Armatus Flavius Armatus ( died 477 ) was a Byzantine military commander , " magister militum " under Emperors Leo I , Basiliscus and Zeno , and consul . He was instrumental in the rebellion of Basiliscus against Zeno , and in his subsequent fall . Origin and early career . Armatus was a nephew of Basiliscus and of Empress Verina , the wife of Leo I . It is known that Armatus had a son , also named Basiliscus . During the last part of Emperor Leo ' s reign , Armatus , as " magister militum per Thracias " , successfully quelled a revolt in Thrace , cutting off the hands of the Thracian prisoners and sending them to the rebels . It is possible that the rebels were men of the Thracian Goth Theodoric Strabo , a military commander under Leo , and hence this revolt would have been the one started by Strabo between the death of Aspar ( 471 ) and the end of Leo ' s rule ( 473 ) . Rise of Basiliscus . Armatus supported the rebellion of Basiliscus in 475 , probably gaining also the support of Verina , who was the mother - in - law of deposed Emperor Zeno , for the rebels . During the short reign of Basiliscus , Armatus exercised noteworthy influence on both the emperor and his wife and " Augusta " Zenonis . There were rumours about a relationship between Armatus and Zenonis . Zenonis convinced Basiliscus to appoint Armatus to the office of " magister militum praesentalis " . Armatus was also awarded the consulship of 476 , together with Basiliscus . Armatus was a sort of dandy , who was interested only in his own hair and other body training , and Theodoric Strabo despised him for this reason . Strabo , therefore , grew unsatisfied with Basiliscus , whom he had helped in his uprising against Zeno , because he had given the title of " magister militum praesentalis " , a rank as high as Strabo ' s own , to such a man . After the honours and wealth received by his uncle Basiliscus , Armatus thought of himself as the bravest of the men , dressing as Achilles and parading around his house near the Hippodrome . During his wandering , the people called him " Pyrrhus " , either because he was of reddish complexion or because they were teasing him . Fall of Basiliscus and Armatus ' death . In the summer of 476 , Zeno moved from Isauria to regain his throne , and bribed both the Basiliscus ' generals Illus and Trocondus to join him . Basiliscus gathered all of the troops from Thracia , the city of Constantinople and even the palace guard , and , after binding Armatus with a loyalty oath , sent them to meet and defeat Zeno . When Armatus met Zeno , however , he was bribed into joining the Isaurian emperor , with the promise of the appointment of the title of " magister militum praesentalis " for life , the awarding of Armatus ' son , Basiliscus , of the title of caesar , and of the qualification as heir to Zeno . After his restoration , Zeno fulfilled his promises , letting Armatus keep his title of " magister militum praesentalis " ( possibly even raising him to the rank of " Patricius " ) and appointing his son Basiliscus " Caesar " in Nicaea . In 477 , however , the Isauria n Zeno changed his mind , according to Evagrius by the instigation of Illus , an Isaurian general who had helped Basiliscus ' rise and later changed sides to Zeno , and who would have gained by the fall of Armatus . Armatus was killed by order of Zeno . The murderer was Armatus ' own friend Onoulphus , who , as a poor barbarian , had been welcomed by Armatus , then made " comes " , then commander of Illyricum ; Armatus even lent him a great deal of money to pay for a banquet . The citizens of Constantinople rejoiced after his death . Zeno confiscated all of the properties of Armatus , deposed his son Basiliscus , and had him ordained priest . Relationship between Armatus and Odoacer . A recent publication by Stephan Krautschick has opened the study of Armatus ' life to new interpretations , in particular the relationship between Armatus and Basiliscus ' family and Odoacer , chieftain of the Heruli and later King of Italy . Krautschick assertion , which has been adopted by subsequent scholars , Armatus was brother of Onoulphus and Odoacer , so that the leader of the Heruli was also nephew of Basiliscus and Verina . In particular , this interpretation sheds light on why Armatus was so keen to help Onoulphus , and that it was his own brother that killed him . The link between Armatus , Odoacer and Onoulphus is a fragment by John of Antioch , in which Onoulphus is stated to be the murderer and the brother of Armatus . Before the work of Krautschick , and also according to other scholars , the reading was emended to read that " Odoacer was the brother of the Onoulphus who killed Armatus " . This amendment made the fragment of John compatible with the accounts of other historians , since neither John Malalas nor Malchus make any reference to the fact that Armatus was killed by his own brother , and no reference is made to a blood relationship between Odoacer and Basiliscus . Notes .