Participant in the battle of the peoples of the Catalaunian fields 4 letters. "The Last Romans": Catalaunian field. barbarians against barbarians

In the summer of 451, the fate of Europe was decided on the fields of Gaul. Will proud Rome retain its existence, or will it fall under the blow of an innumerable horde of Huns under the leadership of the ferocious Attila?

At the end of the 4th century AD, the Roman Empire (which by that time had broken up into Western and Eastern) had a new terrible enemy. These were the Huns - nomads who came from Central Asia.

Scourge of God

Back in 377, the Huns captured Pannonia (modern Hungary), but at first they did not pose a serious danger to Rome. The Romans even entered into short-term military alliances with them.

The situation changed when the Huns were led by the warlike and talented commander Attila, who in 444 killed his brother, co-ruler Bleda and united under his rule all the barbarian tribes from the Rhine to the Caucasus. Attila was born for war. According to legend, one day a shepherd found and brought him a rusty sword. Attila took the sword in his hands and said: “For a long time this sword was hidden in the earth, and now the sky will grant it to me to conquer all peoples!”

In 447, the Huns devastated the Balkan Peninsula and reached the outskirts of Constantinople. But the Eastern Roman Empire was able to pay off them with a huge tribute. Having brought Byzantium to its knees, Attila began to prepare for an attack on the Western Roman Empire. For the campaign, Attila gathered an innumerable army, which (except, in fact, the Huns) included Alans, Slavs, Germans, Gepids, Ostrogoths and a number of barbarian tribes.

However, the opponent of the Huns was a man of remarkable talents. His name was Flavius Aetius. He served as commander-in-chief of the Roman army under the mediocre emperor Valentinian and, in fact, held in his hands all the threads of managing the empire. It is curious that in his youth he spent several years in the retinue of Attila, when he was considered one of the heirs under his uncle Rugil, the leader of the Huns. Attila and Aetius were initially friendly, but the cruel laws of politics led them eventually to mutual enmity.

barbarians against barbarians

Upon learning that Attila was preparing an invasion, Aetius began to vigorously put together an anti-Hunnic coalition from the barbarian tribes settled in the territory of the Roman Empire.

Indeed, by the middle of the 5th century, only memories remained of the former military glory of Rome. Gone are the days of his invincible legions. The huge influx of slaves led to the destruction of the free Roman peasantry, which once constituted the strength of Rome. Peasant labor became unprofitable - after all, thousands of slaves worked nearby on the huge estates of the patricians, supplying a lot of cheap products to the market (because it was produced with the help of free slave labor).

It was these barbarian tribes that Aetius began to intensively recruit. He managed to attract the Burgundians, Franks, Saxons and a number of other tribes to his side. But the main success of Aetius was the conclusion of a political alliance with the powerful Visigoth king Theodoric, whose possessions covered the territory of modern southern France.

The leader of the Huns managed to gather a huge army for a campaign in Gaul, the number of which was estimated by medieval chroniclers at 500 thousand people (which, of course, was an obvious exaggeration).

In the spring of 451, Attila crossed the Rhine and invaded the territory of the Roman province of Gaul. Destroying everything in his path, in the summer of 451 he approached Orleans in the center of Gaul. However, the Huns failed to take the city - the combined forces of Aetius and Theodoric arrived in time to help the besieged. Attila retreated to the so-called Catalaunian fields (200 km east of Orleans). Here, on a vast plain in the modern province of Champagne, the general battle took place.

The exact date of this grandiose "battle of the peoples" is not known. It is believed that it took place somewhere in the 20th of June 451.

Attila chose this plain for battle in order to give his light cavalry as much freedom of maneuver as possible. The leader of the Huns hesitated for a long time before attacking the enemy. According to one version, this is due to the fact that the fortune-tellers gave Attila an unfavorable "forecast" for this day. According to another, more rational one, Attila started the battle late (at three o'clock in the afternoon) on the basis that "if his case turns out badly, then the coming night will help him out."

Before the battle, Attila addressed the Huns with a speech that ended with the words: “Whoever can be at peace when Attila is fighting is already buried!” Then, exclaiming: “The brave ones attack first!” - he led his troops on the offensive.

blood flow

The battle was fierce and desperate. In fact, on the vast Catalaunian Plain, there was a grandiose merciless massacre on the principle of "wall to wall". The Gothic historian Jordanes (VI century) described it this way: “The battle is fierce, brutal, stubborn. The stream that flowed through the field overflowed with blood and turned into a whole stream.

Attila directed his main blow at the weak center of the Romans, crushed it and was already triumphant when Theodoric's Visigoths attacked the right flank of the Huns. At the same time, the Visigothic king himself was knocked off his horse and trampled on by his horsemen. But the death of the leader went unnoticed by his troops, so they continued the offensive. Following the Goths, the fighters of Aetius also hit the Huns on the left. The Huns were in "pincers".

After stubborn resistance, the Huns, pressed to the right and left, could not stand it and rushed to their camp, surrounded on all sides by wagons. Attila himself nearly died while fleeing. The leader of the Huns prepared to attack the next day. Sitting behind the wagons, Attila behaved with dignity: the sounds of a trumpet and the noise of weapons were heard from his camp. It looked like he was ready to strike again. “Just as a lion with his roar terrifies the surrounding places, so proud Atilla, the king of the Huns, among his wagons terrified the winners,” wrote the historian Jordan.

