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Glycerius (died after 474) was Roman emperor of the West from 473 to 474. He served as comes domesticorum (commander of the palace guard) during the reign of Olybrius (), until Olybrius died in November 472. After a four-month interregnum, Glycerius was proclaimed as emperor in March 473 by Gundobad, the magister militum (master of soldiers) and power behind the throne. Very few of the events of his reign are known other than that an attempted invasion of Roman Italy by the Visigoths was repelled by local commanders, diverting them to Gaul. Glycerius also prevented an invasion by the Ostrogoths through diplomacy, including a gift of 2,000 solidi.
Glycerius was not recognized by the Eastern Roman emperor Leo I (), who instead nominated Julius Nepos () as Western Emperor and sent him with an army to invade the Western Empire. Glycerius was without allies because Gundobad had abandoned him, and therefore was forced to abdicate on 24 June 474, and was succeeded by Nepos. He was appointed Bishop of Salona, which position he held until his death. He died, possibly in 480, and a nearly contemporaneous source blames him for the assassination of Nepos, but the records for this event are muddled.
Mathisten states that the aforementioned injuries to Glycerius' mother may have been in reaction to his bribery of Videmir, but remarks that "such measures were a regular part of imperial policy", and speculates that the attackers may have been soldiers, explaining their lack of punishment. Glycerius seems to have primarily reigned in northern Italy, as all the coins found from his reign but one were minted in either Ravenna or Milan. The only law enacted by Glycerius which has survived was dated 11 March 473, and issued to Himilco, the Praetorian prefect of Italy, and later reissued to the Praetorian prefects of Illyricum, the East, and Gaul, regarding simony (the selling of church offices). It was adopted not just by the prefects of Italy and Gaul, who were a part of the Western Roman Empire, but also by the prefects of Illyricum and the East, despite the fact that he did not have the authority to issue laws to them. The law was designed to grant Glycerius the support of the clergy, but would likely also have appealed to the senatorial class, who were concerned about increasingly violent elections, as well as the use of church funds by clergy for personal reasons. This law was also the last known one issued by a Western Roman emperor.
It is possible that Glycerius attempted reconciliation with the Eastern Roman Empire, evidenced by the fact that Glycerius did not nominate a Roman consul for 474, and instead accepted the eastern consul, the infant Emperor Leo II (). Despite this, the Eastern Roman Emperor, Leo I (), refused to recognize Glycerius as emperor because he was merely a puppet of Gundobad. Emperor Leo instead chose to recognize one of his own men, Julius Nepos (), and sent him with a fleet to invade the Western Empire. The 7th-century historian John of Antioch states that Leo made the decision to remove Glycerius after hearing that he had assumed the throne of the Western Roman Empire, but Mathisen comments that Leo must have hesitated for some time, as the actual invasion was delayed by the onset of winter, and Julius Nepos was forced to wait until the beginning of spring to launch his invasion.
Glycerius was without allies, as Gundobad seemingly abandoned him, leaving him with no option but to surrender. After Nepos landed at Ostia in June 474, Glycerius abdicated on 24 June 474, in Ravenna, and Nepos assumed the throne. The historian John Michael O'Flynn states that the "circumstances surrounding this speedy overthrow are obscure and, at first sight, puzzling", noting that while the forces of Nepos were likely small, Gundobad made no moves to counter them, but rather "disappeared entirely from the Italian scene." He speculates that, while Gundobad could have put up stiff resistance, rather than attempting to oppose the imperial legitimacy of Leo, he accepted Leo's authority to reject Glycerius as an imperial colleague and to install one of his own choosing. Additionally, Glycerius seems to never have attracted the favor of the Roman Senate or the Gallo-Roman aristocracy, which would make the decision to back him, and therefore alienate both, far less palatable for Gundobad. Notably, as king of Burgundy, Gundobad () enjoyed warm relations with the Eastern Roman Empire, which he served as a foederatus (treaty subject). Mathisen suggests the alternatives that Gundobad was attempting to raise further troops in Gaul, or that he left to ensure he received his inheritance after the death of his father, King Gondioc ().
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