Product Code Database
Flavius Aetius (also spelled Aëtius; ; 390 – 21 September 454) was a Roman Empire general and statesman of the closing period of the Western Roman Empire. He was a military commander and the most influential man in the Empire for two decades (433454). He managed policy in regard to the attacks of barbarian foederati settled throughout the West. Notably, he mustered a large Roman and allied ( foederati) army in the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, ending an invasion of Gaul by Attila in 451, though the Hun and his subjugated allies still managed to invade Italy the following year, an incursion best remembered for the Sack of Aquileia and the intercession of Pope Leo I. In 454, he was assassinated by the emperor Valentinian III.
Aetius has often been called the "Last of the Romans". Edward Gibbon refers to him as "the man universally celebrated as the terror of Barbarians and the support of the Republic" for his victory at the Catalaunian Plains.Gibbon ch. XXXV J. B. Bury notes, "That he was the one prop and stay of the Western Empire during his life time was the unanimous verdict of his contemporaries."Bury, J. B. (1911) Cambridge Medieval History. Volume 1, p. 418
In 423 the Western Emperor Honorius died. The most influential man in the West, Castinus, chose as his successor Joannes, a high-ranking officer. Joannes was not a member of the Theodosian dynasty so he was not recognized by the eastern court. The Eastern Emperor Theodosius II organised a military expedition westward, led by Ardaburius and his son Aspar, to put his cousin, the young Valentinian III (who was a nephew of Honorius), on the western throne. Aetius entered the service of the usurper as cura palatii and was sent by Joannes to ask the Huns for assistance. Joannes lacked a strong army and fortified himself in his capital, Ravenna, where he was killed in the summer of 425. Shortly afterwards, Aetius returned to Italy with a large force of Huns to find that power in the west was now in the hands of Valentinian III and his mother Galla Placidia. After fighting against Aspar's army, Aetius managed to compromise with Galla Placidia. He sent back his army of Huns and in return obtained the rank of comes et magister militum per Gallias, the commander in chief of the Roman army in Roman Gaul.Cassiodorus, Chronica, s.a. 425; Gregory of Tours, ii.8; Philostorgius, xii.4; Prosp. s.a. 425; Chronica gallica 452, 100; Jordanes, Romana, 328; Jones, p. 22
In 428, he fought the Salian Franks, defeating their king Chlodio and recovering some territory they had occupied along the Rhine.Philostorgius, xii.4; Prosp. s.a. 425 and 428; Chronica Gallia 452, 102 (s.a. 427); Cassiodorus, Chronica, s.a. 428. Cited in Jones, p. 22. In 429 he was elevated to the rank of magister militum; this was probably the junior of the two offices of comes et magister utriusque militiae, as the senior is known to have been the patrician Flavius Constantinus Felix, the most influential man in those years, and a supporter of Galla Placidia.
Begin 430 the Goths led by Anaolsus attacked Arelate again but were defeated by Aetius.Hydatius, Chron. 93, s.a. 430Merobaudes, Pan. 1.10 (Vollmer, ad loc.)
In May 430, Aetius and the Army accused Felix of plotting against him and some sources believe Aetius had him, his wife, and a deacon killed. Once Felix was dead, Aetius was the highest ranking amongst the magistri militiae, even if he had not yet been granted the title of patricius or the senior command. During 430 and 431 Aetius was in Raetia and Noricum, re-establishing Roman rule on the Danubian Limes, campaigning against the Juthungi and defeating the Bagaudae in Augusta Vindelicorum. In 431 he returned to Gaul, where he received Hydatius, bishop of Aquae Flaviae, who complained about the attacks of the Suebi. Aetius then defeated the Franks, recapturing Tournai and Cambrai. He then sent Hydatius back to the Suebes in Hispania.Prosperus of Tirus, s.a. 429 e 430; John of Antioch, fr. 201; Hydatius, 92, 93 and 94 (s.a. 430), 95 and 96 (s.a. 431), 98 (s.a. 432); Chronica Gallia 452, 106 (s.a. 430); Jordanes, Getica, 176; Sidonius Apollinaris, Carmina, vii.233. Cited in Jones, pp. 22–23.
