Editing Majorian (section)

==Foreign affairs==
{{Campaignbox Campaigns of Majorian}}

===Defence of Italy===
In summer 457, a group of [[Vandals]], led by the brother-in-law of [[Genseric]], landed in [[Campania (Roman province)|Campania]], at the mouth of the [[Liri]] river, and started devastating and sacking the region. Majorian personally led the [[Late Roman army|Roman army]] to a [[Battle of Garigliano (457)|victory]] over the invaders near [[Sinuessa]] and followed the defeated Vandals, loaded with their booty, as far as their own ships, killing many of them including their commander.<ref>Sidonius Apollinaris, ''Carmina'', V.385–440 and A. Loyen, ''Recherches historiques sur les panégiriques de Sidonine Apollinaire'', Paris 1942, pp. 76–77 and note 5. Cited in Savino, Eliodoro, ''Campania tardoantica (284–604 d.C.)'', Edipuglia, 2005, {{ISBN|88-7228-257-8}}, p. 84.</ref>

After this event, Majorian understood that he had to take the initiative if he wanted to defend the heart of his Empire, the only territory he actually controlled. So he decided to strengthen its defences. First, he issued a law, the ''Novella Maioriani'' 8 known as ''De reddito iure armorum'' ("On the Return of the Right to Bear Arms"), concerning the personal right to bear arms; in 440, [[Valentinian III]] had already promulgated a law with the same name, ''Novella Valentiniani'' 9, after another attack of the Vandals. It is probably to this time that another law is to be dated, the ''Novella Maioriani'' 12 known as ''De aurigis et seditiosis'' ("Concerning Charioteers and Seditious Persons"), to quell the disorders that sprang up during the [[chariot races]]. Both these laws are now lost.<ref name="mathisen" />

He then strengthened the army, recruiting a large number of barbarian mercenaries, including [[Gepids]], [[Ostrogoths]], [[Rugii]], [[Burgundians]], [[Huns]], [[Bastarnae]], [[Suebi]], [[Scythians]] and [[Alans]].<ref>Gibbon.</ref> Finally, he rebuilt two fleets, probably those of Miseno and Ravenna, since the Vandals had a strong navy:<ref>Sidonius Apollinaris, ''Carmina'', V.441–442.</ref>
{{blockquote|text=Meanwhile you built on the two shores fleets for the upper and lower sea. Down into the water falls every forest of the Apennines|sign=Sidonius Apollinaris|source=''Carmina'', V.441–442. Anderson tr.}}

===Reconquest of Gaul===
{{Main|Gothic War (457–458)}}
[[File:MajorianEmpire.png|thumb|upright=1.4|During his four-year reign Majorian reconquered most of Hispania and southern Gaul, meanwhile reducing the Visigoths, Burgundians and Suevi to federate status.]]
After consolidating his position in Italy, Majorian concentrated on the recovery of [[Roman Gaul|Gaul]]. When news of the deposition of the Gallo-Roman emperor [[Avitus]] arrived in Gaul, the province refused to recognize Majorian as his successor. An important clue to this is an inscription found in [[Lugdunum]] (modern [[Lyon]]s) and dating to 458; according to Roman custom, the inscriptions were dated by writing the names of the consuls in office, who that year were supposed to be [[Leo I (emperor)|Leo I]] and Majorian. This inscription, instead, records only the name of Eastern Emperor Leo I, showing that Majorian was not recognized at the time as the lawful Western Emperor.<ref>{{CIL|13|2363}}, to be compared to {{CIL|13|2359}}.</ref>

Another clue is the fact that, at the death of Avitus, the citizens of Lugdunum sent an envoy to Leo, and not to Majorian, to ask for a reduction of taxation.<ref>[[Gregory of Tours]], ''Glory of the Confessors'' 62. Cited in Mathisen.</ref> Finally, there is a record of a [[Marcellan conspiracy|failed usurpation in Gaul, around this time]].<ref>[[Sidonius Apollinaris]] tells (''Letters'', I.11.6) that this usurpation regarded some Marcellus. The hypothesis that this Marcellus is to be identified with the semi-independent ''comes'' of Illyricum [[Marcellinus (magister militum)|Marcellinus]] has been rejected, as this conspiracy was to put Avitus back on the throne, or to oppose a Gallo-Roman noble to Majorian.</ref>

