 Barbarians crossing the frozen Rhine, by Zvonimir Grbasic, via Ancient History Encyclopedia December 31st AD 406. The River Rhine tumbled through the snow-coated land, a great natural moat separating the Western Roman Empire from "wild" Germania. As light gave way to dusk, and the temperature plummeted further, the river's tumbling song continued eternal, endless… and then it stopped. All that could be heard now was the crackle of ice, the hoot of owls… then the rumble of boots from the Germanian banks. A bearded Vandalic chieftain emerged from the treeline there. A Suebian nobleman and an Alanic horseman stepped out to flank him. All three gazed across the sparkling, frozen river. As they had forecast, the 'moat' had become a bridge. The Western Roman Empire and all its riches lay just a few hundred metres away. When the Vandal chieftain called over his shoulder, one of his warriors emerged from the trees, and stepped gingerly out onto the ice. It cracked, groaned, popped… but it held. The three leaders eyed one another, then glanced behind them to the vast horde of their respective peoples, crouched and waiting in the undergrowth. They were primed, and the gates to the empire lay open. Only one thing held them back: the imposing fortress on the far side.  The Rhine gorge in the depths of winter. It was just one of many stony redoubts studding the imperial banks. All three knew had in the past tried storming this Roman border - via boat, and even once before when the river had frozen just like this. Time and again, it had ended in bloody defeat - with silvery legionaries spewing from those fortresses to hack them away, archers rising at the parapets to shower them with arrows, artillery on the turrets launching great bolts that sunk their boats midriver. Something was different this time, however. There were no lights visible at the fortress. Usually the braziers of the watchmen flickered all night long. The three leaders eyed each other again, this time with a new confidence in their eyes. The Vandal chieftain drew his axe and held it aloft, then emitted a mighty cry as he chopped it forth, pointing towards the far banks. With a matching chorus of cries, the tens of thousands of Vandals, Alans and Sueves in the trees surged out and onto the ice, following their three leaders on into the undefended lands of Roman Gaul. There, they would unleash hell. "The once noble city of Moguntiacum (Mainz) has been captured and destroyed. In its church many thousands have been massacred. The people of Vangionum (Worms) after standing a long siege have been extirpated. The powerful city of Remorum (Rheims), the Ambiani (Amiens), the Altrebatæ (Arras), the Morini (Thérouanne) on the skirts, Tornacum (Tournai), the Nemetæ (Speyer), and Argentoratus (Strasbourg) have fallen to Germania: while the provinces of Aquitaine and of Novempopulania, of Lugdunensis (Lyon) and Narbonensis (Narbonne) are, with the exception of a few cities, one universal scene of desolation. And those which the sword spares without, famine ravages within." RealitySadly, it has to be said that the frozen Rhine theory - as evocative as it is - is just that. A theory, put forward by Edward Gibbon as an explanation for why the huge host of barbarians were able to cross the river in such great numbers without imperial resistance. In his letters from the time, St. Jerome lists Mainz (the Roman river fortress-city of Mogontiacum) as the first place devastated by the incursion. Perhaps this was the site of the crossing? There was actually Roman stone pillar bridge across the Rhine - called the Pons Ingeniosa - at Mainz at that time. However, one would think that the legions would have been able to repel an invasion across a bridge with relative ease? Even cutting the bridge if things became desperate?  The fortress of Divitia at Colonia Agrippina (Cologne) - the sort fo defences the barbarians would have expected to come up against to break into the empire. That brings us to the absence of lights on the fortress in our semi-fictional opening. It seems that the Roman border forces were curiously absent at the time of the invasion. Why? One theory is that Stilicho - the Western military supremo and effective regent - had drawn all the border troops back to Italy in the summer of 406, in order to contain and defeat the invasion of Radagaisus the Goth. It does seem rather remiss however to leave the borders unwatched over the winter. The Roman poet, Claudian, claims that Stilicho had in fact agreed a treaty with the Franks - living in the Rhine region - to watch the borders in the absence of the legions and to keep any aggressive tribes away from the river. And Gregory of Tours reports that - around the time of the crossing - there had been a war between the Franks and the Vandals, which the Vandals had lost. Was this the Franks repelling the Vandals from the empire, as Stilicho had commanded them to? From this, it can be posited that the Vandals sought out alliances with the Sueves and the Alani in order to strike back at the Franks. This time, it seems, the Franks could not stop them reaching the Rhine, where, of course, the forts lay empty. Why was there such turmoil on the eastern side of the Rhine - so many wars and aggressive movements of peoples, all towards the empire? The answer is the Huns a supremely skilled nomadic horse archer people. Emerging from the Eurasian steppe and proving invincible on the battlefield, the Huns created a domino-effect on the erstwhile stable Germanic tribes, driving them all towards Roman lands.