At the council of Aetius, it was decided not to storm the enemy's camp, but to starve Attila out. However, at this moment, the Visigoths finally discovered the body of their king. The situation has changed dramatically. The eldest son of Theodoric - Thorismund - announced his decision to immediately go with an army to Toulouse, the capital of the Visigothic kingdom. He feared that in his absence the younger brothers might try to seize the throne.

Learning that the Visigoths had left, Attila offered Aetius a compromise. The Romans give him an unhindered exit from the encircled camp, but he refuses to continue the campaign and returns to his place in Pannonia. Aetius agreed, as he did not dare to start a new battle with an army weakened by losses and the departure of an ally.

In addition, as an experienced politician and diplomat, he understood that the Huns were also now weaker and unlikely to pose a serious threat to Rome in the near future. But Aetius also did not want to finish them off to the end. They may still be needed as a counterweight against the Visigoths. The Roman commander knew perfectly well how changeable and fleeting all these military-political alliances were. Today the Visigoths are our friends, but who knows what will happen tomorrow? It is possible that the Huns may still be useful to Rome.

Flavius Aetius reasoned something like this when he decided to release the remnants of Attila's army from the encirclement. The heroic epic of the defense of the Roman Empire from the grandiose raid of the Huns ended.

The result of the battle

The Battle of the Catalaunian Fields is considered one of the bloodiest battles in world history in the pre-industrial era. According to Jordan, 165,000 people died in it on both sides. And one of the historians calls the figure of 300 thousand people. With all the understandable exaggeration on the part of medieval monks, it is still clear that the battle was unprecedented in its scale.

What were the political results of the battle? Attila was able to leave, but his plan aggressive campaign Rome collapsed. After such a powerful blow, the fragile state association of the Huns begins to disintegrate, and soon after the death of Attila (453), his empire completely ceased to exist.

The Battle of the Catalaunian Fields was the last victory for Rome. The death of the Eternal City was delayed by two decades. Flavius Aetius received from his descendants the honorific nickname "the last Roman".

But the glory of the savior of Rome and the conqueror of the Huns played a cruel joke with Aetius. The insignificant and envious emperor Valentinian (who had previously been suspicious of Aetius) after his victory over Attila was completely frightened. But what if this talented and authoritative leader in the army and the people decides to rule himself? After all, it was obvious to everyone that the imperial crown is much more suitable for Aetius than for his master.

On September 21, 454, the treacherous emperor summoned the commander to his palace for a report, and then unexpectedly pierced him with a sword. "Isn't Aetius' death beautifully executed?" he asked one of his associates. He found the courage to answer: “Wonderful or not, I don’t know. But I know that you cut off your right hand with your left hand.”

For all the Romans who retained the ability to sound judgment, it was obvious that, having killed Aetius - the last worthy and talented person, which Rome was able to give rise to at the end of its existence, the emperor signed the death warrant for the entire empire. The medieval chronicler expressed this general feeling in the following words: “Thus died Aetius, the most militant man and the once terror of the mighty King Attila, and with him the Western Empire fell, and the good of the state, and they could no longer be restored ...”

Denis ORLOV

Attila beach of God

Attila (? - died in 453). The ruler of the Huns from 434 to 453, who united the Turkic, as well as Germanic and other tribes under his rule.

The memory of the leader of the Huns was preserved for centuries in the oral German epic and passed into the Scandinavian sagas. In the early tales of the Germans, Attila is listed as the second in the list of great rulers - after Odin himself. In 434, Attila and his brother Bleda became co-rulers-leaders of the Huns. But in 444, Attila kills his brother and becomes the sole ruler.

In the writings of Catholic monks, Attila was nicknamed the Scourge of God. The Catholic Church interpreted the figure of the leader of the Huns as a divine punishment for sins. At the beginning of the 7th century, Bishop Isidore wrote: “Attila was the wrath of the Lord. The Almighty punished us with the Huns, so that, having been cleansed in suffering, the believers would reject the temptations of the world and enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Meanwhile, Attila was not at all an absolute fiend. Of course, he was cruel and merciless to the conquered peoples, but the chroniclers noted that he was an energetic and intelligent ruler who had remarkable military leadership talents. Here is how he was described by those who had a chance to see the leader of the Huns: “He was proud of his steps, cast his eyes here and there, and by the very movements of his body revealed his highly exalted power. A lover of war, he himself was moderate at hand, very strong in sanity, accessible to those who ask and merciful to those whom he once trusted. By appearance short, with a broad chest, with a large head and small eyes, with a sparse beard touched with gray, with a flattened nose, with a disgusting skin color, he showed all the signs of his origin ... "

Flavius aetius - "the last Roman"

Flavius Aetius (? - 454) was born in Durostor (modern Silistra - Bulgaria). His father was the master of cavalry Gaudentius, a representative of a local noble family.

Aetius was taken as a bodyguard to the Roman emperor Honorius as a boy. In 408, the leader of the Visigoths, Alaric, demanded that the emperor conclude a peace agreement. The Romans had to pay tribute and exchange noble hostages with the Visigoths. One of them was Flavius Aetius. The young man spent three years as a hostage, first with the Visigoths, and then with the Huns.

