The previous part is here: https://bartoll.se/2023/09/history-matrix-part35/
All parts of this series can be found here: https://bartoll.se/world-playbook-quickstart/
In 435 AD, Emperor Theodosius II ordered a new edict enforcing the death penalty for all non-Christian heretics and pagans within the Roman Empire. Only Judaism was considered a legal non-Christian religion. Keep in mind that the Roman Empire were pushing their own Satanic version of Christianity, as in Saturn worship, through the Roman Catholic Church.
After conquering most of northern Africa, King Genseric concluded a peace treaty with the Romans, under which the Vandals retained Mauretania and a part of Numidia as ‘foederati,’ (allies under a special treaty) of Rome. Huneric, eldest son of Genseric, was sent as a child hostage to the court at Ravenna to secure the alliance with the Western Roman Empire.
The Vandals used their new capital Hippo Regius (present-day Annaba) as a port for their expeditions and trade. Genseric established a merchant fleet to transport goods between Africa and the Italian mainland.
In 436 AD, Flavius Aetius, the ‘protector’ of Emperor Valentinian III, continued his campaign in Gaul against the Burgundians and their raids. With little success, he called for help from Hun mercenaries under the command of Attila and his brother Bleda. The army of Attila plundered Augusta Vangionum (present-day Worms in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany,) killing some 20,000 Burgundians according to legend. This marked the destruction of the Kingdom of the Burgundians as King Gunther and his family were killed. This massacre later became the source for the Nibelungenlied, an epic poem written around 1200 AD in Middle High German by an anonymous poet.
In 437 AD, Flavius Aetius besieged and secured the city of Narbonne (Southern Gaul) against King Theodoric I. He then concluded a peace treaty with the Visigoths.
On July 2, Valentinian III turned 18-years old and became the legal emperor over the Western Roman Empire. His mother Galla Placidia ended her regency, but continued to exercise political influence.
By late October, Valentinian III cemented an alliance with the eastern emperor, Theodosius II, by marrying his daughter Licinia Eudoxia in Constantinople. This marked the reunion of the two branches of the House of Theodosius.
In 439 AD, King Genseric of the Vandals broke his treaty with the Western Roman Empire and invaded the Roman province of Africa Proconsularis (where Carthage was located.)
By October 19, Carthage fell and Genseric made it his new capital as the Vandal Kingdom now covered most of the northern African coastline.
They also built granaries (storehouses) for grain and animal feed, which enabled them to enforce their will on other nations who were dependent on North Africa for grain and other food staples.
In early 440 AD, Flavius Aetius returned back to Rome after several years of fighting the Burgundians and Visigoths in Gaul. He was honored by a statue erected by the Senate and by the order of Emperor Valentinian III.
After the Vandals conquered Carthage, the only principal suppliers of oil and grain to Italy was Sicily and a few of the coastal towns. To further strengthen their dominance, a Vandal fleet with their allies (Alans, Goths and Moors) was set out from Carthage. They looted Sicily and all the coastal towns, and also besieged Palermo, leaving Italy at the mercy of trading with the Vandals.
In Europe, the Huns under Attila reappeared in force along the frontier of the Western Roman Empire. They attacked merchants on the north bank of the Danube and cities in Illyricum.
In 441 AD, The Huns, led by Attila, attacked Constanţa (present-day Romania,) and one of the few remaining Roman forts on the northern bank of the Danube. The whole garrison was slaughtered.
In Brittania, the German Saxons had established themselves at the mouth of the Thames River. However, after a period of peace, and according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Vortimer (son of king Vortigern,) defeated the Saxons over the course of four battles in Kent.
In 442 AD, the Huns, advancing along the Danube and the Great Morava, destroyed the city of Naissus (modern Serbia.) By now they had mastered siege technology and were able to capture fortified cities. The Roman Senate agreed to pay Attila a tribute of 700 pounds (318 kg) of gold per year, further weakening the Empire.
