Ricimer

This article is about the Romanized Germanic general. For the Visigoth king in Spain, see Reccimer.

Not to be confused with Ricomer.

Ricimer
Ricimer's seal with the inscription RICIMER VINCAS ("Ricimer, may you conquer") around it
Born	c. 418
Died	19 August 472 (aged c. 54)
Military career
Allegiance	Western Roman Empire
Branch	Roman army
Service years	?–472
Rank	Magister militum (de facto military dictator of the Western Roman Empire from 461)
Conflicts	Battle of Agrigentum Roman civil war of 456 Battle of Corsica Roman civil war of 461 Gothic war against Aegidius Vandal War (461–468) Battle of Bergamo Siege of Rome

Ricimer (/ˈrɪsɪmər/ RISS-im-ər, Latin: [ˈrɪkɪmɛr]; c. 418 – 19 August 472) was a Romanized Germanic general, who ruled the remaining territory of the Western Roman Empire from 456 after defeating Avitus, until his death in 472, with a brief interlude in which he contested power with Procopius Anthemius. Deriving his power from his position as magister militum of the Western Empire, Ricimer exercised political control through a series of puppet emperors. Ricimer's death led to unrest across Italy and the establishment of a Germanic kingdom on the Italian Peninsula.