Avitus
MARCUS MÆCILIUS, an Emperor of the West. He was of a Gaulish family in Auvergne, and gained the favor of Constantius, the colleague of Honorius, and of Theodoric, King of the Visigoths. He served with distinction under Ætius, became Prefect of Gaul, and concluded a favorable treaty with the Goths. He afterward retired into private life until the invasion of Attila, when he induced the Goths to join the Romans against the common enemy.
Avitus was proclaimed Emperor in 455, took for his colleague Marcianus, and died the year following.
AVON