From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A person who holds values of ancient Romans
Valens , 66th
Roman emperor
Justinian the Great ,
Byzantine Emperor
Pope Gregory I , saint and pope
The term Last of the Romans (
Latin : Ultimus Romanorum ) has historically been used to describe a person thought to embody
the values of
ancient Roman civilization – values which, by implication, became extinct on his death. It has been used to describe a number of individuals. The first recorded instance was
Julius Caesar 's description of
Marcus Junius Brutus as the one with whom the old Roman spirit would become extinct.
List of people described as the "Last of the Romans"
In ancient and early medieval Mediterranean
Gaius Cassius Longinus (d. 42 BC), so called by
Brutus and by the ancient historian
Aulus Cremutius Cordus .
Gaius Asinius Pollio (75 BC – AD 4), one of the last great orators and writers of the
Roman Republic .
Valentinian I (321–375), the last Western Emperor to campaign extensively on both sides of the
Rhine and
Danube frontiers.
[1]
Valens (328–378), "the Last True Roman"
[2] Eastern Emperor (and brother of Valentinian I) who led his army to a catastrophic defeat in the
Battle of Adrianople .
Stilicho , a powerful Vandalic-Roman general in the early 5th century.
[3] Also called "the last of the Roman generals" in Chapter XXX of
Edward Gibbon 's
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire .
[4]
Flavius Aëtius (396?–454), a general in the late
Western Roman Empire who defended Gaul against the Franks and other barbarians, and defeated
Attila in the
Catalaunian Fields near Châlons, in 451. So called by
Procopius .
[3]
Count Boniface (died 432), a general in the late
Western Roman Empire . Rival of Flavius Aëtius. So called by
Procopius .
[3]
Galla Placidia (388-450), empress consort to
Constantius III and mother of
Valentinian III , she was "the last Roman empress"
[5] and de facto ruler of the Western Roman Empire from 425 to 437.
Majorian (420–461), Roman Emperor between 457 and 461. He was the last emperor universally recognized as the de facto ruler of the entire western empire, briefly reconquering most of the lost territories in Gaul and Hispania.
[6]
Ambrosius Aurelianus (5th century), a
Romano-British military commander against the
Anglo-Saxon invasion. So called by
Gildas .
[7]
Romulus Augustulus (deposed 476), the last reigning
Western Roman Emperor .
[8]
Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius (480–525?), one of the last great philosophers of Rome. He was regarded as last of the Romans and first of the medieval
scholastics by
Martin Grabmann ; also a canonized saint.
[9]
Gildas (fl. early 6th century), Romano-British clergyman, writer and saint.
[10]
Justinian I "the Great" (482?–565), second of the
Justinian Dynasty , and probably the last Byzantine emperor to speak
Latin as a first language.
[11]
Flavius Belisarius (505?–565), a widely acclaimed general of the
Byzantine Empire under Justinian, known for his
reconquest of portions of the Western Empire .
[12]
[13]
Flavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (c. 485 – c. 580), Roman statesman and writer.
[14]
Gregory the Great (540?–604), an influential
Pope and native to Rome.
[15]
Desiderius of Cahors (580?–655),
Gallo-Roman aristocrat, bishop, and saint.
[16]
In medieval Spain
Saint
Eulogius of Córdoba (800–859), is known as the Last Hispano-Roman . His family was of the senatorial class and held land in Córdoba (Corduba) from Roman times.
In England
In the United States
In the United States, "last of the Romans" was used on numerous occasions during the early 19th century as an
epithet for the
political leaders and statesmen who participated in the
American Revolution by signing the
United States Declaration of Independence , taking part in the
American Revolutionary War , or established the
United States Constitution .
[20]
List of rulers who, in a more literal sense, also could be described as "Last of the Romans"
Julius Nepos (died 480), the last surviving
Western Roman Emperor
Syagrius (430–486/487), the last Roman commander in
Gaul (referred to by
Gregory of Tours as "
King of the Romans ") before the invasion of the
Franks .
[21]
Tiberius Petasius (died 731), the last Italian-born Byzantine usurper while the
Duchy of Rome was still part of the
Eastern Roman Empire
Constantine VI (
r. 780–797), last
Eastern Roman Emperor before the rise of the
Franks as imperial challengers.
