A Difference Of Fate: A Late Roman Timeline

[StevenIronside]

Chapter 1

453 AD
January 20th
Ravenna, Italy

Flavius Placidius Valentinianus Augustus, paced his bedroom, Licinia Eudoxia who lay on their bed was not suprised, he had been like this for many days, in fact the one thing she was suprised by, was the fact that there was not a rut in the floor yet from his pacing. Ever since his Victory over Attilia, Flavius Aetius who had gained much influence, had put it to use, and now pressured the Emperor, mainly on one thing, The marriage of Placidia to his son Flavius Gaudentius.

The 33 year old Augustus was right to fear that Aetius planned to then put his young teenage son on the throne. As Aetius had at one point supported a Usurper on the throne. To prop his son on the throne would not be suprising.

"Dear," Eudoxia began, "I dont think you should bow to Aetius demands, after all you are the Emperor, he is Magister Militum, you can always get rid of him, or replace him."

"And who would I replace him with, no one is as famous as Aetius, if I killed him his army would kill me in turn, and if I replaced him he would rebel, kill me, and marry his son to our daughter anyways. There is nothing to do but give him his demands. That is the heart of the problem our fate, he is to powerful and influental even against his Emperor."

Eudoxia finally seen her chance, remembering a handsome man only a year younger than her husband, as her cheeks turned red, she spoke. "There is one. In fact you at one point had chosen him." Her husband looked at her frowning, "Julius Valerius Majorianus. He was famous as Aetius second in command before Aetius banished him from his army. He is well known, and respected. He can be a counterweight to Aetius. Give him an army, marry our daughter to him, and Aetius would find himself in a less favorable position. Let Majorian have a victory, and he would become a true threat to Aetius."

She saw the indecisiveness in her husband and sighed, he was nothing like his famous father, he was cowardly, easily lead. "If we let Aetius continue with his plans, we would be dead as soon as Placidia and Gaudentius marry. Majorianus would owe his position to us, as well as his wife, he would be Loyal."

"Where would we send Majorian with an army, with Attila defeated there are no threats to the empire."

Eudoxia sighed, "The Seubi have plundered Hispania, they control almost 2/3 of the Peninsula and threaten the remaining provinces there. Saving those provinces would not only give him a victory, it would stabilize the region and we would recieve more taxes."

Finally she saw the truth come to Valentinianus eyes. She sighed, content that she would see the handsome General again, and that her life would be save with Aetius weakened.

February 1st
Ravenna, Italia

Julius Valerius Majorianus, was nervous as he and his imperial escort arrived at the imperial palace. The fact that he had been escorted from his rural estate to the Capital at least gave him hope he wasnt about to be murdered, however it wouldn't be the first time in history that an Emperor wanted to watch the execution. The fact that his guards didnt let loose any information added to the suspense.

Several minutes later he and some of his escorts arrived at the Emperors study. In there he found the Augustus and his wife, who Majorian thought eyed him up like a wolf its prey. Majorian bowed in front of the Augustus. "Dominus, i have arrived as asked, i wish to serve loyaly and with honour."

Valentinianus smiled a cold grim smile, something that would run chills down most people. "Majorianus I am glad you have arrived. I am sure you have heard the rumours of an Imperial Betrothal." Majorian had and was not suprised that Aetius was pushing his son as the to be bride to 12 year old Placidia, after all how could the Emperor stop the Empires most famous general. "Well they are wrong. In fact the reason i brought you hear is to reconsider what happened 3 years ago. I want you to marry my daughter. If you agree we will announce the Betrothal, as well as the accompanying position as Magister Militum."

Majorian was shocked, and it took several seconds for him to even stutter out his awnser. "Of course Augustus, I live to serve the Empire, however isnt Aetius the Magister Militum?"

"He is however i feel that the Empire would be better served with two Magister Militums who could face all the Empires threats, at once and together." Majorian instantly felt sick, two men in power never worked, it always lead to conflict, a recent example was Bonifacius and Aetius, two Magister Militums would inevitably lead to civil war. Of course Majorian understood the Augustus's reasoning Aetius needed his influence diminished, if it wasnt soon the current Emperor and his wife would be discared for Aetius own son.

