Valentinian III

Reece Period attributed: Period 22

Obverse image of a coin of Valentinian III

Member of the Fifth Century dynasty.

Coins for this issuer were issued from 425 until 455.

Placidius Valentinianus was the son of Constantius III and Galla Placidia. After Constantius II died, his widow quarrelled with Honorius and fled to Constantinople in 423. She returned with her son to Italy two years later, and when the usurper Johannes was put to death they travelled to Rome.

Valentinian III was proclaimed emperor at Rome in 425, and for the first 12 years of his reign Placidia took control. Control then passed to the general Aetius, who was assassinated in 454.

Valentinian’s reign saw the slow dissolution of the western empire, including the loss of Africa to the Vandals and Atilla’s invasion of Gaul.

Valentinian III was assassinated in 455 as the result of a plot instigated by the senator Petronius Maximus.

Latest examples recorded with images

We have recorded 2 examples.

Record: SF-193352
Object type: COIN
Broadperiod: ROMAN
Description: A gold Roman solidus of Valentinian III (…
Workflow: PublishedFind published

Record: BERK-35C55D
Object type: COIN
Broadperiod: ROMAN
Description: A copper alloy Roman coin, possibly from …
Workflow: Awaiting validationFind awaiting validation

Other resources about Valentinian III

View all coins recorded by the scheme attributed to Valentinian III.

Information from Wikipedia

  • Preferred label: Valentinian III
  • Full names:
    • Valentinian III
  • Title: Roman consul VI, Western Roman emperor, Roman consul VII, Roman consul IV, Roman consul III, Roman consul V, Roman consul II
  • Predecessor: Joannes
  • Successor: Petronius Maximus
  • Definition: Valentinian III (Latin: Placidus Valentinianus; 2 July 419 – 16 March 455) was Roman emperor in the West from 425 to 455. Made emperor in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by powerful generals vying for power amid civil wars and the invasions of Late Antiquity's Migration Period, including the campaigns of Attila the Hun. He was the son of Galla Placidia and Constantius III, and as the great-grandson of Valentinian I (r. 364–375) he was the last emperor of the Valentinianic dynasty. As a grandson of Theodosius I (r. 379–395), Valentinian was also a member of the Theodosian dynasty, to which his wife, Licinia Eudoxia, also belonged. A year before assuming the rank of augustus, Valentinian was given the imperial rank of caesar by his half-cousin and co-emperor Theodosius II (r. 402–450). The augusta Galla Placidia had great influence during her son's rule. During his early reign Aetius, Felix, and the comes africae, Bonifacius all competed for power within the western empire. Eventually Aetius would defeat Felix and Bonifacius. Aetius would go on to campaign against the many Germanic tribes invading the empire. During Valentinian's reign the Huns invaded the Roman Empire. Eventually Aetius would defeat the Huns at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains. Once the Huns returned, Pope Leo I and two other senators convinced Attila to leave. Valentinian himself killed Aetius, and in response Aetius's bodyguards assassinated Valentinian. Valentinian's reign was marked by the ongoing collapse of the western empire.
  • Parents:
  • Birth place: Ravenna
  • Death place:
  • Spouse:
  • Other title(s):
    • Roman consul VI
    • Western Roman emperor
    • Roman consul VII
    • Roman consul IV
    • List of Roman consuls
    • Roman consul III
    • Roman consul V
    • Roman consul II
  • Came After:
    • Senator (consul 436)
    • Marcian
    • Avitus
    • Flavius Aetius
    • Quintus Aurelius Symmachus (consul 446)
    • Valerius Faltonius Adelfius
    • Ardabur (consul 427)
    • Iohannes (consul 456)
    • Varanes (consul 456)
    • Anthemius Isidorus
    • Antiochus Chuzon
    • Anicius Auchenius Bassus (consul 431)
    • Hierius (consul 427)
  • Came before:
    • Dionysius (consul 429)
    • Florentius (consul 429)
    • Albinus (consul 444)
    • Aetius (comes domesticorum)
    • Flavius Studius
    • Victor
    • Florentius Romanus Protogenes
    • Castinus
    • Astyrius
    • Areobindus (consul 434)
    • Theodosius II
    • Aspar
    • Festus
  • Subjects on wikipedia:

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