Aetius: Attila's Nemesis
By Ian Hughes
4.5/5
()
About this ebook
In AD 453, Attila—with a huge force composed of Huns, allies, and vassals drawn from his already-vast empire—was rampaging westward across Gaul (essentially modern France), then still nominally part of the Western Roman Empire. Laying siege to Orleans, he was only a few days march from extending his empire from the Eurasian steppe to the Atlantic. He was brought to battle on the Catalaunian Plain and defeated by a coalition hastily assembled and led by Aetius. Who was this man that saved Western Europe from the Hunnic yoke?
Aetius is one of the major figures in the history of the late Roman Empire and his actions helped maintain the integrity of the West in the declining years of the Empire. During the course of his life he was a hostage, first with Alaric and the Goths, and then with Rugila, king of the Huns. His stay with these two peoples helped to give him an unparalleled insight into the minds and military techniques of these “barbarians” which he was to use in later years to halt the depredations of the Huns.
Ian Hughes assesses Aetius’ fascinating career and campaigns with the same accessible narrative and analysis he brought to bear on Belisarius and Stilicho.
“A lively, often insightful account of the declining years of Roman power in the West which will be of interest to students of Roman history, the onset of the Dark ages and early Byzantine history.” —The New York Military Affairs Symposium
Ian Hughes
Ian Hughes specializes in Late Roman history and is the author of Belisarius, the Last Roman General (2009); Stilicho, the Vandal who Saved Rome (2010); Aetius: Attila’s Nemesis (2012); Imperial Brothers: Valentinian, Valens and the Disaster at Adrianople (2013); Patricians and Emperors (2015); and Gaiseric, the Vandal Who Destroyed Rome (2017). A former teacher whose hobbies include football, wargaming, and restoring electric guitars, Ian lives near Barnsley in South Yorkshire.
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Reviews for Aetius
8 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Academic, but still quite readable biography of Aetius, the last great (Western) Roman general, who defeated Attila the Hun. The sources for this time period are sparse and suspect. Hughes leads us through the fog, pointing out the shadows that may look like something they are not. He is careful to state when he is speculating and why he comes to the conclusions he does. In the end, we know little about Aetius the man, but can extrapolate from his actions. This is a useful work for anyone interested in "The Fall" of the western Roman Empire particularly when paired with Hughes' "Stilicho: The Vandal Who Saved Rome." My only complaint: a sprinkling of copy edit (factcheck?) problems where a name was wrong. For example, the author would be speaking of Placidia and suddenly it was changed to Pulcheria or Pelagia. Anyone knowing the time period, knew this was an error, but others might be confused. This book was supposed to come out in April and arrived in July. Possibly some delays in production led to shortcuts, but that's just speculation!