Nodding with fake enthusiasm Majorian responded as confidently as he could, after all his fate was now to fight the great Aetius sometime in the future. "I am glad to serve the Empire, and look forward to making her enemies suffer, and I must ask were am I to Command?"

"You are to take a portion of the Italian Comitatenses, 6,000 men, and march to Hispania, gathering what men you can from Gaul, and join with the 4,000 men of the Hispanian army in Tarraco. You have full authority to raise what Fedorati you must and raise whatever men needed. The Seuvi who have been terroizing Hispania and control 2/3 of the Peninsula must be defeated, pushed back and made Fedorati again."

Majorian nodded, it was obvious what was happening, he was a political tool to the Emperor, and any children of his and Placidia would become Valentinians hiers, all the while he would be the counterweight to Aetius, as well as the man trying to hold the empire together while the Augustus was one of the worst the empire had seen.

 

[StevenIronside]

Hello Everyone, i have always had a major interest in Majorian, as such i have a previous timeline on him, however i decided i made mistakes on that timeline and it needed to be re done. Regardless another timeline came up, and to try and keep my timeline and this other one different, i came up with a different POD, there will auctually be 2, however for those of you who were fans of my last Majorian timeline consider this, its renewal with a new POD.

 

[EmperorKazooKid]

Interesting TL. I've always been fascinated by Majorian as he seems like someone who, had history run a different course, could perhaps have been remembered as someone who revitalized the empire in a similar way to Aurelian, Diocletian, or Constantine. Whether he remains magister militum or ascends to the purple, I do think it'll be interesting to see how he handles the Vandles in Africa. For the western empire to survive much longer than it did they would absolutely need to retake Africa...

 

[StevenIronside]

Interesting TL. I've always been fascinated by Majorian as he seems like someone who, had history run a different course, could perhaps have been remembered as someone who revitalized the empire in a similar way to Aurelian, Diocletian, or Constantine. Whether he remains magister militum or ascends to the purple, I do think it'll be interesting to see how he handles the Vandles in Africa. For the western empire to survive much longer than it did they would absolutely need to retake Africa...

Thanks! I find Majorian as one of the most interesting and tragic figures in the late empire as well.

Yep the West needed Africa, however one problem with this for Majorian, unlike otl were the Vandals Sacked Rome, with Valentinian still alive, it is probable that Eudocia's marriage to Genserics son will still go ahead, something that throws a snag into any plans to fight the Vandals.

 

[Paschalis]

Always nice to find a late rome timeline, definitly watched

 

[Tarabas]

Very interesting POD and start. AFAIK, Majorian's sidelining by Aetius was caused by rumors that Valentinian was considering the former as a match for his daughter, so it makes sense. Watched.

 

[Flavius Iulius Nepos]

I'm following this. Just two minor nitpicks: first I thing there is a mistake regarding Placidia's age. A 4 year old would be too young for a man who is as old as her father. Second I think your last comment about Valentinian being the worst is not really fair. Not claiming that he was some sort of underrated good emperor, but keep in mind that for most of his reign he was a minor, and he did what he could with what he had at hand. Heck is choice of Majorian as a potential successor, and the decision to get rid of Aetius at the most opportune moment (only after Attila's death) make me think he was not as dumb as people here think. He may not have had great skills but he knew where to find those.

 

[StevenIronside]

I'm following this. Just two minor nitpicks: first I thing there is a mistake regarding Placidia's age. A 4 year old would be too young for a man who is as old as her father. Second I think your last comment about Valentinian being the worst is not really fair. Not claiming that he was some sort of underrated good emperor, but keep in mind that for most of his reign he was a minor, and he did what he could with what he had at hand. Heck is choice of Majorian as a potential successor, and the decision to get rid of Aetius at the most opportune moment (only after Attila's death) make me think he was not as dumb as people here think. He may not have had great skills but he knew where to find those.

Thanks for the nitpicks, as it turns out i made a mistake in my math, a sizable one lol. I'll fix that right away she is auctually about 12 years old.

