Flavius Victor

Flavius Victor
Emperor of the Western Roman Empire

Siliqua of Flavius Victor
Reign 384 – August 28, 388 (as Augustus under Magnus Maximus, against Gratian, then Valentinian II and Theodosius I)
Full name
Flavius Victor
Father Magnus Maximus
Mother Elen
Died August 388
Trier

Flavius Victor (Latin: Flavius Victor Augustus) was the son of Magnus Maximus. He was proclaimed an Augustus by his father and ruled nominally from 384 to his death in 388.

Victor's father was considered a usurper of the Western Roman Empire. He negotiated receiving recognition by the legitimate Augusti Valentinian II and Theodosius I and, when these negotiations failed, pressed the matter by proclaiming his son an Augustus, indicating an attempt to secure a succession. This method had been used by former Emperor Valentinian I who declared his son and heir Gratian an Augustus in 367 and by Theodosius who had declared his own son and heir Arcadius an Augustus in 383.

Maximus and Victor gained recognition of their legitimacy for their co-reign by Theodosius in 386. In 387, Maximus campaigned in Italy against Valentinian II. Victor was left behind in Trier. His father defeated Valentinian but failed against a then hostile Theodosius in 388. Theodosius sent Arbogastes to Trier to slay Victor.

Victor's death left Valentinian II, Theodosius and Arcadius as the sole Augusti in the Empire.

External links

Media related to Flavius Victor at Wikimedia Commons