- Libius Severus
Infobox Roman emperor
name =Libius Severus
full name =
title =Emperor of theWestern Roman Empire
caption =Libius Severus on an as. The reverse spells the name of Severus using a combination of greek and latin letters.
reign =November 461-August 465
predecessor =Majorian
successor =Anthemius
date of birth=Lucania
date of death=August 15 465 |Libius Severus was a
Western Roman Emperor , 461–465.Ricimer elevated Libius Severus, ofLucania n origin, to the rank of emperor after the death ofMajorian 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, but as records of his activities and his personality are sparse, there is hardly a basis for such judgements.
It is a common misconception that the reverse of his bronze coins depict Ricimer's monogram. The apparent Latin C is a Greek sigma, so the reverse spells the name of Severus using a combination of Latin and Greek letters.
Libius Severus died on
August 15 ,465 ; contemporary historians believed Ricimer had him poisoned, but death for natural causes is also possible.Bibliography
*D. Woods, "A Misunderstood Monogram: Ricimer or Severus?," "Hermathena" 172 (2002), 5-21.
External links
* [http://wildwinds.com/coins/ric/severus_III/i.html coinage of Libius Severus]
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