Your point about Valentinian is true, I have just seen him potrayed many times as a second honorius who let the empire crumble, That I decided that at the start of this timeline he would be potrayed similarly, and as for Majorians thoughts, you could understand why he saw Valentinian like this. After all Valentinian reign was held together by his generals, the emperor did very little to auctually solve the empires problems, the one he did try to solve by diplomacy admittedly backfired as soon as he died(Vandals).
Though like you said admittedly he wasnt always in the best position to do much else. Perhaps we will see a different side of Valentinian in this timeline.

 

[Flavius Iulius Nepos]

Thanks for the nitpicks, as it turns out i made a mistake in my math, a sizable one lol. I'll fix that right away she is auctually about 12 years old.

Your point about Valentinian is true, I have just seen him potrayed many times as a second honorius who let the empire crumble, That I decided that at the start of this timeline he would be potrayed similarly, and as for Majorians thoughts, you could understand why he saw Valentinian like this. After all Valentinian reign was held together by his generals, the emperor did very little to auctually solve the empires problems, the one he did try to solve by diplomacy admittedly backfired as soon as he died(Vandals).
Though like you said admittedly he wasnt always in the best position to do much else. Perhaps we will see a different side of Valentinian in this timeline.

Not really his fault since he definitely was not planning to die, and Petronius did everything he could to provoke the Vandals. Anyway it doesn’t really matter since I presume the focus of this timeline is Majorian and not Valentinian. Even though the two being of the same age means that Majorian’s life is going to resemble that of Valentinian’s own father: remembered more as a great general and less as the junior emperor.

 

[FLAYvian1310]

Hello, my spiritual Brother!

Great to see another Majorian TL. I'm guessing the other TL that made you change course was mine, so it'll certainly be interesting.

Looking forward to seeing more!

 

[StevenIronside]

Hello, my spiritual Brother!

Great to see another Majorian TL. I'm guessing the other TL that made you change course was mine, so it'll certainly be interesting.

Looking forward to seeing more!

Haha thanks. The other timeline is yours yes, and i still wanted to Write about Majorian so i began developing this timeline. I have the general idea i want it to go in my head, and about 40 years of the timeline written down, just need to get the chapters made and posted.

Unfortunately this means we miss the awesome reconquests of OTL but also gives a possible smoother decade for Rome after Atilla.

 

[StevenIronside]

Feb, 453
Ravenna, Italia

When Flavius Aetius arrived in Ravenna, everyones mood changed. Aetius held the command over the Italian army, the transfer of 6,000 men would have to go through him even if Valentinian was emperor, Aetius was the empires true ruler, his influence by far the largest in the west. The Emperor and Aetius argued for several days on the subject, before finally Aetius would even speak to Majorian, who was essentially placed under house arrest in a wing of the imperial palace. When Majorian entered the generals personal quarters, he found Aetius had calmed down, and was sipping on some wine sitting at a small table.

"How have you been? I mean since I forced you from the army, and into exile on your estate."

Majorian sat down across from Aetius and accepted some offered wine. "I have been good, nothing to calm and humble a man more than being sent back to his country estate. I did manage to save up a decent fortune while I was at it to."

Aetius smiled. "You are lucky, honestly speaking, we could have used you against Atilla. However sometimes god has bigger plans for some of us. For all my efforts to keep you away from Imperial politics, it only seemed to push the emperor to you more. Hell he sees me more as a threat to him than the huns. Majorian I wont fight your betrothal this time, the empire needs someone other than Valentinian to rule. I will even give you the troops that he demands I give. However me and you need to work together and discuss an empire wide strategy." For Majorian this was not the conversation he expected, and he was glad for it.

Aetius continued. "The huns are a major threat, and I worry that Atilla will strike once again. However, the Suevi are a threat on a different level. They hold most of Hispania except for the north eastern part. They have defeated several of our armies before, if they take all of Hispania, which they could do in one campaign season, then we have a threat to Rome like the Vandals. We would be faced with war on several fronts, not only that but we miss a large amount of taxes from the provinces there. I trust that you are the man that can finally defeat the Suevi and save our position in the west."

