Born in c.AD 390, Flavius Aetius exemplified in his youth the new kind of warrior defending the Roman Empire in the 5th century. His father was a high-ranking soldier of barbarian blood who married into a wealthy family from the Italian peninsula. Because of his family background, Flavius was sent as a boy to the court of Alaric I, king of the Visigoths, as a hostage. Later, at the age of 20, he was again submitted as an imperial hostage, this time to the Huns. It turned out to be a tremendous break for him, because it allowed him to study the Huns at close quarters and to learn the secrets of the warrior people he would eventually have to face in battle.
Dwelling beyond the Danube, and never having settled on imperial territory, the Huns had not been Romanised to the degree of other Germanic barbarians. The court into which Aetius was delivered was thus far removed from the Mediterranean palaces he had enjoyed in his youth. The Huns were a Turkic confederation of tribes, comprising many central Asian and eastern European peoples. They fought in the manner of all Eurasian horsemen, placing a special emphasis on archery. To Aetius, this would not necessarily have been as alien as it was to other Romans or Germans. His father, Gaudentius, now dead, had come from Scythia, and maybe it was Sarmatian and not Germanic barbarian blood that pumped through his body.
In the company of Hun horse-archers, Aetius developed a high level of horsemanship and handled both lance and bow expertly. Later chroniclers remarked specifically on these skills acquired among the Huns. ‘His intelligence was keen and he was full of energy,’ wrote the 5th-century historian Renatus Frigeridus, ‘a superb horseman, a fine shot with an arrow and tireless with the lance.’ On the plains of Hungary, Aetius also learned the ability to withstand hardship. ‘He bore adversity with great patience and was ready for any exacting enterprise,’ continued Frigeridus. ‘He scorned danger and was able to endure hunger, thirst, and loss of sleep.’ Aetius’ hardship among the Huns earned him a reputation for toughness that gained him the respect of common soldiers.