Consequences of the Vandalic InvasionThe Vandal, Sueve and Alanic devastation of Gaul gave rise to panic in Britannia, where a separatist emperor, Marcus, was raised. This rebellion gathered strength, with many Gallic peoples supporting his cause - and the cause of the next two rebel emperors who would rise after him. All this - the rampaging barbarians, the rebel emperors, and the Roman legions' inaction - reflected very badly upon Stilicho, ultimately leading to a coup in AD 408 which he was toppled from his perch at the head of the Western Roman Army (and effectively as regent of the West) and executed. Just two years later, the city of Rome would be sacked. The whole of the Western Empire was in chaos and riddled with invading tribes. Most ominously, the shadow of the Huns - gathering in great masses at Europe's edges - began to loom darker over all of this. Read all about this age of chaos in… THE EAGLE & THE WOLF
ReferencesThe Chronicle of Prosper of Aquitaine
Letter 123 to Ageruchia, St Jerome History of the Franks, Gregory of Tours The Fall of the Roman Empire, Peter Heather The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon Barbarian Tides: The Migration Age and the Later Roman Empire, Walter Goffart
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At daybreak on August 22nd AD 408, the great Ursiana Basilica of Ravenna echoed with the clank of armour as soldiers, led by an officer named Heraclianus, entered the Christian sanctuary. At the altar knelt a lone man: Stilicho, once the high general of the Western Roman Empire... now an outlaw. When Heraclianus made to seize Stilicho, a bishop intervened. Heraclianus assured the bishop that they were not here to hurt Stilicho, only arrest him. Yet as soon as the soldiers marched Stilicho out of the church, Heraclianus produced a letter condemning him to death for 'crimes against the state' and drew his sword. Stilicho's friends tried to get involved, but Stilicho waved them back, then dropped to his knees and submitted his neck to the sword.  Stilicho's last moments. With that, Stilicho, the iron hand that had shielded the ailing empire from countless rebellions and invasions for more than a decade... was gone. Gone to the swipe of a Roman sword. Has there ever been a greater case of self-injury? In this article, I will look at why Stilicho's valiant life came to such a disastrous end. Stilicho, the 'Half-Vandal'
Perhaps it was this that convinced Theodosius to offer Stilicho the hand of his daughter, Serena. This was no small reward: marrying into the imperial line meant wealth and status for him and his children. A son, Eucherius, soon followed in AD 388, and two daughters, Maria and Thermantia, were not far behind. His rise through the command ranks was rapid: first Commander of the Protectores, then Count of the Sacred Stables, then around 390, he became Magister Militum - one of a select handful of generals who oversaw the Eastern Empire's legions. Come 393 he rose to Magister Utriusque Militiae per Thracias (Master of Foot & Horse in the region of Thrace) - arguably the most important of the Eastern Empire's generals. Death of an EmperorHis tactical skills would be put to the test when the two halves of the Roman Empire came to blows in a ruinous civil war. Across two days of bloody fighting in September AD 395 at the Battle of the Frigidus - a clash that settled the conflict in favour of the Eastern Empire - Stilicho distinguished himself. So much so that when - just a few months later - Emperor Theodosius lay on his death bed in Milan, riddled with dropsy, he apparently entrusted Stilicho with guardianship over his two boys. Arcadius, 17, was to sit on the Eastern throne while Honorius, 10, would rule the West. And Stilicho was to be guardian of both, and supreme commander of the armies.  "The Favourites of Emperor Honorius" by John William Waterhouse. The young emperor was rather feckless, and over interested in feeding his pet doves, at the expense of ruling his crumbling realm. Bishop Ambrose of Milan corroborated the emperor's dying wish, but Stilicho's rivals contested it regardless. Rufinus, a loathsome, high-ranking official in the Eastern government, argued that guardianship over the boys did not mean regency, which he claimed Stilicho was angling for. A game of political and military chess ensued, with Rufinus pulling the strings from behind Arcadius' throne in Constantinople and Stilicho from Honorius' side in Milan in the West. The empire's Visigothic allies became the pawns of this game, leading to their revolt under their king, Alaric. Stilicho saw off Rufinus, and critics say he was behind the latter's assassination. Though none would argue that Rufinus was an innocent victim. Days of WarStilicho then campaigned against the Franks who had invaded in Gaul, his success in this campaign boosting the morale of the Western Army - threadbare since their defeat at the Frigidus. Next, in AD 397, he defeated Alaric and the Visigoths in Macedonia. Yet new rivals claimed he had 'let' Alaric escape with his life, and didn't have the empire's best interests at heart. In AD 398, he orchestrated a war against the Pictish aggression in Britannia. When Gildo of Africa revolted that same year, he quashed the rebellion. Come AD 400, he was appointed as consul - the highest civilian post, to match his supreme military status. But criticism followed him like a cloud of flies. Some said he had never been to Britannia, and had simply sent some legions to wage war against the Picts. When the commander of the attack fleet sent to Africa drowned on the way back to Italy in suspicious circumstances, critics spread rumours that the culprit was a jealous Stilicho. It is not hard to see why someone who has soared in both the martial and civilian arenas might draw continuing jealousy and criticism. It is also highly unlikely that someone presented with such wealth, fame and power, would not succumb to corruption of a certain degree. All we can say for sure is that, under Stilicho's guardianship, the Western Empire rode out a turbulent decade and a half.  King Alaric and his Visigoths enter Athens - one of his many conquests. There followed the Gothic War of 401-403. First he broke the Visigothic siege of Milan, rescuing Emperor Honorius, trapped within. He followed this up by defeating Alaric again at the Battle of Pollentia, capturing the enemy leader's wife (whom he later returned, unharmed). A further victory over Alaric at Verona saw the Visigoths at last concede, and accept settlement in Pannonia. But there was no let up in trouble. Radagaisus, King of a confederation of Goths, Sueves, Vandals and Alans broke through the imperial borders and plundered Gaul and northern Italy in a frenzy. Estimates of his force run as high as 400,000 strong (although this is highly unlikely). Faced with a nonetheless immense host, Stilicho was forced to take desperate measures - enrolling slaves, hiring Huns and Alans of his own - to join the undermanned legions and form a defensive army. Springing Radagaisus when he was separated from his main force and on his way with a smaller detachment of warriors to raid an Italian town, Stilicho captured the enemy leader and executed him in view of his horde - who laid down their weapons. A Porous LandOne consequence of all of Stilicho's efforts to contain the chaos inside the empire was a serious depletion of the border forces, who had necessarily been drawn into the trouble spots in the central provinces. Only the broad and dangerous waters of the River Rhine kept the baying tribes beyond out. Until... one night in AD 406, the Rhine froze over. A huge confederation of barbarians crossed unopposed, devastating Gaul and triggering revolts there and in Britannia. The threadbare state Stilicho had held together for so long was unravelling. Worse, Alaric and the Visigoths once more rose in revolt, demanding gold in lieu of promises that had not been met. When Stilicho persuaded the Senate to give in to Alaric's demands, criticism was fierce - accusing Stilicho of toadying with the Goths to the detriment of the empire. His main rivals smelt opportunity… An artist’s impression of Germanic barbarians crossing the Rhine in AD 406 by Zvonimir Grbasic, via Ancient History Encyclopedia. Jealous EyesOne sultry day in the summer of AD 408, Stilicho led his beleaguered Roman troops across the hot fields of northern Italy, answering a call from Emperor Honorius who wished to inspect the ranks. They made camp near Ticinum (modern Pavia), buffed their armour and lined up for the emperor's assessment. When the emperor arrived, a figure stuck close to his side: Olympius, Magister Officiorum (Master of Offices). His role gave him great power and influence over the rather feckless emperor, who may or may not have been privy to what was about to happen. At some signal from Olympius, men in Stilicho's ranks drew steel, then attacked and killed many of Stilicho's key subcommanders, including his right hand man, Chariobaudes - the one-time Duke of Mesopotamia and current Master of the Armies of Gaul. Stilicho escaped the bloodbath and went into hiding. He must have been distraught; he had been the emperor's iron hand and guardian for more than thirteen years, ever since Honorius had been raised onto the throne aged just ten. So when he heard word that the emperor was seeking of truce and mediation, he rode to Ravenna to hold talks. No sooner had he arrived, than he realised it was another of Olympius' traps.  Ravenna's Ursiana Basilica. Fleeing to the sanctuary of the Ursiana Basilica, he would soon find out, would not save him. So ended the life of Stilicho; protégé of Theodosius the Great; the iron hand that had shielded the Western Empire for decades against Alaric and the Visigoths; countless rebellions and tribal invasions. What followed was a dark and violent time. A time when Attila and the mighty Huns would drive like a stake into the backs of the Germanic tribes and on into the very heart of the empire. A time in which the empire would need a new hero. A young cadet would step into this void. His name... was Flavius Aetius. Read all about the aftermath of Stilicho's death and Flavius' ascension, in... THE EAGLE & THE WOLF.
