| Sack of Aquileia | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Germanic Wars | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
|
Huns Ostrogoths | Roman Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Attila the Hun | |||||||
The Sack of Aquileia occurred in 452, and was carried out by the Huns under the leadership of Attila.[1]
A year after Attila's defeat at the Battle of Catalaunian Fields,[2] Attila launched anasion of Italy, during which he razed Aquileia to the ground. It was only when Saint Leo arrived beseeching Attilia to turn back[3] was his invasion halted.
Before its destruction, Aquileia was a center of government (with an imperial residence), commerce and finance (with a mint), military defense, and Christianity (with a bishop).[4] Its destruction and Attila's subsequent unimpeded ravaging of the province of Venetia (modern Veneto and Friuli) paved the way for the rise of Venice which within a few centuries replaced and even surpass it in importance.
Popular culture[]
This sack appears as part of the final scenario in the Attila the Hun campaign in the Microsoft computer game Age of Empires II: The Conquerors. The destruction of Aquileia also figures prominently into the background of several characters in the novel The Last Legion.
References[]
- ↑ "Valentinian III". www.livius.org. http://www.livius.org/va-vh/valentinian/valentinian_iii.htmlVa. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
- ↑ "Aquileia". www.eyewitnesstohistory.com. http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/attila2.htm. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
- ↑ "Saint Leo the Great". www.catholic-saints.info. http://www.catholic-saints.info/roman-catholic-saints-h-l/saint-leo-the-great.htm. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
- ↑ "Archaeological Area and the Patriarchal Basilica of Aquileia". whc.unesco.org. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/825. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
The original article can be found at Sack of Aquileia and the edit history here.