Flavius Orestes (d. August 28, 476) was a Roman politician,who was briefly in control of the Roman Empire in 475–6. August 28 is the 240th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (241st in leap years), with 125 days remaining. ... Events August - The usurper Basiliscus is deposed and Zeno is restored as Eastern Roman Emperor. ...

Born an aristocrat of Pannonia Savia, F. Orestes was probably at least partly of Germanic descent. He was son to Tatulus, and son-in-law to comes (Count) Romulus, who served as military leader of Noricum (dux Norici). When Pannonia was ceded to Attila the Hun, Orestes joined Attila's court, reaching high position as a diplomat in negotiations between Attila and Theodosius III. Aristocracy is a form of government in which rulership is in the hands of an upper class known as aristocrats. ... Position of the Roman province of Pannonia Pannonia is an ancient country bounded north and east by the Danube, conterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. ... Comes is the Latin word for companion, either individually or as a member of a collective known as comitatus (compare comitatenses), especially the suite of a magnate, in some cases large and/or formal enough to have a specific name, such as a cohors amicorum. ... A count is a nobleman in most European countries, equivalent in rank to a British earl, whose wife is still a countess (for lack of an Anglo-Saxon term). ... The Roman Empire ca. ... The Huns, led by Attila (right, foreground), ride into Italy. ... This page is about negotiations; for the board game, see Diplomacy (game). ... Theodosius III, emperor of the Byzantine Empire (715-717), was a financial officer and tax collector in Adramyttium before being acclaimed in May of 715 as an imperial candidate for the troops of the Opsikian theme rebelling against Anastasius II. According to the chronicler Theophanes, Theodosius was unwilling to accept...

In 475, Orestes was appointed " master of soldiers" and patricius by Western Roman Emperor Julius Nepos. This proved to be a mistake on the part of Nepos. By August 28, 475, Orestes, at the head of the foederati, managed to take control of the government in Ravenna (the capital of the Western Roman Empire since 402). Julius Nepos fled without a fight to Dalmatia, which he would continue to reign until his assassination in 480. See also 475 (number) Events Orestes forces western Roman emperor Julius Nepos to flee and declares his son Romulus Augustus to be emperor. ... Magister militum (Master of the Soldiers) was a rank used in the later Roman Empire dating from the reign of Constantine. ... Patricians (patricii) were originally the elite caste in ancient Rome. ... The Western Roman Empire is the name given to the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian. ... Julius Nepos on a coin. ... August 28 is the 240th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (241st in leap years), with 125 days remaining. ... See also 475 (number) Events Orestes forces western Roman emperor Julius Nepos to flee and declares his son Romulus Augustus to be emperor. ... Foederatus early in the history of the Roman Republic identified one of the tribes bound by treaty (foedus), who were neither Roman colonies nor had they been granted Roman citizenship (civitas) but were expected to provide a contingent of fighting men when trouble arose. ... Ravenna is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, population 134,631 (2001). ... Events Stilicho recalls troops from the frontiers of the Roman Empire to defend Italy against the Visigoths. ... Dalmatia (Croatian Dalmacija, Italian Dalmazia) is a region of Croatia on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, spreading between the island of Pag in the northwest and the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. ... Events Odoacer defeats an attempt by Julius Nepos to recapture Italy, and has Julius killed; Odoacer also captured Dalmatia. ...

Orestes was now the de facto ruler of the reduced Roman provinces west of Dalmatia, save Visigothiic Hispania. But he was not considered a proper Roman and was therefore not eligible for the throne. Instead Orestes proclaimed his own son Flavius Romulus to be the new Emperor on October 31, 475. Romulus being a child, his actual position was that of a figurehead. Meanwhile Orestes acted as the power behind the throne De facto is a Latin expression that means in fact or in practice. It is commonly used as opposed to de jure (meaning by law) when referring to matters of law or governance or technique (such as standards), that are found in the common experience as created or developed without... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining, as the final day of October. ... See also 475 (number) Events Orestes forces western Roman emperor Julius Nepos to flee and declares his son Romulus Augustus to be emperor. ... A male Caucasian toddler child A child (plural: children) is a young human. ... A figurehead is a person, usually in a political role, who may hold an important title or office yet executes little actual power. ... The phrase power behind the throne refers to a person or group that informally exercises the real power of an office. ...