References:Stilicho: The Vandal who saved Rome, Ian Hughes
The Roman Empire at Bay (AD 180 - 395), David Potter The Fall of the Roman Empire, Peter Heather Historia Nova, Zosimus The Panegyrics of Claudian Codex Theodosianus Through a polished bronze mirror: the incredible story of Attila the Hun and Flavius Aetius.8/24/2026 In AD 451, two colossal armies gathered on the fields of Chalons, northern Gaul. Almost every man - from Europe and beyond - of fighting age was there, armed to the teeth, waiting for the battle horns to herald a clash that would shape the fate of the ailing Roman Empire and history itself. On one side stood Flavius Aetius, high commander of the Roman and allied armies. Leading the enemy horde was Attila, King of the Huns. What followed was a seismic clash that would inspire legends - including Tolkien himself (The Battle of Chalons inspired his depiction of the Battle of the Pelennor Fields in Lord of the Rings).  The moments before the Battle of Chalons - the bloodiest clash in ancient history. Artwork by Peter Dennis. Close your eyes and imagine the two leaders. You might see Flavius in his shining Roman armour and plumed helm, and nomadic Attila on his battle horse, draped in goatskin? Two starkly contrasting figures - one representing imperium and order, one the barbarian 'other'.
Now consider this: Firstly, that Flavius, son of a senatorial family, actually spent his adolescence with the Huns, in the wilderness of the Eurasian steppe. There he became a man, learning the nomadic way of life and honing his survival skills. Secondly, Attila the Hun, the so-called "Scourge of God", nemesis of the Romans, very likely spent years of his youth in Roman Empire. There, he was educated in the imperial ways in the great marble cities so very different to his wild homeland. It's quite incredible, isn't it? To think that the opposing high commanders at Chalons were once a boys who stepped through a polished bronze mirror, each into the other's shoes. How did this great and early switch around come about?  The Eurasian Steppe, homeland of the Huns. Highlighted in gold, the steppe is a vast belt of grasslands spanning central Asia and eastern Europe (specifically the Great Hungarian Plain, or modern Hungary). An Empire in ChaosThe empire of the early 5th century AD was a very different beast to that which had gone before. From a historian’s perspective, the period is a mess. Almost everyone writing in this era had an agenda. Feckless child emperors – the brothers Honorius and Arcadius – sat on the Western and Eastern thrones, while power lay in the hands of the advisers and warlords who influenced them. In AD 408, the Western Empire in particular was on the wane, with much reduced tax income and a decaying military barely capable of containing endless waves of rebellion and barbarian incursions.  The Western Roman Empire in the early 5th century AD - a porous and troubled realm, riddled with invading tribes and rebellions. Stilicho - Emperor Honorius' high general - fought hard to slow the decline and to maintain alliances and truces with some of the more dangerous barbarian invaders (chiefly the mighty Visigoths of King Alaric, ensconed in Gaul), but his success in doing this drew the jealous eyes of rivals. In AD 408, Stilicho was betrayed and murdered in a coup orchestrated by Honorius' chief advisor - the Master of Offices, Olympius. Many Visigothic noble families living in Italy and allied to Stilicho were slaughtered during this power-grab. The historian Zosimus describes how, during the ensuing chaos, Emperor Honorius, terrified by the impending revenge attack of the King Alaric and the main body of the Visigoths, “called upon Uldin, King of the Huns, to send ten thousand riders to his assistance.” A Golden BargainAt this time, the Huns were not allies of the Roman Empire, and Uldin was not in any way oathbound to answer Emperor Honorius' call. So what did the young Western supremo use to strike the bargain - especially when the imperial coffers were empty? Plausibly - and in-keeping with the customs of the time - he could have offered Uldin a Roman nobleman as a guarantee of future payment for the army of ten thousand Huns. Flavius Aetius, the adolescent son of an esteemed senatorial family, would have fitted the bill perfectly. Indeed, and although the dates are vague, it seems that Flavius was dispatched to the distant world of the Huns shortly after Stilicho's demise, which coincides with the last few years of Uldin's reign. He remained out in the wilds with the Huns for possibly as much as 17 years.
Now we come to Attila - why was he sent to Rome? One theory is that the ten thousand riders Flavius' presence on the steppe was supposed to buy never made it to the empire. So perhaps the Huns decided to keep Flavius and sent young Attila to the empire as a payment in kind? Or perhaps the ten thousand Huns did make it to Italy, but - after failing to repel Alaric - decided to send Attile to Rome to establish an ongoing mutual friendship between their clans and the empire? We don't know the exact year that Attila was sent to Rome, or for how long, although it almost certainly overlapped with Flavius' time on the steppe.  Alaric sacks Rome in AD 410. It was in the aftermath of this landmark event that the young Attila would travel to Rome to be educated in imperial ways. Two Boys TransformedDuring his time with the Huns, Flavius became a man. He would have gained knowledge and skills that few Romans could or would ever possess: horse riding in the Hun way - without the need for reins, allowing him to shoot the powerful Hun bow at a charge, hunting, surviving the extreme weather on the steppe. Not to mention the mental fortitude to endure being thrust into an alien world in the fragile and formative years of adolescence. How many boys would have crumbled at such an experience? The contemporary chronicler Renatus Profuturus Frigeridus describes the Flavius who eventually returned to the imperial court in Ravenna as: "Keenly intelligent, a superb horseman and archer, extremely able as a soldier and skilled at the arts of peace… able to endure hunger, thirst and loss of sleep, to bear adversity with great patience, never swayed in his judgement by unworthy counsellors.” The modern historian Ian Hughes outlines how the transformed Flavius rejected the late Stilicho’s ‘manoeuvre and blockade’ approach – designed to avoid defeat – preferring instead daring, adventurous, risky attacks, possibly as a result of exposure to Hunnic mindset and tactics. Sidonius Apollinaris – another contemporary chronicler – described Flavius as “A son of the Hun art of war”. Procopius, writing several generations later, named Flavius as “The Last of the Romans”... but that is for another time. We know less about Attila's experiences in the empire, but he must have returned from Rome to the steppe equally transformed - educated and armed with insights into the very different way of imperial life. The arcane politics, the extreme power and fragility of the empire, their seemingly invincible ways of war... In the decades to follow, he would climb - by means fair and foul - to the pinnacle of Hunnic society, and for the first time in Hunnic history unite the many Hun Kings and clan leaders into a single, ferocious polity. As his Hun Empire grew like a shadow near and then up against the fragmenting borders of the Roman realm, one lesson he would have learned from his time in Rome must have begun to resonate like never before: For an empire to survive, it must grow… and conquer.
