Europe 431: Rise of Chlodio

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Notes

Akatziri and the “Scythian Kingdom” (Kuban Huns)

Little is known about the region north and east of the Black Sea in the first half of the fifth century, except that in c. 400 a “Scythian King” (almost always assumed to be a Hun) lived in the Kuban region and by the 440s a Hunnic people known as the Akatziri lived east of the Dniester. Although fragmented, the Akatziri were powerful enough that, when the Eastern Romans aligned with all but one of their kingdoms in 447, it took over a year for Attila’s armies to crush them and install his son as their king. After this, Attila contemplated invading Persia, implying that suppressing the Akatziri had bought the periphery of his empire close to the Caucasus. All this suggests that the Akatziri may have extended into the North Caucasus and that the “Scythian King” may have been part of the Akatziri, although this is of course conjecture.

Main Events

431 Rise of Chlodio ▲

In 431 Chlodio, the new king of the Salian Franks, crossed into Roman territory and captured the cities of Turnacum (Tournai) and Cameracum (Cambrai). As the Western Roman magister militum Aetius was on the far side of the Alps at the time, dealing with a revolt in Noricum, the Romans were unable to make any immediate moves against the Franks. Instead, Aetius crossed into Gaul in late 431 to prepare for an offensive in the campaign season of 432. in wikipedia

431 Nori rebellion ▲

In 431 a rebellion broke out among the “Nori”—possibly Vandals settled in Noricum by Stilicho in 400–401. Marching north from Ravenna, Aetius crushed this revolt in the same year. in wikipedia

22 Jun–31 Jul 431 Council of Ephesus ▲

In June 431, on the request of Eastern Roman emperor Theodosius II, a synod of more than two hundred bishops gathered at Ephesus to rule on Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, and his teaching that the Virgin Mary gave birth to Christ but not to God. After waiting two weeks for the arrival of John of Antioch and his Syrian bishops, Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria, opened the council and swiftly moved to condemn Nestorius and his followers, as well as the Pelagian Caelestius, as heretics. The rulings of the council caused some controversy but were eventually confirmed by Theodosius—who had been a supporter of Nestorius—and Pope Sixtus III. Deposed from his see, Nestorius retired to a monastery. in wikipedia

431 Palladius, Bishop of Ireland ▲

In 431 Pope Celestine dispatched Palladius to Ireland as the first bishop to tend to the Christians among the Scoti (Irish). Palladius landed at Arklow that same year, but soon fell out with the King of Laigin (Leinster) and was forced to return to Britain. Having failed with the Scoti, Palladius traveled north to the land of the Picts, where he presided as bishop until his death some two decades later. in wikipedia

431 Aspar’s expedition to Africa ▲

In early 431 the Eastern Roman Empire decided to intervene in Africa in support of the Western Empire against the Vandal invasion and by the time of the Council of Ephesus (June) preparations were well underway. Under the command of the general Aspar an expeditionary force combining both Eastern and Western troops landed in Africa later that year, possibly convincing the Vandal king Gaiseric to abandon the siege of Hippo Regius in July or August. in wikipedia

431 Second Suebian–Roman War ▲

In 431, taking advantage of Roman preoccupations elsewhere, the Suebi broke their peace treaty and invaded Roman Gallaecia again. Disturbed by the extent of pillaging, the bishop Hydatius undertook an embassy to Aetius, but the general was by that time campaigning in Gaul against the Franks and unable to spare any forces. Meanwhile, the Visigoth Vetto visited the Suebi with “treacherous intentions” but failed to secure any meaningful agreement with them. in wikipedia