Aetius Flavius: facts from the life of the great commander of the Roman Empire

According to the generally accepted view, Aetius Flavius was born in 390 in the city of Durostar, located on the Lower Danube. Today in its place is Silistra. The boy's parents occupied a prominent position in the local public life, while the Gaudenzian father belonged to a barbaric family, and his mother was Italian by roots.

early years

The Aetius family had many connections in Rome. Thanks to them, Gaudentius (the master of the cavalry himself) was able to attach his son to the court of the first ruler of the Western Roman Empire, Honorius.

Aetius Flavius became the bodyguard of the monarch. The service of Honorius was notable for many dangers. Often, Flavius became an honorable hostage, which the emperor sent as a guarantee of the implementation of new agreements with the barbarians. So the bodyguard had to spend three years with the Visigoths and Huns.

Valuable approximate

Since childhood, Aetius Flavius, accustomed to war, was distinguished by his strong physique. He masterfully handled the bow and sword. Outstanding talents, energy and diligence made him irreplaceable in the imperial suite.

In 423, Honorius died. By this time, the Western Roman Empire had lost legitimate instruments of transferring power. It was captured by all kinds of adventurers and military leaders, and after the death of the next Caesar, this process was repeated again and again. After the departure from the life of Honorius, the most efficient was John Flavius. He became the new emperor. John gave Aetius an important position, appointing him the caretaker of his residence. At that time, the capital was already transferred from Rome to Ravenna.

New turn

The coming to power of John caused a protest in Constantinople. Byzantine emperor Theodosius II decided to win Italy from the usurper and give it to his seven-year-old cousin Valentinian. John, realizing the danger looming over him, sent Aetius for support to the Huns, whom he had known since the time when he was a hostage to the nomads. Approximated gathered a huge army of steppe people and with them returned to the territory of the empire. However, Aetius was late. Three days before his return, John was executed after the defeat on the battlefield.

The Valentinian boy could not control a huge empire. Regent's son was his mother Galla Placidia. Aetius was made commander of the Gallic army. The choice was logical. The military commander had many military talents and could get on with the barbarians.

Guarding the Borders

The legions stationed in Gaul lived in a state of permanent mobilization. They were in a border region that suffered from regular invasions of pagans. Aetius, having got to Gaul, was in his place and in due time. Every year he successfully repulsed the attacks of the barbarians and arranged devastating raids on their territories.

The sword of Aetius razed the Visigoths, Franks and Vandals. Thanks to his victories, the military leader acquired an impeccable reputation. He was loved in the army and promoted along the imperious ladder. In 432 he actually began to direct all foreign policy of Rome and was the second person in the state.

The right hand of the emperor

In 435 Aetius received the title of patrician and joined the privileged metropolitan nobility. On the eve of this event, the Vandals captured Carthage and created their own kingdom in North Africa. To counter the barbarians in such a remote region, with a lack of manpower, Aetius could not, despite all his talents. Faced with a dilemma, he decided to focus on protecting Gaul.

In 436, the commander defeated the Burgundians, who tried to cross the Rhine. Another headache of power was the regular uprising of slaves. Finally, the Visigoths created their own Aquitaine kingdom and threatened a multitude of Roman provinces. Strengthened in Africa, vandals engaged in piracy in the Mediterranean. All these problems had to be solved by Aetius. Despite the complexity of the situation, he minimized the loss of the empire and was able to protect it from disintegration.

Relations with Attila

No matter how dramatically the life of Flavius Aetius in his youth was, his main test was the confrontation with the Huns, which began in 451. These barbarians, who came from distant eastern steppes and settled in Pannonia, threatened both Romans and Byzantines. At first, the Eastern Empire suffered most from which the Huns waged open wars. Aetius Flavius, by virtue of skillful diplomacy, for a long time, suspended the threat from his native country.

The leader of the Huns was the famous Attila, whose name became synonymous with devastating destruction and terrible cruelty to the adversaries. During the period of exacerbation of relations with Byzantium, he preferred to exchange gifts and ambassadors with Aetcius. However, despite the shaky complacency of the nomads were thin neighbors. They could not live without raids and loot, and therefore, after concluding peace with Byzantium, they turned their eyes to the west. Flavius Aetius and Attila simply could not help but collide on the battlefield.

War with the Huns

In 451, the Attila horde attacked Gaul. Flavius, understanding the weakness of the empire in front of a dangerous adversary, decided to reconcile with former enemies. He enlisted the support of the Visigothic king Theodoric and several other barbarian tribes. The army of this coalition came forward to meet the Huns. Two troops met in the Battle of the Catalan fields, which became one of the most iconic in the history of antiquity. The result of the battle was a huge loss on both sides. The Huns had to return to their steppes. In the Middle Ages for Aetcius, the glory of the victor over the barbarians and the savior of all Christian Europe was fixed.

The commander, however, did not end the rout of the Huns, believing that by retaining part of this tribe, he would leave a counterbalance to the intensified Visigoths. As a result, Attila was able to regain his strength after some break. In 452, he attacked the empire, this time selecting Northern Italy as a target. Aetius Flavius came back to meet him again. The commander of the Roman Empire did not allow the nomads to break through to the Apennine peninsula. The army of Byzantium came to rescue him. But this did not end the failure of the Hun forces. An epidemic of plague began in their camp. Finally, Attila decided to return to the steppe. A year later he died at one of the many feasts. The "scourge of God" is in the past.

Death

The inhabitants of Rome deservedly believed that their chief savior was Aetius Flavius. The biography of this commander is an example of an outstanding politician, diplomat and military tactician. All these features made it potentially dangerous for the central government. Growing Emperor Valentinian treated Aetius with considerable suspicion. Despite this outwardly their relationship looked warm and friendly. Aetius even achieved the engagement of his son with the daughter of the emperor.

Perhaps, it was this step that became fatal for the commander. The emperor could decide that, having become related to him, Aetius will begin to demonstrate his power ambitions. Such a turn of events could well be real. The last Roman emperors did not linger on the throne at all. They were often overthrown by their own confidants and military commanders.

Valentinian everywhere saw a plot. He believed that Aetius Flavius was behind a possible network of spies. The death of the commander under such circumstances became a matter of time. September 21, 454 Aetius was summoned to the Imperial Palace. He had to report on tax revenues. Not expecting an attack, Aetius was slaughtered by Valentinian and his retinue right in the palace. The Roman Empire collapsed just two decades after the death of the famous commander. Many ancient historians associated these two events. They noted the great merits of Aetius in preserving the already chronically ill power.