ReferencesHistory of the Wars, Procopius
Carmina, Sidonius Apollinaris Decem Libri Historiarum, Gregory of Tours, quoting Renatus Profuturus Frigeridus Aetius, Attila's Nemesis, Ian Hughes Attila the Hun: arch-enemy of Rome, Ian Hughes Theodosius: The Empire at Bay, Gerard Friell 
The Huns at war. Artwork by Steve Estvanik
Some 1700 years ago, the Huns burst from the Eurasian steppe and sent shockwaves through Europe. Blowing apart the Germanic world, then smashing through the borders of the Roman Empire, they changed the world forever. A mere century later, the Huns and their most famous warrior-king, Attila, vanished into history. Yet to this day, "Attila" and "Huns" remain bywords for tyranny, violence and cruelty. Is this fair?
Anyone aiming to understand the Huns more objectively than this faces a major challenge. The Huns as a polity are poorly understood. They were – apart from perhaps a learned few – an illiterate people; thus, little of their oral tradition and lore endured beyond their time. Only three Hun words survive. The only complete sources on them are written in Greek and Latin by their enemies of the 4th and 5th centuries AD, the Romans.
Surviving Hun words:
Kamos: a barley drink. Medos: a drink similar to mead. Strava: the Hun funeral ritual.
The Roman historian, Ammianus Marcellinus, describes the Hun warriors as:
“A race savage beyond all parallel. Wild, thick-necked, stocky, bow-legged, they warm raw meat by placing it between their own thighs and the back of their horses. They wander about, roaming over the mountains and the woods and accustom themselves to bear frost and hunger and thirst from their very cradles. They cover their heads with round caps, and their shaggy legs with the skins of kids. They are nearly always on horseback. There is not a person in their whole nation who cannot remain on his horse day and night. On horseback they buy and sell, they take their meat and drink, and there they recline on the narrow neck of their steed, and yield to sleep so deep as to indulge in every variety of dream."
The Latin poet Claudian claimed that the Huns sacrificed their parents when they grew old (with later writers adding that the elders were actually cannibalized).
Jordanes, writing for a later Ostrogothic king, described them as "a race of almost men." In this article, I aim to cut through this hyperbole, and try to understand the Huns a little better. Origins
To this day, all we know for sure is that the Huns came from somewhere in central Asia. That said, there are a few theories on Hunnic origins - some fair, some utterly wild. In the latter camp is the clearly pejorative myth from the Goths (the Germanic sub-group who bore the initial brunt of the Huns' arrival in their lands) that they were 'the bastard offspring of witches and demons of the wind'.
Somewhere in the middle is another tale that might have arisen from the oral tradition of the Huns themselves, which claims that they pursued a wild stag into new and fertile lands, and found it to be inhabited by the Germanics (Goths and more). This might indicate that climatic migration was behind their arrival in Europe - the Huns, like most nomadic peoples, practiced transhumance, or seasonal migration. If the gazelle herds they hunted or the best grasses to graze their steeds were in the west, they would go west. In 2010, 8 million horses died in Mongolia after bad winter. Late antiquity shows several bad winters in a row - offering a plausible reason for the steppe tribes of that era to migrate to pastures new. 
The Huns attack the Great Wall of China. Artwork by Steve Estvanik.
More objectively, we have the theory that comes from Chinese chroniclers of the 2nd century AD, who write of their struggles to keep at bay a fierce nomadic tribe known as the Xiong-Nu, who frequently descended from the Gobi desert region to raid Chinese lands. After orchestrating a heavy defeat on these Xiong-Nu, the Chinese Han dynasty then begun work on a series of walls and fortifications (what would eventually become The Great Wall of China). Starved of their raiding opportunities, this theory goes, the Xiong-Nu began to move west, towards Europe.
Hun Society and Customs
The Huns were children of the Eurasian steppe - a huge stripe of treeless grassland, 4,200 km long, fringed in the north buy the sub-arctic forest, and in the south by desert and mountains at its eastern end by the river valleys of China and at its western end by the fertile lands of the Near East and Europe. The aridity of the climate in the Eurasian Steppe discouraged agriculture, but suited the breeding of horses, cattle, sheep and goats. By nature, these animals were capable of weathering the hard winters with their ability to use their hooves to dig through snow to reach pasture underneath.
The Eurasian steppe - shaded in gold.
A modern Mongolian, using two of the things vital to their way of life: the horse and the lasso.
Horses were central to the Hun way of life. The hardy steppe steeds were vital to travelling the vast distances across the steppe, and to chasing down and keeping cattle herds. A horse was a Hun's spirit animal, and it was taboo to ride on another person's horse.
Hun young would be taught to ride first on goats, before progressing to foals then fully grown steeds. Their final rite of passage was to ride out into the steppe, face and kill a wolf, alone. Returning with a wolf pelt to show to their elders, they became an adult. Every adult Hun was a master of the horse and bow, and – as with any cattle herding people – the lasso. "There is no need to labour the point that the Huns all but lived on horseback, and in sheer horsemanship they far surpassed the best Roman and Gothic cavalry."  An example of cranial deformation - binding of the skull.
The Huns even drank mare’s milk – fresh and fermented; apparently they abhorred drinking fresh water! The Romans claimed, with disgust, that the Huns ate raw meat tenderised under their saddles. This is almost certainly apocraphyl: meat would be used like this not for eating, but to act as a poultice upon their steeds' saddle sores. Their preference was to cook meat into stews - typically with balls of cheese curd and spices bought from traders.
Polygamy was the norm, with Hun men taking several wives - probably in order to establish and preserve inter-clan relationships. Women were not passive in Hun society though: they held political power, trained on the horse from a young age, and sometimes fought alongside the adult males. To the so-called 'Western' eye of Late Antiquity, the Huns probably looked unusual. Not just because of their slightly different bone structure or skin colour, but because of their dress and customs. Huns were known for their severe hairstyles, sometimes shaved back from the hairline to the centre of the head. There is evidence of infant skull-binding, perhaps reserved for those bound to join the Huns' shamanic priesthood. The Huns also practiced ritual face scarring, and one theory is that this was a symbol of grief (blood rolling down your cheeks instead of tears). Contrary to the picture often painted of the Huns exploding into Europe, bent on war (yes, I am guilty of using that imagery at the start of this article), their arrival on the European scene was actually far more gradual. For years they traded fairly with settled Germanic and Roman peoples on the steppe borders, offering meat and wool in exchange for grain and tools. Dressed in goatskins and leathers, marked and groomed in their striking way, they would have been an impressive and captivating sight to anyone who had been brought up in the relative comfort of a Roman city or a Gothic village. And warfare would come soon enough. Masters of War
The Huns were simply too quick and skilled for the Roman legions and Gothic warriors.
