In 458, the Roman emperor Majorian defeated the Visigoths who at that time had dominated southern Gaul at the Battle of Arelate.
"[T]raveling with his generals Aegidius and Nepotianus, Majorian encountered the Visigothic king and his army at Arelate, at the mouth of the Rhodanus River (Rhone). The ensuing battle was an overwhelming Gothic defeat. Theodoric II was forced to flee Arelate, abandon Septimania, and conclude a hasty peace treaty. The treaty returned all Visigothic territory in Hispania to the Romans, and the Visigoths were reduced to federate status."
Majorian was probably the last emperor to physically lead a victorious Roman army and impose Roman authority outside the Italian Peninsula. His larger goal was to recover the African provinces who had been overrun by the Vandals in the late 430s. He was eventually betrayed, his invasion fleet destroyed by the Vandal fleet under Genseric. This weakened Majorian's tenuous hold on what remained of the Roman empire. He was forced to recognize Vandal supremacy over Africa and was later deposed, beaten and beheaded at the instigation of the Roman (Barbarian) Generalissimo or Patrician Ricimer.
After Majorian's removal, the Visigoths abandon their Federate status and regained control of the Iberian peninsula. Majorian's generals remaining in Gaul revolted and an already fragile Imperial situation outside the Italian peninsula basically became untenable. Majorian's rule, by most historical accounts, was the last chance of a Western Imperial revival. What followed was a parade of weak ineffective Emperors who could barely control events outside of Italy.
Gibbon said of Majorian that he "presents the welcome discovery of a great and heroic character, such as sometimes arise, in a degenerate age, to vindicate the honour of the human species".
Yes, the sack of Rome in 410 appears to be a turning point in Roman history. But Majorian's reign indicates that it was still possible for a gifted leader to unite and effectively wield the many factions of the later Roman Empire.
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