Libius Severus
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| Libius Severus | ||
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| Emperor of the Western Roman Empire |
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| Libius Severus on an as. Note Ricimer monogram on the reverse. | ||
| Reign | November 461-August 465 | |
| Born | Lucania | |
| Died | August 15, 465 | |
| Predecessor | Majorian | |
| Successor | Anthemius | |
Libius Severus was a Western Roman Emperor, 461–5.
Ricimer elevated Libius Severus, of Lucanian origin, to the rank of emperor after the death of Majorian in November 461; the Eastern Roman Emperor Leo I refused to acknowledge him.
Historians of an earlier age were content to label Severus a puppet of Ricimer, and thus swiftly move on to his more interesting contemporaries such as Clovis, Odoacer, and Euric. But if one is called a puppet, this presumes that one actually does something: there is no record of any act of Libius Severus, scarcely a line of his personality. He is as empty as the interregnum of 18 months that followed his death until Anthemius became emperor in the West. It is however true that some of the coins he minted, had on the reverse Ricimer's monogram.
Libius Severus died on August 15, 465; contemporary historians believed Ricimer had him poisoned, but death for natural causes is also possible.
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| Preceded by: Majorian |
Western Roman Emperor 461-465 |
Succeeded by: Anthemius |
| Preceded by: Flavius Severinus, Flavius Dagalaifus |
Consul of the Roman Empire 462 with Imp. Caesar Flavius Valerius Leo Augustus II |
Succeeded by: Flavius Caecina Decius Basilius, Flavius Vivianus |