Dafydd ap Gruffydd (died 1283), the last Prince of the
Kingdom of Gwynedd , the last post-Roman (
Romano-British ) successor state to fall in the West.
[22]
Constantine XI Palaiologos (1405–1453), Byzantine Emperor who died
defending Constantinople's fall to the Ottomans. Upon this victory,
Mehmed II would claim the title "Kayser-i Rum" ("Caesar of the Romans")
David II Komnenos (died 1463), final
emperor of Trebizond and de facto final
Roman Emperor after Constantine XI.
Alexander of Theodoro (died 1475), final
Prince of Theodoro and final Trapezuntine leader to be conquered by the Ottomans.
Leonardo III Tocco , final
Despot of Epirus and final Byzantine leader to be conquered by the Ottomans in 1479.
See also
References
^
"Valentinian I: The last of the triumphant Roman emperors in the west" . 31 October 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2019 .
^ Grant, Madison (2013). Conquest of a Continent . Paris: Wermod and Wermod Publishing Group. p. 46.
ISBN
9781909606012 .
^
a
b
c Brewer, E. Cobham (1898).
Dictionary of Phrase and Fable .
^ Ang, Daniel (22 June 2016).
"Gibbon, Part 4: Theodosius and the Last Roman General" . Archived from
the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2019 .
^ Sivan, Hagith (2011). Galla Placidia: The Last Roman Empress . Oxford University Press.
ISBN
978-0195379136 .
^ de Vries, Janus.
The Last Romans: Emperor Majorian and the Fall of Rome (BA thesis). University College Tilburg.
^
"Britannia EBK Articles: Generations of Ambrosius Part 1" . Britannia.com . Retrieved 25 February 2019 .
^ Murdoch, Adrian (2006). The Last Roman: Romulus Augustulus and the Decline of the West .
^
"Boethius and the Middle Ages" . Hottopos.com . Retrieved 25 February 2019 .
^ Kerlouégan, François (1987). Le De Excidio Britanniae de Gildas . Paris: Publications de la Sorbonne. p. 579.
^ Wickham, Chris (2009).
The Inheritance of Rome . Penguin Books. p.
90 .
ISBN
978-0-670-02098-0 .
^ Otto, Nadine (2 January 2018).
" "Book of the Month" January 2018" . Tredition.com . Retrieved 25 February 2019 .
^ Hughes, Ian (2009). Belisarius: The Last Roman General . South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Military.
ISBN
9781844158331 .
^
"The Last of the Romans: Cassiodorus between Rome, Ravenna and Constantinople - Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies" . Cems.ceu.edu . Retrieved 25 February 2019 .
^
"Message for the 14th centenary of the death of Pope St Gregory the Great" . The Vatican. 22 October 2003.
^ Mathisen, Ralph W. (2013). Desiderius of Cahors: Last of the Romans (part of "Gallien in Spätantike und Frühmittelalter" conference proceedings) . De Gruyter. p. 455.
ISBN
978-3110260779 .
^ Spence, Joseph (1820).
Anecdotes, Observations, and Characters, of Books and Men: Collected from the Conversation of Mr. Pope and Other Eminent Persons of His Time . W.H. Carpenter.
ISBN
978-0-598-90357-0 .
^ Carlyle, Thomas (1840).
On Heroes, Hero-worship, and the Heroic in History .
^ Blake, Robert (2013). The Decline of Power, 1915-1964 . Faber Finds. p. 132.
ISBN
9780571296262 .
^
Elizabeth Fox-Genovese ;
Eugene D. Genovese (2005).
The Mind of the Master Class: History and Faith in the Southern Slaveholders' Worldview . Cambridge University Press. p. 278.
ISBN
9780521850650 .
^ Pocock, J.G.A. (2015). Barbarism and Religion: Volume 6, Barbarism: Triumph in the West . Cambridge University Press. p. 461.
ISBN
978-1316300305 .
^ Ward-Perkins, Bryan (2000). Why Did the Anglo-Saxons Not Become More British . Oxford: Trinity College.