Flavius Ataliates

Flavius Decimus Ataliates (5 July 416 - 4 November 473) also known as Flavius Ataliates was the first emperor of the Arrenese Empire reigning from 450 to 473. During his reign he fought off numerous barbarian invasions that had plagued and destroyed central and northern Sertoriea, securing the frontiers of the comparatively stable southern Sertorian Empire. His proclamation and senatorial ratification as Emperor had officially confirmed the permanent movement of governance of the Sertorian Empire from Sertoriea to Iatanum and later Maressa. His campaigns in Pradena and Anetal and the pacification of barbarians north of the Empire were one of the first substantial victories the Sertorians had experienced against barbarians for many decades, demonstrating Ataliates' ability to trust and field capable generals and military strategists, most notable of which was Legate Marcius Amapelius whom had became easily the second most powerful man in the Empire.

Ataliates was a competent administrator before and during his reign, having prior been appointed Praefectus Iatanae by the Emperor Tritan in July 449. He excelled at legal matters and was known to tend to judicial concerns even while on the field before battle. While Emperor, Ataliates demonstrated a level of moderation in that his governance allowed for the toleration of both Pagan and Christian beliefs, a practice which had never existed in antiquity, he rolled back previous restrictions on pagan worship, currying him favour with pagan senators and factions. This toleration originated from his dual Pagan-Christian upbringing, in which his father was a devout pagan within the Sertorian Senate and his mother a Christian from Lepidocea. Contemporaries often described this posture as weak and ineffective and it did suffer from numerous drawbacks, but it is thought to have helped maintain stability in a religiously divided empire.

Ataliates while inheriting a dire situation, managed to increase the size of the Sertorian Army and simultaneously had managed to lower the tax burden on civil society. By improving tax collection and cutting down on unnecessary civil service, while leaving the economy largely intact and spared from barbarian attacks this meant Ataliates was able to maintain a stable economic picture and was able to leave his successor an adequate fiscal state.

He was the founding member of the Atalian Dynasty, which spanned 26 years from the beginning of his reign. Ataliates was known as a traditionalist and instead of having a biological heir had chosen his Carpidese military commander Marcius Amapelius as his heir through adoption. It would not be long however until this tradition of adoption was abandoned in favor of more traditional dynastic succession.

Early Life


Flavius Decimus Ataliates was born Lepidocea, province of Iatea on the 5 July 416 AD to a rich Sertorian senatorial family. Growing up in a villa outside the town of Lepidocea itself, Ataliates was the product of a quiet and largely stable early upbringing. His father Gaius Antony Ataliates rarely stayed in Lepidocea, he was often committed to his work in the Sertorian Senate in Sertoriea. A devout Pagan he was thought to have rarely been home long enough to prevent his mother, Talea Caesariea from enlisting Christian scholars to educate Ataliates whom was her only child. This education benefited him with the knowledge of a variety of subjects including Sertorian history, philosophy, painting and scculpting.