In Sheets of Blood - A Late Antiquity TL

[Richard Drummond]

In Sheets of Blood
A Late Antiquity Timeline


Chapter I: A Vandal King
Chapter II: Bonifacius, Aetius and Rimini
Chapter III: Vandal Carthage
Chapter IV: Magister Militum Bonifatius
Chapter V: Bleda the Hun
Chapter VI: Theodosius II
Chapter VII: The Isaurian War​

 

[Marc Anthony]

Looking forward to this

 

[Richard Drummond]

A Vandal King

The earliest records of the Vandals come from Pliny the Elder and other Roman writers who described a group of Germanic peoples living between the Suevus [Oder] and Vistla [Vistula] Rivers. Famous for their legendary migration into Libya [Maghreb], it is often easy to forget that even at these earliest mentions, the Vandals were migrants from even further north settling in the region during the 2nd century BC. They continued to migrate southward during the Marcomannic Wars when we see the first mention of the Hasdingians. They would enter Pannonia during the Crisis of the Third Century, finally receiving permission to settle down by Constantine the Great around 330 AD. It was the raids of the Huns that forced them west into the territory of the Roman Empire and, amongst others, the Vandals famously crossed the Rhine in 406 after their defeat of the Franks with the help of the Alans; although not without the loss of their king, Godigisel.

Under the reign of his Godigisel’s son, Gunderic, they made their way south plundering along the way and ultimately crossing the Pyrenees in 409 and the Hasdingi portion came to settle in Gallaecia. In 418, they were ousted from their position by Goths serving the Romans and the same year saw the king of the Alans, Attaces, fall in battle against the same Goths. Leaderless, the Alans appealed to Gunderic to lead them and thus was born the merger of the Vandal and Alan peoples. Conflicts with the Suebi drove Gunderic further south into Baetica where he joined the Silingi portion of the Vandals and, now united, the Vandals and Alans defeated the army of magister militum Castinus outside the walls of Corduba.

Gunderic proceeded to plunder southern Hispania and even attack Mauretania Tingitana. He returned to Hispalis [Seville] in 428 after sacking it in 425 alongside Carthago Spartaria [Cartagena]. A year later, the Vandals departed Hispania without their king who had died early in the preceding year. Instead, the king at the head of the Vandal force as they entered Libya was his half-brother, Gaiseric. He had already proven himself to be a competent leader when he defeated the Suebi army of Heremigarius at the Flumen Anas [Guadiana]. Roman sources claim up to 80,000 persons joined Gaiseric into Libya but such numbers are likely exaggerated with Gaiseric probably commanding around 20,000 Vandals, Alans and Goths.

Libya, at the time of Vandal invasion, had just come out of a civil war which ended with the signing of peace between comes Bonifacius and comes Sigisvultus once Galla Placidia, mother of Valentinian III, learnt of his innocence from claims that he sought to declare independence. Bonifacius was now faced with a Vandal invasion with some sources claiming that he had invited them to help in his war against Sigisvultus. The Vandals were successful in marching across the coast and were stopped by a short ceasefire before Gaiseric continued his march towards Hippo Regius. They were stopped again, this time by Bonifacius and his troops of locals and Gothic foederati who were successful at the Battle of Calama in 430.

Instead of exploiting his victory, Bonifacius retreated to Hippo Regius which Gaiseric laid siege to before being forced to lift said siege after 14 months. Given respite, Bonifacius retreated from the city to join Oriental [Eastern Roman] forces sent to Libya by Theodosius II under the command of general Aspar. St. Augustine of Hippo died following the city’s fall [1] sparking riots as rumours spread of the Vandals poisoning him. Such rumours are likely false considering the saint had been inches away from death for many months before his day came. Gaiseric reacted by cracking down on the rioters but he saved the city from a sack as he sought to establish it as his first capital. He subsequently left his new capital and soundly defeated both Bonifacius and Aspar at a set battle early in 432. Bonifacius would return to Rimini to engage Flavius Aetius at the Battle of Rimi while Aspar remained in Libya until returning to serve as consul in Constantinople following another defeat to Gaiseric in 434.

Peace would be concluded in 435 another year of continued fighting with the Vandals subjugating the interior of Numidia. The future had to show what it held in store for the Vandalic king who had finally secured a home of the Vandal people and their allies. Gaiseric was recognized as king and in return, he had to pay a tribute and serve as foederati to the empire and send his son, Huneric, as a hostage to Rome.

[1] This is the POD, St. Augustine manages to hang on long enough to die after Hippo Regius falls rather than during the siege.

 

[Paschalis]

looks great so far, will this follow the same narrative as the old timeline ?

 

[Orisha91]

This is cool. We need more Vandal tls here. Hopefully they can endure longer than OTL

 

[Richard Drummond]

Bonifacius

Bonifacius’ career began as a general of Constantius III under whom he made a name for himself by defeating the Visigoths of Athaulf at Massilia, allegedly wounding the Gothic king himself. The general would continue to advance in his career becoming a tribunus commanding a Gothic regiment of foederati in campaigns against the Mauri of Libya [North Africa]. He remained here for a couple of years before being recalled to the Imperial court in Ravenna in 422 where he met his Gothic wife Pelagia and inherited his father-in-law’s bucellarii.

He came to be tasked with a campaign against both the Vandals and the Alans before they had yet to migrate to Libya. Bonifatius’, however, was tasked to cooperate with Castinus but the too’s constant quarreling meant the campaign never came to fruition. This dispute had arisen from the fact that Galla Placidia sought to avoid Castinus from gaining the power of Stilicho before him and in response, Castinus sought to remove Placidia’s favored, Bonifacius, from power. These disputes forced Bonifacius to move to Libya where he came to acquire the title of comes africae before returning to his campaigns against the Mauri.

Bonifacius was thus in a prominent and important position when Castinus elevated the primicerius notariorum Joannes to the throne in 424 following the death of Emperor Honorius. Commanding a major source of grain for Rome, Bonifacius cut off the supply showing his support for both Placidia and Theodosius II in the east. Joannes’ forces sought to dislodge Bonifacius from his position in Libya but he was unable to do so and eventually he was overthrown following a revolt in Gaul alongside an Oriental military campaign. Valentinian III, Honorius’ nephew, was proclaimed emperor and the grain shipments resumed from Libya. In return, Bonifacius was awarded the position of comes domesticorum.

