Olybrius
Anicius Olybrius,
Western Roman Emperor (
July 11 -
October 23,
472), was a member of a noble family and a native of
Rome.
After the sack of the city by the
Vandal king
Geiseric in
455, Olybrius fled to
Constantinople, where in
464 he was made
consul, and about the same time married Placidia, daughter of
Valentinian III and
Eudoxia. This afforded Geiseric, whose son
Huneric had married
Eudocia, the elder sister of Placidia, the opportunity of claiming the empire of the West for Olybrius. In fact, Geiseric had attempted in 461 and again in 465 to get Olybrius made emperor.
In 472 Olybrius was sent to Italy by the emperor
Leo I to assist the emperor
Anthemius against his son-in-law
Ricimer, but, having entered into negotiations with the latter, was himself proclaimed emperor against his will, and on the murder of his rival ascended the throne unopposed. Because of his marriage to Placidia, Olybrius can be considered the last member of the
House of Theodosius. His reign was otherwise as uneventful as it was brief. He died of natural causes later in 472.
He was survived by his wife and their daughter, Anicia Juliana.
