Flavius Aetius

~391–454 · Roman (Western Empire) · Fall of the Western Roman Empire

Known for: 'The Last of the Romans'—defeated Attila the Hun at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains

Flavius Aetius was the last effective military commander of the Western Roman Empire. Raised as a hostage among the Huns, he used those connections to recruit Hunnic mercenaries for Roman defense. He navigated the treacherous court of weak Emperor Valentinian III while holding the empire together through diplomacy and military skill.

His greatest achievement was assembling a coalition of Romans, Visigoths, and other barbarian allies to defeat Attila's invasion of Gaul at the Catalaunian Plains in 451. He was murdered by Valentinian himself, prompting a courtier to remark that 'the emperor had cut off his right hand with his left.' The Empire collapsed within 25 years of his death.

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