capital of Baekje, and is threatened by Goguryeo, which conquers the Han River valley.
Groups
Commodities
Subjects
Regions
East Asia
View →Subregions
Maritime East Asia
View →Related Events
No active filters.
Showing 10 events out of 58535 total
Euric, one of the more learned of the great Visigothic kings, is the first German to formally codify his people's laws, which had been entrusted to the memory of designated specialists who had learned each article by heart.
The Visigoths' comprehensive “Codex Euricianus,” promulgated around 475, the first collection of Germanic law, displays the considerable influence of Roman law.
The code of law that Euric has had Roman jurists compile for his use is memorable in that it acknowledges the rights of his Roman as well as his Gothic subjects.
(The palimpsest manuscript of the code is preserved in Paris.)
The Visigoths have thrived under Euric, whose kingdom (usually called the kingdom of Toulouse, sometimes the kingdom of Aquitaine) in the western part of the Roman Empire includes what is now southwestern France (south of the Loire and west of the Rhône) and most of Spain.
Over the decades, the Visigoths have gradually expanded their holdings at the expense of the weak Roman government.
Previous Visigothic kings had officially ruled only as legates of the Roman Emperor but Euric is the first to declare his complete independence from the puppet emperors.
In 475, he forces the Western Emperor Julius Nepos to recognize Euric as an independent ruler west of the Rhône Rive in exchange for the return of the Provence region of Gaul.
The Roman citizens of Hispania now pledge their allegiance to Euric, recognizing him as their king.
The Fall of Clermont-Ferrand to the Visigoths (471–475 CE)
The city of Augusto Nemetum (modern Clermont-Ferrand) had long been an important Roman administrative and religious center, becoming the seat of a bishopric in the early fifth century under Bishop Namatius (Saint Namace). He is credited with building a cathedral, later described by Gregory of Tours, marking the city's growing role as a Christian stronghold in late Roman Gaul.
Visigothic Expansion and Repeated Sieges
Between 471 and 475 CE, Clermont-Ferrand becomes a frequent target of Visigothic expansion, as King Euricseeks to consolidate his kingdom by absorbing Auvergne, one of the last major Roman-held territories in Gaul.
- The city is repeatedly besieged by the Visigoths, facing continuous assaults.
- It is defended by Sidonius Apollinaris, a former Roman aristocrat, poet, and bishop of Clermont, and by the patrician Ecdicius, a Roman noble with a small but determined force.
- Despite their efforts, the Western Roman Empire is too weak to provide meaningful reinforcements, leaving the defenders increasingly isolated.
The Roman Cession of Clermont to the Visigoths (475 CE)
By 475 CE, the Western Roman Emperor Julius Nepos, recognizing his empire's declining military strength, formally cedes Auvergne, including Clermont-Ferrand, to the Visigoths in a last-ditch diplomatic effort to preserve what remains of Roman control in Provence and Italy.
- The city's fall to the Visigoths marks the effective end of Roman rule in central Gaul.
- The Visigoths integrate Auvergne into their expanding kingdom, further strengthening their dominance over southern Gaul and Hispania.
The Fate of Sidonius Apollinaris
- As a prominent defender of Clermont, Sidonius Apollinaris is briefly imprisoned by King Euric, due to his active role in the resistance.
- However, he is later restored to his bishopric, allowed to continue governing his diocese until his death.
- His writings provide valuable firsthand accounts of the last days of Roman Gaul, including a surviving letter to Riothamus, where he requests assistance against rebellious Bretons.
The Decline of Roman Influence in Gaul
- The loss of Auvergne to the Visigoths accelerates the collapse of Roman authority in Gaul, leaving only Syagrius' Domain of Soissons as the last significant remnant of Roman rule.
- The Franks, still consolidating their power to the north, will soon become the only major force capable of opposing the Visigoths.
The fall of Clermont-Ferrand is one of the final milestones in the transformation of Roman Gaul into a land ruled by barbarian successor states, signaling the emergence of the early medieval world.
The continental invaders of Britain have established the Jutish kingdom of Kent by 475.
A popular revolt against the emperor starts within the capital in 475.
The uprising receives military support by Theodoric Strabo, Illus and Armatus and succeeds in taking control of Constantinople.
Verina persuades her son-in-law to leave the city.
Zeno flees to his native lands, bringing with him some of the Isaurians living in Constantinople, and the imperial treasury.
