Europe 451: Attila’s invasion of Gaul

Angered by the refusal of both the Eastern and Western Roman empires to cooperate with him, Attila invaded Gaul in the spring of 451, announcing that he was there both to claim Western emperor Valentinian III’s sister Honoria as his wife—she had sent him a ring and asked for his support—and to free the Romans from the Visigoths. Sacking many cities, he advanced as far as Orléans, when the arrival of a combined Romano-Visigothic army under Aetius and Theodoric convinced him to withdraw east towards Troyes.

About this map

Download map
(download without labels)

This map has in-depth notes in the Journal, exclusive to Patrons on Classical Tier and above. Find them in the events descriptions, marked with the Journal icon .

Notes

Akatziri and the “Scythian Kingdom” (Kuban Huns)

Little is known about the region north and east of the Black Sea in the first half of the fifth century, except that in c. 400 a “Scythian King” (almost always assumed to be a Hun) lived in the Kuban region and by the 440s a Hunnic people known as the Akatziri lived east of the Dniester. Although fragmented, the Akatziri were powerful enough that, when the Eastern Romans aligned with all but one of their kingdoms in 447, it took over a year for Attila’s armies to crush them and install his son as their king. After this, Attila contemplated invading Persia, implying that suppressing the Akatziri had bought the periphery of his empire close to the Caucasus. All this suggests that the Akatziri may have extended into the North Caucasus and that the “Scythian King” may have been part of the Akatziri, although this is of course conjecture.

Main Events

450 Attila’s demands on the West ▲

In late 451 Attila simultaneously learned of Marcian’s elevation as Eastern Roman emperor and of Western emperor Valentinian III’s decision to imprison his sister Honoria—who had earlier sent Attila a ring asking for his support. The Hunnic ruler responded to both, demanding that Marcian resume tribute payments and that Valentinian release Honoria to be Attila’s wife, but was rebuffed in both cases. Meanwhile, in the West, a succession dispute broke out among the Franks and the Vandals asked Attila to attack the Visigoths. Weighing these and perhaps other factors, Attila decided to attack the Western Empire, claiming that he was acting both on behalf of Honoria and to free the Romans from the Visigoths. in wikipedia

? Apr–14 Jun 451 Attila’s invasion of Gaul ▲

In spring 451 Attila led the Huns and allied forces west from the Middle Danube and surprised the Western Romans by invading Gaul rather than Italy. Crossing the Rhine and advancing rapidly westward, Attila sacked Augusta Treverorum (Trier) in early April and Divodorum (Metz) on the 7th, before moving on to Durocortorum (Reims) and Aurelianum (Orléans). North of this main assault, a string of other cities, including Colonia Agrippina (Cologne), are also reputed to have been attacked, perhaps by another Hunnic column moving through Frankish territory. in wikipedia

26 May 451 Battle of Avarayr ▲

In early 451 a huge Persian army—allegedly 90,000 strong with 13 war elephants—moved into Armenia through the provinces of Her and Zaravand to the field of Avarayr on the Tghmout river. They were opposed by 66,000 Armenians under Vardan Mamikonian, who crossed the river to attack the Persians but were eventually overwhelmed and decisively defeated. Although Vardan himself was killed in the battle, many Armenians fled to the mountains, where they continued their resistance against Persian rule for several more months. in wikipedia

?–14 Jun 451 Attila’s siege of Orléans ▲

By early June 451 Attila’s army had reached the gates of Aurelianum (Orléans), which they intended to assault with battering rams after an effort to persuade Sangiban, King of the Alans, to betray the city was rebuffed. However, the attack was hampered by a four-day rain storm and it was not until the 14th that the Huns were able to resume their offensive and breach the city’s walls. Fortunately for the defenders, at exactly this moment Aetius and Theodoric—alerted by the bishop Anianus (Aignan)—arrived at the head of a Romano-Visigothic army and forced Attila to abandon the siege. in wikipedia