Magister militum
Orestes was appointed Magister militum by Julius Nepos in 475. Shortly after his appointment, Orestes launched a rebellion and captured Ravenna, the capital of the Western Roman Empire since 402, on 28 August 475. Nepos fled to Dalmatia, where his uncle had ruled a semi-autonomous state since the 460s. Orestes, however, refused to become emperor, "from some secret motive", said historian Edward Gibbon. Instead, he installed his son on the throne on 31 October 475.