Subsequently, Aetius married the daughter of the noble Goth Carpilion and, with the support of the Goths, reached the post of head of the imperial guard, and in 429 led the entire army of the Roman Empire. For 25 years, Aetius successfully fought off barbarian raids on the possessions of the Western Roman Empire with limited forces. He was not so much a military leader as the actual leader of the empire under the weak emperor Valentinian III.

Contemporaries described Aetius as follows: “He was of medium height, strong, well built, that is, not frail and not obese; a vigorous, full of strength, swift rider, a skilled archer, tireless in throwing a spear, a very capable warrior and glorified in the art of making peace. There was not a drop of greed in him, not the slightest greed, he was kind by nature, did not allow bad advisers to lead him away from the intended decision; patiently endured insults, was industrious, was not afraid of dangers and very easily endured hunger, thirst and sleepless nights.

The triumph of Aetius was the victory over Attila in the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields in 451.

Decline of the Western Empire. At the end of the IV century. The Roman Empire was divided into two parts - Western and Eastern. The Western Roman Empire was living out its last decades, although then, of course, no one could know this. From that time on, its emperors preferred to take refuge instead of Rome in the safe Ravenna, protected from land by impenetrable swamps, and from the sea by the navy. The glorious Roman army was no more, it was replaced by hired barbarian squads, the leaders of which received high court and military ranks from the emperor.

The provinces of the West were left to their own devices. Where the Roman authorities still survived, they cared only about pumping out the last money and natural products from the population - at the expense of taxes that went to local officials and to the imperial treasury. The fortified borders of the empire were broken through in many places, the barbarian Germans flooded the countries north of the Alps and settled there, leaving their chosen places only under the onslaught of stronger newcomers.

"The Last Great Roman". In such an environment, Flavius Aetius, "the last great Roman", as he is often called, fought for the preservation of the empire. A prominent military leader and diplomat, he spent his younger years as a hostage to the Huns, fierce Asiatic nomads who arrived in Europe decades before he was born.

Huns. Long ago, at the end of the 1st c. AD Chinese troops inflicted such a terrible defeat on their ancient enemies, the Huns, who roamed north of the Great Wall of China, that some of them migrated from their homeland and moved west. Almost three centuries have passed - and the Huns, like a terrible tornado, fell upon the Northern Black Sea region. Most of the cities were destroyed, their population died or, in horror before the ferocious conquerors, fled to places inaccessible to enemies.

Goths. In those days, in addition to the descendants of Greek colonists and local tribes, the Germanic Goths, who came from the shores of the Baltic Sea, lived in the Northern Black Sea region. They, depending on the territory they occupied, were divided into Ostrogoths and Visigoths. The Ostrogoths took upon themselves the first blow of the Huns, were defeated, and their remnants were included in the Hunnic tribal union. The Visigoths fled to the west, reached the Danube, along which the border of the Roman Empire passed, and, with the permission of the Roman authorities, took refuge within it. Their further history turned out to be closely connected with the history of the Western Empire.

Hun threat. The Huns and the tribes that obeyed them inhabited the vast steppe space from the Danube to the Volga. The center of their possessions was the former Roman province of Pannonia (on the territory of modern Hungary). The Huns threatened the existence of both the Western and Eastern empires, and both emperors had to pay off them with an annual tribute. Hunnic power reached its peak under the famous Attila, the conqueror, nicknamed "the scourge of God." It was said that even the grass did not grow where his horse stepped with a hoof.

Not only the Romans wanted to see the formidable ruler of the Huns as their ally: the Vandal Germans, who were threatened by a war with the Roman allies, the Visigoths, turned to him for help. He was also asked to help the eldest son of Clovis, the leader of the Franks, who occupied part of Roman Gaul: he was at enmity with his younger brother, who was seeking support from the Romans. Finally, Attila was secretly approached by the Roman princess Honoria, sister of the Western emperor Valentinian III. She offered him her hand in exchange for release from imprisonment, which she was subjected to as punishment for the intrigues that she weaved against her own relatives. The ambassadors of Attila, who demanded Honoria as his wife, and part of the Western Empire as her dowry, were given a polite but decisive refusal.

Invasion of Gaul. Considering that there are more than enough reasons for invading the Western Empire, Attila in 451 invades Gaul. Having passed through the country with fire and sword, completely cutting out the population of the cities taken by the Huns, from old people to babies, he reached the city of Aurelian (modern Orleans), which had powerful fortifications. The garrison and the townspeople, having already heard about the fate of their unfortunate fellow citizens, energetically defended themselves, they were inspired by the local Bishop Anian, supporting their courage with the hope of help, which was bound to come.

The Huns were pressing, they had already occupied the suburbs and were destroying the city walls with siege engines. Anian, anxiously counting the days and hours, twice sent a reliable man to the city ramparts with orders to see if anything could be seen in the distance. Twice the messenger returned without bringing anything comforting, but on the third time he reported that a small cloud had appeared on the edge of the horizon. The bishop, beaming, exclaimed: "This is the help of God!", and this phrase was repeated after him by all those present.

Aetius gathers troops. The cloud grew and became more and more clearly visible every minute. The wind, which carried the dust aside, made it possible to see dense ranks of horsemen from the city wall. These were the soldiers of Aetius and the Visigoth king Theodoric, who hurried to the aid of Orleans.

