Western Roman Emperor Petronius Maximus

On this day in 455 AD Western Roman Emperor Petronius Maximus was killed.

Petronius Maximus was a wealthy Roman senator who served as Western Roman Emperor for 75 days. He is best remembered for engineering the assassinations of general Flavius Aëtius and Emperor Valentinian III before being stoned to death by an angry mob in Rome. Maximus, along with the eunuch Heraclius, convinced Emperor Valentinian III to assassinate Rome's top military commander, Aëtius, out of political jealousy. Having eliminated Aëtius, Maximus was denied the position of magister militum. In retaliation, he orchestrated the murder of Valentinian III.

On March 17, 455, Maximus declared himself emperor, securing the support of the Senate and bribing palace officials. Maximus tried to secure his position by marrying Licinia Eudoxia, the widow of Valentinian III, and arranging a marriage between his son and the daughter of Eudoxia. This backfired because the latter was already betrothed to Huneric, the son of the Vanadal king Geiseric. When Rome learned that Geiseric was planning an invasion to avenge his honor, the city panicked, including Maximus. On May 31, 455, as Maximus attempted to flee the city from an approaching vandal fleet, he was confronted by an angry mob. Without his bodyguard or retinue to protect him, he was attacked and killed, either stoned by the crowd or slain by a Roman soldier named Ursus. His mutilated body was thrown into the Tiber. His son Palladius, who had briefly held the title of caesar, was likely executed as well. Three days later, Geiseric seized Rome and sacked it over the course of two weeks.

The sack of Rome in 455 demonstrated the weakness of the Western Roman Empire. The term “vandalism” was born. Petronius Maximus gold is an exceptional rarity. The coins command premium prices. Authentic solidi have realized auction prices ranging from 27,000 Euro to well over 100,000 Euro depending on grade.