February 9 –
Zeno, father of Leo II, is crowned as co-emperor (Augustus). He rules the empire together with his son, and stabilises the Eastern frontier.
November 17 – Leo II dies of an unknown disease (possibly
poisoned by his mother
Ariadne), after a reign of 10 months. Zeno becomes sole Eastern Emperor.[2]
Winter – Zeno sends an
embassy, to conclude a peace with King
Genseric. He succeeds in an agreement with the
Vandals, to secure the commercial routes in the
Mediterranean.
April 9 – Basiliscus issues a circular letter (Enkyklikon) to the
bishops of his empire, promoting the
Miaphysitechristological position. These religious views will make him highly unpopular.[4]
Summer – Emperor
Julius Nepos grants the
Visigoth King
Euric legal tenure of his conquests, which include
Provence (region of
Gaul), in exchange for full independence.[5]
Summer –
Odoacer, chieftain of the Germanic tribes (
Herulic/
Scirianfoederati), visits the imperial palace at
Ravenna. He petitions
Orestes (magister militum) to reward his
mercenaries for their services and their support of his rebellion a year earlier, by making good on his promise to grant them lands to settle permanently in
Italy. Orestes refuses this proposal and Odoacer leads his tribesmen in a revolt.
August –
Basiliscus, Roman
usurper, is deposed and
Zeno is restored as emperor of the
Eastern Roman Empire. With the support of his adviser
Illus, he besieges
Constantinople, but the Senate opens the gates, allowing him to resume the
throne. Basiliscus flees to
sanctuary in a church, but surrenders himself and his family after extracting a solemn promise from Zeno not to shed their blood. Basiliscus is sent to a fortress in
Cappadocia, where he later dies from
starvation.
August 23 – Odoacer, age 43, is proclaimed rex Italiae ("king of Italy") by his troops. He leads his
Ostrogoth army into the
Po Valley, and advances to Ravenna while plundering the countryside.
Julius Nepos, de jure ruler, becomes legally the last "Western Roman Emperor". He governs
Dalmatia (
Balkans), Morocco, and Northwest Gaul until his death in
480, but has no effective power on the
Italian Peninsula.
The
Visigoths under King
Euric march into Italy, and suffer defeat against the forces of Odoacer. Emperor Zeno concludes a
peace treaty between the Goths and Odoacer surrenders the newly conquered territory in Gaul. Euric pledges himself to undertake no further hostilities.
The
Roman Senate petitions
Zeno to recognize Nepos as deposed and take the sole emperorship himself, abolishing the 81 year-long east/west division of the empire and recognizing Odoacer's authority in Italy. Zeno declines the first request, but names Odoacer Patricius, investing his rule with Imperial legitimacy.
The independent
Mauro-Roman Kingdom (Kingdom of the Moors and Romans) is formed by Christian Berbers in the Roman province of
Mauretania Caesariensis (present-day northern
Algeria), bordering the Vandal Kingdom to the east.
Armatus, Byzantine military commander (magister militum), is killed by order of emperor
Zeno, being murdered by his own friend
Onoulphus after supporting the rebellion of his uncle
Basiliscus in
475.
Verina, mother-in-law of Eastern Roman Emperor
Zeno, attempts to kill
Isaurian general
Illus for turning against her brother
Basiliscus. A major revolt is led by her son-in-law
Marcian and the
Ostrogoth warlord
Theodoric Strabo, but Illus again proves his loyalty to Zeno by quashing the revolt in
479.
Chinese chronicles record a
memorial sent by the "King of Japan" (possibly
Yūryaku), who describes himself as "Supreme Director of Military Affairs in Japan and
Korea" to the Court of the
Northern Wei Dynasty. The Chinese emperor responds by confirming the Japanese dynasty in those titles. This is the earliest verifiable date in
Japanese history.
^Croke, Brian (2021).
Roman Emperors in Context.
Routledge. pp. 150–151.
ISBN9781000388305. The correct date must be 18 January [...]
Theophanes says merely 'January'. As corroboration for 18 January,
Cyril of Scythopolis notes that
Euthymius died on 20 January 473 and that the emperor Leo I died 'at the end of the first year after the death of the great Euthymius'.
^Huntington, John C.; Chandrasekhar, Chaya (2000). "The Dharmacakramudrā Variant at Ajanta: An Iconological Study". Chāchājī: Professor Walter M. Spink Felicitation Volume. 30 (1): 33–39.
JSTOR4629567.