After the execution of Felix in 430, Aetius and Bonifacius remained as the empire's most influential generals, both constantly vying for the favor of Placidia. In 432 Aetius held the , but Bonifacius was recalled to Italy and received warmly by Placidia. Bonifacius was given the rank of patrician and made the senior comes et magister utriusque militiae, while Aetius was stripped of his military command. Aetius, believing his fall now imminent, marched against Bonifacius and fought him at the Battle of Rimini. Bonifacius won the battle but was mortally wounded, dying a few months later. Aetius escaped to Pannonia and traveled to the court of his friend, Rugila, the king of the Huns. With their help he returned to power, receiving the title of Magister Militum. Aetius then had Bonifacius's son-in-law, Sebastianus, who had succeeded Bonifacius as magister militum, exiled from Italy to Constantinople, bought the properties of Bonifacius, and married his widow Pelagia.CIL, v, 7530; Prosperus, s.a. 432; Chronica Gallica a. 452, 109 and 111 (s.a. 432), 112 (s.a. 433), 115 (s.a. 434); Chronica Gallica a. 511, 587; Additamenta ad chron. Prosperi Hauniensis, s.a. 432; Hydatius, 99; Marcellinus comes, s.a. 432; John of Antioch, fr. 201.3. Cited in Jones, pp. 23–24.
In 443, Aetius settled the remaining Burgundians in Savoy, south of Lake Geneva. His most pressing concern in the 440s was with problems in Gaul and Iberia, mainly with the Bagaudae. He settled the Alans around Valence in 440 and along the Loire including Aurelianum in 442 to contain unrest in Armorica.
In Spain, Aetius was slowly losing his grip on the situation. In 441 he appointed Asturius Magister Militum per Hispanias, in order to put down the Bagaudae in Tarraconensis. He was recalled and Merobaudes defeated the Bagaudae of Aracellitanus in 443. In 445 the Romans had the Vandals attack Turonium in Gallaecia, followed by Vitus who campaigned with a combined force of Romans and Goths in 446, but was ultimately defeated.Hyd. Chronicn, 125, 128, 131, 134
The Bagaudae in Armorica revolted again in 447 or 448, and were put down by the Alans of Goar. As a result, the leader of the revolt Eudoxius fled to the court of Attila the Hun.Chronica Gallia 452, s.a. 448 In 449 the Bagaudae in Spain revolted and sacked Tarazona, Zaragoza, and Lleida. The Suebi also entered Tarraconensis to assist Basilius and his revolt.Hyd. Chronicon, 141–142
In 445 Majorian defeated a Frankish siege of Tours, which was followed by a Franks attack under Clodio in the region of Arras, in Belgica Secunda. The foederati were stopped in an ambush near Vicus Helena, where Aetius directed the operations while his commander Majorian (later Emperor) fought with the cavalry. Chronica Gallica Anno 452, 133 (s.a. 438); Sid. Apol. carm. 5.210–218. Cited in Jones, p. 27. Jan Willem Drijvers, Helena Augusta, BRILL, , p. 12. However, by 450 Aetius had already returned to good terms with the Franks. In 449 Chlodio died, and the patricius supported his younger son Merovech claim to the throne. Aetius adopted him as his own son and sent him from Rome, where he had been an ambassador, to the Frankish court with many presents.Priscus, fr. 16; Gregory of Tours, ii.7. It is possible that this happened after the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains in 451 (Jones, p. 27).
However, the good terms between Romans and Huns did not last, as Attila wanted to attack Roman Gaul; he knew that Aetius was a serious obstacle to his enterprise, and tried to have him removed, but in 451, when the Huns attacked, Aetius was still the commander of the Roman army in Gaul.John of Antioch, fr. 199.2; Jordanes, Getica, 191. Cited in Jones, p. 27. The large Hunno-German armyHunnish armies were never composed entirely of ethnic Huns but contained relative majorities of subject peoples. captured several cities, and proceeded towards Aurelianum.
Aetius, with the help of the influential Gallo-Roman senator Avitus, convinced the Visigoths of king Theodoric I to join him against the external menace; he also succeeded in persuading Sangiban (who was falsely accused of planning to join the Huns), the Armoricans, the Salian Franks, some of the Saxons, and the Burgundians of Sapaudia to join his forces. Then the joint Roman and Visigothic army moved to relieve the besieged city of Aurelianum, forcing the Huns to abandon the siege and retreat to open country.Sidonius Apollinaris, vii.328–331, 339–341; John Malalas, 358; Jordanes, Getica, 195; Gregory of Tours, ii.7. Cited in Jones, p. 27.
On 20 June 451 Aetius and Theodoric engaged Attila and his allies at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains. Chronica Gallica a. 452, 139 (s.a. 451), 141 (s.a. 452); Cassiodorus, Chronica, 451; Additamenta ad chron. Prosperi Hauniensis, s.a. 451; Hydatius, 150 (a. 451); Chronicon Paschale, s.a. 450; Jordanes, Getica, 197ff; Gregory of Tours, ii.7; Procopius, i.4.24; John Malalas, 359; Theophanes, AM 5943. Cited in Jones, p. 27. Theodoric died in the battle, and Aetius suggested his son Thorismund retreat to Toulouse to secure his throne, and persuaded Merovech to return to the lands of the Franks; for this reason it is said that Aetius kept all of the battlefield loot for his army.Gregory of Tours, 2.7; Jordanes, Getica, 215ff. Cited in Jones, pp. 27–28.
