Aetius Attila’s Nemesis Page 34

  437 Litorius defeats Tibatto and raises Gothic siege of Narbonne. Aetius receives help from the Huns, who attack and decimate the Burgundians. Sueves pillage Gallaecia. Franks capture Cologne and Trier. Vandals begin persecution of Catholic priests and begin tentative raids in the Mediterranean. 21 October marriage of Valentinian III and Licinia Eudoxia in Constantinople. Aetius attends wedding. Aetius Consul for the second time

  437/438 Unknown commander sent to Spain and defeats Sueves

  438 Peace treaty with Sueves. Publication of Codex Theodosianus in Constantinople. Vandal raids increase, focusing on Sicily

  439 Codex Theodosianus accepted in West. Death of Litorius, treaty with Goths. Sueves under their new king Rechila capture Emerita. Probable death of Rua and accession of Bleda and Attila. Treaty of Margus between Huns and the East. 19 October Vandals capture Carthage

  440 Sueves capture Mertola. Aetius settles the Alans of Sambida near Valence. Vandals lay siege to Panormus in Sicily and raid Bruttium

  440/441 Birth of Gaudentius, son of Aetius

  441 Bacaudic rebellion in Tarraconensis. Astyrius sent with an army and ‘slaughters’ the rebels. Sueves capture Seville and take control of Baetica and Carthaginiensis. The East sends an army to retake Africa: it stops in Sicily. Persians and Huns declare war on the East

  442 The Eastern army is recalled from Sicily after a peace treaty is signed with the Vandals giving them the province of Africa and other territories in the area. Pestilence in the empire. Settlement of the Alans in ‘Farther Gaul’

  443 Remnant of the Burgundians settled in Savoy. Astyrius recalled from Spain and his son-in-law Merobaudes sent to replace him. Merobaudes ‘smashes the bacaudae of Aracelli’. Treaty between Aetius and Attila: parts of Pannonia ceded to the Huns, Attila made honorary magister militum, Constantius sent to act as Attila’s secretary and Aetius’ son Carpilio sent as one of the hostages. Clodio, king of the Franks, captures Arras and besieges Tours

  444 Valentinian III acknowledges the bankruptcy of the West. Siege of Tours by Franks ends. With his borders secure against the Empire, Attila has his brother Bleda assassinated and assumes sole control of the Huns

  444/445 A new tax, the siliquatum, levied in the West

  445 Aetius ambushes the Franks at Vicus Helena. Peace treaty agreed between the West and the Franks. Vandals attack Turonium in Gallaecia. Statue of Aetius erected in the Atrium Libertatis

  446 Aetius Consul for the third time. On 1 January Merobaudes reads panegyric. Aetius leads a victory procession through the streets of Rome. Plea from the Britons for aid. Vitus sent to Spain but defeated by Rechila and the Sueves

  447 27 January major earthquake in Constantinople: part of the walls collapse. Huns’ envoys rejected and Attila devastates Thrace and Illyricum. Huns withdraw after contracting ‘sickness of the bowels’

  448 East signs a peace treaty with the Huns. New annual tribute set at 2,100 pounds of gold and land along the Danube from Pannonia to Thrace vacated by Rome. Rechila attacks the ‘farthest reaches’ of Gallaecia then dies: Rechiarius the new king. Bacaudic revolt in northern Gaul under Eudoxius. Sigisvult made patricius

  449 Astyrius made consul. Firminus, a Gaul, made Praetorian Prefect of Gaul. Theoderic, King of the Goths, gives his daughter in marriage to Rechiarius, King of the Sueves. In February, Rechiarius attacks the Basques in northern Spain. Basilius leads bacaudic uprising in Spain. Rechiarius and Basilius join forces and capture Ilerda

  449/450 Honoria, sister of Valentinian, caught having affair with Eugenius

  450 Eugenius executed; Honoria appeals to Attila for support. 28 July death of Theodosius. Theodosius’ sister Pulcheria chooses Marcian as new emperor; crowned on 26 August 450. He immediately rejects all treaties with the Huns. Attila chooses to invade the West in ‘support’ of Honoria rather than attempt to defeat Marcian. Aetius recognizes the danger and begins attempts to establish an alliance to face Attila. Aetius holds his troops in Italy, expecting Attila to invade

  451 Attila invades Gaul, razing and ravaging many cities. Eastern forces fight the Huns in the Balkans. Attila lays siege to Orleans. After much debate the Goths under Theoderic join with Aetius. The combined force raises the siege of Orleans and pursues the Huns eastward. Battle of the Catalaunian Plains: defeat of Attila and death of Theoderic. Beginning of famine in Italy. Sueves ravage large areas of Spain

