Flavius 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. Armatus was killed by order of Zeno. The murderer was Armatus' friend Onoulphus.

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.

According to a reconstruction by Stephan Krautschick, Armatus was a brother of Onoulphus and Odoacer, who were also then nephews of Basiliscus and Verina. Therefore, Amatus' father must have been Edeko, the father of Onoulphus and Odoacer. 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.

Sources

Krautschick, Stephan (1986). "Zwei Aspekte des Jahres 476". Historia 35: pp. 344–371.

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