Also, Emperor Valentinian III signed a peace treaty with King Genseric, and recognized the Vandal Kingdom. He granted Genseric sovereignty over most of Africa. In turn, Genseric gave back Sicily and Mauretania (Algeria and Morocco.)
This marked the end of the Vandal migrations. The Vandals settled in North Africa, with Carthage as their capital – and the Roman Empire no longer had any provinces or influence in Africa.
In 443 AD, a period of civil war and food shortages hit Britannia caused by rival kingdoms and Pictish invasions. The situation aggravated the tension between Pelagian and Roman factions. Pro-Roman citizens migrated towards Gaul.
In 444 AD, historians tells us that a “pestilence,” as in the “cyprian plague” ravaged the British Isles. In reality, it was the aftermath of the civil war and famine as people got sick, weak, and died from starvation, trauma, stress, and toxicity from desperately feeding on spoiled food.
On Ireland, The Irish city of Armagh was founded by Saint Patrick the Great.
And in Europe, Attila the Hun established his residence along the Tisza River (present-day Hungary,) where he made plans for his coming campaigns in the Balkans.
In 445 AD, Emperor Valentinian III issued an imperial edict against Manichaeism, the main religion in Persia (Sasanian Empire,) which had spread across the borders. Heavy penalties were commanded against those who did not denounce the religion, and to anyone in possession of Manichaean books.
In Rome, Petronius Maximus, a prominent aristocrat, was given the title of Patrician. He became the most honored of all non-imperial Romans, and also a political rival of Flavius Aetius.
In Europe, Bleda, co-ruler of the Huns, allegedly died in a hunting accident. However, he was likely murdered by command of his younger brother Attila, with whom he had ruled since 434. Now, at around the age of 39, Attila took the throne for himself, and became the king of the Hunnic Empire.
In 446 AD, Bishop Germanus of Auxerre visited Ravenna, and it is one of the first historical mentions of the dietary deception by the Roman Church as Germanus was said to have been vegetarian. Of course, they all consumed mostly meat as that is the only source of bioavailable nutrition for humans. But meat was mostly reserved for the elite and the aristocrats to keep the pleb weak, and thus it was a clever strategy to pretend that bishops and priests were on strict ‘peasant like’ diets, making them identifiable with the starving people. It also made it easier to control the people and to make them adopt their version of Christianity and to walk the narrow path, being thankful for the little and staying away from the sin of gluttony and having more than your neighbor.
In Brittania, the Britons and Anglo-Saxon mercenaries, under King Vortigern, appealed to Flavius Aetius (magister militum of Gaul) for military assistance in their struggle against the Picts and Irish. However, Aetius had enough problems with Attila the Hun and was unable to send any help.
In China, the Northern Wei Dynasty who earlier had encouraged Buddhism now began to persecute Buddhists. The drain of manpower and tax money to temples and monasteries had threatened the secular government, and the reaction was fierce. Monks and nuns were murdered, temples and icons destroyed. All men under the age of 50 were prohibited from joining any monastic order.
In 447 AD, Attila and his Huns crossed the Danube and invaded the Balkans as far as Thermopylae (Greece.) During the invasion, Serdica (present-day Sofia) was destroyed. Attila also tripled his demand for tribute from the Eastern Roman Empire to 2,100 pounds (955 kg) of gold per year.
Meanwhile, Germanus, the bishop of Auxerre, made his second visit to Britain. Allegedly, he had a hand in expelling the Irish from Powys (Wales.)
In 448 AD, Emperor Theodosius II agreed to a peace treaty with the Huns and accepted the tribute of 2,100 pounds (955 kg) of gold per year.
In Spain, Rechiar succeeded his father Rechila as king of the Suebi in Galicia. He married a daughter of the Visigoth king Theodoric I and converted to Catholicism, which marked the beginning of the Roman Catholic Church getting a foothold within Spain.