In late 458, Majorian entered Gaul, with an army strengthened by barbarian units.<ref>Sidonius Apollinaris, ''Carmina'', V.474–477.</ref> The Emperor personally led the army, leaving Ricimer in Italy and choosing Aegidius and the ''magister militum Nepotianus'' as collaborators. The imperial army defeated the [[Visigoths]] under king [[Theodoric II]] at the [[Battle of Arelate]], forcing the Visigoths to abandon [[Septimania]] and withdraw west to [[Aquitania]]. The Roman victory was decisive: under the new treaty the Visigoths had to relinquish their vast conquests in [[Hispania]] and return to [[foederati|federate]] status. Majorian chose his trusted general Aegidius as the new ''[[magister militum]] per Gallias'' (military commander of Gaul) and sent an envoy to Hispania, to report the victory over the Visigoths and the new treaty with Theodoric II.<ref>[[Hydatius]], 197, ''s.a.'' 459; [[Gregory of Tours]], ''Historia Francorum'', II.11.</ref>

With the help of his new ''foederati'', Majorian entered the [[Rhone Valley]], conquering its populations "some by arms and some by diplomacy".<ref name=priscus27>Priscus, fragment 27.</ref> He defeated the [[Burgundians]] and besieged and conquered the city of [[Lugdunum]]: the rebel city was heavily fined, while the [[Bagaudae]] were forced to join the Empire.<ref name="mathisen" /> Despite the fact that the Gallo-Roman aristocracy had sided with Avitus, Majorian wanted a reconciliation, not a punishment. With the intercession of Majorian's ''magister epistolarum'' Petrus, [[Sidonius Apollinaris]], the son-in-law of Avitus, was allowed to deliver a panegyric<ref>Sidonius Apollinaris' ''Carmen'' V.</ref> in honour of the Emperor (early January 459), receiving in reward the appointment to the rank of ''comes spectabilis''. Much more effective was, however, the granting of the tax remission that the citizens of Lugdunum had requested from Leo I.<ref>Sidonius Apollinaris, ''Carmina'', V.574–585.</ref>

===Campaign in Hispania===
[[File:Roman Empire 460 AD.png|thumb|400px|The Roman Empire in 460 during the reign of Majorian.]]
In the wake of the [[Vandals|Vandal]] [[sack of Rome (455)]], the Visigoths had conquered Hispania, formally in the name of the new Western Emperor [[Avitus]], actually controlling the territory themselves. Majorian planned to reconquer Hispania and use it as the base for the conquest of [[Africa (Roman province)|Africa]]. This rich province of the Western Empire, which provided for the very important [[grain supply to the city of Rome]], was in fact under [[Vandal Kingdom|Vandal control]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}

According to the historian [[Procopius]], Majorian, "who surpassed in every virtue all who ever were emperors of the Romans",<ref name="history_of_the_wars">Procopius, ''The Wars of Justinian'', Book Three, Chapter VII, (trans: A. Kaldellis) p. 159. {{ISBN|978-1-62466-170-9}}.</ref> wanted to know personally the military readiness of the Vandals and how the local populations would react to the Roman invasion. He dyed black his fair hair, for which he was famous, and went to [[Genseric]] claiming to be an envoy of the Western Emperor. Genseric tried to impress the enemy ambassador by showing him the arms collected in the warehouses and sent him back.<ref>[[Procopius]], VII.4–13.</ref> This story is probably only a legend of Italian folklore,<ref>MacGeorge, p. 214.</ref> but it is a clue to the care with which the expedition was prepared. Majorian collected information on the enemy and gathered a fleet of three hundred ships to support the army in the reconquest of Hispania and in the invasion of Africa.<ref name=mathisen />