"I will need alot more than 10,000 men to take on the Suevi. And if I am to campaign this year it cant be recruits. Do we trust any of the Fedoratii."

Aetius sighed, "The Visigoths, even though they have helped us several times in recent years, i fear allowing them to join your army with the recent interactions between the Visigothic and Suevi courts. Rechilla and Theodoric formed an alliance after I broke the Vandal-Visigoth alliance. I have no doubt that Thorismund may break his own alliance with us in favor of the Suevi. Agrippinus will be hard pressed with his 16,000 men to hold if they do break that treaty. The Franks could be trusted since their king was placed on the throne by us, however they are needed to counter the Alemanni. Which leaves the Burgundians and Alans. The alans could probably spare you some cavalry detachments, and the Burgundians are our last choice, at the same time calling upon them for men, will give Agrippinus breathing room in Gaul, and I dont see any reason to distrust them on a whole. If you got 2,000 Alans and 8,000 Burgundians you would be in a good position."

Majorian nodded. "With the defeat of the Suevi we could have a chance to put some of the other tribes back in their place."

Aetius smiled. "Together me and you could fix the empires problems, just like we did in Gaul." Majorian could not agree more.

Majorian would send out messages to the Alans and Burgundians asking for men, and at the same time Aetius sent messages to Agrippinus, who would move most of his men into southern Gaul. Majorian also sent a man he trusted to Hispania to take command of the troops there, Aegidius. Aegidius was to make sure the troops were in good condition for the coming campaign, as well as to take stock as much supplies as possible. In March replies arrived in Ravenna, from the Alans and Burgundians, the men would be on their way to Tarraco soon. As it was the preparations for the campaign were going extremely well, and a sigh of relief breathed across the empire at the end of march as news arrived from across the Danube. Atilla was dead.

On May 5th, Majorian and his 6,000 Italian Comitatenses arrived at Tarraco, were his army of 4,000 Hispanian men, 2,000 Alan cavalry, and 8,000 Burgundians were camped. With 20,000 men he would take back Hispania.

 

[StevenIronside]

Chapter 3

453

Majorians hispanian campaign began on May 15th, leaving two mixed garrisons at first Tarraco and then CaesarAugusta of 500 Burgundians, 500 Comitatenses, and a few horses for messengers, he continued an advance towards Toletum. The city was in the center of the peninsula and would give Majorian a solid central position to continue the campaign. This of course did leave his supply lines strained, and could easily be cut off if the Seuvi either advanced towards Tarraco or Caesaraugusta. The hope was also that would be were Rechiar planned to gather his army which was spread across 2/3 of the peninsula. Majorians assumption was right, and when he arrived at Toletum on June 4th he found the gathering army of Rechiar unprepared and without its King. The Suevi numbering 15,000 men marched from their camp and prepared atop a ridge for battle. Hoping the slopes would give them the advantage they would need in the coming battle and steep enough to negate the use of cavalry.

The roman army of 18,000 halted at the base of the ridgeline, and prepared for battle, with the Burgundians and Italian men on the flanks Hispanians in the center and Alans ranging on the flanks. They also prepared the armys scorpions, a small artillery piece manned by 2 to 3 men. The army had 20 of these, and once the they had set up these were used to deliver viscious volleys of darts at the enemy, hoping that this would anger them enough to push them from the ridge or to attack. However with limited ammo, Majorian finally ordered the attack, and the roman army advanced up the slopes moving slowly to not tire the army. Once within 30 yards, plumbata darts were thrown, and the Suevi exchanged missiles. And with a final volley of darts the romans gave a might roar and charged foward, into the Seuvi shields. The clash lasted several hours the romans not gaining any ground and the Suevi held their ground. The alans at this time had finaly made their way around the battlefield. The ridge was rather steep for horse action, forcing the Alans to fight on foot, however Majorian them in reserve and after a few hours had them circle the battle going around the to the Seuvi flank leaving the main battle was nearly even on numbers. The 500 Seuvi in reserve were not enough to match the Alans, even though they tried, it was a foregone conclusion, and after the Seuvi reserve had been routed from the battle, the Alans crashed into the Suevi flank. The battle was soon a gone conclusion after the Alans joined, and the Seuvi were routed, while many of the men ran into the country, a few thousand made their way back to their camp, were they held out for several more hours before the romans broke in and slaughtered and captured many of them. The outcome of the battle of Toletum was 4,000 Seuvi dead, 3,000 Captured and 8000 who escaped. However the battle was not entirely one sided, and the roman army lost nearly 2,000 men.