Basiliscus is now acclaimed as Augustus on January 9, 475, at the Hebdomon palace, by the palace ministers and the Senate.
The mob of Constantinople takes its revenge, killing almost all of the Isaurians left in the city.
Basilicius supports the Monophysites, who gain control of the key sees of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem.
However Basiliscus soon manages to estrange himself from most of his key collaborators.
Nepos, a year after ascending the Western throne, is obliged to recognize the independence of the Visigothic kingdom centered near present Toulouse, France.
Orestes, born an aristocrat of Pannonia Savia, is probably at least partly of Germanic descent.
He was the son of Tatulus, a pagan, and son-in-law to Romulus, who had served as comes in the Western Roman Empire.
After Pannonia was ceded to Attila the Hun, Orestes had joined Attila's court, reaching high position as a secretary (notarius) in 449 and 452.
In 449 Orestes had been sent by Attila twice to Constantinople as envoy to Emperor Theodosius II.
In 475, Orestes had been appointed magister militum and patricius by Julius Nepos.
This proves to be a mistake on the part of Nepos.
By August 28, 475, Orestes, at the head of the foederati, manages to take control of the government in Ravenna, which has served as the capital of the Western Roman Empire since 402.
Julius Nepos flees without a fight to Dalmatia, where he will continue to reign until his assassination in 480.
Orestes, with the emperor far away, on October 31 elevates his son Romulus to the rank of Augustus.
Thus he is known as Romulus Augustulus, meaning "little Augustus", as this last Western Roman emperor is only a twelve-year-old boy.
The new administration is not recognized by the rival Eastern Roman Emperors Zeno and Basiliscus, who still consider Julius Nepos to be their legitimate partner in the administration of the Empire, but as they are engaged in a civil war with each other, neither emperor is about to oppose Orestes in battle.
Euric’s forces have built fortifications at several key locations throughout the empire (those at the ancient city of Carcassonne in southwestern France are among the finest remains of medieval ramparts in Europe).
Patricius, the magister officiorum and lover of Verina, had been executed to prevent her aspirations to elevate him to the throne.
As a consequence, Verina later intrigues against Basiliscus, because of her lover's execution.
Theodoric and Armatus are promoted to magister millitum and magister militum praesentialis and are vying for authority.
Finally, the support of Illus is most likely wavering, given the massacre of the Isaurians allowed by Basiliscus.
Basiliscus has reigned at Constantinople for twenty months, but his religious beliefs make him highly unpopular.
As emperor, he has stirred up discontent because he favors the Monophysite heresy, which holds that the human and divine elements in Christ's nature were inseparable.
During his reign, a disastrous fire in Constantinople destroys much of the city along with many Greek works of art.
With the help of Illus and Armatus, who change their allegiance, Zeno returns to besiege Constantinople in August 476.
The leader of the Pannonian Goths, Theodoric the Amal (later known as Theodoric the Great) had allied to Zeno, and would have attacked Basiliscus and his Thracian Goth foederati led by Theodoric Strabo, receiving, in exchange, the title of magister militum held by Strabo and the payments previously given to the Thracian Goths.
It has been suggested that Constantinople was defenseless during Zeno's siege because the Magister Militum Strabo had moved north to counter this menace.
The Senate opens the gates of the city to the Isaurian, allowing the deposed emperor to resume the throne.
Ariadne is still his Empress consort.
Basiliscus is exiled to a fortress in Cappadocia, where he will die from starvation.
Orestes is free to issue new solidi in the mints of Arles, Milan, Ravenna and Rome, enabling him to pay the barbarian mercenaries who constitute most of the Roman Army at this time.
However, Orestes denies the demands of Heruli, Scirian and Turcilingi mercenaries to be granted Italian lands in which to settle.
Before he overthrew Nepos, the Roman general had promised his barbarian soldiers a third of Italian territory in exchange for assisting with the deposition of the emperor.
After being turned down by Orestes, the dissatisfied mercenaries revolt under the Germanic chieftain Odoacer, whom they declare to be their king on August 23, 476.
Odoacer leads his tribesmen against their former employer, ravaging every town and village in northern Italy and meeting little resistance.
Orestes flees to the city of Pavia, where the city's bishop gives him sanctuary within the city walls.
Despite the protection he receives from the bishop, Orestes is forced to flee for his life when Odoacer and his men break through the city defenses and ravage the church, stealing all the money that the bishop had collected for the poor and razing many of the city buildings to the ground.