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He had distinguished himself as a general by victories over the Franks and Alemanni, and six months after the deposition of Avitus he was declared emperor by the regent Ricimer.

After repelling an attack by the Vandals upon Campania in 458 he prepared a large force, composed chiefly of Germans, to invade Africa, which he previously visited in disguise.

Having during his stay in Gaul defeated Theodoric the Visigoth and then concluded an alliance with him, at the beginning of 460 he crossed the Pyrenees with the purpose of joining the powerful fleet which he had collected at CartagenaFor other places of the same name, see Cartagena Cartagena is a seaport in southeast Spain on the Mediterranean Sea, in the autonomous community of Murcia. The coordinates of Cartagena are 37º36' N, 0º59' W . It is a walled town and has a fine harbor defe. The Vandal king Genseric, however, after all overtures of peace had been rejected, succeeded through the treachery of certain officers in surprising the Roman fleet, most of the ships being either taken or destroyed.

Majorian thereupon made peace with Genseric. But his ill-success had destroyed his military reputation; his efforts to put down abuses and improve the condition of the people had roused the hatred of the officials; and Ricimer, jealous of his fame and influence, stirred up the foreign troops against him.

A mutiny broke out in LombardyLombardy ( It. Lombardia is a region in northern Italy between the Alps and the Po Valley. Lombardy's capital is Milan, and the region is divided into the following provinces, all named after their capital cities: Bergamo Brescia ( weapon industries) Como, and on the August 2August 2 is the 214th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (215th in leap years), with 151 days remaining. Events 338 BC Rise of Macedon: Philip of Macedon crushes Athens and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea. 216 BC Punic Wars: In the Battle of Cann, 461 Majorian was forced to resign by Ricimer. He died five days afterwards, either of dysenteryDysentery is a severe diarrheal illness often associated with blood in the feces. There are two major types: shigellosis which is caused by one of several types of Shigella bacteria; and amoebic dysentery which is caused by the amoeba Entamoeba histolytic or by violence.

Majorian was the author of a number of remarkable laws, contained in the Codex Theodosianus . He remitted all arrears of taxes, the collection of which was for the future placed in the hands of the local officials. He revived the institution of defensores or administrators of cities, whose duty it was to protect the poor and inform the emperor of abuses committed in his name. The practice of pulling down the ancient monuments to be used as building material, which was connived at by venal officials, was strictly prohibited. He also passed laws against compulsory ordinationThis article is about the sacrament. Holy Orders was also the title of a 1908 book by Marie Corelli. Holy Orders in the modern Catholic Church and in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Anglican churches, includes three degrees: bishops, priests, and premature vows of celibacyA vow of clerical celibacy is the promise of a Christian priest or bishop to remain unmarried, or, in some churches, of a deacon or priest not to remarry if his wife dies. In conjunction with church rules prohibiting sex outside of marriage, this implies.

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. 1911 Britannica