The Greatest Commanders and Warriors From Antiquity

1. As a reward for Saving Rome, Aetius was murdered by his Emperor

In 450, the Western Roman Emperor’s sister sought to escape a betrothal to an old aristocrat whom she disliked. So she begged Attila’s help, and sent him her engagement ring. Attila interpreted that as a marriage proposal, accepted, and asked for half of the Western Roman Empire as dowry. When the Romans balked, Attila invaded, visiting his usual depredations. Aetius was put in charge of organizing the resistance. By then, the Western Roman Empire was a shell of its former self, and lacked the military means to stand up to the Huns on its own. So Aetius formed an alliance with the barbarian Visigoths.

Aetius promised the Visigoths a homeland in southwestern France in exchange for fighting off the Huns alongside the Romans. At the climactic battle of the Catalaunian Plains in 451, Aetius and the Visigoths defeated Attila and beat back his invasion. Aetius’ success aroused the jealousy of the Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III, who felt intimidated by his formidable general. On September 21^st, 454, Aetius was delivering a report to the emperor when Valentinian leaped up from his throne, and out of the blue, accused the general of drunken depravities. Then, before the startled Aetius knew what was happening, the emperor and a co-conspirator hacked the general to death with a sword.

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Where Did We Find This Stuff? Some Sources and Further Reading

Ancient History Encyclopedia – Epaminondas

Ancient History Encyclopedia – Miltiades

Ancient Warfare – The Battle of Salamis

Appian – The Civil Wars, Book II

Appian – The Spanish Wars, Book XII

Encyclopedia Britannica – Aetius

Encyclopedia Britannica – Scipio Africanus

Evans, Richard J. - Gaius Marius: A Political Biography (1994)

Herodotus – The Histories, Books VI, VII, VIII

Hildinger, Erik – Swords Against the Senate: The Rise of the Roman Army and the Fall of the Republic (2002)