Attila returned in 452 to again press his claim of marriage to Honoria; Aetius was unable to block Attila's advance through the Julian Alps. Instead, he chose to garrison Aquileia against Attila's onslaught.Prosper, s.a. 452; Jordanes, De Origine Actibusque Getarum 42.219. Attila invaded and ravaged Italy, sacking numerous cities and razing Aquileia completely, allegedly leaving no trace of it behind. Valentinian III fled from the court at Ravenna to Rome; Aetius remained in the field but lacked the strength to offer battle, instead positioning his army at Bologna to block the roads through the Apennines to Ravenna and Rome. Edward Gibbon however says Aetius never showed his greatness more clearly in managing to harass and slow Attila's advance with only a shadow force. Attila finally halted at the Po River, where he met an embassy including the prefect Trygetius, the ex-Roman consul Gennadius Avienus, and Pope Leo I. After the meeting he turned his army back, having gained neither Honoria's hand nor the territories he desired. Ancient and medieval historians tended to give Pope Leo and supernatural forces credit for halting Attila,Paul the Deacon, Historia Romana 14.12 but a number of practical factors may have also induced Attila to retreat: his army was unable to obtain sufficient food and was suffering from disease, Aetius's army was busy harassing the Huns, and finally Marcian had sent forces north of the Danube to attack the homelands of the Huns and their vassals under a separate Aetius.Heather, P. (2010) The Fall of the Roman Empire, Pan Macmillan. , p. 341
Maximus expected to be made patrician in place of Aetius, but was blocked by Heraclius. Seeking revenge, Maximus arranged with two Huns who were friends of Aetius, Optila and Thraustila, to assassinate both Valentinian III and Heraclius. On 16 March 455, Optila stabbed the emperor in the temple as he dismounted in the Campus Martius and prepared for a session of archery practice. As the stunned emperor turned to see who had struck him, Optila finished him off with another thrust of his blade. Meanwhile, Thraustila stepped forward and killed Heraclius. Most of the soldiers standing close by had been faithful followers of Aetius, and none lifted a hand to save the emperor.
Aetius effectively ruled the western empire from 433 to 454, and attempted to stabilize its European borders under a deluge of barbarians, foremost of which were Attila and the Huns. One of his greatest achievements was the assembling of the coalition against Attila. Regarding this, historian Arther Ferrill states:
While J. B. Bury viewed Aetius as a great military commander and a prominent historical figure, he did not consider the battle itself to be particularly decisive. He argues that Aetius attacked the Huns when they were already retreating from Orléans (so the danger to Gaul was departing anyway); and he declined to renew the attack on the Huns next day, precisely in order to preserve the balance of power. (Others suggest that the Huns may have abandoned the siege of Orléans because Aetius's armies were advancing on them.) Bury suggests that the Germanic victory over the Huns at the Battle of Nedao, three years later, was more important. This determined that there would be no long-term Hun empire in Europe, which Bury thinks would have been unlikely even if they had crushed the Germanic tribes on that occasion. For Bury, the result of the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains determined chiefly that Attila spent his last year looting Italy, rather than Gaul.
Modern authors typically overlook the battle and focus on the greater impact of Aetius's career, and he is generally seen as one of the greatest Roman military commanders of all time, as well as an excellent diplomat and administrator. Meghan McEvoy states that the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains is more a testament to his political aptitude than his military skill due to his foresight in the ability to provision treaties and obligations. John Julius Norwich caustically referred to the assassination of Valentinian III by his own guards as an act that Valentinian brought on himself by his foolish execution of Aetius, the "Empire's greatest commander."Norwich, John. Byzantium: The Early Centuries Hugh Elton notes that Aetius and his army were one of the most effective Roman armies to have existed, with its speed and mobility pointing to a highly efficient logistical and manpower resupply system not directly evidenced by the sources. It is generally seen that the rapid fragmentation and collapse of the West after his death was a testament to his ability to hold the empire together.
The struggle between Aetius and Attila is also depicted in Thomas Costain's 1959 novel The Darkness and the Dawn and William Napier's Attila trilogy. Polish writer Teodor Parnicki wrote a historical novel Aetius, the Last Roman (1937).
In the 1954 Italian-French film production Attila, Scourge of God, Aetius is portrayed by Henri Vidal. In the 2001 American TV Miniseries Attila, Aetius is portrayed by Powers Boothe as a former mentor and friend to Attila who becomes his nemesis. At the same time, he is depicted as the only general capable of keeping the empire standing and facing Attila as an equal.
|
|
