Attila:The Scourge of God

THIRTY-NINE

The river banks were covered with human bones, and the stench of death was so great that no one could enter the city¹

Priscus of Panium, Byzantine History, after 472

‘“After the Battle of the Utus, in which, though victorious, he sustained heavy losses, Attila appeared before the walls of Constantinople. He did not linger; their massive strength obviously convinced him that it would be a waste of time to invest the capital. Instead, the Scourge of God went on to vent his heathen fury on the dioceses of Thracia and Macedonia, ravaging without resistance and without mercy everything in his path from the Hellespontus to the Pass of Thermopylae. The most strongly defended cities like Heraclea and Hadrianopolis may have escaped, but seventy others have been utterly destroyed: Marcianopolis, Thessaloniki, Dyrrachium. .”’ Titus looked up from the letter, just arrived by express courier from the Imperial Secretariat in Constantinople, which he had been reading aloud to Aetius. They were in the general’s temporary headquarters, a suite in the archbishop’s palace at Lugdunum² in the Gallic province of Lugdunensis. ‘I’ll pass over the other sixty-seven, shall I, sir?’

‘And the rest,’ sighed the general, nodding wearily. ‘Just cut to the end, and tell me what it is they want.’

‘“After our gallant army sacrificed itself at the Utus,”’ continued Titus, after briefly scanning the remainder of the missive, ‘“we looked to the West for help, but sadly it was not forthcoming. This despite the fact that our Invincible Augustus, the Most Sacred Theodosius, the Calligrapher, has in the past given aid most generously, and on more than one occasion, to his Royal Cousin, Valentinian, Augustus of the West. Our distinguished general, the Illustrious Anatolius, Count of the First Order, has had to make the best terms he can with Attila. These, however, are harsh indeed: the yearly tribute to be greatly increased, and a strip of territory south of the Danubius, from Singidunum to Novae,³ to be ceded to the Huns — three hundred miles in length, and in breadth as much as a fifteen days’ journey will encompass.

‘“In hopes of mitigating these heavy conditions, a special embassy is to travel from Constantinople to Attila, who has agreed to receive it. This mission will be headed by a respected courtier, the Most Perfect Maximin, accompanied by one Priscus,⁴ of Panium in Thracia, a scholar and historian of note. The observations of the latter, as to the mores of the Huns, may yield a useful insight as to how best to treat with these barbarians. It is greatly to be hoped that ambassadors from the West will join our embassy, as their presence could add weight to our pleas.

‘“Esteemed Patrician, it is no secret that you have, or have had, ties of friendship with our present oppressor, the monarch of the Huns. This consideration might help to sway him in our favour. The citizens of the Eastern part of our One and Indivisible Empire beseech the Patrician of the West, in the event he cannot come himself, at least to send persons of substance to speak on his behalf. Such men should be familiar with both courts and camps, be of noble lineage and of consular rank. The Emperor Himself prays you will accede to this request; you would then leave the East a grateful memory of the name of Aetius. Farewell. Signed by the hand of Nomus, Master of Offices, the Most Perfect. .” et cetera, et cetera. Sounds as if they’re pretty desperate, sir.’

‘I should at least have tried to help them!’ cried Aetius, an expression of anguished guilt on his face. He looked appealingly at Titus. ‘But how, in all conscience, could I? My army would have mutinied if I’d ordered it to the East, as Julian’s legions did — and that was eighty years ago. Besides, Attila is, or was, my friend. It’s hard to fight a man you’ve broken bread with. Anyway, all that’s by the way. How could I have left Gaul, with the federates always ready to break out the moment my back’s turned?’

‘No one, if he’s fair, can blame you, sir,’ said Titus gently, thinking how tired and lined the general’s face had become, and how much his hair had greyed in recent months. ‘You’ve got your hands more than full holding things together in the West.’

‘I can’t disagree with that,’ concurred Aetius with gloomy emphasis. He began to pace the spacious chamber overlooking the confluence of the Rhodanus and the Arar,⁵ which, since it had become his office, had been reduced to the usual state of chaos. ‘With my field army shrinking steadily — like an icicle in the sun — these days I’m having to be more diplomat than soldier. Wielding the big stick’s no longer the option it once was; I must now placate, where once I could compel. Never did I need Attila’s Huns more. Keeping these touchy federates in line would try the patience of a saint. When King Chlodio died recently, the Franks couldn’t decide which of his sons should succeed. So whom did they ask to arbitrate? Me. I chose the younger, Merovech, a decent lad who’s showing promise as a ruler. But in spite of primogeniture not being a deciding factor with the Franks, the elder brother felt aggrieved and flounced off to Attila, whom he’s asked to help put him on the throne.’

