Ovida or Odiva (died 481/482) was a late

Western Roman The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period ...

general and

warlord A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...

of likely Gothic origin and the last Roman ruler of

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see names in other languages) is one of the four historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of the Adriatic Sea, stret ...

. Ovida initially served

Julius Nepos Julius Nepos (died 9 May 480), or simply Nepos, ruled as Roman emperor of the West from 24 June 474 to 28 August 475. After losing power in Italy, Nepos retreated to his home province of Dalmatia, from which he continued to claim the western i ...

, ruler of Roman Dalmatia and later western Roman emperor in Italy from 474 to 475. After being usurped in 475, Nepos continued to claim the imperial title in exile in Dalmatia, supported by the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantino ...

, but he was murdered by Ovida and another general, Viator, in 480. Upon his death, Ovida became the ruler of Dalmatia, a position he held until he was defeated and killed by

Odoacer Odoacer ( ; – 15 March 493 AD), also spelled Odovacer or Odovacar, was a soldier and statesman of barbarian background, who deposed the child emperor Romulus Augustulus and became Rex/Dux (476–493). Odoacer's overthrow of Romulus Augustul ...

, the first barbarian

king of Italy King of Italy ( it, links=no, Re d'Italia; la, links=no, Rex Italiae) was the title given to the ruler of the Kingdom of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The first to take the title was Odoacer, a barbarian military leader, ...

, in 481 or 482.

Background

Ovida or Odiva (different sources use different spellings) was a ''

comes ''Comes'' ( ), plural ''comites'' ( ), was a Roman title or office, and the origin Latin form of the medieval and modern title "count". Before becoming a word for various types of title or office, the word originally meant "companion", either i ...

'' who served under

. Based on his name, he was of Germanic, presumably Gothic, origin. Nepos was the Roman provincial ruler of Dalmatia under the title ''

magister militum (Latin for "master of soldiers", plural ) was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, ...

Dalmatiae'', having succeeded his uncle Marcellinus. In 474, Nepos became the western Roman emperor, but he was driven out of Italy in 475, returning to Dalmatia. While in exile in Dalmatia, Nepos continued to claim the imperial title, and was supported as the legitimate western emperor by the

. For unknown reasons, Ovida and another Germanic general, Viator, murdered Nepos on 9 May 480, near

Salona Salona ( grc, Σάλωνα) was an ancient city and the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia. Salona is located in the modern town of Solin, next to Split, in Croatia. Salona was founded in the 3rd century BC and was mostly destroyed i ...

. Perhaps the murder was instigated by

Glycerius Glycerius () was Roman emperor of the West from 473 to 474. He served as ''comes domesticorum'' (commander of the palace guard) during the reign of Olybrius, until Olybrius died in November 472. After a four-month interregnum, Glycerius was p ...

, Nepos' predecessor as western emperor, whom Nepos had deposed and made bishop of Salona, or perhaps it was motivated by unwillingness to partake in Nepos' planned reconquest of Italy.

Ruler of Dalmatia

After Nepos' murder, Ovida became the ruler of Dalmatia. Some modern historians, such as

Wolf Liebeschuetz John Hugo Wolfgang Gideon Liebeschuetz (22 June 1927 - 11 July 2022) was a German-born British historian who specialized in late antiquity. Early life John Hugo Wolfgang Gideon Liebeschuetz was born in Hamburg on 22 June 1927, the son of histo ...

, describe Ovida's position as a

. No coinage minted under Ovida has been securely identified, but it is possible that some western coins minted in Zeno's name were minted in Dalmatia, possibly under Ovida, which, if true, indicates that Ovida accepted Zeno as his new sovereign after Nepos' death. Ovida's rule in Dalmatia was not accepted by

, who had deposed Nepos' successor in Italy,

Romulus Augustulus Romulus Augustus ( 465 – after 511), nicknamed Augustulus, was Roman emperor of the West from 31 October 475 until 4 September 476. Romulus was placed on the imperial throne by his father, the ''magister militum'' Orestes, and, at that tim ...

, and become the first king of Italy. Odoacer thus invaded Dalmatia. The date of Odoacer's invasion and Ovida's defeat is not certain, as different sources provide different dates, but he ruled for at least a year and a half. Ovida was defeated and put to death by Odoacer on either 27 November or 9 December, in either 481 or 482.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{Authority control Ancient Roman generals Western Roman Empire 5th-century Romans of Gothic descent History of Dalmatia Gothic warriors Regicides Year of birth unknown Last of the Romans