  452 Attila invades Italy, sacking Aquileia and capturing many cities. Aetius guards the Apennine passes. Attila’s forces, suffering from hunger and disease, begin to retreat from Italy. Reinforced from the East, Aetius harasses their rear. Forces from the East under the Eastern general Aetius invade the Hunnic homelands. Attila meets Pope Leo and ransoms some of his captives before leaving Italy

  453 Attila prepares a campaign against the East. Death of Attila: civil war in the Hunnic empire. Thorismund, the new King of the Goths, attacks the Alans in northern Gaul. He then lays siege to Arles. Thorismund persuaded to raise the siege by Ferreolus. Frederic, brother of Thorismund, made magister militum. New peace treaty made with Sueves. Death of Thorismund

  454 Bacaudic revolt in Tarraconensis: Frederic, brother of Thorismund, sent with an army and slaughters large numbers of rebels. Betrothal of Aetius’ son Gaudentius with Valentinian’s daughter Placidia. Opposition to Aetius coalesces on Petronius Maximus. Battle of the Nedao and collapse of Hunnic empire of Attila. Assassination of Aetius

  455 Beginnings of expansion of Goths, Saxons, Franks and Alamanni. Assassination of Valentinian III. Maximus proclaimed emperor. Avitus sent as envoy to the Goths. Eudoxia, Valentinian’s widow, appeals to Gaiseric for help. Vandals land in Italy. Maximus panics and is killed by the Roman mob. Sack of Rome by the Vandals and capture of Eudoxia, Pelagia, Eudocia and Gaudentius. Gaiseric then conquers the whole of Roman Africa west of Cyrenaica, the Balearic Islands, Sardinia and Corsica. Goths proclaim Avitus as Emperor. Sueves ravage Roman Spain

  456 Theoderic II invades Spain and defeats the Sueves. Avitus appoints Ricimer as magister militum, who defeats Vandals on land near Agrigentum and at sea near Corsica. Rebellion of Majorian; defeat and death of Avitus

  461 Death of Majorian: Ricimer rules the West, elevating and destroying a series of short-lived emperors

  472 Death of Ricimer. Gundobad becomes magister militum

  473 On the death of his father, the king of the Burgundians, Gundobad abdicates his post and leaves Italy to fight for his inheritance

  474 The Eastern emperor Leo appoints his nephew Julius Nepos as Western Emperor

  475 Orestes appointed magister militum by Nepos. Orestes rebels and evicts Nepos from Italy: Nepos takes refuge in Illyricum. Orestes elevates his son Romulus Augustulus to emperor. Orestes refuses to bow down to the demands of the imperial mercenaries. They rebel under Odoacer. Death of Orestes. Romulus Augustulus deposed

  480 Death of Julius Nepos. End of Western Empire

  Imperial Family Tree

  Select Personalities

  Aetius c.390–454.

  Ardabur An Alan and father of Aspar. Eastern magister militum, he defeated the Persians (421–422) before being sent by Theodosius II to overthrow the usurper John in the West. Consul in 427.

  Aspar An Alan and son of Ardabur. Accompanied his father in the overthrow of John in the West. In 431 he arrived in Africa to support Boniface against the Vandals. After being defeated, Boniface was summoned to Italy and for the next two to three years he conducted a holding campaign against Gaiseric. Consul in 434, he was recalled and later fought against Attila in the Balkans, being defeated. Appointed patricius prior to 451. In 457 he made Leo I emperor in the East. He was murdered in 471.

  Astyrius A Spaniard and father-in-law of Merobaudes, he served Aetius as magister militum, fighting campaigns against the bacaudae in Spain 441–443. He was made Consul in 449.

  Attila Son of Mundiuch, he was the king of the Huns in succession to Rua in partnership with his brother Bleda. After killing his brother, he was sole ruler. Invaded the
East in 441 and 447. He was made honorary magister militum in the West in 449. After Honoria the sister of Valentinian III had asked for help in 449/450, in 451 he invaded Gaul. Forced to retreat from Orleans, he was defeated at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains. Determined on revenge, in 452 he invaded Italy, but was forced to retreat due to hunger, disease and the ravaging of his homelands by the East. He died in 453.

  Augustine (Saint) Bishop of Hippo, Augustine was baptised by (Saint) Ambrose in 387. He is acknowledged as one of the founding fathers of the Christian Church. A prolific writer, the volume and quality of his works, especially De civitate Dei (City of God) resulted in canonisation. He died during the siege of Hippo by the Vandals, August 438.

  Avitus A Gaul, he was the friend of King Theoderic of the Goths and often acted as ambassador from the Western court. Served under Aetius against the Iuthungi in 430 and the Nori in 431. Master of the Troops in Gaul in 437 and Praetorian Prefect of Gaul in 439. He acted as Aetius’ envoy to the Goths in 451 and persuaded them to join the alliance against Attila. After the death of Aetius he was made magister militum in 455 and in the same year was made emperor. Defeated by Ricimer in a civil war, he was made Bishop of Placentia shortly before his death.