When Aetius learned of Attila's invasion of Gaul, he gathered troops in Italy and crossed the Alps. His army was very weak, but it was no longer possible to assemble another one: the days of the invincible Roman legions were long gone. Once in Gaul, Aetius learned that his Visigothic allies were not going to defend Gaul, but would be waiting for a formidable conqueror in their own territory. Only the eloquence of a noble Roman ambassador made the aged King Theodoric change his mind and declare that, as a faithful ally of Aetius and the Romans, he was ready to risk his possessions and his own life. The king, together with his sons, led his fellow tribesmen and became under the banner of Aetius. Many other tribes followed his example: the Lets, the Armoricans, the Saxons, the Burgundians, the Breons, the Alans, the Ripuarians, and those Franks who supported the youngest son of Clovis. All this multi-tribal army, under the command of Aetius and Theodoric, moved quickly towards the countless hordes of Attila.

Attila builds an army. Upon learning of the approach of the enemy, Attila lifted the siege of Orleans, where his advanced detachments had already managed to penetrate, and began to hastily retreat until, after crossing the Seine back, he found himself on a flat and smooth plain called the Catalaunian fields (modern Champagne in France) and convenient for the actions of his cavalry. Before the battle, the leader of the Huns found it necessary to inspire his army with a speech and managed to kindle in them the desire to fight. Until it went out, Attila hastened to line up the army in battle order. He himself occupied the center at the head of his Huns, who were distinguished by courage and personal devotion to him. The peoples subject to him, the Rugii, Heruli, Thuringians, Franks and Burgundians, deployed on both sides of the center. The right wing was commanded by the king of the Gepids Ardaric, the left wing was commanded by three leaders of the Ostrogoths at once. They stood opposite their kindred Visigoths, with whom they were preparing to cross arms. And many other Germans went against the Germans, the Burgundians were preparing to fight the Burgundians, the Franks - with the Franks.

The formation of the Romans and their allies. Roman allies lined up on a different principle. In the center, Aetius placed the Alans with their leader - this tribe was suspected of intending to change and was going to strictly monitor all their movements. Aetius led the left wing, Theodoric the right, and Theodoric's son occupied the hills on the flank of Attila's troops, captured by the allies on the eve of the battle.

Battle. An ancient historian who had the opportunity to talk with the Gothic warriors, participants in the battle, reports that, according to them, she was “terrible, long indecisive, stubbornly bloody and generally such that there was no other like it either in those days or in past centuries. ". Number of people killed on both sides different sources determine from 162 to 300 thousand people.

After both sides showered each other with projectiles for a long time, their cavalry and infantry engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat. The Huns broke through the weak center of the enemy army and, turning to the left, fell upon the Visigoths. When Theodoric, riding along the ranks of his army, tried to encourage him, he was struck down by a javelin of a noble Ostrogoth, fell off his horse and was trampled underfoot by the hooves of his own cavalry.

The ranks of the Visigoths were upset, and Attila was triumphant when the son of Theodoric struck from the commanding heights on the exposed flank of the enemy and threw him back. Only the night saved the Huns and their allies from the complete defeat. Having erected fortifications from wagons in their camp, they prepared to defend themselves behind them. Not hoping for the success of the defense, Attila ordered a funeral pyre to be laid down for himself and intended to throw himself into it if the camp was taken.

Aetius and the Visigoths. However, the allies of Rome suffered slightly fewer losses. When they tried to storm the enemy camp the next day, their first detachments were stopped and partially destroyed by a hail of arrows flying from behind the Hun carts. Theodoric's son, who was burning with the desire to avenge his father's death, Aetius managed to persuade him to go home with the Visigoths, pointing out to him that in his absence the brothers could try to seize royal power. In fact, Aetius believed that the excessive strengthening of the Visigoths, the true winners in the "battle of the peoples", would be dangerous primarily for Rome, which they once (in 410) had already captured. Therefore, he decided to save Attila, weakened by defeat, as a scarecrow for his allies.

After the departure of the Visigoths, Attila was struck by the silence that reigned in the Catalaunian fields littered with heaps of corpses, and for several days he did not leave the fortifications, fearing a trap. He then retreated behind the Rhine, and his retreat was evidence of the last victory won in the name of the Western Emperor.

The meaning of victory. On the Catalaunian fields, many peoples living from the Volga to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean took part in the battle. This battle, which saved Western Europe from the ferocious army of Attila, went down in history under the name "battle of the peoples."

Ostrogoths, Gepids, etc. Commanders Flavius Aetius
King Theodoric
King Sangiban Attila the Hun leader
King Valamir
King Ardarich

Battle of the Catalaunian Fields(after June 20, 451) - a battle in Gaul, in which the troops of the Western Roman Empire under the command of the commander Aetius, in alliance with the army of the Toulouse kingdom of the Vezegots, stopped the invasion of a coalition of barbarian tribes of the Huns and Germans under the command of Attila in Gaul.

The battle was the largest and one of the last in the history of the Western Roman Empire before its collapse. Although the battle ended indecisively, Attila was forced to retire from Gaul.

background

Huns

Position in the Western Roman Empire

At first, the Romans were able to use the Huns to fight their enemies. As early as 405, the Roman commander Stilicho attracted a Hun detachment to defeat Radagaisus. The actual power in the Western Roman Empire since 429 was held by the successful commander, commander-in-chief (magister militinum) Flavius Aetius under the emperor Valentinian. The Huns at his request defeated the kingdom of the Burgundians in Gaul on the Rhine. Aetius then hires detachments of the Huns to fight the Toulouse kingdom of the Vezegoths in Gaul.

