Valentinian was at length promoted as Western Roman Emperor by his cousin, the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II, following the death of their uncle, Honorius, in 423. Valentinian was a decendant of both the Theodosian and Valentinian imperial houses through his mother, Galla Placidia, daughter of the Emperor Theodosius I and Placidia, daughter of Valentinian II. Since he was a child on his accession, Valentinian was initially under the regency of his mother until 437. He was betrothed to Licinia Eudoxia, the daughter of Theodosius II, to cement the position of the imperial house against other pretenders. Valentinian's reign was marked by court intrigues and the loss of land to the Visigoths in Hispania and southern Gaul and to the Vandals in North Africa, as well as the incursions of Attila the Hun. Valentinian was assassinated in 455 by supporters of the former court potentate Aetius, whom Valentinian had had murdered.

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