However one important person was missing, Rechiar. The Suevi king however would turn up soon. Having heard of the Roman victory, he sent for the surviving men of the defeated army to gather in the west at Emerita Augusta were he would join them with 10,000 of the men he had brought from his capital at Braga. He would however send a further 2,000 of his men Northeast, he would sever Majorians supply lines and starve him out. However to Rechiars dismay of the 8,000 survivors, only 5,000 joined his men at Emerita.

Majorian hearing of the King gathering his forces immediately set out leaving only a small garrison at Toletum, numbering 1,000 men. These 1,000 men would not be harrassed by the Seuvi detachment, which would finaly put them and the city to seige. Arriving at Emerita Augusta on June 20th, Majorian and Rechiar found their armies at even odds, and the Seuvi even had a minor advantage with cavalry, as they had 3,000 , over the 2,000 Alans. The two forces skirmished several times, were constantly repositioning to try and get the best advantage over the enemy. However Rechiar had one advantage over Majorian, a stable supply line, Majorians had been cut by the Seuvi detachment soon after Majorian left Toletum and Majorian was running low on food, which resulted in a repositioning of camps over the supply line, and even though Majorian did breifly manage to get some food from Rechiars supplyline, the battle was nearing, before his men were starved and unable to fight. On July 25th the battle of Emerita Augusta began.

The two forces lined up against eachother the roman left flank and Seuvi right flank anchored on the river. The Italian Comitatenses held the Flank against the river, the Burgundians the center and the Hispanian Comitatenses the right flank, where the Cavalry of both armies was arrayed against eachother. While Majorian had advantage on the infantry front the Seuvi had more cavalry. The battle began with initial Missile exchanges, from bows and javelins, followed by both armies charging eachother. The battle began in the roman favour however the Alans outnumbered were hard pressed and emulating the great Julius Caesar, he ordered the rear line of his men to wheel around the flank and join the cavalry battle. This move would win him the battle as the infantry joined the Alans and quickly began pushing back the Seuvi horse who were hard pressed having to fight men below their eye level and at their eye level. Finally the Seuvi cavalry broke, which signalled the end for the Seuvi. Even though they had held well on the main line, the Romans had the initial numbers, and when the cavalry broke the flank was exposed. Rechiar called a retreat, however it was to late, and as his men turned panicked at the call the Alans crashed into them with devistating effect. Rechiar and his royal guard would take up residence in the city, along with 4,000 men, of the remainder 6,000 were dead, 2,000 captured, and roughly 3,000 running for their lives. The romans had lost 1500 men, leaving Majorian with 13500 men.

Following the battle, news would arrive from Toletum of the siege, to which Majorian would send half the surviving Alan's, and a contigent of Burgundians and romans a total number of 4,000 men lead by Aegidius, when they arrived on August 10th, the city had fallen, however the depleted Seuvi detachment would fall in a quick and brutal siege battle. At Emerita, peace negotiations would begin with Rechiar. As much as Majorian wanted to crush the Seuvi for good, his orders had been to bring them back into the fold as fedoratti, and his army was spread out and considerably weaker since the campaigns start. So, he did as ordered however the Seuvi would pay for it. The terms Rechiar agreed to would cripple the Seuvi nation for years to come, as the Seuvi land would be pushed back to its territory north of the Duoro river. 4,000 men would be forced to serve in the roman army spread out throughout all of its armies (their families could join them) and finally, they would have to pay an annual tribute worth a 1/6 of their kingdoms income, and a war reperation of 500lbs gold, 100lbs of silver and 2 million Nummi coins, and finally they would become Roman fedoratti once again.