Invasion of Gaul

Attila's headquarters was located on the territory of modern. Hungary. The leader of the Huns managed to gather a huge barbarian army for a campaign in Gaul, the number of which Jordanes estimated at an incredible half a million people. Under the leadership of Attila, in addition to the Huns and Alans, the Germans gathered Ostrogoths (King Valamir), Gepids (King Ardarich), Rugs, Skirs, Heruli, Thuringians.

In the face of a formidable invasion, former enemies, the Roman Aetius and the king of the Visigoths Theodoric, united. A contemporary of the invasion, Prosper, reflected in his chronicle a forced alliance: “ When he [Attila] crossed the Rhine, many Gallic cities experienced his fiercest attacks; then quickly both ours and the Goths agreed that the fury of arrogant enemies must be repelled by uniting the troops." According to Jordanes, Emperor Valentinian convinced Theoderic to a military coalition. The empire's own troops under Aetius consisted mainly of prefabricated barbarian detachments (" Franks, Sarmatians, Armoricians, Lititsians, Burgundians, Saxons, Riparioles, Brions - former Roman soldiers, and then already among the auxiliary troops, and many others both from Celtica and from Germany." ) and could not independently resist the Huns, which was shown by the subsequent invasion of Attila in 452 into Italy.

Attila withdrew to the Catalaunian fields (more than 200 km east of Orleans), crossing to the right bank of the Seine, probably in the city of Tricasses (modern Troyes). North of Troyes on a vast plain in modern. Champagne province held a general battle.

Battle

The exact location and day of the battle, considered by many historians to be one of the greatest in European history, are not exactly known. According to the assumption of the historian J. B. Bury, it could have occurred in the 20th of June 451, which is generally accepted by subsequent historians.

Attila addressed the Huns with a speech that ended with the words: Who can rest in peace, if Attila is fighting, he is already buried!", and led the troops on the offensive. There was a grandiose indiscriminate massacre, the results of which Jordanes figuratively conveyed in this form:

“The battle is fierce, variable, brutal, stubborn [...] If you believe the old people, then the stream in the mentioned field, which flowed in the low banks, spilled heavily from the blood from the wounds of the dead; enlarged not by showers, as usual, but agitated by an unusual liquid, it turned into a whole stream from overflowing with blood.

In the night dump, they trampled the elderly king of the Vezegoths Theodoric, who had fallen from his horse. Not noticing the loss of their king, the Visigoths drove the Huns back to their camp, protected along the perimeter by wagons. The battle gradually faded as night fell. Theodoric's son Thorismund, returning to his camp, in the dark stumbled upon the carts of the Huns and, in the ensuing battle, was wounded in the head, but saved by his squad. Aetius, whose troops dispersed from the allies, also found it difficult to find his way to his camp in the darkness.

Only in the morning the parties saw the results of the evening massacre. The heavy losses of Attila were evidenced by his unwillingness to advance beyond the fortified camp. Nevertheless, the Huns fired incessantly from behind the fence, and inside their camp there were sounds of trumpets and other activity. At the council of Aetius, it was decided to besiege the enemy's camp, taking Attila to starvation.

Soon after, the body of Theodoric was discovered, and the situation changed dramatically. Aetius advised the new king of the Visegoths, Thorismund, chosen by the army, to rush to Toulouse in order to assert his authority from the brothers who remained there. According to Jordanes, Aetius considered it more advantageous to keep the (defeated in his opinion) Huns as a counterbalance to the intensified Visigoths. The Visigoths left the battlefield, and after some time the Huns also withdrew without hindrance. The sources do not clarify how the opposing sides dispersed in Gaul. A contemporary of the battle, Prosper, who observed the events from Rome, recorded in his chronicle the indecisive outcome of the battle:

“Although none of the [rivals] yielded in this clash, there were uncountable exterminations of the dead on both sides, however, the Huns were considered defeated because those who survived, having lost hope for [success in] the battle, returned home ."

Legend

No matter how the outcome of the battle is considered, it became the largest in Western Europe in the 5th century in terms of the number of participants and one of the bloodiest. Shortly after the battle, legends appeared, one of which was transmitted by the Greek philosopher of Damascus about 50 years later:

Aftermath of the battle

In the light of this tradition, the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields appears in medieval writings and remains in the minds of many people as a victory for civilized Christendom over destructive pagan barbarism.