However, Bonifacius would lose favour with the Imperial Court in 427 when he refused summons to Ravenna by Ravenna. Another staunch supporter of Placidia and magister utriusque militiae, Flavius Constantius Felix, accused his rival of forming his own empire in Roman Libya and he was ordered to send an army to retake the province. Felix sent three generals to take Libya, Mavortius, Gallio and Sanoeces (the latter commanding the Hunnic foederati). The three laid siege to Bonifacius at Carthage, however, infighting broke out and the Huns of Sanoeces killed the Romans before Sanoeces himself was killed and the siege was lifted. Hearing of the disaster at Carthage, Felix sent comes Sigisvultus with an army of Goths. Sigisvultus successfully took Carthage but Bonifacius and his Gothic bucellarii continued to campaign in Numidia looting the province to supply his forces. The fighting would come to an end in 429 when Placidia learned that a letter had been forged ordering him not to return to Ravenna if summoned.

Almost immediately afterwards, Bonifacius had to deal with the Vandal invasion of Libya. Unsuccessful in holding back Gaiseric’s men, Bonifacius was forced to abandon Roman Libya leaving its defense to Oriental general, Aspar. Bonifacius found himself returning to Italia.

Aetius

Born around 391 in Durostorum, Moesia Secunda, Aetius was the son of general Gaudentius making him Gothic on his father’s side though his mother was a Roman. Aetius went down the same career path as his father and enrolled in the military unit of the Protectores Domestici as a boy before rising to tribunus praetorianus partis militaris which opened up the path for a future political career. From 405 to 408, he served as a hostage at the court of Alaric I of the Visigoths before being transferred to the court of Uldin of the Huns and here he stayed throughout the rest of Uldin’s reign and that of his successor, Charaton. During his time amongst the Huns, he developed bonds that would come to benefit him later in life.

Following the death of Emperor Honorius, Aetius served in the army of Joannes and Castinus as cura palatii and he was sent to the Huns to request for assistance. Aetius was successful in this task, however, he returned to Italy with a large force of Huns only to find that Joannes had been killed in the summer of 425 in Ravenna and the throne was now controlled by Valentinian III and his mother Galla Placidia. Aetius fought with Aspar but eventually came to compromise with Galla Placidia and sent back his Huns in return for the rank of comes et magister militum per Gallias.

In 426 he arrived in southern Gaul and came to find himself commanding the regional field army. Immediately, he fought against Theodoric I to lift the siege of Arelate and drive the Visigoths back into Aquitania. In 428, he fought the Salian Franks and defeated King Chlodio gaining back some lands they occupied along the Rhenus [Rhine]. These victories allowed him to be elevated to magister militum as the junior since the patrician Flavius Constantinus Felix was the senior magister and also a supporter of Galla Placidia. Following a repulsion of the Visigoths at Arelate, this time under Anaolsus, Aetius had Felix accused of plotting against him resulting in his hanging.

Now the highest ranking official in the army, Aetius moved to Raetia and Noricum where he defeated the Bacaudae in Augusta Vindelicorum and re-established Roman rule on the Danube frontier as he campaigned against the Juthungi. He returned to Gaul in 431 where he recaptured Tournacum and Cambriacum after defeating the Franks before sending troops into Hispania under Hydatius to attack the Suebes. However, these troops would have to be redirected to the east for an upcoming civil strife.

Battle of Rimini

At the instigation of Flavius Aetius, Flavius Felix, his wife Padusia and a deacon were hanged by the Roman army in 432 leaving Flavius Aetius in the position to make a major push for greater power. Placidia sought to resist this rising threat and appointed Bonifacius magister utriusque militiae and patricius despite his recent defeat in Libya. This came after Aetius’ rise to magister utriusque militiae along with his appointment to the consulship in 432. Fearing his decline from power, Aetius was forced into taking action to retain his status.

The two men met one another at Rimini with under 7,000 bucellarii each with Bonifacius’ troops coming from Libya, his Goths and local Italians while Aetius’ troops being Gallics brought in from the west.. Bonifacius was victorious and Aetius was forced to flee to the court of the Huns following Bonifacius’ attempt to have his opponent assassinated. Aetius quickly began raising a Hunnic force to return to Italia with while Bonifacius turned to the Visigoths to raise a force in order to defeat Aetius’ expected invasion.

Aetius returned to Italy with a large Hunnic force the following year and met Bonifacius at the Battle of Aquileia. The two armies made battle and despite noteworthy losses on both sides, Bonifacius came out on top and Aetius was captured. The Huns were paid off to return to their homes and Aetius was dragged back to Ravenna where he was executed. Bonifacius was now left as the strongest undisputed figure in the Occidental Roman Empire with the backing and support of Galla Placidia. He, however, now found himself in debt to the Visigoths whose added forces were the only reason Bonifacius held back Aetius.

 

[Richard Drummond]

looks great so far, will this follow the same narrative as the old timeline ?

The first few chapters will be mostly the same (except for a few changes here and there) but the long term plans of the TL have changed quite majorly.

 

[Richard Drummond]

Vandal Carthage
The peace that had been established between the Romans and Vandals would not last for long with Gaiseric breaking the treaty in 439 with an invasion of the province of Africa Proconsularis to lay siege to Carthage. A wily general, he had timed his siege to occur while the city’s populace were attending the races at the hippodrome. Catching the people off guard, he seized the city without a fight and moved his capital from Hippo Regius to the much more prestigious Carthago. The rest of the province quickly fell under Vandal arms and soon, Gaiseric had finally established a strong homeland for not just the Vandals, but also the Alans.

In capturing the city without much of a fight, Gaiseric was able to also capture much of the fleet residing in the harbour heavily bolstering his naval capabilities. The situation in Africa Proconsularis was secure as the population were willing to give their new rulers an opportunity to prove their worth since the previous landowners were already generally unpopular. Not having to be tied down in maintaining the peace, Gaiseric was able to send out troops with his enlarged fleet to conquer Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Malta and the Balearic Islands in the subsequent years (although not immediately) turning the Vandals into one of the preeminent Mediterranean powers.

Although contemporary Nicenes such as Quodvultdeus or Pelagius of Utica spoke of wantant plunder and destruction committed by the Vandals, the opposite was true. They were no more brutal than other conquering peoples and in fact would be great promoters of public works and construction throughout their close to 300 year reign in Libya. Under the new leadership Libya would see a revitalization of the Byrsa Hill in Carthage as the political center of the region and new industrial centers emerged across the region with an economic recovery as peace finally was brought to the region following the civil war between Bonifacius and Sigisvultus and the subsequent Vandal invasion.

