Valentinian III
A child emperor whose long, weak reign witnessed the fatal erosion of the Western Roman Empire, culminating in his own assassination.
Born 419 (age 1607)·Western Roman emperor from 425 to 455·Birthday: July 2
Biography
Valentinian III's life was a paradox: he held the title of Roman Emperor for three decades, yet genuine power was always just beyond his grasp. Proclaimed emperor in Rome at the age of six, his reign was from the outset a puppet show directed by his mother, Galla Placidia, and the formidable generals who controlled the army. His court was based in Ravenna, a symbolic retreat from Rome's traditional heart. Throughout his life, Valentinian was overshadowed by the military mastermind Flavius Aetius, who managed the empire's desperate defense against Huns and Vandals. The emperor's most decisive act was a violent and shortsighted one: in 454, he personally murdered Aetius, only to be assassinated himself by the general's supporters the following year. His death without a strong heir created a vacuum that led to a rapid succession of short-lived emperors, paving the way for the final collapse of the Western Roman Empire just two decades later.
#1 When Valentinian Was Born
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Valentinian's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
419Born
424Started school
432Became a teenager
435Could drive
437Could vote
440Turned 21
449Turned 30
459Turned 40
469Turned 50
479Turned 60
489Turned 70
499Turned 80
2026Age 1607 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Became Western Roman Emperor at the age of six in 425, reigning for 30 years, one of the longest reigns in the Western Empire.
- Issued the famous 'Law of Citations' in 426, which standardized the legal authority of five great Roman jurists.
- Presided, albeit passively, over the empire during the campaigns of General Flavius Aetius, who halted Attila the Hun at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains.
- His assassination in 455 triggered a period of extreme instability with multiple emperors in quick succession.
Did You Know?
He was the last emperor of the Theodosian dynasty, the family that had ruled the empire for much of the 4th and 5th centuries.
His sister, Honoria, famously sent a ring to Attila the Hun, possibly as a marriage proposal, which Attila used as a pretext to invade Gaul.
He spent most of his reign in Ravenna, not Rome, reflecting the strategic and political shift of the era.
He was murdered on the Campus Martius in Rome, a field originally dedicated to Mars, the god of war.
“I wore the purple, but the swords were always in another man's hand.”
