Flavius Aetius (also spelled Aëtius; ; 390 – 21 September 454) was a Roman 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 federates 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 Attila 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, Aetius 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
Biography
Origins and family Aetius was born at Durostorum in Moesia Secunda (modern Silistra, Bulgaria), roughly around 390, as he was described as a "young adolescent" in 405. His father, Gaudentius, was a Roman general and described as a native of the province of Scythia. Aetius's mother, whose name is unknown, was a wealthy aristocratic woman of ancestry from Rome or some other city in the Italian peninsula.Jordanes, Getica, 176; Merobaudes, Carmina, iv, 42–43, and Panegyrici, ii, 110–115, 119–120; Gregory of Tours, ii.8; Zosimus, v.36.1; Chronica gallica 452, 100. Cited in Jones, p. 21. Before 425 Aetius married the daughter of Carpilio,Carpilio had been a comes domesticorum, commander of the imperial guard (Gregory of Tours, ii.8). who gave him a son, also named Carpilio.Carpilio went to Attila for an embassy (Cassiodorus, Variae, i.4.11) and remained at their court as an hostage for some time (Priscus, fr. 8). Later he married Pelagia, widow of Bonifacius, from whom he had a son, Gaudentius. It is possible that he also had a daughter, whose husband, Thraustila, avenged Aetius's death by killing emperor Valentinian III.Gregory of Tours, ii.8; Priscus, fr. 8; Cassiodorus, Variae, i.4.11; John of Antioch, fr. 201.3 and 204; Marcellinus comes, s.a. 432; Sidonius Apollinaris, Carmina, v.205; Hydatius, 167; Merobaudes, Carmina, iv (poem composed for the first birthday of Gaudentius); Additamenta ad chron. Prosperi Hauniensis, s.a. 455 (only source to cite Thraustila as son-in-law of Aetius). Cited in Jones, p. 21.
Early years and service under Joannes
As a boy, Aetius was at the service of the imperial court, enrolled in the military unit of the Protectores Domestici and then elevated to the position of tribunus praetorianus partis militaris, setting him up for future political eligibility.Gregory of Tours, ii.8; Jones, p. 21. Between 405 and 408 he was kept as hostage at the court of Alaric I, king of the Visigoths. In 408 Alaric asked to keep Aetius as a hostage, but was refused, as Aetius was sent to the court of Uldin, king of the Huns, where he would stay throughout much of the reign of Charaton, Uldin's successor.Gregory of Tours, ii.8; Merobaudes, Carmina, iv, 42–46, and Panegyrici, ii.1–4 and 127–143; Zosimus, v.36.1 Some modern historians have suggested that Aetius's upbringing amongst militaristic peoples gave him a martial vigour not common in contemporary Roman generals.Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume I, Chap. XXXV (Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 1952), p. 559.
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 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
First Gallic campaigns
In 426, Aetius arrived in southern Gaul and took command of the field army. At that time Arelate, an important city in Narbonensis near the mouth of the Rhone, was under siege from the Visigoths, led by their king Theodoric I. Aetius defeated Theodoric, lifted the siege of Arelate, and drove the Visigoths back to their holdings in Aquitania.
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 Suebes. Aetius then defeated the Franks, recapturing Tournacum and Cambriacum. 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.
War with Bonifacius
While Aetius was campaigning in Gaul, there was an ongoing power struggle among Aetius, Felix, Bonifacius, and the emperor Valentinian's mother and regent Galla Placidia. In 427 while Bonifacius was away as governor (comes) of Africa, Felix caused him to fall into disfavour with Placidia. Bonifacius was eventually returned to favor by Placidia, but only after Felix had sent Sigisvult and two other armies against him when Aetius warned him of Felix's intentions. In 429, the Vandals exploited this power struggle and crossed over to Africa.Procopius of Caesarea, Bellum Vandalicum, i.3.14–22, 28–29; John of Antioch, fr. 196; Theophanes, AM 5931; Hydatius, 99; Prosperus, s.a. 427. Cited in Jones, p. 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 consulate, 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 comes et magister utriusque militiae. 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.
Campaigns against Burgundians, Bagaudae, and Visigoths
From 433 to 450, Aetius was the dominant figure in the Western Empire, obtaining the rank of magnificus vir parens patriusque noster (5 September 435) and playing the role of "protector" of Galla Placidia and Valentinian III while the Emperor was still young. At the same time he continued to devote attention to Gaul. In 436, the Burgundians of King Gundahar were defeated and obliged to accept peace by Aetius and Avitus; however, the following year he sent Hun foederati to destroy them.Sid. Apol. Carm. 7.234–240 Allegedly 20,000 Burgundians were killed in a slaughter which probably became the basis of the Nibelungenlied, a German epic.Hydatius, Chronicon, 110 That same year Aetius was probably in Armorica with Litorius to suppress a rebellion of the Bagaudae under their leader Tibatto. The year 437 saw his second consulship and the wedding of Valentinian and Licinia Eudoxia in Constantinople; it is probable that Aetius attended the ceremony that marked the restoration of the direct rule of the Emperor. At that time his general Litorius had broken the siege of Narbona and had turned the war in favor of the Romans. The following two years were occupied by a campaign against the Suebi and by the war against the Visigoths; in 438 Aetius won a major battle (probably the Battle of Mons Colubrarius), but in 439 the Visigoths defeated and killed Litorius and his Hun Foederati. Aetius returned to Gaul after Vetericus had stabilized the situation, and defeated the Visigoths and obtained a treaty. On his return to Italy, he was honoured by a statue erected by the Senate and the People of Rome by order of the Emperor; this was probably the occasion for the panegyric written by Merobaudes.Annales Ravennates, s.a. 435; John of Antioch, fr. 201.3; Prosper of Aquitaine, s.a. 435, s.a. 438, s.a. 439; Cassiodorus, Chronica, s.a. 435; Chronica Gallica a. 452, 117 (s.a. 435), 118 (s.a. 436), 119 (s.a. 437), 123 (s.a. 439); Hydatius, 108 (s.a. 436), 110 (s.a. 437), 112 (s.a. 438), 117 (s.a. 439); Sidonius Apollinaris, vii.234–235 and 297–309; Merobaudes, Panegyrici, i fr. iib 11ff, i fr. iia 22–23, and ii.5–7; Jordanes, Getica, 176; Barnes, Timothy, "Patricii under Valentinian III", Phoenix, 29, 1975, pp. 166–168; Jones, pp. 24–26.
In 443, Aetius settled the remaining Burgundians in Sapaudia, 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.