The Huns were masters of cavalry warfare - in a way that the Romans and the Germanic tribes simply could not cope with. As Ammianus describes:
“They are the most formidable warriors. When they go into battle, they form in a solid body, and utter all kinds of terrific yells. They are very quick in their operations, of exceeding speed, and fond of surprising their enemies. When at a distance they use missiles of various kinds… but when they are at close quarters they fight with the sword, without any regard for their own safety; and often while their antagonists are warding off their blows they entangle them with twisted cords, so that, their hands being fettered, they lose all power of either riding or walking.”
In their 5th century heyday, they were tactically superior to almost every opponent. Fielding dense wings on horse archers, they would swarm like hornets, remaining far enough away to be safe from enemy spears, but close enough to shower arrows on their for, shot from their powerful composite bows. Once the enemy had been broken or brought to panic by this, they would then charge using the spear and lasso to tear apart what was left.
"The Huns were totally ignorant of fighting on foot. But by wheeling and charging in good time and shooting from their horses, they wrought immense slaughter." Attila & the Empire of the Huns
The origins of Attila – easily the most famous of the Huns – are sketchy. His birthdate is unknown. Even his name (Attila is a Germanic moniker, meaning “Little Father”) is almost certainly one given to him later in life, as opposed to his Hun birth name. But chronicles of the Hun world reveal that he was the son of a certain Munzuk, brother of Bleda, nephew of Ruga and Octar, and that the king during his adolescence was named Uldin. This was a time when the Huns were not a united people, but a number of nomadic clusters each ruled by a minor king.
During Attila's lifetime, this would change. The period of his youth spent in Rome as a political hostage must have given him insights into the empire's inner systems, strengths… and weaknesses. He and his brother, Bleda, grew to become powerful figures in Hun society, uniting the many Hun factions, and the many Germanic tribes subjugated to the Huns, under their joint rule as high kings of the Huns. Yet there remains a suspicion around what happened to his brother. When, in 445, Bleda died, classical sources claimed it was by Attila's hand. Was it Attila reaching for ultimate power? Or was this another example of the fearful Romans blackening Attila's name? Either way, Attila was now sole king of all the Huns. What little knowledge we have of prime Attila in particular comes through the works of Priscus (a Roman who was part of embassies to Attila's court). Sadly, most of his work is lost, but the remaining fragments shine a very telling light on Attila, describing him as frugal, moderate and shrewd, and all the more frightening for it - he was not simply a slavering, bloodthirsty warlord, but an educated and measured individual. A leader in complete control of himself and his formidable empire. 
The court of Attila, King of the Huns.
Under Attila, a Hun Empire emerged, centred on the Hungarian plain. Here, the Huns evolved culturally, letting go of their nomadic roots and adopting a semi-sedentary, agricultural way of life. Perhaps this was due to necessity - the Hungarian plain has nowhere near the grazing capacity of the steppe proper. From this base of power, the Huns struck blow after blow upon the Roman Empire.
It is thought that Attila never desired to possess the Roman world, but understood - probably due to the teachings during his youth in Rome - that to sustain his own empire, he needed a constant source of pillage. This, he did by securing tribute from the Eastern Roman Empire - first 350 pounds of gold annually, before demanding it be doubled to 700 pounds and eventually 2,100 pounds. Some Eastern Romans actually preferred living under Huns, free of huge imperial tax burden (because Attila was taxing Constantinople, not his people) and left largely unpestered. 
Attila's Hun Empire, circa AD 450.
Come AD 450, Attila's attentions turned to the Western Roman Empire. Why? Some say it was because he had bled the Eastern Roman Empire dry. Others claim it is because Gaeseric the Vandal King of Africa bribed him to do so. And there is a third potential reason: apparently Honoria, the Western Emperor's sister, had offered him her hand in marriage. Attila assumed this meant the Western Roman Empire would be his dowry… and assembled his forces.
Whatever turned Attila's head westwards, it was a twist that would lay ruin both to that realm and his own. In the west, his aura of invincibility on the battlefield was broken, but so too was the spine of the Roman West. Within a few years, Attila was dead, the Hun Empire gone, and Europe in ashes. Read all about his turbulent and incredible life in THE EAGLE & THE WOLF!
References
Getica, Jordanes
The extant works of Priscus of Panium Carmina, Sidonius Apollinaris The Roman History, Ammianus Marcellinus Universal History, Eunapius The Fall of the Roman Empire, Peter Heather The Hun, Scourge of God AD 375-565, Nic Fields The Fall of Rome Podcast, Patrick Wyman Ancient Warfare Magazine A History of Attila and the Huns, E.A. Thompson. Well, it's finally here! Saddle up your steppe horse, string your warbow, and get ready to ride with the horde...  'This is the best book I’ve read this year, hands down' Conn Iggulden As Hun hordes and Germanic tribes maraud through Imperial lands, two legendary men – Attila the Hun and the “Last of the Romans” General Flavius Aetius find their fortunes entangled with the chaos. Flavius Aetius, a noble Roman son, is an outsider in a savage land. He has been banished, given as hostage to the barbaric Huns and sent to the edge of the world. What the Huns do not know, however, is that his father and mother have been murdered in a coup. He is an orphan, with no value at all. His life hangs on a lie. In this new harsh world, he manages to find one grudging ally, a young boy named Attila. A brotherhood is formed. One that, the shamans foretell, will shatter the world.
