Galla Placidia

During the Sack of Rome by Alaric's Visigoths, Galla Placidia was taken captive. She was held as a hostage and later married to the Visigothic king Athaulf in 414, becoming queen of the Visigoths.

After the death of Emperor Honorius, Galla Placidia returned from exile in Constantinople. She became regent for her young son Valentinian III, effectively ruling the Western Roman Empire from Ravenna for the next twelve years.

As regent, Galla Placidia became embroiled in a power struggle with the general Bonifacius, Count of Africa. Her actions contributed to Bonifacius's rebellion and the subsequent Vandal invasion of North Africa, weakening the Western Empire.

Galla Placidia commissioned a mausoleum in Ravenna, decorated with some of the finest surviving examples of Early Christian Byzantine mosaics. The structure became a UNESCO World Heritage site and a key monument of late Roman art.