Majorians Hispanian Campaign would be a major victory for the romans, the taxes from the region would be a positive impact for the roman treasury, as would be the recruits for the army, it also bettered the roman position in the west. In September Majorian would dismiss the Burgundian fedoratti, and sent most of the Italian Comitatenses back to Italia, he also began rebuild the Hispanian army, using some of the Alans to train cavalry, and using his veteran Comitatenses to train more infantry. The Hispanian Comitatenses would not be rebuilt to its former glory, but would be built up to be stronger than it had been in previous years, in the future, the rebuilt Hispanian Comitatenses would become important part of history being apart of several Major campaigns, something that could not have happened without Majorians efforts to rebuilt it in late 453.

 

[ImperialxWarlord]

Great story so far. Really enjoying it!

 

[StevenIronside]

Great story so far. Really enjoying it!

Thanks! Glad to hear it.

 

[Some Bloke]

So the Western Roman Empire slowly begins to rebuild 1000 years before the Eastern Roman Empire falls IOTL.

 

[Some Bloke]

Do you have a map of the WRE and its borders post campaign?

 

[Whiteshore]

I wonder if Aetius is still personally murdered by Valentinian III ITTL.

 

[StevenIronside]

So the Western Roman Empire slowly begins to rebuild 1000 years before the Eastern Roman Empire falls IOTL.

I wouldnt call it rebuilding yet, but they have for the first time in many years, has a streak of goodluck, first with Aetius defending the empire from the Huns, Atillas death, and then Majorians victorious campaigns which cripples one of the rebellious fedorati tribes. They definitely have much left to deal with, like the Visigoths, Ostrogoths, and importantly the Vandals. They will be having internal issues, mainly focused around the top 3 players in the empire, Aetius Majorian and Valentinian, but they are definitely looking up.

Do you have a map of the WRE and its borders post campaign?

I do not i can try to find one, or make one

I wonder if Aetius is still personally murdered by Valentinian III ITTL.

I guess we will have to find out, however if it happens it likely wont be as it did happen in OTL.

 

[StevenIronside]

Chapter 4

454

Majorian would stay in Hispania, until February of 454, putting much effort in training and better equipping the men of the Hispanian Comitatenses and raising what men he could. The Comitatenses would also be strategically spread out in garrisons across the Diocese of Hispania, under the command of Duxes, while Aegidius was promoted to Comes, and would be in command during Majorians absence. Majorian as Magister Militum Hispanus, did plan to campaign in the future into the region of Vasconia, on the northern coast of Hispania, a territory controlled by the rebellious Bagudae. However in February he was recalled to Ravenna for a very important event. Leaving Hispania the Comitatenses which coming out of campaign had 2800 men, had by this point surpassed 8000, and by the winter would have 10,000 men, traveling with Majorian were the remainder of the Italian Comitatenses, and Majorians own personal Bucelarii, his personal troops, which consisted of the 1000 Alan, and Burgundians who had stayed to help him train the men in Hispania, and wished to stay employed by the general. The practice of generals having their own personal troops was not uncommon as during the civil wars of the past century, it had become common to have such men that were totally loyal, in fact the battle of Rimini, was a battle between Bonifacius and Aetius that had consisted of 14,000 Bucelarii between the two men.

Upon reaching Ravenna, Majorian was gifted with the now, almost honorary position of Consul for the year, as well, he was married to the 13 year old Placidia, their first child, Gaius Julius Valerius Theodosius would be born in January of 456, and to add more to his plate and to try and overmatch Aetius, Majorian was also given command of the emperors personal troops. This move ment that his title as Magister Militum Hispanus was effectively just that a title, as he would be forced to stay in Ravenna to be at the emperors side. However these moves only allowed Aetius the ability to turn the Young general against Valentinian as he realized that Petronius and Heraclius were turning the Emperor against him. Aetius began a war of the mind, supporting Majorians ideas, and the policies that made sence, however many of these policies were shut down by the emperor when proposed by either of the two men. These included policies that would stop women from joining the church, were they would avoid marriage and having children, the rebuilding of the imperial fleets that were in tatters, and other reforms that could potentially bring in more tax revenues, stomp out corruption, why the Emperor did this? Well it is assumed that, he did not want to alienate the rich and powerful, and risk rebellions, at the same time rebuilding the fleets could potentially cause problems with the Vandals whose prince had been patiently waiting years to marry Eudocia, and angering the church was also not something Valentinian wanted even though his rejections to these policy changes had reasons that were logical, by his inaction, he was effectively condemning the empire to its fate. Something that both Majorian and Aetius could not stand by for long.