Notes

Differences in lifestyle are clearly visible in the descriptions of the Huns by Ammianus Marcellinus and Priscus of Panius, separated in time by about 80 years.
Prosper (451): " Attila, after the murder of his brother, having increased his strength [at the expense of] the slain, forced many thousands of [people] from neighboring nations to fight, since he announced that he was attacking only the Goths, as the guardian of Roman friendship.» Also Jordanes (Getica, 184) and Prisk (fr. 12).
Prosper (448): "Eudoxius arte medicus, pravi sed exercitati ingenii, in Bagauda id temporis mota delatus, ad Chunnos confugit."
The legend of Attila's summons by Honorius to the Roman Empire is recounted in an article by Justa Grata Honorius.
Jordanes ("Getika", 184): " Realizing that Attila’s thoughts are directed to the ruin of the world, Gizeric, the king of the Vandals, whom we mentioned a little higher, pushes him with all sorts of gifts to war with the Visigoths, fearing that Theodorides, the king of the Visegoths, would not avenge the insult to his daughter; she was given in marriage to Huneric, the son of Gizeric, and at first she was pleased with such a marriage, but later, since he was distinguished by cruelty even with his children, she was sent back to Gaul to her father with her nose cut off and her ears cut off, only on suspicion of cooking poison [for the husband]; devoid of natural beauty, the unfortunate woman was a terrible sight, and such cruelty, which could touch even outsiders, the more strongly appealed to her father for revenge.»
Jordan, Getica, 181
An expanded list of tribes was brought by Sid. Apollo. , Carmina 7.321–325
Idacius, XXVIII. (Olymp. CCCVIII)
Sigebert of Gembloux, "Chronicle" (XI century, France)
Life of St. Genevieve
Prosper Aqua, 451
Jordan, 191

The Battle of the Catalaunian Fields, which took place in 451 year on the territory of one of the plains of Champagne, became a kind of expression of European contradictions of the period of the Great Migration. It was not a battle between west and east, or disorder against order, here "everyone was against everyone."

Relations between the Western Roman Empire and the Huns for a long time were built on quite civilized conditions. IN 20- 1990s 5 centuries, detachments of the Huns were constantly hired to serve in the Roman troops. The main nomadic force was, of course, the cavalry, in the art of horseback riding and equestrian combat, the Huns had almost no equal. And in 40- In the 1990s, Attila (the leader of the Huns) pursued an independent policy towards both halves of the Roman Empire.

The place of the general battle of the two troops was the Catalaunian fields in Champagne. The “Battle of the Nations” began in June. The left wing of the Romans was under the command of the Visigoth king Theodoric, the right wing was ruled by Aetius, in the middle were the Burgundians, Alans and other allies. In the central part of the Hun army, Attila and his fellow tribesmen were located, on the right flank were the Gepids and other peoples, and on the left - the Goths under the command of Valamir. The battle was started by the Huns. Between the two armies there was an elevation, which both sides sought to seize. This was done by the Visigoth cavalry. Attila continued the actions of his vanguard by attacking the main central forces. After that, a fierce slaughter began to develop throughout the entire territory of the front, the troops mixed up, chroniclers say that the stream flowing on the battlefield overflowed its banks from blood. It was in fact the largest battle of the ancient era, and for a long time remained a major one for the period of the Middle Ages.

During the battle, King Theodoric died, although the belonging Visigoths defeated their counterparts. The Romans Aetius and the Visigoths from two flanks managed to compress the army of the Huns into a vise and ensure their retreat. Attila led the army to the camp, and the commander of Rome had to let go of the Visigoths, who wanted to bury the leader with all the honors due to them. However, there is a version that Aetius personally convinced the son of Theodoric that he was obliged to go to his kingdom so that no one would take the reign from his hands. In this way, Aetius gave Attila the opportunity to retreat in order to use it in subsequent political games and maneuvering between barbarian kings. If this is indeed the case, then Aetius managed to realize his idea. Then the Huns retreated. So in the crowded and bloody battle on the Catalaunian fields, neither side achieved a final victory. The very next year, Attila invaded the center of Italy, and only after a conversation with Pope Leo I returned back.

By the middle of the 5th century AD. The Roman Empire accumulated great experience dealing with barbarians. Roman diplomats successfully found mutual language with the German kings, and during the negotiations it was possible to reach a compromise, which one way or another, albeit for a short time, suited everyone. But the Huns did not fit into any framework: in comparison with them, the Germans, once formidable and incomprehensible to the consciousness of the “Roman of the times of decline”, seemed almost a model of civilization.

By the right of the strong

The ruler of the Huns, Attila, demanded more and more material benefits from Rome for himself, as if testing the strength of the emperors. Theodosius the Younger gritted his teeth, but paid. However, the situation changed when, after the death of Theodosius, the new emperor Marcian took the throne, with his own, specifically military outlook on things. He believed that Attila was going too far in his demands.

Attila, not at all doubting his right to be strong, sent an embassy to Marcian, demanding an increase in tribute. Marcian replied that he considered the amount of tribute excessive: he was not obliged to give as much as, in his unreasonable generosity, the late Theodosius gave the Huns. The emperor reduced the amount of payments and demanded from the Huns strict observance of calm and peace on the Roman border. Otherwise,” he added with the confidence of a man accustomed to war, “the Huns will have to make sure that he has enough forces and means to fight them.

Map of the Romano-Germanic world

Attila did not fail to insult the envoys of Marcian, but he did not go further than this: his thoughts were busy " western direction', and not without reason. Firstly, the Vandal king Gaiseric, who captured the Roman province of Africa, was very concerned not to get involved in a completely unnecessary war with the Visigoths, and, as they suspect, he sent gifts to Attila so that he would distract the Visigoths with an attack.

Secondly, according to another legend (if not gossip), the sister of Emperor Valentinian III and the eldest daughter of Galla Placidia named Justa Grata Honoria offered Attila herself as a wife and even sent him a ring as a sign of engagement. So the Hun ruler had a reason to demand for himself half of the possessions of Valentinian III as a dowry.

