Egica (Fidem Pacis)

Egica was King of the Visigoths and Western Roman Emperor from 687 until his death in 701. The nephew and son-in-law of his predecessor Wamba, he was long considered an obvious natural successor to the throne, but this did not prevent him from prematurely taking Hispania by force and sending his uncle into exile. Accepting the status quo, Wamba instructed the Roman Senate to award the imperial dignity to Egica as well, before abdicating the emperorship and retiring to a monastery.

Egica's reign was relatively peaceful, since Wamba had already defeated all immediate potential enemies. However, early in his reign he had to suppress a rebellion in Italy led by Pope Paschal, which was quickly defeated but left lingering feelings of resentment in much of the population. To try and combat this, Egica chose to encourage anti-Semitic sentiments by introducing harsh laws against the Jews, many of whom fled and settled in the Eastern Empire.

Egica died in 701. He was succeeded by his son, and Wamba's grandson, Ardo.