455

However major changes were afoot. In the east the germanic general Aspar, who like Aetius was the power behind the throne, died when his horse broke its leg, and rolled on top of him during a practice exercise and crushed him. Marcian would not wait for someone to replace the General and instead appointed his son in law Anthemius who was already Magister Militum as Caesar of the east, his hier. Anthemius had the makings of a decent emperor, being a talented general and administrator things were looking up for the east, as now Marcian did not have to be lead by a influential general. Almost immediately agressive and ambitious plans were made by Anthemius and Marcian who intended to begin operations to support the Armenian rebels lead by Vahan a reversal on his previous policy. As well they were able to make an agreement with the king of the gepids who formed a large coalition against the huns, and at the battle of Nadeo this coalition defeated Attilas sons in battle and shattered the Hunnic empire which would collapse almost immediately. In the aftermath the Ostrogoths in Pannonia were accepted as fedorati by the East. This collapse of the huns also drove groups of hunnic horsemen into the empire looking for employment, some 5,000 would be accepted into the eastern armies were they would be deployed against the sassanids, and another 6,000 joined the west and were split between Majorian, Aetius, and the comes Marcellinus of Dalmatia for employment.

However in Novemeber of 455, Aetius who was 64 years old, went in to question, Valentinian on the matter of Agrippinus the Magister Equitum per Gallius, who was beginning to show his corruption, withholding taxes and enacting his own policies in Gaul, something Aetius himself had done before. However Petronius Maximus and Heraclius had been working on Valentinian for years, and after Majorians and Aetius constant pushing, Valentinian in the middle of Aetius push for Majorian to be named Caesar and be given command in Gaul, broke. Valentinian pulled out his sword and tried to run the unarmed general through with it. Unfortunately the aged general had much more experience than the Emperor and was able to dodge the emperors blow, and shoved the emperor, who flailed backwards before falling hard to the ground, nearly falling on his own sword. At the commotion the emperors guards ran in and arrested Aetius, and Valentinian screamed that he would have Aetius head before night. Upon hearing of there generals arrest, Aetius's Bucelarii and Comitatenses surrounded the imperial grounds, demanding their leader be freed or they would do it by force.

Majorian who was the commander of the Emperors Palitini, acted as the middleman in the negotiations, as he was known by many of Aetius men, a good portion having served with him in Hispania, this was a bad move by Valentinian who had fallen into a trap. By nightfall, Aetius had been released however he held no command, and was to be exiled from west something that would not last more than a few weeks, and in a ironic turn Majorian was named Caesar of the west, which Aetius had been advocating when the incident began. How did this happen, well Majorian and Aetius needed Majorian to be named the emperors hier something that Valentinian was acting slowly on possibly because he only intended to name the future child of Placidia and Majorian Caesar, or else their coup would cause civil wars, and still could, at the same time they could not kill Valentinian or the Vandals would likely try to invade and take what was promised to them by force. So Majorian after freeing Aetius had his men kill both Petronius Maximus and Heraclius in a brutal purge and made the emperor agree to terms. As already stated Majorian would be named Caesar and Aetius exiled, Valentinian would become essentially a puppet, and would allow the policies of Aetius and Majorian to be made, Agrippinus would be removed from his position, and for all this, The Emperor would be allowed to live and Eudocia would sent to the Vandals to keep them happy, so that the empire could solve its problems so that eventually Majorian could take back Africa. This Coup brought in a major change of power, and when Aetius was brough back at the beginning of 456, he would once again be on top of the empire, however this time instead of an Emperor actively working against him, he would have a Caesar who he could work together with. Even if it was for a short time.....