The first Vandal raid upon Sicily took place in 440 in an attempt to seize Panormus and was met by an Oriental response under Romano-Goth Areobindus ordered by Theodosius II since the Occidental Romans were deeply involved in maintaining the peace in Gaul. The Oriental expedition reached Sicily the subsequent year but were unable to make major gains and after the situation entered a stalemate following the repulsion of the Vandals from Sicily, peace was signed between Valentinian III and Gaiseric in 442 with Vandal rule confirmed over Proconsular Africa, Byzacena, Tripolitania and Numidia. Although Vandal rule over Libya was generally stable, the opposite was true for the Occidental Romans as they had lost a prosperous territory and important source of not just grains, but also taxes. The city of Rome’s population had already declined by 442 but the city still required the grain imports and due to the severe importance of these trade routes, part of the 442 treaty included a provision for continued grain shipments. Nonetheless, the insecurity of Vandal commitment to the treaty meant that recovering Libya would have to be of utmost importance for the Romans.

Another issue for the Romans was Vandal raids which looted the coasts of both the western and eastern Mediterranean and both empires had their hands tied in dealing with the Huns and thus were unable to react effectively to their southern threat. It did not matter that Valentinian III’s own daughter Eudocia was betrothed to Gaiseric’s son Huneric. This marriage was of some controversy since the Imperial princess was a Nicene whereas Huneric, like his father, was an Arian. Gaiseric had inflicted noteworthy violence upon Nicene churches while conquering Libya but having finally settled down with a proper kingdom of his own, he turned away from active violence to rather state-sponsored discrimination of Nicenes. The brutal violence of the initial violence thus found itself replaced by mundane bureaucratic policies once the royal treasury had been bolstered with the wealth of the looted churches.

This policy had begun as early as 435 with basilicas seized and bishops expelled as Arian holymen were entrenched as the most powerful cleric force in the region. These policies were repeated again with the capture of Carthage and the rest of Roman Libya. Within Carthage itself, four major churches were confiscated for use by Arians and bans were imposed on all Nicene services wherever the Vandals settled. Laymen were excluded from obtaining offices and frequently suffered confiscation of their property. It must, however, be noted that the most intense persecution of Nicenes was seen in regions where Vandals themselves inhabited as the us-versus-them mentality helped keep his own followers united although one must not underestimate the religious conviction that played a role in Gaiseric’s actions.

And thus was the situation in Libya during the 440s, an ad hoc administration of Vandals, Alans, Goths and Romans ruled over a Mauri and Roman population while the King of the Vandals and Alans ruled as not just king, but also as the supposed upholder of imperial government in the region and supporter of Carthage’s Latin literary culture; a position only strengthened with the formalization of the betrothal between Eudocia and Huneric in 444. This eclectic situation would have important implications for the future.

 

[Marc Anthony]

their close to 300 year reign in Libya.

Nice, can't wait to see how their Kingdom evolves

 

[Richard Drummond]

Magister Militum Bonifatius

Obtaining the rank of magister militum, Bonifacius found himself as the most powerful person in the Occident with this power strengthened by his obtaining of the title of magnificus vir parens patriusque noster which saw him become the protector of both Valentinian III and his mother Galla Placidia. He also was now in charge of having to maintain the territorial integrity of the Roman Empire in the West. The first issue at hand was the Burgundians of King Gundahar. In 435, the Burgundians descended from their territories and attacked the Roman province of Belgica Prima which had already suffered a Frank raid earlier in the year that saw the plunder of Colonia [OTL Cologne] and Augusta Treverorum [OTL Trier]. Gundahar was defeated the following year and forced into accepting a peace treaty. The attack, however, failed to deal with the cause of the raid in the first place. The Burgundians were coming under increasing pressure from the Huns and so Bonifatius not just confirmed the rights of the Burgundians to their kingdom, but he also sent aid and troops to the region to help hold back the Huns.

In the same year, there was a Bagaudae uprising in Armorica under a figure known as Tibatto. Bonifatius aided his stepson Sebastianus, the magister militum per Gallias. He would return to Rome to travel with the emperor to Constantinople the following year where he was married off to Licinia Eudoxia forming a royal connection between the halves of the Roman Empire. In return for his service as regent in the preceding years, Bonifatius was rewarded with a consulship for the year of 437. He, however, returned to the Occident to find an unfortunate situation. The Visigoths had captured Narbo Martius and Sebastianus was on the backfoot. The arrival of Bonifatius allowed for the recapture of Narbo Martius in 438 and continued skirmishing and battles with the Visigoths and Suebi.

Eventually, peace came in 439 and the sovereignty of the Visigothic state was recognized while the Suebi were chastised by Bonifatius in Hispania. This victory allowed him to return to Rome to be honoured by the Senate with a statue erected in his name by order of Valentinian III on behalf of the people of Rome. In the wake of his victory against the Visigoths, Bonifatius began settling Burgundians and Alans around Valentia [OTL Valence]. This was to counter the problems in Gaul with loyal tribes, in the case of the Alans, and less loyal tribes, in the case of the Burgundians. In and around Aurelianum [OTL Orleans], Alans were settled two years later along the Loire to contain Bagaudae and peasant unrest within Armorica.

Hispania, however, continued to suffer unrest with common Bagaudae uprisings with a noteworthy revolt in 443 that had to be put down by the Magister Militum per Hispanias. Things continued to escalate and violence broke out again with the Suebi which initiated a joint Romano-Goth offensive against the Suebi in Gallaecia which co-operated with a Vandal raid on Turonium in 445. However, by the following year, this campaign had ended in defeat. This defeat encouraged a Bagaudae uprising off in Armorica which was put down by the Alans settled in the region. A year later in 449, a major Bagaudae uprising in Hispania sacked Turiaso [OTL Tarazona], Caesaraugusta [OTL Zaragoza] and Illerdensus [OTL Lleida]. These Bagaudae peasants were assisted by Suebi forces that entered Tarraconensis to aid the revolt.

Back in Gaul, the Franks had launched an assault on Belgica Secunda in 445 under their king, Chlodio. This came after a defeat of the Franks at the siege of Turonum [OTL Tours] by magister militum per Gallias Sebastianus. The rest of the decade was spent attempting to fix relations between the Romans and Franks. During this period, however, the Franks successfully expanded to take Turnacum [OTL Tournai] as well as Cameracum [OTL Cambrai] in the south. In 449, Chlodio eventually passed away and a small succession crisis broke out between his sons Chramnesind and Merovech. The former had the backing of Bonifatius and thus easily defeated the challenge by his younger brother.