  Boniface A native of Thrace, Boniface rose to become Count of Africa in 422. In this year he was assigned to accompany Castinus against the Vandals, but argued with Castinus and fled to Africa. Remained loyal to Placidia after the death of Honorius. Accused of treachery by Felix in 427, Boniface was forced to defend himself against imperial attacks until the truth was discovered and he was restored to imperial favour in 430. In the same year he was defeated by the Vandals in Africa and besieged in Hippo. The Vandals raised the siege in 431 and in 432 Boniface, accompanied by Aspar, again fought the Vandals and lost. Shortly after he was summoned to Italy and made patricius by Placidia. He defeated Aetius at the Battle of Rimini but died shortly after. One of his last acts was to allegedly tell his wife Pelagia to marry Aetius.

  Carpilio Son of Aetius, he was sent to Attila as ambassador and in 443 he was one of the hostages exchanged with Attila.

  Castinus Made magister militum by Honorius in 422, he was sent to Spain to fight the Vandals. He quarrelled with Boniface and was then defeated by the Vandals. On Honorius’ death he promoted John to be emperor. After John’s defeat and execution, Castinus was exiled in 425.

  Charaton Overlord of the Huns from c.412, it is likely that Aetius spent a lot of time as a hostage with the Huns under Charaton.

  Clodio/Chlogio King of the Franks, in 431 he captured Tournai and Cambrai, and in 437 Cologne and Trier. In 443 he captured Arras and besieged Tours. In 444 the siege was raised and in 445 the Franks were defeated by Aetius at Vicus Helena. The cities of Cologne and Trier were returned to the Romans.

  Darius vir inlustris (illustrious individual), he negotiated a (temporary) truce with the Vandals in 429.

  Ellac Eldest son of Attila, he was killed fighting the Huns’ rebellious subjects at the Battle of the Nedao in 454.

  Eudoxia Full name Licinia Eudoxia, she was the daughter of Theodosius II and was married to Valentinian III in 437. They had two children, Eudocia and Placidia. After the assassination of Valentinian in 455 she was forced to marry the new emperor Maximus. She appealed to Gaiseric, who then sacked Rome, captured Eudoxia and her two daughters and took them back to Carthage. Around the year 462 Eudoxia’s daughter Eudocia finally married Huneric, son of Gaiseric, and Eudoxia and Pelagia were sent to Constantinople.

  Felix When the Eastern campaign against the Western usurper John succeeded, Valentinian (Placidia) appointed Felix as the new magister militum and patricius of the West. In 427 he led a successful expedition against the Huns living in Pannonia. In 430 he was accused of plotting against Aetius and killed by the troops in Ravenna.

  Gaiseric King of the Vandals (428–477), Gaiseric led them out of Spain into Africa. In 435 he agreed terms with the West which gave the Vandals large areas of Africa to live in before, in 439, he successfully captured Carthage. The failure of the campaign to oust Gaiseric in 441–442 resulted in the Treaty of 442, in which Gaiseric was given large areas of fertile land in North Africa, including the city of Carthage. After the death of Valentinian in 455 Gaiseric believed that his treaty obligations were over and he sacked Rome before expanding his empire to include all of Africa west of Cyrenaica, plus the Balearic islands, Sardinia and Corsica. After defeating two further attempts by the empire to defeat him in 460 and 468, Gaiseric finally concluded a treaty with the East in 476 before his death in 477.

  Gaudentius Second son of Aetius, born c.440. In 454 Aetius arranged for a betrothal between Gaudentius and Placidia, daughter of Valentinian III. After Aetius’ death, Gaudentius was captured by the Vandals in the sack of Rome in 455 and taken to Carthage. He was still alive in the early 460s.

  Gundichar King of the Burgundians in the early 430s, he was defeated by Aetius after attempting to extend his dominions in 435. His rebellion in 436–437 resulted in Aetius calling upon the Huns for help. The Burgundians were decimated and Gundichar was killed. This may have been the origin of the Nibelungen cycle.

  Honorius Roman Emperor 395–423. His death without an heir in 423 prompted the succession crisis that resulted in the elevation of John and the start of Aetius’ dramatic rise to pre-eminence.

  Huneric Son and heir of Gaiseric, he was married to a daughter of Theoderic, king of the Goths. In 442 he was sent as a hostage to Valentinian III. He appears to have made a favourable impression and was betrothed to Valentinian’s daughter Eudocia. His first wife was mutilated and sent home. After the sack of Carthage in 455 Eudocia was captured and kept at Carthage until she was finally married to Huneric c.462. He ruled the Vandals 477–484.