‘And that could be serious?’

‘It might. They’ve become formal allies, it would seem. That could give Attila a pretext for invading the West, I suppose. I just hope, for old times’ sake, he’d never go that far. Half my time’s spent ingratiating myself with the Frankish nobles, so as to persuade them that Merovech is the right choice.’

‘And the other half?’ ventured Titus with a smile, hoping to lighten the general’s mood.

‘What’s this, a Socratic dialogue?’ replied the other, with a wry grin. ‘Don’t humour me, my friend. You know the answer very well yourself. Ever since Theoderic and Gaiseric fell out over the latter’s mutilation of the former’s daughter, I’ve been working hard to build up a friendly relationship with Theoderic. We hope to be able to mount a jount Romano-Visigothic invasion of Africa, to punish Gaiseric and, with luck, get rid of him — which won’t be easy, mind, as he’s now Attila’s ally. Still, he’s played into my hands by making an enemy of Theoderic, who otherwise might be getting ideas again about expanding his territory eastwards into Provincia.’ The general paused in his pacing to secure a banging shutter. He stood looking out of the window for a short while. ‘The times we live in, Titus,’ he mused. ‘From here I can see, between the houses and the city walls, great empty spaces and derelict buildings. This city, once among the greatest in the West, has shrunk to half its size. Insecurity, declining trade. . The aqueducts have stopped working, always the first sign that things are breaking down. Lead thieves; they strip the lining from the water channels. The city council’s too strapped for cash to employ maintenance staff or an adequate force of vigiles.’

‘To change the subject, sir, what, if anything, do we do about this appeal from Constantinople?’

‘Not “we” my dear Titus: you. A trip to Eastern Europe as part of a diplomatic mission — it’ll be a pleasant change for you.’

‘Me!’ exclaimed Titus, perturbed. ‘Is that a good idea, sir? Remember what happened last time. And if Attila’s only prepared to meet people of consular rank, that rather puts me out of the race, doesn’t it?’

‘It wasn’t your fault that your mission to Attila failed. The timing was wrong, that’s all. Litorius’ blundering at Tolosa had just cost the lives of sixty thousand Huns, if you recall. As for your not having been a consul, well, while Caligula may have made his horse one, I can’t do the same for you, I’m afraid. Not that it matters. Attila’s stipulation isn’t to be taken too literally. I doubt this Priscus fellow boasts a title to his name. Still, you’d better have one of some sort, I suppose. Let’s see, top-ranking agentes in rebus became Most Distinguished under Gratian, but I’m pretty sure that went up to Notable early in the present reign. So, in order that you qualify, I now promote you to princeps, the highest rank in the courier service. Titus Valerius Rufinus, Vir Spectabilis: how does that sound?’

‘I can live with it,’ acknowledged Titus with a smile.

‘I should think so! The things I do for you. Your title will need to be confirmed by the Consistory, but I’ll make sure the application goes through marked “First Priority”. Now, while officially your function on this mission will be to give backing to the Eastern envoys, I want you to try and arrange a private audience with Attila. His anger has had time to cool since Tolosa. There’s just a chance that this time you may succeed in persuading him to become my ally again. I’ll brief you later about what to say. And while you’re there, try to find out what happened to Constantius. He seems to have vanished off the face of the earth.’

‘It’s my guess he absconded with the gifts he was meant to take to Attila. I know you liked him, sir, but I felt there was something untrustworthy about him.’

‘I suppose you may be right,’ sighed Aetius. ‘Pity. A talented young man, who could have gone far. Now, to decide who’s going with you. .’

¹ Naissus (the present-day Ni

), one of the cities destroyed by the Huns. Priscus passed it en route to visit Attila in 449.

² Lyons.

³ From Belgrade to Sistova, Bulgaria.

⁴ Author of the fragmentary Byzantine History, which contains a vivid and detailed first-hand account of the embassy’s visit to the court of Attila.

⁵ The Rhone and the Saone.