By 450, Gaul had mostly entered a period of relative peace. Magister militum Bonifatius’ career, however, would be pushed to its limits with the increasing crisis that was the Huns of Bleda in the east. Following his defeat of Flavius Aetius and his Hunnic army, Bonifatius had prepared the use of Gothic foederati and mercenaries instead of Hunnic troops and the relationship between Bonifatius and the Huns was poor. In Pannonia, Romans and Huns fought along the Sava River and Huns pushed against the Romans’ Burgundians allies. Things were increasingly coming to a climax when Bonifatius turned east to focus on the fighting in the Pannonia, leaving his son-in-law once again to handle Gaul and, to a lesser extent, Hispania.


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From now on, I'll be attaching a summary of the events in a little yearly timeline thing. Not sure what to call it.

• 431:
  • The Vandals captured the city of Hippo Regius, suffering from riots caused by rumours of them assassinating St. Augustine of Hippo.
• 432:
  • Gaiseric defeats Bonifacius and Aspar in a set battle following the fall of Hippo Regius.
  • Battle of Rimini: Roman forces under command of Flavius Aetius are defeated near Rimini. His rival comes Bonifacius becomes supreme commander (magister militum) of the Western Roman army. Empress Galla Placidia gives him considerable influence over imperial policy. Aetius flees to Dalmatia and seeks refuge with the Huns.
• 433:
  • Flavius Aetius returns, with the support of the Huns, back to Italy. He fails to gain control over emperor Valentinian III, aged 14, and is killed.
• 434:
  • Gaiseric defeats Aspar, forcing him to withdraw. He would serve as consul in Constantinople.
• 435:
  • Gaiseric and Valentinian III sign a peace treaty granting Mauretania and parts of Numidia to the Vandals who would serve as foederati. Gaiseric’s eldest son, Huneric, was sent as a hostage to the court at Ravenna.
  • The Burgundians, under King Gundahar, attack the Roman province of Belgica Prima due to increasing pressure from the Huns. This attack came after a Frankish plunder of Colonia and Augusta Treverorum which had already weakened the region for Burgundian raids.
• 436:
  • King Gundahar was defeated in battle by magister militum Bonifatius. The Burgundians were forced into accepting a peace treaty which recognized their right to a kingdom. Bonifatius sent aid and troops to the region to help defend against the Huns.
  • An Armorican Bagaudae uprising led by Tibatto was put down by Bonifacius and Sebastianus. Using this period of distraction, the Visigoths began an offensive into Roman territory. The Suebi also began making offenses into Roman Hispania.
• 437:
  • Valentinian III was married to Licinia Eudoxia in a marriage ceremony in Constantinople.
  • The Visigoths, under Theodoric I, captured the city of Naro Martius.
  • July:
    • 2nd: Valentinian III rules as emperor, aged 18, over the Western Roman Empire. His mother Galla Placidia ends her regency, but continues to exercise political influence until her death in 450.
  • October:
    • 29th: Valentinian III cements an alliance with the eastern emperor, Theodosius II, by marrying his daughter Licinia Eudoxia in Constantinople. This marks the reunion of the two branches of the House of Theodosius.
• 438:
  • Magister militum Bonifatius recaptured the city of Narbo Martius from the Visigoths.
• 439:
  • King Gaiseric breaks his treaty with the Western Roman Empire and invades Africa Proconsularis capturing Carthage with little resistance. Now wholly in control of the North African granary, the Vandals were able to enforce their will on the Romans who were dependent on them for grain and other good staples.
  • Peace was signed between Theodoric I of the Visigoths and Magister militum Bonifatius which recognized the sovereignty of the Visigothic state. In recognition of this victory, a statue was erected in Rome in honour of Bonifatius.
• 440:
  • A Vandal fleet and their allies (Alans, Goths and Moors) set out from Carthage for Sicily, the principal supplier of oil and grain to Italy after the loss of North Africa. They loot all the coastal towns and besiege Palermo.
  • Magister Militum Bonifatius settled Alans and Burgundians in Valentia along the Rhone.
• 441:
  • Theodosius II sent the Oriental imperial fleet, under the command of Romano-Goth Areobindus, into Sicilian waters, taking the Vandals by surprise. He was able to capture Panormus and expel the Vandals from the island but was unable to build upon his successes.
• 442:
  • Emperor Valentinian III signed a peace treaty with King Gaiseric, recognising the Vandal Kingdom and granting them sovereignty over most of Libya. This marked the end of the Vandal migrations as they settled in Libya with Carthage as their capital. A marriage proposal was formed between Eudocia and Huneric who was already married to a Visigothic princess so Gaiseric accused her of trying to poison him and had her ears and nose cut off before being sent back to her father, Theodoric I.
  • Magister Militum Bonifatius settled Alans and Burgundians along the Loire including Aurelianum. This was to handle peasant unrest and the Bagaudae movement.
• 443:
  • A major Bagaudae uprising was put down in Tarraconensis.
• 444:
  • Eudocia, eldest daughter of Emperor Valentinian III, is betrothed to Huneric, son of Gaiseric.
• 445:
  • The Vandals, on the orders of the Romans, attacked Turonium in Gallaecia while a combined force of Romans and Goths campaigned against the Suebi to be defeated the following year.
• 446:
  • The Romano-Goth campaign against the Suebi ended in defeat.
• 447:
  • A Bagaudae uprising broke out in Armorica in response to the Romano-Goth defeat in Gallaecia.
• 448:
  • Alan foederati crushed the Bagaudae uprising in Armorica.
• 449:
  • A Suebi supported Bagaudae uprising broke out in Tarraconensis and sacked Tyriasso, Caesaraugusta and Illerdensus.
  • Chlodio, King of the Salian Franks, passed away and was succeeded by his eldest son, Chramnesind. He suffered a challenge to leadership by his younger brother, Merovech. He was, however, defeated and executed with Roman help.

 

[Richard Drummond]

Bleda the Hun

The Huns first arrived on the scene in western Eurasia with their defeat of the Alans around 370. Many were killed and the survivors entered an alliance with the Huns who proceeded to continue their march west with an invasion of the Gohs in 375. Some Alans sided with the Goths instead of the Huns and would be at Adrianople where Valens was killed. The arrival of the Huns had sparked the Great Migration. They themselves had migrated into Europe from Central Asia although with a potential connection to the Xiognu.

The Huns would eventually come to blows with the Romans themselves with their first-large scale attack upon the Oriental Empire launched in 395 with a sacking of Thrace, Armenia and Cappadocia. They even entered Syria where they threatened Antioch. Simultaneously, the Huns invaded the Sasanian Empire coming close to Ctesiphon before being repelled by a Persian counterattack. What came next was a period of relative peace as the Huns were more focused on dealing with the German peoples and even helping the Romans against Radagaisus and Gothic rebels around the Danube under Gainas. The Huns at this time were led by Uldin who was increasingly centralizing power around his person.