The clouds are gathering

By 451, forces began to concentrate on two poles, rather conditionally called "Huns" and "Romans", although it would be much more correct to call them "Attila" and "Aetius". These two prominent military figures of their era had much in common. They were even, as they believe, not without reason, well acquainted and almost friendly in their youth, when young Aetius remained a hostage to the Huns. Romantically speaking, the grandiose battle in which these two men played the main role was, in a way, the crowning of their rivalry, which grew into an open confrontation.

Aetius spent most of his conscious life in battles, and mainly acted with barbarian forces against other barbarians. He knew how to command soldiers of non-Roman origin, knew their temper, their strengths and weak sides. Realizing that the Huns would have to be stopped one way or another, Aetius began to gather under his banner all the forces capable of resisting Attila. The Visigoths, who were considered federates of the Empire, and the Franks formed the basis of his army. Aetius' partner was the Visigothic king Theodorid I (Theodoric, Theoderic).

Hunnic cavalry on the attack

The Western Roman Empire by that time had already lost Pannonia (occupied by the Huns), Britain, most of Africa (occupied by the Vandals), most of Spain (occupied by the Visigoths). Gaul, which still belonged to Rome entirely, was populated by federates - Burgundians and Visigoths, ready to oppose the Empire at any opportunity. The central part of the Western Empire - Italy - did not have any combat-ready army.

In the city of Aurelian (now Orleans) there were then the Alans with their leader Sangiban. Attila decided to make this particular city his stronghold.

Sangiban felt quite understandable fear of Attila and promised him to surrender this stronghold. Theodoric became aware of the intention of the Alanian leader, and he decided to forestall the betrayal. Even before Attila approached Aurelian, Aetius and Theodoric fortified the city with large earthen mounds, and Sangiban himself was placed under strict supervision, fearing treachery on his part. This happened in the second half of June 451.

According to legend, Attila was somewhat alarmed by the decisive actions of the enemy and turned to the fortuneteller. The predictions were disappointing for the Huns; however, it was promised that in the coming battle the “supreme leader of the opposite side” would also die. According to legend, Attila was sure that death threatened Aetius.

"Battle of the Nations"

Attila retreated to the north, and here, on the Catalaunian fields, the famous battle took place, which is sometimes called the "battle of the peoples", since representatives of many tribes took part in it, and in terms of the number of those fighting, it seemed to have no equal. Their number is estimated at 300,000 people, they say that the surrounding rivers burst their banks from spilled blood. Even if this is an exaggeration, in any case, the impression made on the minds of contemporaries by this event is difficult to overestimate.

The Visigoth cavalry is preparing to enter the battle

The historian Jordan lists the tribes that made up the auxiliary detachments of Aetius: Franks, Alans, Burgundians, immigrants from Celtica and Germany. Attila, in addition to the Huns, had a significant number of Ostrogoths (Ostrogoths) in the troops, so the Catalaunian battle was in its way fratricidal: here the Goths opposed the Goths. Among the Ostrogothic allies of Attila are the brothers Valamir, Theodemir and Wiedemer, "more noble in origin than the king himself, whom they served, because they were illuminated by the power of the Amal family". Among other Germans devoted to Attila, Ardaric stands out, "the most glorious king of the innumerable hordes of Gepids", who was distinguished by "loyalty and sanity."

The Catalaunian fields are a plain in modern French Champagne, west of the city of Troyes and the left bank of the upper Seine. Jordan describes the area as follows:

“The place was sloping; it seemed to swell up, grow to the top of a hill. Both the one and the other army sought to take possession of it, because the convenience of the area delivers no small advantage; thus, the Huns with all their allies occupied the right side of it, while the Romans and the Visigoths with their auxiliary detachments occupied the left side. And they fight on the mountain itself for the remaining no-man's peak.

Attila, according to Jordanes, began the battle in the late afternoon, around the ninth hour: according to his calculation, if things had turned out badly, the coming night would have rescued the Huns. Indeed, the battle turned out unfavorably for the Huns: the eldest son of Theodoric Thorismund and with him Aetius occupied a height, and from there, from a dominant position, over and over again successfully repelled the advancing army of the Huns. Those, however, did not give up and rolled wave after wave.

The Visigoths repulse the attack of the Hunnic cavalry

The prediction of death for one of the leaders also came true: Theodoric was thrown from his horse and trampled on by his own. According to a more beautiful legend, he was killed by one of the leaders of the Ostrogoths - with a spear, in a personal duel.

The Visigoths at some point went on the offensive and attacked the Huns with all their might; they almost killed Attila himself, but he quickly withdrew and took cover behind the carts that surrounded his camp. This method of defense was also known to the Visigoths. Despite the apparent fragility, the "walls" of the carts were a fairly effective shelter.

As Attila had hoped, the night helped the retreating Huns. Thorismund lost his way in the darkness and, thinking that he was approaching his own, accidentally stumbled upon the wagons of the enemies. In the dead of night a fight ensued, Thorismund was wounded in the head and thrown off his horse. Fortunately, other Visigoths jumped up to the noise and freed their leader.