 Apologies for the massive image of my craggy face on this announcement, but notice that it is a craggy SMILING face, because I'm absolutely delighted to have placed my new book series "Age of Attila" with HarperCollins, a true giant of publishing! Book I - The Eagle & the Wolf - comes out in August.  Bets bit of all is that it's already up for pre-order - links at the foot of this post! Here's the full press release: "HarperFiction is delighted to announce the acquisition of Gordon Doherty’s new Age of Attila series after Commissioning Editor Morgan Springett bought World English Language rights to the first three books from James Wills at Watson, Little. The Eagle & the Wolf will be the first book in the series. Pre-Order
Note: the 'Worldwide' link will take you to a page listing links to every outlet in the world (B&N, Apple, Kobo etc etc), but it's not fully populated yet, though it should be in the coming weeks. If your preferred retailer isn't listed yet, just bookmark the page and check back later One day in the summer of AD 390, the gates around the packed horse arena of Thessalonica - the Eastern Roman Empire's second city - slammed shut. Armed legionaries spilled out through the tunnels and waded into the stands, to cut down the crowds like ears of wheat. The stands ran red with blood as between seven thousand and fifteen thousand civilians were butchered that day. What madness drove the soldiers of the empire to such depths of brutality? The madness, it seems, of Emperor Theodosius I, master of the Roman world.  Two Months Earlier...The imperial hall in Milan - the effective capital of the Western Roman Empire at the time - was abuzz with chatter, the scrip-scrape of scribe's pens on vellum, the hasty coming and going of messengers and administrators. Presiding over it all was Theosdosius I - Emperor of the entire Roman world, East and West. Milan was his temporary home, and had been ever since winning the civil war against Magnus Maximus. That campaign had been so brutal (with the Battle of the River Save being particularly bloody) that he had been unable to extricate himself from the aftermath and return to his true seat of power - the city of Constantinople, jewel of the Eastern Empire for two years and counting. Understandably, Theodosius would have been preoccupied, stressed and anxious with the burden of repairing the war-damaged West. So when yet another messenger from the East arrived, he probably thought it was to ask again when he would be returning to the East. After all, the hasty framework of deputies he had left behind there before marching on Maximus' West had been assembled to rule in his stead for a few months, not years.  The Battle of the River Save saw countless Roman legions pitched into battle against one another. Artwork by Sean Ó’Brógáín. Just as his hackles were rising, as his lungs filled to explain for the hundredth time that he could not yet extricate himself from the civil war's aftermath, the messenger announced to him details of a completely different matter. Butheric, one of the trusted commanders whom Theodosius had left in charge at Thessalonica, had been lynched by an angry mob of racegoers. They attacked him, hacked off his limbs and dragged his trunk through the city streets. His crime? The arrest of a chariot racing champion and crowd favourite whom he caught in the act of raping a stable boy.  The Hippodrome (horse racing arena) of Thessalonica. Digital art by The Byzantine Legacy. Incensed, Theodosius sent the messenger back to the East with orders to throw the populace of Thessalonica new races, that they would never forget... Yet the messenger was no sooner away, than Theodosius became gripped with guilt. Fiercely pious - it was he who had declared Nicene Christianity as the empire's official state religion in AD 380 - he realised that many innocents would die, for the mob who had mutilated and killed Butheric had numbered only a few hundred. He sent off a new messenger at haste, tasked with repealing the order to slaughter the crowds. The message never reached its destination, and the great massacre described at the top of this article took place. Theodosius set aside his crown and purple robes and spent the rest of that year in Milan's cathedral. Dressed in rags, he crawled up and down the aisle, begging Bishop Ambrosius to forgive him for what he had done. It wasn't until Christmas 390 that Ambrosius restored him to the community of the faithful and permitted once again to take communion.  Emperor Theodosius I begs Bishop Ambrosius of Milan to be allowed to take communion. Painting by Anthonis Van Dyke c1619. Come spring AD 391, he finally began the long journey home to Constantinople. By all accounts he was a broken, tormented figure, driven mad by guilt and convinced that the best means of atonement was a furious new tide of Christian zeal. It began with a spate of increasingly-brutal anti-pagan edicts. The Old Gods Shall Die!On 24th Feb AD 391, Theodosius banned the ancient pagan practice of sacrifice (usually the slaughter of animals in offering to the old gods), forbade entry into the old temples, and prohibited the burning of incense - the only herbs allowed to be burned being thyme and rosemary (a Christian "Holy Smoke" of sorts) “No-one shall pollute himself with sacrificial offerings; no-one shall slaughter an innocent victim; no person shall approach the sanctuaries, shall wander all over the temples, or revere images created by mortal labour, lest he become guilty by divine and human laws.” - from the Codex Theodosianus. But pagans were fiercely protective of their ancient ways, and took to worshipping in private houses. It became almost the reverse of the situation a century before, when Christians had to worship in secret, fearing persecution. In June 391, Theodosius explicitly forbade apostasy (conversion to paganism), and fiercely underlined his earlier rulings that pagan temples were a thing of the past. Christian monks took this as permission to go and smash up pagan shrines. Theophilus, Bishop of Alexandria, oversaw the violent destruction of the Serapeum - the statue of Nile god that for eons had brought about the yearly and life-giving inundation of Egypt's grain fields. During the violence, the attached library was also destroyed and its riches looted. The following year, Christians were jubilant when the Nile rose again in the normal way regardless of the statue's demolition.  An artist's impression of the Serapeum (the statue of Serapis the Nile God, in Egypt). On 8th November 391, the darkest decree was issued: that any and all acts of sacrifice would result in death for the perpetrator, regardless of rank or class. In 393 he declared that the Olympic Games were a symbol of paganism, and that they would no longer take place. Then in 394, the eternal fire in the Temple of Vesta in the Roman Forum was extinguished, and the Vestal Virgins were disbanded. Now seems an apt. moment to quote the poet, Horace: “The wise man ought to bear the name of madman, the just of unjust, if they should pursue virtue herself with disproportionate zeal.” - Quintus Horatius Flaccus (Horace). Theodosius did at least issue one law that stood out amidst this tide of violent persecution: all capital sentences were to have a 30 day delay. This might have been down to his unshakeable guilt about the Thessalonica massacre that had triggered all this. We don't know how many were spared thanks to this 'month of mercy'. The ConsequencesThe furious Christian zeal destabilised the regime in Eastern Empire, and deeply unsettled the Western Empire, pitting the largely pagan Senatorial families of Rome and the populace of the land against the reforms that were being pushed upon them. They and the people of the West were ripe for mobilisation, for an emperor of their own. And it just so happened that there was a power-hungry warlord at the head of the Western legions who had been waiting for an opportunity like this... Why not step into that ancient time, and live out the adventures of the legions caught up in all this chaos? My novel, LEGIONARY: DEVOTIO, will take you there!
References:
On 24th August AD 410, Rome's starving inhabitants threw open the Salarian Gate, allowing the besieging Visigothic horde to flood in. Thus fell the Eternal City, for the first time in nearly eight hundred years.