In 408, Uldin crossed the Danube and pillaged Thrace but his subordinates were bought off by the Romans causing desertions within his army and he was forced to escape across the Danube the following year as the tide of war shifted in the Romans’ favour. From then on out, the Huns became relatively inactive although they did serve as mercenaries in both half of the Roman Empires. Uldin’s power, meanwhile, declined although it was during this period that he received Flavius Aetius in 410 as a hostage. During Uldin’s leadership, the Huns extended to the banks of the Danube in the west although the ‘headquarters’ of the Huns was located in [Muntenia].

Uldin was succeeded by Charaton around 412 who was himself succeeded by the joint rulership of the brothers Octar and Rugila. These two were the uncles of Bleda and Atilla via their brother, Mundzuk, who did not share leadership of the Huns. The fourth brother was the mostly irrelevant Oebarsius. Similarly to the division of the Roman Empire, the Huns were split with Rugila ruling over the Eastern Huns while Octar ruled over the Western Huns. A situation that would be repeated by Attila and Bleda (the former in the east and latter in the west). Octar would be the first of the brothers to die when killed by Burgundians near the Rhine in 430 leaving Rugila as sole rex Hunnorum. It was during the reign of Rugila that Flavius Aetius invaded Italy with a Hunnic army with the intention of defeating Bonifatius.

In 432-433, some Hunnic tribes entered the service of Theodosius II which caused Rugila to demand that these fugitives be handed over otherwise the peace established following the 422 raids would be broken. He, however, soon died and was succeeded by his nephews Bleda and Attila. The two continued negotiations with the Romans which saw a trade agreement signed as well as a raising of the annual tribute to 700 pounds plus the surrendering of the fugitives.

It is interesting to note that Bleda’s name was very possibly of Germanic origin showing the mixing of the Huns’ Turkic culture and the Germanic culture of those they ruled over. Following the brothers’ signing of the agreement, they returned to their territories to consolidate their hold which meant that [the Balkans] was safe for the time being allowing Theodosius II to strengthen the walls of Constantinople which now included its first sea walls. Border defenses were also built up along the Danube. The Huns were also preoccupied with a failed invasion of Persia which witnessed a decisive defeat in Armenia that forced the Huns to return to attention to Europe.

In 440, the Huns began attacking merchants along the north bank of the Danube claiming that the Romans failed to fulfill their treaty obligations and that the Bishop of Margus had ransacked and desecrated the royal Hun graves on the Danube’s northern bank. This was followed by a crossing of the Danube and the sacking of several towns and cities including Viminacium [Kostolac] and Margus. The Hunnic advance was made easier by the fact that the defenses were stripped in response to Gaiseric’s capture of Carthage. The Hunnic brothers thus had a clear path into [the Balkans] which they invaded in 441. Like with Viminiacum, the Huns sacked Singidunum [Belgrade] as well as Sirmium [Sremska Mitrovica]. 442 was relatively peaceful and Theodosius II withdrew troops from Libya [North Africa] and ordered a large new issue of coins in order to fund his operations against the Hunnic forces.

Campaigning resumed in 443 when Theodosius refused to accept Hunnic demands. During this renewed campaign, the Huns sacked Ratiaria and Naissus [Nis] with new weapons in the Hunnic arsenal, the battering ram and siege engines. They did not stop there and they took Serdica [Sofia], Philippopolis [Plovdiv] and Arcadiopolis [Luleburgaz]. A Roman army was defeated outside of Constantinople but the Huns were unable to breach the city’s walls. Forced to acknowledge his defeat, Theodosius II negotiated peace terms with the Huns and the tribute was increased with 6,000 Roman pounds of gold sent to the Huns as well as a tripling of the yearly tribute.

Following their withdrawal back into central Europe, Attila was killed by Bleda due to a conflict between the two brothers and thus in 444, Bleda became the sole king of the Huns. His first act as sole king was to launch an invasion of the Occidental Empire following the breakdown of relations in 445. Preoccupied with Gaul and Hispania, Bonifatius was unable to effectively respond to the Hunnic threat and thus territory along the Sava River was ceded to the Huns with a small tribute granted to Bleda. The short duration of the war was a result of an uprising by the Akatziri tribe which had been instigated by Theodosius II following the short instability that came about with Attila’s death.

446 saw the Huns fight a stalemate against the Langobards as Bleda continued to be tied down by internal affairs which gave Theodosius II the courage to end tribute payments to the Huns and so Bleda sent an embassy demanding a continuation of the agreement between the two leaders. He threatened war and that his people would be forced to raid Roman territory; the Oriental Romans were not convinced. Bleda thus responded with an invasion that captured the forts along the Danube commanding a force that was not just limited to Huns but included the Gepids of Ardaric and the Goths of Valamer.

The Huns and Oriental Romans met at the Battle of Storgosia in a climatic battle between comes et magister utriusque militiae Arnegisclus and Bleda. The former marched out of Marcianople with his army to avenge his defeat in 443 when he was one amongst many Roman commanders. He commanded a force that included the field armies of Illyricum and Thrace as well as the Praesental Army which was the emperor’s personal army. Both sides experienced severe losses although the battle ended in a Hunnic victory and the death of Arnegisclus. With Roman resistance halted with the defeat of the sizable force, the Huns immediately devastated Marcianople and made their way to Constantinople which had suffered a ruining of its walls by an earthquake in January followed by an outbreak of plague. The Huns, however, were unable to besiege the capital due to Praetorian prefect of the East Constantinus’ speedy repairs to the wall which were complete by April and the transfer of Isaurian soldiers into the city. Besides that, the Hunnic losses at Storgosia were too numerous.

Instead, Bleda laid waste to the rest of Illyricum, Thrace, Moesia, Scythia and Roman Dacia until a peace treaty was signed in 448 which saw the Huns extract tribute from Theodosius as well as the creation of a buffer zone between Singidunum and Novae 100 miles deep. Bleda returned to his territories and prepared for a great attack into Italia. This attack would finally come about due to the actions of Valentinian III’s sister, Honoria, who was to be married off to a senator named Bassus Herculanus due to her breaking her vows of celibacy. Not wanting to marry Herculanus, Honoria sent Bleda a plea for help and her ring in 450 giving Bleda an excuse to invade the Occidental Empire. Honoria was exiled, rather than executed as Valentinian III wanted, but the damage was done and Bleda prepared his army to invade Italia.

In 451, the Huns invaded under Bleda.


