Valentinian was born in the western capital of Ravenna, the only son of Galla Placidia and Flavius Constantius. His mother was the younger half-sister of the western emperor Honorius (r. 393–423), while his father was at the … See more

The Huns continued to pressure the Danubian provinces in the 440s. Sometime before 449, Valentinian granted the honorary title of magister militum of the western empire upon their chieftain, Attila the Hun, and the western court was relieved when he … See more

Valentinian's reign is marked by the dismemberment of the Western Empire; by the time of his death, virtually all of North Africa, all of western Spain, and the majority of Gaul had passed out of Roman hands. He is described as spoiled, pleasure-loving, … See more

Caesar
In 423, Honorius died, and his primicerius notariorum, Joannes took power in Rome. To counter this … See more

From 436 to 439, Aetius was focused on the situation in Gaul. Serious Gothic defeats in 437 and 438 were undone by a Roman defeat in 439, which saw the status quo restored … See more

With the Hun invasion thwarted, Valentinian felt secure enough to begin plotting to have Aetius killed, egged on by Petronius Maximus, a high ranking senator who bore Aetius a personal grudge, and his chamberlain, the eunuch Heraclius. Aetius, … See more