The imperial name Romulus Augustus for his son was a rather poor choice. As it was the name invited unfavorable comparisons with both Romulus, first King of Rome and Caesar Augustus, first Roman Emperor. The Roman public would instead declare him "Romulus Augustulus" ( "Romulus, Little Augustus"). Romulus Augustus Flavius Romulus Augustus (460s/470s – after 511), often called Romulus Augustulus, was the last of the Western Roman Emperors. ... Romulus and Remus, (771 BC¹-717 BC Romulus, 771 BC-753 BC Remus), the traditional founders of Rome, appeared in Roman mythology as the twin sons of the priestess Rhea Silvia, fathered by the god of war Mars. ... For the son of Napoleon I of France, styled the King of Rome, see Napoleon II of France. ... Bust of Augustus Caesar Caesar Augustus (Latin: IMP·CAESAR·DIVI·F·AVGVSTVS)¹ (23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), known earlier in his life as Gaius Octavius or Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, was the first Roman Emperor and is traditionally considered the greatest. ... This is a list of Roman Emperors with the dates they controlled the Roman Empire. ... Augustus (plural Augusti) is Latin for majestic or venerable. The greek equivalent is sebastos, or a mere grecization (by changing of the ending) augustos. ...

The new administration was not recognized by the rival Eastern Roman Emperors Zeno and Basiliscus who still considered Julius Nepos to be their legitimate partner in the administration of the Empire. But being engaged in a civil war between them, neither emperor was about to oppose Orestes in battle. This is a list of the Emperors of the late Roman Empire, called Byzantine. ... Imperator Caesar Flavius Zeno Augustus or Tarasicodissa or Trascalissaeus (c. ... Flavius Basiliscus was a rival Byzantine Emperor 475 _ 476. ... A civil war is a war in which the competing parties are segments of the same country or empire. ...

Orestes was free to issue new Solidi in the mints of Arles, Milan, Ravenna and Rome. Thus he was able to pay the barbarian mercenaries who consisted most of the contemporary Roman Army. A solidus (the Latin word for solid) was originally a gold coin issued by the Romans. ... A mint is a facility which manufactures coins for currency. ... Map of western Mediterranean, showing location of Arles Arles (Arle in Provençal) is a city in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône département, of which it is a sous-préfecture, in the former province of Provence. ... Location within Italy Piazza della Scala Milan (Italian: Milano; Milanese dialect: Milán) is the main city in northern Italy, and is located in the plains of Lombardy, the most populated and developed Italian region. ... Ravenna is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, population 134,631 (2001). ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Democratici di Sinistra) Area  - City Proper  1290 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,823,210 almost 4,000,000 1... Barbarian was originally a Greek term applied to any foreigner, one not sharing a recognized culture or degree of polish with the speaker or writer employing the term. ... A mercenary is a soldier who fights, or engages in warfare primarily for private gain, usually with little regard for ideological, national or political considerations. ... Soldiers of the Roman Army (on manoeuvres in Nashville, Tennessee) Rome was a militarized state whose history was often closely entwined with its military history over the 1228 years that the Roman state is traditionally said to have existed. ...

However Orestes denied the demands of Heruli, Scirian and Torcilingi mercenaries to be granted Italian lands in which to settle. The dissatisfied mercenaries revolted under Germanic chieftain Odoacer, whom they declared to be their King on August 23, 476. Odoacer led them against their former employer. Orestes was captured near Piacenza on August 28 and was swiftly executed. The road to Ravenna was now open to Odoacer. The Heruli (spelled variously in Latin and Greek) were a nomadic Germanic people, who were subjugated by the Ostrogoths, Huns, and Byzantines in the 3rd to 5th centuries. ... Scirians (cf. ... This article is about revolution in the sense of a drastic change. ... In heathen times chieftains were both political and religious leaders, tasked to use their luck to secure the people fred (translated good times - nowadays actually the word for peace). ... Odoacer, also known as Odovacar (435 – 493) was the half Hunnish, half Scirian chieftain of the Germanic Heruli. ... A monarch is a type of ruler or head of state, whose titles and ascent are often inherited, not earned, and who represents a larger monarchical system which has established rules and customs regarding succession, duties, and powers. ... August 23 is the 235th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (236th in leap years), with 130 days remaining. ... Events August - The usurper Basiliscus is deposed and Zeno is restored as Eastern Roman Emperor. ... Piacenza (Piasëinsa in the Piacentine dialect) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, of approximately 104,000 inhabitants. ... August 28 is the 240th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (241st in leap years), with 125 days remaining. ...

See also:

• Roman usurper

Usurpers were a common feature of the late Roman Empire, especially from the so-called crisis of the third century onwards, when political instability became the rule. ...

External link

• Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire part v, chapter xxxvi