Ovida

Ovida or Odiva (died 481/482) was a late Western Roman general and warlord of likely Gothic origin and the last Roman ruler of Dalmatia. Ovida initially served Julius Nepos, ruler of Roman Dalmatia and later western Roman emperor in Italy from 474 to 475. After being usurped in 475, Nepos continued to claim the imperial title in exile in Dalmatia, supported by the Eastern Roman Empire, but he was murdered by Ovida and another general, Viator, in 480. Upon his death, Ovida became the ruler of Dalmatia, a position he held until he was defeated and killed by Odoacer, the first barbarian King of Italy, in 481 or 482.

== Background == Ovida or Odiva (different sources use different spellings) was a comes who served under Julius Nepos. Based on his name, he was of Germanic, presumably Gothic, origin. Nepos was the Roman provincial ruler of Dalmatia under the title magister militum Dalmatiae, having succeeded his uncle Marcellinus. In 474, Nepos became the western Roman emperor, but he was driven out of Italy in 475, returning to Dalmatia. While in exile in Dalmatia, Nepos continued to claim the imperial title, and was supported as the legitimate western emperor by the Eastern Roman Empire.