{{short description, Roman army officer
Andragathius was the
Magister equitum
The , in English Master of the Horse or Master of the Cavalry, was a Roman magistrate appointed as lieutenant to a dictator. His nominal function was to serve as commander of the Roman cavalry in time of war, but just as a dictator could be nom ...
of
Magnus Maximus
Magnus Maximus (; cy, Macsen Wledig ; died 8 August 388) was Roman emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 383 to 388. He usurped the throne from emperor Gratian in 383 through negotiation with emperor Theodosius I.
He was made emperor in B ...
Gratian
Gratian (; la, Gratianus; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers and w ...
in 383, between
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...
s and
Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis
, commune status = Prefecture and commune
, image = Panorama grenoble.png
, image size =
, caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
. Andragathius threw himself into the ocean following the defeat of Maximus. 'Dux' contends that Andragathius' position under Maximus was like that of Arbogast in his service to
Eugenius
Eugenius (died 6 September 394) was a usurper in the Western Roman Empire (392–394) against Emperor Theodosius I. While Christian himself, Eugenius capitalized on the discontent in the West caused by Theodosius' religious policies targeting p ...
.
Maximus sent Andragathius to search for the
mother
]
A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ...
Ionian Sea
The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including ...
with her children. Andragathius failed to locate her, though he sailed with a number of fast ships in every direction. The woman and her companions had beaten them to the Ionian Strait, which they crossed. Andragathius brought together a competent navy which sailed the adjacent coasts, in anticipation of an attack by Theodosius.
Prior to killing Gratian, Andragathius hid himself in a litter which looked similar to a couch. The litter was carried by mules. He ordered his guards to send out a report that the litter contained the wife of Gratian.
Some researchers have identified Andragathius as the inspiration for the legend of King Arthur conquering Europe.''King Arthur: The Man Who Conquered Europe'', Caleb Howells, Amberley Publishing, 2019, pp. 181-208 Like the legendary Arthur, he was a military commander who led a large army from Britain to Gaul and fought against the Romans. His swift defeat of Gratian reflects Arthur’s swift overthrow of Frollo, the Roman leader of Gaul in the Arthurian legend. And like Arthur, Andragathius’ army ended up facing a large coalition of Roman and barbarian forces several years later. The name of this historical battle site, Siscia, may have evolved into the Arthurian Siesia, the site of Arthur’s final battle against the Romans and their allied barbarian forces.