Family and early career Olybrius was born in
Rome, in the ancient and powerful
gens Anicia, of Italian descent. According to the consensus of historians, he was related to the consul
Anicius Hermogenianus Olybrius, whose wife and cousin, Anicia Juliana, had the same name that Olybrius gave to his own daughter. Other historians consider this questionable, as "Juliana" was a common name in the
gens Anicia, and because Hermogenianus seems to have begotten only one daughter, who took chastity vows. Other possible fathers have therefore been proposed: either
Anicius Probus (suggested by Settipani) or, according to some clues,
Petronius Maximus. Olybrius married
Placidia, younger daughter of western
augustus Valentinian III () and his wife
Licinia Eudoxia, thus creating a bond between a member of the senatorial aristocracy and the conjoined
Valentinianic–
Theodosian dynasties. The year of their wedding is not recorded, although the historian
Priscus implies it took place before
Gaiseric's
Vandals sacked Rome (June 2–16, 455). Oost has pointed out that in his chronicle
Hydatius wrote Placidia was unmarried as of 455. Steven Muhlberger points out that many of the events in the chronicle of Hydatius are based on hearsay, that problems with his chronology "resulted from delays and distortions in the best information to which he had access," and thus the evidence from Hydatius is not as decisive as Oost believed. Regardless, the powerful
magister militum Aetius had forced Valentinian to betroth Placidia to his own son
Gaudentius, so Olybrius could not have married her before Aetius's death. . After the
sack of Rome (455), Olybrius's wife
Placidia was among the Roman captives whom the Vandals took to Africa; at that time Olybrius was in Constantinople. Emperor Valentinian killed Aetius on 21 September 454. The following year, Valentinian was killed by some soldiers who had served under Aetius, probably instigated by the
patricius Petronius Maximus, who succeeded to the throne. Petronius, who was a high-ranking imperial officer and a member of a family belonging to the senatorial aristocracy, married the
augusta Licinia Eudoxia, widow of Valentinian. He also elevated his own son
Palladius to the rank of
caesar and had him marry
Eudocia, elder daughter of Valentinian. The surviving evidence is not sufficient to allow us to decide between these alternatives.
Twice candidate for the throne The
Vandals, led by King
Gaiseric, took advantage of the confusion and weakness of the Western Empire in the wake of Valentinian's turbulent succession, moving into
Italy and sacking Rome in June 455. Before returning to Africa, the Vandals took Licinia Eudoxia and her two daughters as hostages. According to the 6th-century historian
John Malalas, Olybrius was in
Constantinople at the time. On the other hand, the 6th-century chronicler
Evagrius Scholasticus writes that Olybrius had fled Rome on the approach of Gaiseric's army. During his residence in the Eastern capital, Olybrius expressed his interest in religious matters. He met
Daniel the Stylite, who, according to Christian tradition, prophesied the liberation of Licinia Eudoxia. In the meantime, the Western Empire went through a rapid succession of Emperors. After Petronius, the Gallic-Roman senator
Avitus was proclaimed Emperor by the
Visigoth king
Theodoric II and ruled for two years; he was deposed by
Majorian, who ruled for four years before being killed by his general
Ricimer in 461. Gaiseric supported Olybrius to assume the vacant Western throne because Gaiseric's son
Huneric and Olybrius had married the two daughters of Valentinian III, and with Olybrius on the throne, Gaiseric could exert great influence on the Western Empire. Therefore, Gaiseric freed Licinia Eudoxia (fulfilling Daniel's prophesy) and her daughter Placidia (Olybrius's wife), but he did not cease his raids on Italy's coasts. His project failed, however, as Ricimer, who had become the
Magister militum of the West, chose
Libius Severus as new Emperor (461–465). Placidia was now free, however, joining her husband at
Constantinople, where they had a daughter,
Anicia Juliana, in 462. Olybrius was nearly chosen for the Western throne again in 465, after Libius Severus died. Gaiseric was again his major supporter, but the Eastern Emperor
Leo I chose the noble
Procopius Anthemius. Olybrius's association with Gaiseric did not harm his career, however, as the Eastern court chose him for the high honour of the
consulate in 464.
Rise to the throne Sources agree that Olybrius rose to the western throne thanks to the western
magister militum Ricimer. They differ over the timing and order of the events leading to his ascent. In the version provided by
John Malalas, and championed by
J. B. Bury, Olybrius was sent to Italy in 472 by
Leo I, ostensibly to mediate between Ricimer and Anthemius, who was besieged by Ricimer in Rome. Once he had accomplished this, Olybrius would then continue to Carthage and offer a peace treaty to Gaiseric. Leo suspected that Olybrius favored the Vandal king, however, and would secretly take his side and betray the suspicious Emperor. Leo had Olybrius followed by another envoy bearing a letter for Anthemius stating: : I have removed
Aspar and
Ardaburius from this world, so that no one who might oppose me would survive. But you also must kill your son-in-law Ricimer, lest there be anyone who might betray you. Moreover, I also have sent the patrician Olybrius to you; I wish you to kill him, so that you might reign, ruling rather than serving others. Ricimer intercepted the letter at
Ostia and, having showed it to Olybrius, convinced him to accept the purple. From Ricimer's point of view, Olybrius was a good candidate, as a member of the Roman senatorial aristocracy and the husband of Placidia; his marriage to her makes him the last emperor of the conjoined
Valentinianic–
Theodosian dynasties to rule in the west. Ricimer had Anthemius killed and Olybrius acclaimed Emperor (11 July 472). The competing version of events does not mention the secret letter. Instead, after arriving in Rome, Olybrius was proclaimed emperor several months before Anthemius's death, in April or May 472. Ricimer then besieged the part of Rome where Anthemius was for several months until the lawful Emperor was abandoned by his partisans, captured in a church, and put to death by
Gundobad, Ricimer's nephew. This version implies that Olybrius was secretly supported by the Emperor Leo, which explains why Leo sent him there. Three sources –
Theophanes, the
Paschal Chronicle, and Paullus Diaconus – support this version.
Edward Gibbon accepts this implication as fact, although none of the three sources explicitly state that Leo supported Olybrius. What other reason could there be, Bury asks, then answers his own rhetorical question: "the facts that Anthemius was Leo's chosen candidate, his
filius, and that Olybrius was the friend of his foe Genseric, are a strong counter-argument."
Reign and death of Olybrius, with a frontal portrait The reign of Olybrius was short and uneventful. Soon after the death of Anthemius, Ricimer also died, on 9 or 19 August; his nephew Gundobad was elevated to
magister militum in his place. Very little is known of Olybrius's policy; in his
Vita Epifanius,
Ennodius describes him as a pious man who acted accordingly. As evidence, he had minted a new series of gold coins bearing a cross and the new legend SALVS MVNDI ("Welfare of the World") instead of the usual SALVS REIPVBLICAE ("Welfare of the State"). It is also noteworthy that Olybrius is depicted on his coins without helm and spear, common symbols on his predecessors' coinage, suggesting he had little interest in military matters. Olybrius had a palace in the Tenth region of Constantinople at one end of the
Mese, the main street, along the
Constantinianae. Olybrius also paid for the restoration of the nearby church of
Saint Euphemia in
Chalcedon, which had been chosen by the
augusta Pulcheria (), sister of
Theodosius II (), for the
Council of Chalcedon in 451. This choice was a sign of the bond between Olybrius, a Roman senator, with the imperial Theodosian dynasty. Olybrius died of
dropsy after seven months of rule, most likely on 2 November. ==Olybrius in culture==