By summer in 450 AD, Emperor Theodosius II, age 49, allegedly fell off his horse while hunting at Constantinople and died soon afterward. He had reigned for a ‘Saturnian’ 42 years, since 408.
Pulcheria, the sister of Theodosius III, was forced to marry the officer and senator Marcian, age 58, and co-rule the Eastern Roman Empire.
Marcian ordered the execution of the unpopular court eunuch Chrysaphius. He also discontinued the tribute payments to Attila.
Angles, Saxons and Jutes invaded Britain, marking the beginning of what is known as the ‘Old English period.’
In Italy, Justa Grata Honoria, eldest sister of emperor Valentinian III, sent her ring to Attila the Hun in an effort to escape a marriage being forced upon her by her brother. Attila responded with his intention to marry her, and that he expected to be given half the Western Roman Empire as her dowry. Atilla then proceeded to gather a large Hun invasion force, as she could not meet his demands.
In 451 AD, Attila gathered his vassals and marched through Germany during the spring, causing widespread panic and destruction. He arrived in Belgica with an army of more than 50,000 men, where he crossed the Rhine.
By April, Attila’s forces invaded Gaul, and the major cities of Metz, Strasbourg, Worms, Mainz, Trier, Cologne, Reims, Tournai, Cambrai, Amiens and Beauvais were all destroyed by the Huns.
After learning of the Hun invasion, Flavius Aetius moved quickly from Italy into Gaul, and joined forces with Visigoth king Theodoric I.
In early June, Attila avoided a trap between forces near Orléans, and withdrew to the Catalaunian Plains (Champagne-Ardenne) with the majority of his army intact. The Roman coalition defeated the remaining Huns, but Theodoric I was killed in the encounter. Thorismund succeeded his father Theodoric I as king of the Visigoths.
In 452 AD, Attila and his army of Huns returned and invaded Northern Italy. Emperor Valentinian III fled from Ravenna to Rome, and sent Pope Leo I to persuade Atilla to return to the Hungarian Plain. The cities of Aquileia, Padua and Verona were destroyed by the Huns. Milan was saved because Attila was offered a huge amount of gold.
As the Huns advanced, Rome was threatened but not attacked, allegedly due to the efforts of Pope Leo I. Threatened by news of reinforcements from the Eastern Roman Empire, Attila was persuaded to withdraw. It is also said that the “plague” miraculously broke out among the Huns, which of course is complete nonsense as contagion is a myth, but it made for a good story to feed to the pleb about ‘God’s intervention’ after the involvement of the Pope himself.
Some of the fugitives from Attila’s army fled and settled among the islands in the Venetian Lagoon, where they also founded the city of Venice.
In 453 AD, Attila the Hun was found dead in his bed after a wedding feast with the Goth princess Ildica. The Huns celebrated a strava (lamentation) over his burial place with great feasting. Attila’s son Ellac was appointed successor, which his brothers Dengizich and Ernakh refused. Thus, the Hunnic Empire was divided. Dengizich and Ernakh established their kingdoms north of the Black Sea (Ukraine,) by the support of vassal states.
Meanwhile, Thorismund of the Visigoths violated the alliance with the Western Roman Empire and was murdered. He was succeeded by his brother Theodoric II.
In 454 AD, allied forces of several subjected peoples, such as Gepids, Heruli, Ostrogoths, Rugii, Sciri and Suebi, under the leadership of King Ardaric, defeated the Huns led by Ellac in Pannonia. Ellac was killed during the battle and succeeded by his brother Dengizich.
In September, Emperor Valentinian III stabbed his commander-in-chief and ‘protector’ Flavius Aetius to death during a meeting of the imperial council at Ravenna. He had accused Aetius of plotting against him to seize power, probably by whispers from Flavius’ rival Petronius Maximus. After the death of Flavius Aetius, the Western Roman Empire was left with no real military strategist and military leader to protect them against their hostile neighbors, such as the Alans, Franks, Ostrogoths, Vandals and Visigoths.