Late Roman Empire, Non-dynastic (455-476) (W) and the Leonid Dynasty (457-518) (E); 90*Leo II (E), 91 Zeno, (E) (1/2], 92 Julius Nepos (W), 93 Basilicus (E)

90 *LEO II (7; 473.11-474.11) (E)

91 *ZENO (66; r. 474.01-475.01; d.491) (E) [1/2]

92 JULIUS NEPOS (c.50; r. 474.06-475.08; d.480) (W)

In 474 Zeno agreed an ‘eternal peace’ with the Vandals in which the emperor by recognizing Gaiseric’s possession of Africa brought an end to the Vandal raids. In November, Leo II died and Zeno became the sole emperor in the East.

In 475 the Visigoths declared themselves an independent state and no longer a federate people. Unable to oppose the Visigoths militarily, Nepos had little choice but to formally recognize the Visigothic Kingdom and sign an alliance with Euric ceding Spain, western Gaul and also southeast Gaul to include the cities of Arles and Massalia.

93 BASILISCUS (r.475.01-476.08) (E)

In 475 Leo-I’s wife, Aelia Verina (fl.471-484), conspired with the Isaurian general ⁷⁹Flavius Illus (fl.475-488) and Theodoric Strabo to force Zeno to flee and to put her brother Basiliscus on throne. Basiliscus sent Illus to deal with Zeno but he then proceeded to alienate the people with his unorthodox religious policies, to offend Theodoric Strabo by transferring the post of magister militum praesentalis to his own nephew ⁸⁰Flavius Armatus (fl.471-477), and by allowing large numbers of Isaurians to be massacred he also alienated Illus.