Ardo (Fidem Pacis)

Ardo was King of the Visigoths and Western Roman Emperor from 701 until his death in 721. The son of Egica, and grandson of Wamba through his mother, he was considered an obvious successor to the throne from birth. However, his election as official heir during the reign of his father restored the principle of hereditary succession, which had so far been considered foreign to both Romans and Goths.

Ardo had four children - Tulga, Agila, Euric and Amalasuntha - and prior to his death he divided his lands among them. The eldest son, Tulga, who received both the kingship of Spain and the imperial dignity, was nominally supreme over his siblings, but in practice this was the end of briefly reunited Western Roman Empire.