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432: Throughout 432 and 433, several Hunnic tribes fled into the Oriental Empire as refugees forcing Rugila to enter into negotiations with Theodosius II to obtain their return.
434: King of the Huns, Rugila, passed away during negotiations with Theodosius II. He was succeeded by his nephews Attila and Bleda.
435: Bleda and Attila extract a greater tribute from the Oriental Romans as well as the return of the fugitives with a new trade agreement. Theodosius II used the following five years of peace to build up defenses along the Danube and in Constantinople while the Huns consolidated their power and waged an unsuccessful invasion of Persia through Armenia.
440: The Huns begin attacking the merchants along the northern bank of the Danube claiming the Romans broke their treaty obligations.
441: The Huns invade the Balkans sacking Singidunum, Viminacium and Sirmium.
443: The Huns renew their campaign and take Serdica, Philippopolis and Arcadiopolis before defeating a Roman army outside of Constantinople although they were unable to besiege the city. Admitting defeat, Theodosius II was forced to send greater tribute to the Huns.
444: Following a conflict between the Hunnic brothers, Bleda became sole king with Attila dead.
445: Following a breakdown of relations, the Huns invade the Occidental Empire. The peace treaty ending this conflict handed over territory on the Sava River to the Huns. Bleda was forced to divert attention from the west due to an uprising of the Akatziri instigated by Theodosius II.
446: Busy fighting the Langobards, the Huns stop receiving tribute from Theodosius II.
447: Bleda invaded the Balkans defeating magister militum Arnegisclus with a pyrrhic victory at the Battle of Storgosia. Bleda continued with a sacking of the Balkans with Marcianople famously devastated although he was unable to lay siege to Constantinople itself.
January: The walls of Constantinople were ruined by a devastating earthquake. However, they would be repaired by April.
448: A peace treaty was signed between Bleda and Theodosius II establishing a buffer zone along the Danube.
450: Honoria sent a plea for help to Bleda after the preparation of a marriage to senator Bassus Herculanus. Honoria was exiled by her brother Valentinian III and Bleda prepared to invade Italia.
451: Bleda launched an invasion of Italia.

 

[Richard Drummond]

Theodosius II
Born the only son of Emperor Arcadius and his wife Aelia Eudoxia in 401, Theodosius would be proclaimed co-Augustus by his father in January 402 making him one of the youngest emperors in Roman history. He would finally become sole emperor in 408 upon the death of his father. He was only seven-years-old. During his childhood, the praetorian prefect Anthemius administered the government and oversaw the construction of the Theodosian Walls while the young emperor himself was tutored by the Persian eunuch Antiochus who was sent by Yazdegerd I who had been appointed guardian of Theodosius by his father.

Theodosius’ older sister Pulcheria would become his guardian in 414 when she made a vow of perpetual virginity along with her sisters. Proclaimed augusta, she remained as guardian until Theodosius reached his majority although her influence would continue to be felt even after Theodosius marriage to the Athenian, Aelia Eudocia, with whom he would have two daughters named Licinia Eudoxia and Flaccilla as well as a son called Arcadius. However, this marriage would eventually come to see tensions between the two and in 443, Eudocia moved to Jerusalem where she favoured monastic Monophysitism.

From a young age, Theodosius was manipulated and used by powerful figures in the imperial court and this had a lasting impact on his rule. Constantly, he was pushed around by not just his sister but also by his wife and eunuchs with the most famous of these eunuchs being the pro-Monophysite Chrysaphius who grew to be resented by Pulcheria and the future emperor, Zeno. Despite the influence of Chrysaphius, it would be inaccurate to say that he controlled the government. Rather, the government was controlled mostly by a collection of bureaucratic civilian officials.

A prominent event during his reign was intervention within the Occident following the death of his uncle, Honorius, in 423. The primicerius notariorum Joannes was proclaimed emperor in the Occident and thus Theodosius was forced to intervene. Beforehand, Honorius’ sister Galla Placidia had already fled to Constantinople with her son Valentinian due to Honorius’ hostility and thus in 424, Theodosius went to war against Joannes installing the young boy as Valentinian III on the 23rd October 425. Theodosius’ own daughter Licinia Eudoxia was betrothed to the Occidental Emperor and the two were finally married on the 29th October 437.

Another prominent event was the founding of the University of Constantinople in 425 which was set up with 31 chairs (15 in Latin and 16 in Greek). The University had multiple subjects including law, philosophy, medicine, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music and rhetoric. The establishment of the university was not the only ‘intellectual policy’ of Theodosius as he also commissioned a collection of all laws since the reign of Constantine I in 429. His goal was to create a fully formalized system of law but it went unfinished. Nonetheless, a second commission would complete the task and publish the Codex Theodosianus in 438.

Theodosius II’s reign was also marked by military campaigns against bordering peoples. The most successful of these was the Roman-Sassanid War of 421-422 when the Oriental empire declared war on the Sassanids were their persecution of Christians. It ended in an indecisive stalemate as the Romans were preoccupied with the Huns ravaging [the Balkans]. The Huns would be a permanent pain for Theodosius II after he initially brought Uldin’s invasion to a halt by exploiting internal divisions amongst the Huns. However, things only declined from then on out with Bleda the Hun striking fear into all Oriental Romans.

Other than the Sassanids and Huns, Theodosius also fought the Vandals sending Aspar initially and then forces to Sicily with the goal of striking at Carthage, however, the expedition failed and only provoked a Hunnic invasion due to the stripping of the borders leaving them without significant forces. This culminated with the destruction of two Roman armies in 443 by Bleda although the Huns were left bloodied by the Roman forces. Both the wars were unsuccessful and generally, Theodosius was a failed martial emperor leading to his eventual coup and death.

A failed emperor in regards to military matters, Theodosius II nonetheless was very interested in theological issues. He was appointed Nestorius archbishop of Constantinople in 428. Nestorius tried to find a compromise between the factions in the Christological debate. He suggested the title of Christotokos ``birth-giver of Christ” but it was unable to find acceptance with either side. In fact, he was accused of separating Christ’s divine and human natures and thus began the origins of Nestorianism. Nestorius had the backing of the emperor at first but was strongly opposed by Archbishop Cyril of Alexandria and eventually, even the emperor turned against him. At the First Council of Ephesus, Nestorius was condemned and forced to return to his Syrian monastery before eventual exile to a remote monastery in Egypt. The council also saw Christotokos ignored and Theotokos affirmed instead. This theological conflict broke out again when Contantinopolitan abbot Eutyches asserted the Monophysite view that Christ’s divine and human nature were one. He was condemned by Archbishop Flavian of Constantinople but a powerful ally could be found in Dioscorus of Alexandria, Cyril’s successor. The Second Council of Ephesus was convened in 449 whose outcome was opposed by the [Chalcedonians] and Eutyches was restored while Flavian saw himself deposed and dying shortly afterwards after mistreatment. Leo I of Rome and many bishops protested the Second Council despite the emperor’s support and it would only be reversed after his death.

