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The Man Who Politely Asked Attila The Hun To Go Away (And He Did)
The move inexplicably saved Rome
In the middle part of the fifth century, there was no name as feared as Attila. Attila the Hun ravaged both the Eastern and Western Roman Empires. They rampaged through the Balkans, killing and looting as they went, before turning their swords and torches against Roman Gaul (modern day France). It seemed as though no one could stop Attila on the battlefield.
After sacking Gaul, Attila turned his gaze southward, across the Alps, and into Italy. He had failed to reach Constantinople, and he had no plans to fail again at taking Rome. The Huns marched over the Alps and sacked Aquileia. The next target was the fertile heartland of Italy and Rome itself.
Since fighting Attila seemed to be futile, Emperor Valentinian III tried a completely different tactic. He decided to try to parlay with the warlord instead.
In a bizarre move, the emperor dispatches an envoy of just three men to treat with Attila and persuade him to turn back from Rome. It seems like a fool’s gamble, but Rome is desperate. The Huns had destroyed the last semblance of Roman control in Gaul, and the empire was teetering on the brink of oblivion.