It was probably during the preparation of this operation that Majorian sent the ''[[comes]]'' and ''[[patrikios|patricius]] Occidentis'' [[Marcellinus (magister militum)|Marcellinus]] to Sicily with an army of [[Huns]], to take the island back from the Vandals. Marcellinus was the ''comes rei militaris'' (governor) of [[Illyricum (Roman province)|Illyricum]], but he had become practically independent since the death of [[Flavius Aetius|Aetius]], not recognizing the imperial authority. Majorian convinced him to accept him as Emperor and even to collaborate with his troops in the military recovery of the Empire.<ref name="jones241">[[Arnold Hugh Martin Jones]], ''The Later Roman Empire, 284–602'', JHU Press, 1986, {{ISBN|0-8018-3353-1}}, p. 241. MacGeorge, however, maintains that Marcellinus' return under the Western Emperor's rule is not attested, and thinks that Marcellinus was in Sicily either to take part independently in the campaign against the Vandals or, by order of the Eastern Emperor, to put pressure on Geiseric for the restitution of Empress Eudoxia and her daughters (pp. 46–48).</ref>

The campaign started with an operation against the [[Suebi]] in North-Western Hispania, lasting the whole of 459, led by the ''magister militiae'' [[Nepotianus (magister militiae)|Nepotianus]] and the Gothic ''comes'' [[Sunieric]]. Majorian gathered the main part of the army in [[Liguria]], then entered [[Aquitaine]] and ''[[Novempopulania]]'' coming from Theodoric's court in [[Toulouse]] (May 460). Genseric, fearing the Roman invasion, tried to negotiate a peace with Majorian, who rejected the proposal, since the economic investment he had done to prepare the campaign had been enormous.<ref>Priscus, fr. 36.1; Hydatius, ''Chron.'', p. 32.</ref> The Vandal king then decided to devastate [[Mauretania]] and Numidia, his own territory, by poisoning the water sources and burning the fields, because he thought that the Roman army would land there,<ref>Priscus, fr. 36.1.</ref> and also ordered his navy to prepare incursions in the waters near the probable invasion area.<ref name=priscus27 />

In the meantime, Majorian was conquering Hispania. While Nepotianus and Sunieric defeated the Suebi at ''Lucus Augusti'' (modern [[Lugo]]) and conquered ''Scallabis'' in [[Lusitania]] (modern [[Santarém, Portugal]]), the Emperor passed through ''Caesaraugusta'' ([[Saragossa]]), where he performed a formal imperial ''[[Adventus (ceremony)|adventus]]''.<ref>Roger Collins, ''Visigothic Spain, 409–711'', Blackwell Publishing, 2004, {{ISBN|0-631-18185-7}}, p. 32.</ref> Finally he reached [[Carthaginiensis]], where his fleet, docked at ''Portus Illicitanus'' (near [[Elche]]), was destroyed by traitors paid by the Vandals:<ref>''[[Chronica gallica anno 511]]'', 634; [[Marius Aventicensis]], ''s.a.'' 460; [[Hydatius]], 200, ''s.a.'' 460.</ref>
{{blockquote|text=While Majorian was campaigning in the province of Carthaginiensis the Vandals destroyed, through traitors, several ships that he was preparing for himself for a crossing against the Vandals from the shore of Carthaginiensis. Majorian, frustrated in this manner from his intention, returned to Italy.|sign=Hydatius|source=''Chronicle'', 200, ''s.a.'' 460.}}

In autumn 460 Majorian, deprived of the fleet that was necessary for the invasion, cancelled the attack on the Vandals and received the ambassadors of Gaiseric,<ref>According to Hydatius, the peace talks took place after late November, which could indicate that Majorian had tried to recover the losses and keep pushing the attack, to desist only because of the arrival of winter of for economic reasons (Oppedisano 2009, p. 545).</ref> with whom he agreed to conclude peace, which probably included the recognition of the ''de facto'' occupation of Mauretania by the Vandals.<ref>The treaty has not been preserved: from Priscus' fragment (fr. 36.2) it is possible to deduce it was not favourable to the Romans, even if another fragment (fr. 38) makes it clear that the Vandals did not receive recognition of their power over Sicily; it is possible that this treaty was based on the one signed in 442 (Ch. Courtois, ''Les Vandales et l’Afrique'', Paris 1955, p. 199).</ref> He disbanded his costly troops,<ref name="Priscus, fr. 36.2">Priscus, fr. 36.2.</ref> and moved to [[Arelate]] to spend the winter,<ref name=gallica>''[[Chronica gallica anno 511]]''.</ref> while he expected to be welcome with dissent in Italy.<ref>Sidonius Apollinares, ''Epistulae'' 1.11.5.</ref>