  John A primicerius notariorum in 423, after the death of Honorius he was made Augustus by Castinus. John sent Aetius to the Huns to gain their support, but they arrived too late to save John. In 425 he was captured by the Eastern forces supporting the claim of Valentinian (III) and executed.

  Litorius Appointed as comes rei militaris in Gaul in 436 to defeat the bacaudae led by Tibatto in Armorica, he then marched to relieve the siege of Narbonne by the Goths in 437. In 439 he was made magister militum per Gallias and forced the Goths to retreat towards Toulouse. He was killed attempting to defeat the Goths.

  Majorian A military commander under Aetius, he fought against the Franks and was besieged in Tours in 443–444. In 445, along with Aetius, he defeated the Franks at Vicus Helena. By 454 he had withdrawn from public life, probably under pressure from Aetius and Pelagia: Eudoxia may have wanted Majorian to marry her daughter Placidia and so be the next heir to the throne. Pelagia was against this, and with Majorian’s withdrawal from public life she arranged that her son Gaudentius was betrothed to Placidia instead. After the death of Aetius, Valentinian recalled Majorian. He remained a powerful figure during the short reign of Valentinian’s successor Maximus. Shortly after Avitus was made emperor Majorian rebelled. In 457 he was crowned emperor and in 460 led an unsuccessful campaign against the Vandals in Africa. In 461 he was deposed by Ricimer and five days later he was executed.

  Maximus After a long and distinguished career, including being the Praetorian Prefect, Consul and patricius, in 454 he was intimately involved, along with the eunuch Heraclius, in the death of Aetius. Realising that Heraclius would block any attempts he made to take Aetius’ place, Maximus is alleged to have urged Optila and Thraustila to murder Valentinian. On Valentinian’s death, Maximus assumed the throne, marrying Valentinian’s widow Eudoxia. When he learned that the Vandals had landed near Rome Maximus panicked and fled. As he attempted to leave Rome he was struck by a missile and the mob then turned on him and tore him to pieces.

  Merobaudes A native of Spain, possibly of Germanic ancestry, he was acclaimed as both a poet and a general. Panegyrist to Aetius, he also served in a military capacity under Aetius in 430 and 431 against the Alamanni and the Nori. In 435 he was honoured by a statue in Trajan’s
Forum and was probably declared patricius on the marriage of Valentinian and Eudoxia in 437. In 443 he was made magister militum and sent to Spain to relieve his father-in-law Astyrius in the campaign against the bacaudae.

  Mundiuch Brother of Rua and Octar, joint kings of the Huns. His sons were Bleda and Attila.

  Octar Brother of Rua and Mundiuch, he was joint king of the Huns until his death in 530.

  Optila Either a Hun or a Goth, he served in Aetius’ bodyguard before being transferred to the bodyguard of Valentinian III. After Aetius’ death Optila assassinated Valentinian, and Thraustila the eunuch Heraclius, on the Campus Martius in 455.

  Pelagia Wife of Boniface and Aetius. Of Gothic origin, and so starting as an Arian, she converted to Catholic Christianity upon marrying Boniface, although it is claimed that she had their daughter baptized as an Arian. On Boniface’s death he is reported to have told her to marry Aetius, which she did, bearing him a son named Gaudentius. In 454 she is said to have been strongly against the betrothal of Majorian and Eudocia, managing to block this and arrange for Eudocia’s betrothal to Gaudentius instead.

  Placidia Full name Aelia Galla Placidia. Daughter of Theodosius I, in 414 she was married to Athaulf, the ‘king’ of the Goths. Their son Theodosius died soon after his birth and Athaulf was assassinated in 415. Returning to the empire, in 417 she married Constantius, the patricius of her brother Honorius, giving birth to Honoria and Valentinian, the future Valentinian III. Constantius was made Emperor in 421 and Placidia was declared Augusta at the same time. Unfortunately, Constantius died later the same year. After the death of her brother Honorius in 423 she campaigned in Constantinople for her son Valentinian to be accepted as Emperor of the West. After the East’s successful campaign to oust the usurper John, in 425 Placidia regained her place as Augusta in the West and acted as regent to her son Valentinian III. She undoubtedly took part in the political manoeuvres of Felix, Boniface and Aetius and in 432 recalled Boniface in an attempt to oust Aetius from his pre-eminent position in the West. This succeeded, but Boniface died shortly afterwards and Aetius returned to power. Any evidence for later opposition to Aetius is implied rather than explicit and it may be that she accepted Aetius as her son’s protector, recognising that Aetius would not attempt to remove Valentinian and replace him with Aetius’ own nominee. She died in 450.