WI Aetius proclaims himself Emperor in 425 AD with Hunnic help?

While General Aetius was away on a mission sent by the usurper Ioannes to Huns in late 424 AD, the army of the Eastern Empire invaded Italy, and soon made their base in Aquileia. Further military actions were inconclusive until the garrison of Ravenna was bribed to betray Ioannes to a force led by Aspar, the son of Magister Militum Ardabur. The fallen emperor was brought to Aquileia where first his hand was cut off, then he was paraded on an ass in the Hippodrome to the insults of the populace, then after further insults and injuries he was decapitated in June or July of 425.
Three days after Ioannes's death, Aetius returned at the head of a substantial Hunnic army. After some skirmishing, Placidia and Aetius came to an agreement that established the political landscape of the Western Roman Empire for the next thirty years. The Huns were paid off and sent home, while Aetius received the position of Magister Militum.
WI Aetius proclaims himself Emperor after Ioannes's fall with the help of his Hunnic army?
How is this altering History? Any thoughts?
 
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Did Aetius even want the job? Even with the help of the Army, and his cadre of Hunnic warriors, he wouldn't get peace from those within the western Roman aristocracy, whom would have resented a man of mongrel stock being their Augustus.
 
Did Aetius even want the job? Even with the help of the Army, and his cadre of Hunnic warriors, he wouldn't get peace from those within the western Roman aristocracy, whom would have resented a man of mongrel stock being their Augustus.

Aetius’ mother was from the highest tier of Roman aristocracy so I do not think he would be resented as a ‘mongrel’. There appears to be no evidence that he was resented by any of the nobility in the western empire at any time.

It would be the problem with the eastern empire that prevented him from proclaiming himself ruler of the west. Embarking on a civil war against a Roman army from the east while leading and relying on Huns would be a political disaster even if he won. His decision to demand the rank of Master of the Soldiers was the best he could reasonably hope to accomplish.

As for the original question, if he proclaimed himself emperor his tenure would be short and bloody. If he managed to defeat the eastern troops he would have to rely on the Huns for protection and he could not afford to continue to pay for such a large force. He would be at their mercy and would eventually fall very soon either by Hunnish hands if the payments fell behind or by disaffected Romans resentful of the status of the Huns and paying taxes to support their own repression.

History would change dramatically without one of the most masterful politicians, diplomats and generals ever produced by the Empire. I am an admirer. :) The west would fall sooner and harder and the impact of the Hun invasions would be deeper and more dramatic on the former provinces.
 
Maybe if he had arrived before Ioannes's death he could have made him Emperor and himself as Caesar and heir to the throne... He could let Ioannes do the dirty job and be seen as a Hun puppet while himself would be the true Roman who allies with ERE and kicks Hun and their puppet Emperor out of WRE...
 
Aetius’ mother was from the highest tier of Roman aristocracy so I do not think he would be resented as a ‘mongrel’. There appears to be no evidence that he was resented by any of the nobility in the western empire at the time.

His mother may have been a Roman aristocrat, but his father was a Goth (according to Jordanes), or a Scythian (according to Edward Gibbon). Either way, the Roman nobility were very choosy at this time about who their Emperor was going to be. They were often after someone whom was a Roman patrilineally, or preferably, from both sides of their family. At a time when the western empire was collapsing around their ears, all those bastards were worried about, was the heritage of their reigning emperor. These people deserved to lose.

Mind you, Flavius Aetius was very popular with the troops, so its possible that he might have done it if he wanted to. But as well as struggling to survive assassination attempts by the nobles after becoming Emperor, I believe the Eastern Romans may withhold further troops from him, if he was using them for his own ends.
 
His mother may have been a Roman aristocrat, but his father was a Goth (according to Jordanes), or a Scythian (according to Edward Gibbon). Either way, the Roman nobility were very choosy at this time about who their Emperor was going to be. They were often after someone whom was a Roman patrilineally, or preferably, from both sides of their family. At a time when the western empire was collapsing around their ears, all those bastards were worried about, was the heritage of their reigning emperor. These people deserved to lose.

Mind you, Flavius Aetius was very popular with the troops, so its possible that he might have done it if he wanted to. But as well as struggling to survive assassination attempts by the nobles after becoming Emperor, I believe the Eastern Romans may withhold further troops from him, if he was using them for his own ends.

Their fear was kinda justified... The people was witnessing the crumbling of the Western Empire and they were afraid that with a Barbarian as Emperor they would have been swallowed by the "uncivillized" tribes more easily rather than a Roman Emperor who would resist (at least nominally) to them... In other words they would rather fight and die under a Roman Emperor than accepting a Barbarian...
 
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