Pelagius Britannicus

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**Pelagius Britannicus** (Latin: *Gaius Flavius Pelagius Britannicus*  17 July 1199 – 19 July 1236 AUC) was a Roman usurper.

He was born in Rome, and was the son of emperor Aetius and Pelagia, who was a Visigothic princess and daughter of Alaric I. When his brother Gaudentius II was assassinated a Praetorian officer named Octavius, loyal to Pelagius' deceased father, was able to secretly escape Rome with young Pelagius. He smuggled the four year old to Britain where, far from the rest of the empire. In Britain the governor Lucius Coillus protected him and declared Pelagius emperor, with Lucius himself in *de facto* control.

Britain, under the control of Lucius, remained out of the Anno Chao operating as practically an independent state, but once Theodosius I consolidated power in he attempted to launch an invasion of Britain. Lucius, still effectively a regent for the now teenaged Pelagius, struck first sinking Theodosius' fleet in the channel near Bononia.

Once Pelagius reached adulthood he married the fabled beauty Renata, and eventually, after years of preparation he moved to take control of the rest Empire but was defeated and killed in Gaul in 1236.

Pelagius' daughter Pelagia married the son of one of his chief generals, named Ambrosius Aurelianus. Ambrosius would go on to become the first King of Britain. This connection to the Gaudentian dynasty led the kings of Britain, particularly the Ambrosian dynasty to claim to also be the rightful emperors of Rome.

## Invasion of the Roman Empire

*Main Article: Pelagian Revolt*
In 1229 Pelagius launched his invasion to retake control of the Roman Empire. His massive fleet landed at and captured Gesoriacum. Emperor Marcian was busy fighting an invasion of Raetia and Noricum and couldn't respond immediately, so he ordered his subordinates to defeat Pelagius. Syagrius, governor and de-facto king of northern Gaul, despite orders to repel Pelagius' invasion, had no interest in involving his realm in the conflict. He struck a deal of neutrality with the Britannic invader, both rulers agreeing to leave each other alone. With little in the way of stopping him Pelagius quickly secured the rest of northern Gaul (outside of Syagrius' domain).

In 1230 Pelagius defeated an attempt to push him out of Gaul and moved into southern Gaul, but was forced to abandon his campaign both because of a minor defeat and bad weather. The next year he managed to capture southern Gaul, and secured the alpine passes. Historians criticize Pelagius for not taking this opportunity to invade Italy. Later that year, 1231, governors of the Spanish provinces offered to support Pelagius in exchange for aid in a war with the Suebi, which he accepted. The campaign against the Suebi was successful, but time consuming (lasting two years). With Hispania secure in 1234 Pelagius invaded Italy. After securing northern Italy Pelagius, entrusting the capture of Rome with one of his generals,  Medrautus, moved into Illyria. However upon taking Rome in 1235 Medrautus declared himself emperor. Abandoning his campaign into Illyria, Pelagius quickly returned to Italy and dethroned Medrautus, whose army defected to Pelagius. After this victory Pelagius personally entered Rome and sought to establish himself as the legitimate emperor.

In 1236, Marcian, having recovered his forces, suddenly invaded Italy, catching Pelagius off guard. The young emperor moved to meet Marcian in battle but was defeated at the  Battle of Tannetum. After the defeat Pelagius, overcome with grief took his own life.