two led an army against Avitus's imperial forces commanded by the magister militum Remistus, whom they defeated; Remistus was executed at Ravenna in September 456 under "obscure circumstances." Avitus fled to Gaul to gather support from his Visigothic and Gallic followers but was defeated in the Battle of Placentia on October 17, 456. Avitus was captured, deposed, and forced to assume the bishopric of Piacenza, and finally executed—allegedly starved to death by Majorian and Ricimer. Magister militum Majorian (457–461) As magister militum Ricimer gained influence over the Germanic peoples occupying Gaul, Hispania, and Northern Africa, the sources suggest he and Majorian were operating in concert to seize power; the latter would become the future emperor, while Ricimer would command the military. Since Ricimer was a Germanic tribesman of Arian religious disposition, he was ineligible for the imperial throne himself. Whether or not he wished to be emperor is unknown, but in many respects, Ricimer can be viewed as an "heir of Stilicho," a barbarian general who served the Roman Empire faithfully. With the throne of the Western Empire vacant, the Alamanni invaded Italy. They moved from Raetia and managed to reach Lake Maggiore on the south side of the Alps. Majorian led his field army north to fight the Alamanni, and defeated them. Reaching an agreement with Ricimer, Majorian was proclaimed emperor on April 1, 457. Realizing Majorian's potential as a puppet, Ricimer induced Leo to give his consent to this arrangement and on December 28, 457, Majorian's elevation to Emperor in the West was officially recognized by Constantinople. Leo may not have actually wanted to see Majorian on the throne, but he was in "no position to object" since Majorian had a coalition that included the palatinate at Ravenna, Ricimer's Italian army, the Gallo-Roman general Aegidius, and Theodoric the Great. Leo also granted Ricimer the rank of magister militum. Majorian proved to be quite a capable ruler, to such a degree that historian Michael Grant claims he was "the last competent emperor the west ever produced". The new emperor demonstrated his military skill via campaigns in Gaul and Hispania against the Vandals and the Visigoths—atop instituting diplomatic and economic reforms—which greatly increased Majorian's standing among the senate and army for which Sidonius produced a panegyric. Sometime in 458, Majorian staved off an Alamanni attack on Raetia and a Vandal assault on Campania. In 460, Majorian then prepared to lead