Olympius (died 410/411) was a minister of the

Western Roman Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...

, in the court of the emperor

Honorius Honorius (; 9 September 384 – 15 August 423) was Roman emperor from 393 to 423. He was the younger son of emperor Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla. After the death of Theodosius in 395, Honorius, under the regency of Stilicho ...

(reigned 393–423). Olympius orchestrated the fall and execution of the capable general

Stilicho Stilicho (; – 22 August 408) was a military commander in the Roman army who, for a time, became the most powerful man in the Western Roman Empire. He was partly of Vandal origins and married to Serena, the niece of emperor Theodosius I. He b ...

, who had effectively been ruling the Western Roman Empire as regent of Honorius for over twelve years. Germanic tribes invaded Italy in 405. Honorius and the court took refuge in Ravenna, now the capital of the Western Roman Empire. Stilicho defeated the invaders in the mountains of Fæsulæ (Fiesole) near modern-day Florence. The Vandals, Alani, and Suevi poured over the Rhine into the interior of Gaul, followed by Franks, Burgundians, and Alemanni, who settled permanently on the left bank of the Rhine. Stilicho entered into negotiations with Alaric, holding out promises of Eastern Illyria to secure his aid. Thereupon the Roman general Constantine, who had crossed over from Britain, appeared in Gaul, and proclaimed himself Emperor. The negotiations with Alaric failed and Alaric demanded an indemnity of 4000 pounds in gold; Stilicho, who had twice saved Italy from barbarian incursion, was suspected by the court of entertaining treasonable plans. The weak-willed Honorius listened to the insinuations of the chancellor Olympius and proceeded to have Stilicho and his family put to immediate execution. After Stilicho's execution, Olympius prompted Honorius to take a more hostile stance toward the Goths, mostly notably

Alaric I Alaric I (; , 'ruler of all'; ; – 411 AD) was the first Germanic kingship, king of the Visigoths, from 395 to 410. He rose to leadership of the Goths who came to occupy Moesia—territory acquired a couple of decades earlier by a combine ...

, who had previously been cooperating with the Romans. Olympius, through Honorius, orchestrated the massacre of tens of thousands of wives and children of Goths serving in the Roman military. Subsequently, around 30,000 Gothic soldiers defected to Alaric and took part in the first sack of Rome in 800 years, a key event in the fall of the Western Roman Empire. When Constantius, who had been a friend and supporter of Stilicho, became ''

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

'' in 410/11, he had Olympius clubbed to death.Peter Heather, ''The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians'', (Oxford University Press, 2006), p. 237.

References

4th-century births 410s deaths Western Roman Empire 5th-century Romans People executed by the Roman Empire Executed ancient Roman people Deaths by beating in Europe Ancient Roman politicians {{AncientRome-bio-stub

See also

References