Aetius was also cut off from his own in the confusion of the night and wandered among the enemies, who, in turn, did not recognize him. In the end, he managed to find the Visigoths, and he spent the rest of the night near their fires.

When it dawned, a terrible picture opened up: the whole field was strewn with the bodies of the dead and wounded, and the Huns sat down behind the carts and did not show up. Attila, meanwhile, did not seem to feel defeated. The Huns sat in the camp and rattled their weapons, honked their trumpets, shouted loudly.

Aetius decided to keep Attila under siege: he had no supplies, the supply of bread in such a situation was impossible, and soon the Huns were bound to starve. Attila decided to die, but not to surrender: he lit a large fire from horse saddles and announced that he would throw himself into the fire if the enemy broke into the camp. No one will celebrate victory by capturing the lord of the Huns himself!

Thorismund and the crown

While Attila was making beautiful gestures, the Visigoths were looking for their king Theodoric. Finally, he was found among the corpses and carried out with great honor to be buried. Power immediately, on the battlefield, was transferred to Thorismund as the eldest son and worthy heir.

Thorismund wanted to immediately continue the battle and finish off Attila in his lair, thereby avenging his father and strengthening the glory of the Visigoths. However, Aetius calculated political party a few moves ahead and came to the conclusion that such a victory would lead to a strengthening of the Visigoths too dangerous for Rome - no matter how later you had to fight with your current allies!

Visigoths over the body of King Theodoric

Therefore, Aetius made a very unpleasant hint to Thorismund. Wouldn't it be better to return home and consolidate your power on the spot? After all, Thorismund has four younger brothers at home, each of whom, perhaps, cherishes ambitious plans - he would not have to fight with relatives for the crown. Thorismund, having accepted this very ambiguous advice, went to Gaul. In Tolosa, he was met triumphantly, and the brothers did not even think to challenge his authority. But, as they say, it didn’t hurt to play it safe.

Aquileian storks

Attila, of course, noticed that the Visigoths had left, but at first he took this maneuver for some kind of military trick. However, the "silence" dragged on: no one attacked, the Visigoths did not return. The leader of the Huns realized that it was possible to proceed further, and withdrew with his troops to Aquileia, which he immediately laid siege to.

The siege was long and fruitless. Aquileia staunchly resisted - it was defended by a strong Roman garrison. The Huns were already tired of trampling under the walls, and they wanted to leave. At this moment, according to legend, Attila noticed that the storks were flying away from Aquileia and carrying off their chicks. The sign made it clear to the leader of the Huns that the birds leave the city for a reason: they know that Aquileia will soon fall without fail. Therefore, Attila perked up, built siege engines and throwing weapons, and after a decisive assault, Aquileia really fell.

The Huns plundered the city and poured further: they devastated Mediolan, Ticinus and were about to go to Rome, but at the last moment they abandoned this idea. The historian Priscus conveys the reason why Attila allegedly decided not to touch The eternal City: it is known that the Gothic king Alaric, the conqueror of Rome, did not live long after this feat. The superstitious Huns feared that Attila would suffer the same fate.

According to another legend, this time a church one, Attila was stopped by the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Leo I: he came to the terrible Hun leader on the Ambulian field in the province of Venetius and, in a personal conversation, convinced him to return beyond the Danube and “keep peace”.

Fragment of Raphael's fresco "Meeting of Pope Leo I the Great with Attila" (1514), Vatican

However, there are also less sublime reasons for Attila's departure from Italy: the previous year was lean, so the hordes of the Huns began to starve, and Attila could not feed his army. At the same time, the troops of Marcian under the command of Aetius did not cease to disturb Attila, so that the Hun preferred to retire. After all, nothing will prevent him from returning in a year and resuming hostilities!

So Attila really moved away, but he could not calm down, and on the way he still tried to subdue the Alans, who were sitting across the Liger River. However, Thorismund prevented this: he was the first to the Alans and met Attila fully armed. In a great battle, Thorismund defeated the Huns and forced them to leave.

It is said of Thorismund that he died three years later from an illness. The king of the Vezegoths was allegedly killed by enemies when the doctor bled him, because at that moment Thorismund had no weapons. However, he managed to kill several of his enemies with a simple bench before finally dying.

In the same year 453, Attila also died suddenly. According to the legend, which Jordan told after Priscus, the formidable leader of the Huns choked on the blood that was coming from his nose at a wedding feast with a beauty named Ildiko (or Ildikhona) - obviously a girl of German origin.

The burial of Attila was grandiose: the body was enclosed in three coffins (gold, silver and “made of strong iron”), they mourned and celebrated a feast, they put weapons, “precious falers” and other decorations into the grave. Then everyone who participated in the burial was killed so that no one would ever find and plunder the grave of the great leader of the Huns.

Attila made a grandiose impression on the minds and remained in the traditions of the Germanic peoples as legendary person. His image remained alive in European epics: they feast at Attila, heroes fight and die with Attila, mining gold, which the historical Attila mined with such insatiable greed (Etzel in the Nibelungs, Atli in the Edda).

Aetius fell victim to an intrigue a year later: the suspicious Valentinian III killed him on September 21, 454 - according to different versions, pierced with a sword or strangled. On this occasion, those close to him directly told the emperor that he "chopped off his left hand with his right hand."

So one by one all the commanders descended into the grave the greatest battle. A new time was coming, which was destined to become even more difficult and dark.