OriginsAlaric was born around AD 370, on Peuce, a large, arrowhead-shaped island in the delta of the River Danube - the fault line between the Eastern Roman Empire and Gothic 'barbaricum' (modern Romania and beyond). The Goths of this era were a collection of tribes and tribal confederations, the largest of which were the Thervingi and the Greuthingi. So close to the empire, one can imagine his tribal elders holding court around the fires, telling the Gothic young of the might of the Romans, and of their great city of gold and marble one thousand miles distant: Rome - eternal, invincible.  The Roman Empire in the late 4th century AD. Note Peuce Island and, of course, the city of Rome. For generations before Alaric's time, the Goths had what can best be described as an awkward relationship with the empire. They traded with the Romans, and sometimes they served alongside the legions as foederati (allies). But they also raided south of the Danube, and so too the legions waded north of the Danube to violently punish this Gothic aggression. Despite all this, their world was stable. Then everything changed in the mid-370s with the arrival from the eastern steppelands of a ravening nomadic people. When the Huns came, Alaric's world was shattered.  The Huns were unstoppable.  Eastern Roman Emperor Valens (bust from the Capitoline Museum, Rome). The Gothic warriors could not cope with the Huns' unorthodox and deadly way of horse combat. Arrow showers and rapid, false retreats was a skill no European people could counter. One by one, the Gothic and other Germanic tribes were destroyed or subjugated by the Huns. Desperate, the Greuthingi and Thervingi amassed at the Danube's northern banks opposite the Roman river frontier fortress town of Durostorum (modern Silistra, Bulgaria) and begged the Roman officials there to permit them to cross, to escape the fury of the Huns. Alaric would have been with them - a boy, confused and frightened by the sight of his elders gripped by terror like this. The emperor of the time - Valens - realised he had no option. If he said no, the Goths would likely break across the river anyway - with the Huns at their backs and in fear for their lives. So he allowed them entry, thinking he might perhaps recruit their many warriors into his depleted legions. Vast refugee camps were thrown up on the imperial side of the river. But the Roman officers who presided over them were greedy, and began profiteering when food supplies ran short. A certain Count Lupicinus began selling the starving Goths dog meat in return for their children, whom he then sold into slavery for personal profit. Whatever kind of impression Alaric had of the Roman Empire prior to this, it was surely blackened almost irredeemably by Lupicinus' actions. Understandably, the Goths rose up in revolt. A revolt borne of anger, of insult. They rampaged around Thrace, breaking and pillaging imperial cities. They also dealt the empire probably its greatest defeat in centuries at the Battle of Adrianople, where they crushed the legions and killed Emperor Valens himself. This 'Gothic War' gripped all of Thrace for six years. No Roman or Goth ever felt safe during these times. The war finally ended in AD 382 when both sides, exhausted, and realising that this was an unwinnable conflict, agreed a peace treaty. The new emperor, Theodosius I, granted the Goths a series of arable settlements on Roman land (around northern Thrace), known as the 'Haims'. A tense co-existence followed. Many Goths were recruited into the legions and the ambitious amongst them forged careers in the emperor's service, some even rising to serve in his sacred council.
After only a few years, the peace deal began to fray. The treaty had never 'fixed' the Goths' anti-Roman sentiment, and Alaric himself had never been able to reconcile the things he had witnessed and experienced in his youth or seen since. He, like many like-minded Goths, felt angered that his people's sovereignty had been sold by those who had agreed the 382 deal - a deal he had had no say in personally. Around this time - reaching his late teens - he cemented a position of prominence amongst the Goths, and became the figurehead for his people's underground disquiet. Come AD 388, the warriors of the Gothic Haims were mustered for the coming war between the Eastern Empire and the usurper who had seized the Western throne, Magnus Maximus. While encamped one night during the westwards march with the Eastern legions, Alaric led a desertion of a significant portion of the Gothic allies. They melted into the woods and marshes. The campaign Alaric then waged against the empire was much more shrewd than the Gothic War of 376-382. It was a guerrilla campaign, targeted at the empire's weaknesses. For three years, he proved a deadly thorn in Emperor Theodosius I's side, hiding in Thracia's vast expanse of hills and woods, gathering in more and more followers - men of the Bastarnae tribe, Hun mercenaries, even Romans who were disaffected by the emperor's spiraling and violent pro-Nicene Christian zeal. The Roman poet Claudian wrote disparagingly of Alaric as "a little-known menace", but he and his force dealt the empire some serious blows, including blockading and almost capturing Emperor Theodosius at the Hebrus River during his journey home from the Western Empire in the spring of AD 391.  The Roman Diocese of Thrace, circa AD 391. Note that a few Gothic 'Haims' remained loyal to the imperial throne, but many had gone over to Alaric's rebellion.  Stilicho, the up and coming Roman general of the time. Finally in AD 391, Stilicho - an Eastern general of the highest repute - cornered Alaric and his forces on the baking hot plains of Thrace. The soldiers braced for battle, but there was one last chance: talks, terms, a way to end the day without blood being spilled. Stilicho stepped forward from his legionary lines. Alaric strode from the Gothic front to meet him. A cloud of emissaries and diplomats followed both. Details of the parley that took place are sketchy. We know only that Roman political rivals present served to almost spurn this chance of agreeing terms. But terms were agreed. Alaric agreed to stand his rebel army down. He also conceded to make his forces available to the emperor, to fight alongside the legions whenever they were needed. In return, he demanded that his wandering nation - a nation that would come to be known as the Visigoths* - should be exempt from all other imperial tethers, including taxes. And that the Romans recognise him as their leader - leader of all those Goths and others who had flocked to support his cause. The King of All had arrived in earnest. A note on the term 'Visigoth'The Visigoths of Alaric's time never actually called themselves 'Visigoths'. This was a post-hoc term used by Cassiodorus, writing in the 6th century. He used it to distinguish the descendants of Alaric from the other major Gothic grouping of his time, the Ostrogoths. One theory is that the Ostrogoths mean the 'Eastern Goths' and the Visigoths meant the 'Western Goths'. It should be noted, however, that there was a smaller Gothic tribe from Alaric's time known as the Vesi - a word which translates roughly as 'Worthy'. This may be the etymological explanation for the term Visigoth. And his Visigothic army was called upon soon, for the Eastern and Western Empires were at loggerheads once more, thanks to a disputed succession in the West. A second civil war was brewing. This time, Alaric stayed true to the terms he had personally agreed in the 391 treaty. He and his Visigothic army fought like lions in the climactic and ruinous Battle of the Frigidus River in AD 394 - a clash that ended in the favour of the Eastern Empire and settled the civil war. This should, one would think, have calcified the bond between the Romans and the Visigoths? Alas, no. The aftermath changed the Roman world forever. Emperor Theodosius died of dropsy, leaving a realm of broken legions, a bankrupt economy, and his two idiot sons on the thrones of East and West. Power, as they say, abhors a vacuum. So it was that the ambitious men of the empire began wrestling to control the boy emperors. Some sought to use Alaric