Having presided over a mediocre reign, Theodosius II’s life came to a bloody end on the 20th January 451 with his assassination at the hands of a growing Isaurian faction with in the Oriental empire. Leading this charge was the general Zeno who was angered by constant defeats at the hands of the Huns and with his fellow conspirators, crowned himself as Emperor of the Oriental empire thus laying the groundwork for a civil war.


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431: The First Council of Ephesus was convened by Emperor Theodosius II condemning Archbishop Nestorius and affirming the title Theotokos.
437:

• October
  • 29th: Licinia Eudoxia and Valentinian III are married in Constantinople.

438: The Codex Theodosianus was published within the Oriental Empire.
443: Theodosius II’s wife, establishes herself in Jerusalem where she favoured monastic Monophysitism.
449: The Second Council of Ephesus was convened by Emperor Theodosius II restoring Eutyches while deposing Archbishop of Flavian of Constantinople.
451:

• January
  • 20th: Theodosius II was assassinated and deposed in a coup orchestrated by general Zeno and the increasingly powerful Isaurian faction within the eastern empire.
    
    

 

[Richard Drummond]

The Isaurian War
The assassination of Theodosius II propelled magister militum per Orientem Zeno to the purple. His origins are relatively obscure with him being an Isaurian officer who had risen through the ranks to become magister militum in 447 when entrusted with the defence of Constantinople from the armies of Bleda. His defence of the capital saw him rewarded with a consulship in 448 beginning his political career in the imperial capital. His primary opponent was the comes sacrarum largitionum, the eunuch Chrysaphius who he had executed almost immediately in his reign for his attempts at reconciling with the Huns.

However, Zeno’s rise was not opposed. His support came primarily from Isaurian units within the army and even the remaining pro-pagans such as Apollonius, the magister militum praesentalis who was himself a former pagan. Those who sought to resist the new emperor, however, had to find a figure to rally around. Theodosius II had no sons and neither had he designated a successor but that did not mean the Theodosian dynasty was extinct. Aspar, as the leading figure within the opposition, entered negotiations with Theodosius II’s sister Pulcheria to marry her to one of his subordinates, Anicius [1]. On 4 March 451, Anicius was proclaimed emperor and member of the Theodosian dynasty although true power lay in the hands of his patron, Aspar, who placed his own son Ardabur as magister militum per Orientem. In return for granting legitimacy to the new emperor, Pulcheria extracted promises to overturn her brother’s religious policies once Zeno had been defeated.

Aspar ironically used Zeno’s Isaurian heritage against him and focused on the ‘Romanity’ of Anicius which sparked riots within Constantinople against the ‘foreign’ emperor. These were easily put down by Zeno, however, skirmishes continued across the Orient between loyalists who aligned with Anicius and those backing Zeno who were primarily from the region of Isauria. As of 451, there had been a growing Isaurian faction within the army but Germanic figures still were dominant within the armed forces and so Zeno found himself on the backhand with even attempts at negotiating with the Huns for aid. However, Hunnic preoccupations elsewhere meant Zeno would have to rely on his limited support from within the empire.

However, what followed was not something Zeno nor Aspar had foreseen, a Sassanid army crossed the border and entered Roman territory. The first time since 422. Accusing the Romans of persecuting Zoroastrians, Bahram V ordered an army westwards and Theodosiopolis [Ras al-Ayn] was put under siege. This was a godsend for Zeno as Aspar was forced to divert resources from a planned march on Constantinople and instead more troops were put under the command of Ardabur who marched east to do battle with the besieging Sassanid army. Ardabur experienced a victory allowing him to march further east and lay siege to Nisibis in a repeat of Ardaburus’ campaign in 421-422. Like Ardaburius, he would be forced to withdraw when another Sassanid army approached under the personal command of Bahram V. The two fought outside of Theodosopolis when the Sassanids attempted to siege the city again but the ensuing clash of forces saw no conclusive victor and things reached a stalemate on the eastern border.

Desperate to redirect forces from the east to focus on Zeno, Ardabur entered negotiations with Bahram V. His resistance against the invasion showed that even with a civil war raging in the Orient, a prolonged war would be undesirable and so the peace negotiations would be met with equal enthusiasm by the Sassanids. Eventually, peace would be signed in 452 and a return to the status quo established. Not long afterwards, the emperor Zeno passed away in unclear circumstances leaving the Isaurians without a leading figure. The generals of Zeno were unable to select a successor and for a few months there was no emperor in Constantinople. Sisamoas marched south from Thrace and attempted to take the throne for himself, however, this sparked major riots in the city and he was killed by the riotous mobs and they raised an obscure politician, Adrianos, to the throne although he lacked authority beyond a couple of districts.

It was this situation that Aspar came across when he marched up to the walls of Constantinople at the head of an army. The people opened up the gates and slaughtered the Isaurian garrison welcoming Anicius as the rightful emperor. However, there was continued resistance in Anatolia by the Isaurian armies which would last for a couple of years before the final forts were seized in 457 bringing an end to the Isaurian War.

[1] Marcian was killed fighting in North Africa.

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451:

• During the Oriental civil war, Bahram V invades the Roman Levant sparking the Roman-Sassanid War of 451-452. Sassanid forces laid siege to Theodopolis before being repelled by magister militum Ardabur who unsuccessfully laid siege to Nisibis before the war devolved into a stalemate.
• March
  • 4th: Aspar’s subordinate, Anicius, was installed as emperor with Pulcheria as his wife. This began a civil war within the Orient between Zeno and Anicius.

452:

• Peace is signed between the Romans and Sassanids ending the Roman-Sassanid War of 451-452 with a return to the status quo.
• June
  • 19th: Emperor Zeno passed away in unclear circumstances. What followed was a succession crisis amongst the Zenoists in the Isaurian Civil War. By the end of the year, Aspar marched into Constantinople placing Anicius on the throne of the Oriental Empire although Isaurian resistance continued in Isauria.

457:

• The Isaurian War comes to an end with the seizure of the last rebel forts in Isauria.

 

[Richard Drummond]

With this new update, are there any questions readers would want answered?

 

[Sarufiyyun]

Good to see this back. No questions on my part.

 

[TyranicusMaximus]

Where does the name Nikodemos come from? Is this a real person? I've never heard that name for a contemporary of the period but I'd be more than happy to hear otherwise.

