Cambridge Ancient Hi.. - Index of

the era of aetius, 425,54 17
a possible use for him in fomenting a revolt to ease the path of any Hunnic
army operating in the west. Late in 450, likewise, Aetius and Attila backed
different candidates for the recently vacant kingship of the Ripuarian
Franks. Every possible opening was thus being exploited by Attila, first, to
provoke a quarrel, and, second, to prevent the creation of any united front
against him in the west. The diplomatic offensive reached a climax in 451,
when, as his forces finally began to march, Attila sent letters both to the
western court at Ravenna and to the Visigothic king Theoderic I in
Toulouse. To Ravenna, Attila proclaimed that he had come to attack the
Visigoths on their behalf. Theoderic was told that the Huns’ quarrel was
with Ravenna and he was urged to bring the Goths over to Attila’s side. 37
As Jordanes comments: ‘Beneath his ferocity, [Attila] was a subtle man, and
fought with craft before he made war’ (Get. 36.185–6).
At the start of 451, Attila’s expedition moved westwards along the left
bank of the Danube. The Rhine was crossed around Mayence, the province
of Belgica ravaged, and the city of Metz burned on 7 April. Towards
the end of May, the Huns were encamped around Orleans, when Aetius
finally appeared. His army was composed of Roman regulars and a series
of detachments from allied peoples. Of these, the most important was
Gothic, under the command of their king, Theoderic I. Jordanes also mentions
the presence of Franks, Saxons and Burgundians (Get. 36.191). The
western authorities, it seems, had been expecting an invasion of Italy, and
Aetius had had to work extremely hard to make the Goths take the field.
Attila’s diplomatic manoeuvrings had nearly worked. On Aetius’ appearance,
Attila retreated towards the Champagne, where battle was joined on
the so-called Catalaunian Plains (or campus Mauriacus) in late June or early
July. In a bloody encounter, the Visigothic king was killed, but victory went
to Aetius. Attila at first contemplated killing himself, but then withdrew to
Pannonia to lick his wounds and prepare another effort. 38
Attila’s second western expedition followed in the next campaigning
season, and this time did fall on Italy. Friuli was taken by storm – a victory
followed in swift succession by the capture of, amongst others, Aquileia,
Padua, Mantua, Verona and Brescia. It was after these successes that the
famous encounter between Attila and pope Leo is supposed to have taken
place on the river Mincius. Whether it ever occurred is doubtful, and it
seems most unlikely that the pope’s persuasion really saved Rome. Aetius
has sometimes been criticized for not giving full-scale battle to the Huns,
but without bringing the Goths to Italy – a very dangerous move – he
lacked sufficient forces. Further, contrary to some interpretations, he does
seem to have been harrying the Huns with the troops that were available to
37 On these matters, see Thompson (1996) 143ff.; Clover (1972).
38 Further details: Thompson (1996) 148ff.
Cambridge Histories Online © Cambridge University Press, 2008