and his Visigoths in their political games, and this quickly destroyed the bonds that had been forged in the civil war campaign. Alaric was made promises of a position of authority in the imperial military - promises that were reneged upon. Also, the Visigothic people themselves began to reflect on what had happened at the River Frigidus: some ten thousand of them had been slain. Spiteful gossip arose: that they had been used as expendable spear fodder in the front lines of that conflict. The accord of 391 dissolved, and the Visigoths became hostile to the empire once more. For the next decade and a half, Alaric and his wandering nation roved across the Roman Empire from West to East and back again, raiding and plundering, taking on new followers, and making battle with the legions - most often with his old nemesis, Stilicho. In time, Stilicho came to respect Alaric, and understood that the Visigoths were simply too powerful to destroy or subjugate. He worked hard to educate the Western Emperor, Honorius, and the Roman Senate on this reality. Eventually, they realised he was right, and so they loathingly accepted the Visigoths' presence in Gaul. They even accepted high-ranking Visigothic families into their Italian cities and into their halls of government.  The Battle of the Frigidus, 5th & 6th September AD 394. When, in AD 408, a coup was launched upon Stilicho by a political rival, these Visigothic families were seen as Stilicho's allies. Stilicho was beheaded, and the Gothic families were massacred. Enraged once again by the empire's bloody duplicity, Alaric marched upon Italy, surrounding Emperor Honorius' capital of Ravenna. Promised vast sums of gold and silver in tribute, along with some 40,000 freed Gothic slaves, and offered the high command of the Roman army, he withdrew. When these terms were then reneged upon, Alaric knew he had to make the biggest statement of all, and so he marched on Rome herself - the city of legend that his elders had once talked of around the Peuce Island campfires. The so-called 'sack' of Rome was not the frenzy of flames and looting that one might imagine. Despite all Alaric had suffered at the empire's hands, he understood - just as Stilicho had - that his people and the Romans had to find a way to live together. Damage to the city was limited to senate house (which was burnt down) and the Salarian Gate. Pillage was limited to easily movable objects. More, the Visigoths respected Rome's Christian temples as places of sanctuary.  The 'Alaric Bridge' over the River Busento, Italy. This was to the final major act of Alaric's incredible life. Following the sack of Rome, he became suddenly ill and died. Legend has it that his loyal warriors diverted the River Bucentius (the modern Busento, Italy), and buried him in the exposed riverbed, before returning the waters to their normal flow, so that nobody would ever be able to desecrate his remains. Read all about Alaric's incredible rise to power, in my new novel: LEGIONARY: DEVOTIO
“Fear and flight, death and blood, The above words, set down in Livy's 'The history of Rome since the foundation of the city', were uttered in 295 BC at Sentinum in southern Italy by the Roman cavalry commander, Publius Decius Mus, in a desperate moment of battle against an overwhelming force of invading Gauls and their Samnite allies. As the legions retreated around him, he climbed into the saddle of his horse and charged the mass of enemy warriors… and to his death. Livy goes on to report that this moment saw the scales of victory tilt in favour of the Romans.  Attack of the Samnites on the Roman army at Sentinum. Image from Ancient Warfare Magazine. One can only imagine the profound effect of those who witnessed their commander - during the panicked moments of almost certain defeat - lay down his life to stir the hearts of his comrades. What more can a person give to a cause, than their very existence? And this is the essence of the ancient Roman oath of 'Devotio' - the word from which the modern term 'devotion' is derived. DEVOTIO (noun) Ultimately, the Romans won the Battle of Sentinum, leaving about 8,700 fallen legionaries on the battlefield, obliterating 25,000 enemies and enslaving another 8,000. Publius' decision was not born in the eye of disaster. In fact he was following the example of his father, named also Publius Decius Mus, who, some forty years prior, while losing against a horde of Latins at the Battle of Veseris (near Mt. Vesuvius), threw himself against the enemy lines in a frenzy, causing them great panic. The Latins thought he was mad, and none wanted to clash swords with him. They were so disturbed by his mindless bravery, that they backed off and threw their spears at him instead, killing him. This was enough to break the Latins' momentum, to fragment their lines. Publius' Roman cohorts - inspired by their commander's self-sacrifice, roared back against the enemy, crushing them. There are many other recorded instances of 'Devotio' in moments of near-disaster during battle - perhaps most famously by King Leonidas of Sparta during the darkest moments of his clash with the overwhelming Persian army at Thermopylae in 480 BC.  King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans try to resist a reportedly 1 million strong Persian army at Thermopylae, 480 BC. The RitualFor the Romans, where time permitted - for example, the night before a battle where the odds were not looking good - there was a ritual to accompany the oath of Devotio. The oath giver would don a white toga with a purple hem, known as the toga praetexta, then step onto a spear lying on the ground. A pontifex (priest) would then chant the words of the vow, which the oath giver would repeat. Livy records the words of the Devotio oath as:
Another Form of DevotioAs well as meaning life-for-victory in battle, Devotio could also take another, more personal form - that of sacrificing your own life in exchange for saving another person. It is this second type of Devotio that underpins my eponymous new novel, set in the Late Roman Empire's most chaotic years. A story that asks the question:
What lengths would you go to, to save the ones you love?  All legends must end LEGIONARY: DEVOTIO The tenth and final part of the Legionary saga is almost here. You've journeyed with Pavo and the XI Claudia for nearly a decade and a half. You've been there through all the chaos, bloodshed, reckless heroism and adventures. Are you ready for the final chapter? AD 391: in the aftermath of civil war, the Roman Empire lies broken. The emperor is missing. Rumours fly that he has lost his mind. Sensing weakness, the Goths rise in revolt. All to the delight of the dark hand who orchestrated the civil war… and plots to stoke another. Far out at sea, Pavo stands watchfully at the prow of the Justitia, running cargo between distant lands. At every port, he hears of the empire's swelling troubles. Of fire and zeal and panic. Of legions, bristling for battle. But his days of protecting the provinces with sword and shield are over. He, his wife and his lad will soon have enough funds to make a home on a quiet island, far from the madness. Yet the empire is an ever-hungry beast, and Pavo is about to sail straight into its jaws… It is a journey that will take him to the brink, and throw down before him the question to which there is only one answer: what would you sacrifice to save your loved ones? Blood, treachery, reckless heroism, justice, honour. This story has it all.  LEGIONARY: DEVOTIO will be released on 27th March 2025 - Preorder now!
 Devotio was easily the most difficult and cathartic story I've every had to write. You'll understand as soon as you read the dedication.
But what a ride it's been writing this series. Thank you - each and every one of you - for supporting me and my stories through the years. I couldn't have done it without you. So I hope this one gives you the thrills and escapism that you all deserve! Thanks to all you wonderful people - and watch out for some big news about brand new historical adventures coming soon from yours truly :) |
AuthorGordon Doherty: writer, history fan, explorer. 
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