 

[Richard Drummond]

QUICK UPDATE: Nikodemos has been changed to Anicius

 

[Richard Drummond]

Battle of the Padus & Sack of Ravenna

Bleda the Hun had already intended to invade Italy as the Oriental Empire was running out of easy plunder and the plea by Justa Grata Honoria to help her escape from her forced marriage was the ideal excuse to invade Italy for more than just plunder.

Bonifacius garrisoned Aquileia as Bleda crossed the Julian Alps and it was here the two armies met for the first time. Bonifacius was forced to retreat leaving Aquileia to be sacked by Bleda. With northern Italy now opened up, Bleda marched on Ravenna with his fearsome force and while Bonifatius prepared the defenses, Valentinian III fled to Roma with his court. Bonifatius, however, struggled to raise a force within Italy in time to hold back the Hunnic tide but the force that he did raise was camped at Bononia [Bologna] to block the roads through the Apennines that led to both Ravenna and Roma. With a smaller secondary force, Bonifatius harassed the Huns, sapping their strength and slowing their advance. The Romans, nonetheless, were unable to stop Bleda’s forces from reaching the Padus [Po River]. A non-military attempt at bringing the invasion to a halt was made with Pope Leo I heading an embassy to engage in peace talks with Bleda. These talks, however, were ultimately unsuccessful and both Bonifatius and Bleda were forced into combat.

On the 22nd August 451, the Battle of the Padus was fought between the two amassed armies. Due to the site’s location in Italy, Bonifatius commanded a larger than usual Italian percentage of Roman troops. He had already made requests for troops from Theodoric I but had heard no response. Allegedly, Theodoric had learnt of the strength of Bleda’s army and hoped to take advantage of the ensuing chaos if Bonifatius was defeated. The battle itself commenced when Bleda’s Gepid troops were attacked by Bonifatius’ Alans while crossing the Padus. Bleda had sent another force of Gemanic vassals in the goal of tricking Bonifatius into believing a buildup was occurring at that stretch of the river. The plan worked and a large portion of the Roman arm was moved to stop the predicted Hunnic crossing. Kept distracted by this, Bonifatius was unable to halt the actual crossing taking place further to the west. A number of Roman soldiers were not engaged with the Gepid crossing and sought to halt Bleda’s crossing. Despite bloody skirmishing, the Romans were repulsed and Bleda successfully completed his crossing while the Gepids remained separated by the Padus from the main force.

Skirmishing between Bleda and Bonifacius began as the commanders positioned their forces to face each other. Bonifatius sought to protect his right flank with the Padus to weaken the potential of the Huns’ cavalry. The Huns were the first to go on the offensive but they were repelled by the Romans who nonetheless suffered strong losses combating the Ostrogoths who had crossed with Bleda. This stalemate continued and the Gepids attempted to cross the Padus again to strike the Romans from the rear. Suffering moderate losses, most of the Gepid troops were forced to retreat although several soldiers had successfully completed the crossing led by a young officer, Odoacer. Under his command, the Gepids fell upon Bonifatius’ household unit of Gothic bucellarii and Bonifatius himself. Now an elderly man, the magister militum was slain. Despite this great victory by the Huns, the Romans came out ultimately victorious.

Constant harassment and lack of supplies had left the Huns weakened and, fearing being trapped and slaughtered south of the Padus, Bleda eventually called off his troops in an organized retreat aided by Odoacer’s Gepids who kept enough Romans distracted to avoid the main force being pursued. However, Bleda did not decide to withdraw by crossing north of the Padus but instead he continued to march south, plundering the region to resupply his forces. The Roman army had been left in disarray with the death of the magister militum and defection was rampant allowing Bleda to continue operating in the region despite his own severe losses. The troops north of the Padus were regrouped and attempted a third successful crossing of the Padus ending an attempt at regrouping by slaying Bonifatius’ immediate successor who took over the army on the battlefield, Maximinus. These troops met with the main force at Bononia before Bleda marched on Ravenna, laying the city to siege.

Along the way to Ravenna, Bleda suffered small-scale attacks by the Romans ending any chances of Bleda accepting negotiation attempts. On 24 September 451, the gates of Ravenna were opened through treachery and the city was sacked for three days. Many of the city’s great buildings were ransacked and all moveable goods were stolen all over the city. The basilicas were emptied and gardens were burnt to the ground along with vast swathes of the city. Many citizens were also captured to be later ransomed, sold into slavery, raped or killed. Saints produced in the sack with Saint Aemilia tortured to the brink of death but saved from being raped by her son. It is said that God had lifted her soul during the brief period of respite given to her by her infant son who was killed on the spot. He would become Saint Sabinus and both he and his mother would later become the patron saints of Ravenna. Despite the sack’s famed brutality in storytelling, it was somewhat restrained by the standards of war. The slaughter of the inhabitants was limited and only a few buildings were destroyed completely.

Having replenished his supplies from captured goods in Ravenna, Bonifatius attempted to march further south onto Rome, sending Odoacer at the head of a vanguard force. However, these plans were quickly abandoned when the following month, Odoacer was held back by a lesser officer in Sebastianus’ - Bonifatius’ son-in-law turned magister militum - army. This was the Gothic soldier Hugelicus. His actions brought an end to Odoacer’s scouting and realising the logistical issues of marching onto Rome were too great, Bleda made the decision to return to Pannonia after pushing his forces to the brink by seizing Ravenna. In his wake he left behind a void in Occidental Roman politics following the death of Bonifacius and the sack of Ravenna.

Bonifatius had left for himself a strong legacy due to his skill as a military commander. His effective rule of the Occident from 20 years saw a stabilizing of the borders and even a defeat of Bleda in the final battle. Had he not been killed in battle, it is likely he would have slain the Huns south of the Padus instead of his army devolving into a disorganised mob.

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451:

• August
  • 22nd: The Battle of the Padus was fought between magister militum Bonifatius and Bleda the Huns.
• September
  • 24th: The Huns enter Ravenna following the city gates’ opening via treachery. For three days, the Huns sacked the Occidental Roman capital.
• October
  • The Hunnic vanguard under Odoacer marching towards Roma was halted by troops under lesser officer, Hugelicus.

 

[Marc Anthony]

so is this ''Hugelicus the goth'' actually Hygelac the Geat of Beowulf?

 

[Richard Drummond]

so is this ''Hugelicus the goth'' actually Hygelac the Geat of Beowulf?

No, Hugelicus is an original character. He is a Gothic soldier who rises within Bonifatius' army due to the latter's greater use of Gothic soldiers than Flavius Aetius IOTL.
In regards to Hygelac the Great, I had never known about him but he looks like an interesting figure. Thanks for making me aware of him.