"All I know is that you cut off your right hand with your left hand" - a Roman's view of the emperor's murder of Aetius
Since the Roman Empire was split in two, the Western Empire had greatly declined in strength due to the direct onslaught of barbarians. The Western Roman court not only lost its dominance over Britain, but over time the provinces of North Africa, Spain, gaul, and even Italy, the land of Gyeonggi, was often lost.
At this time, the Western Roman Empire was facing such chaos and had no ambition to reorganize the mountains and rivers. Without the commander-in-chief Aetius's crusade to the west, the Western Empire would not have been able to retain even its last face - the barbarian tribes that invaded Gaul would still nominally remain under the command of the Ravenna court!
Not only that, but Aetius also formed a coalition to resist the western expedition of the Hunnic king Attila, who swept across Europe. However, this great general did not achieve a happy ending, and in 454 AD, the Emperor of the Western Empire, Valentinian III, personally murdered this loyal general who fought for the empire's southern conquest and northern war.
The reason for this was only that the emperor heard the slander of the traitorous courtiers, claiming that Aetius would have a rebellious act, hoping that the emperor would make plans early. At this time, the thirty-five-year-old emperor was too nervous about this matter, and an emperor who had already been established for a long time could not see the general situation of the dynasty and rashly made the decision to execute the pillars of the empire, which made people stunned.
It should be known that at this time, the Western Empire has long been depleted, and most of the Romans have no intention of enlisting in the army for comfort. This made the backbone of the legion already barbaric, and for them, either forced or for the sake of silver, there was no loyalty to the Western Empire.
Relying on such legions to maintain the long-term peace and stability of the dynasty is a fool's dream, in addition to soldiers, legion generals are even more so, barbarian generals abound, and even some barbarian tribes directly form legions under their own command! This means that the powerful force that once maintained the existence of the Roman Empire (the Roman legions) has deteriorated.
Without the support of pillars, the entire empire can only be crumbling, and when the time comes, the huge empire built by the Roman ancestors will suddenly fall to the ground.
Aetius rose up after the Roman Empire was divided in two, and gradually became a rare roman from soldier to commander. In his lifetime, although he supported the mutineers, he was still fighting on the front line for the peace of the empire as a whole.
Whether it was the barbarian tribes that moved westward in Gaul or attila, which made the whole of Europe tremble, Aetius fought against it.
In particular, the battle with Attila was the peak of his military career. Faced with Attila, who had gathered a large army to conquer Gaul, even though his strength was weak, Aetius resolutely marched from his garrison and went to Gaul to meet the battle. Showing the courage and courage of the soldiers of the ancient Roman period, with the support of many barbarian forces, Aetius won the Battle of Chalon.
But all this went away with the sword of Emperor Valentinian III, who had never shown courage before, and who, despite rumors, took Aetius's life with his sword. And with the commander-in-chief passing away the only remnants of the Western Dynasty, this decadent dynasty is finally coming to its twilight years.
However, emperor Valentian III showed no concern for all this, surrounded by traitors, he was still complacent that he could keep the throne.
But when he left the palace and asked a Roman what he thought of the matter, he got a different answer: the death of Aetius was like his majesty the emperor cutting off his right hand with his left hand. Because of this, the Emperor of the Empire could no longer gain the support of the people, who had previously been full of contempt for this inactive emperor, and now they were disgusted!
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