February 9 –
Zeno, father of Leo II, is crowned as co-emperor (Augustus). He rules the empire together with his son, and stabilises the Eastern frontier.
November 17 – Leo II dies of an unknown disease (possibly
poisoned by his mother
Ariadne), after a reign of 10 months. Zeno becomes sole Eastern Emperor.[2]
Winter – Zeno sends an
embassy, to conclude a peace with King
Genseric. He succeeds in an agreement with the
Vandals, to secure the commercial routes in the
Mediterranean.
April 9 – Basiliscus issues a circular letter (Enkyklikon) to the
bishops of his empire, promoting the
Miaphysitechristological position. These religious views will make him highly unpopular.[4]
Summer – Emperor
Julius Nepos grants the
Visigoth King
Euric legal tenure of his conquests, which include
Provence (region of
Gaul), in exchange for full independence.[5]
Summer –
Odoacer, chieftain of the Germanic tribes (
Herulic/
Scirianfoederati), visits the imperial palace at
Ravenna. He petitions
Orestes (magister militum) to reward his
mercenaries for their services and their support of his rebellion a year earlier, by making good on his promise to grant them lands to settle permanently in
Italy. Orestes refuses this proposal and Odoacer leads his tribesmen in a revolt.
August –
Basiliscus, Roman
usurper, is deposed and
Zeno is restored as emperor of the
Eastern Roman Empire. With the support of his adviser
Illus, he besieges
Constantinople, but the Senate opens the gates, allowing him to resume the
throne. Basiliscus flees to
sanctuary in a church, but surrenders himself and his family after extracting a solemn promise from Zeno not to shed their blood. Basiliscus is sent to a fortress in
Cappadocia, where he later dies from
starvation.
August 23 – Odoacer, age 43, is proclaimed rex Italiae ("king of Italy") by his troops. He leads his
Ostrogoth army into the
Po Valley, and advances to Ravenna while plundering the countryside.
Julius Nepos, de jure ruler, becomes legally the last "Western Roman Emperor". He governs
Dalmatia (
Balkans), Morocco, and Northwest Gaul until his death in
480, but has no effective power on the
Italian Peninsula.
The
Visigoths under King
Euric march into Italy, and suffer defeat against the forces of Odoacer. Emperor Zeno concludes a
peace treaty between the Goths and Odoacer surrenders the newly conquered territory in Gaul. Euric pledges himself to undertake no further hostilities.
The
Roman Senate petitions
Zeno to recognize Nepos as deposed and take the sole emperorship himself, abolishing the 81 year-long east/west division of the empire and recognizing Odoacer's authority in Italy. Zeno declines the first request, but names Odoacer Patricius, investing his rule with Imperial legitimacy.
The independent
Mauro-Roman Kingdom (Kingdom of the Moors and Romans) is formed by Christian Berbers in the Roman province of
Mauretania Caesariensis (present-day northern
Algeria), bordering the Vandal Kingdom to the east.
Armatus, Byzantine military commander (magister militum), is killed by order of emperor
Zeno, being murdered by his own friend
Onoulphus after supporting the rebellion of his uncle
Basiliscus in
475.
Verina, mother-in-law of Eastern Roman Emperor
Zeno, attempts to kill
Isaurian general
Illus for turning against her brother
Basiliscus. A major revolt is led by her son-in-law
Marcian and the
Ostrogoth warlord
Theodoric Strabo, but Illus again proves his loyalty to Zeno by quashing the revolt in
479.
Chinese chronicles record a
memorial sent by the "King of Japan" (possibly
Yūryaku), who describes himself as "Supreme Director of Military Affairs in Japan and
Korea" to the Court of the
Northern Wei Dynasty. The Chinese emperor responds by confirming the Japanese dynasty in those titles. This is the earliest verifiable date in
Japanese history.
^Croke, Brian (2021).
Roman Emperors in Context.
Routledge. pp. 150–151.
ISBN9781000388305. The correct date must be 18 January [...]
Theophanes says merely 'January'. As corroboration for 18 January,
Cyril of Scythopolis notes that
Euthymius died on 20 January 473 and that the emperor Leo I died 'at the end of the first year after the death of the great Euthymius'.
^Huntington, John C.; Chandrasekhar, Chaya (2000). "The Dharmacakramudrā Variant at Ajanta: An Iconological Study". Chāchājī: Professor Walter M. Spink Felicitation Volume. 30 (1): 33–39.
JSTOR4629567.