Page 96 - Envoys and Political Communication in the Late Antique West 411 - 533

Envoys and Political Communication,411–533

sensible to give wide berth to the kingdom of the Goths’ client. It is more
probable that news of the embassy came from contact with the Goths.
Hydatius records three other entries on Aegidius, each concerning his
battles with the Goths in Gaul. Of the general’s conflict with Ricimer
and Severus, or his earlier triumphs over the Franks, Hydatius appears
unaware. 136 The perspective is that of Toulouse, not of the imperial court
or of Aegidius himself. So, too, news of the maritime embassy may have
come from Toulouse. Secrecy was not a major characteristic of ancient
communications. Aegidius may well have advertised the embassy after its
return, in order to spread concern among his enemies. During 463 and
464, there were communications between the Gallaecian provincials, the
Sueves, and the Goths. 137 News could well have reached Hydatius from
the courts of Toulouse or Braga.

Multiple embassies
Two entries unique to Hydatius indicate the range of political relations
simultaneously maintained by western powers. Both describe multiple
embassies dispatched at times of crisis. In September 454, Valentinian III
murdered the general Aetius in the imperial palace at Rome. Aetius had
dominated western politics for almost thirty years, largely through his
personal relations with the Huns. In 454, while attempting to form a
dynastic union with the imperial family, he fell victim to a court faction
which spurred Valentinian against him. 138
Aetius’ removal had many consequences; Valentinian’s own death six
months later was one. Of the several sources recording the aftermath
of Aetius’ death, only Hydatius notes the following: ‘After [murdering
Aetius and his followers], Valentinian sent envoys to the gentes. Justinian
was the envoy who went to the Sueves.’ 139 Contact with barbarian groups
was necessitated by Aetius’ death not because he had been the power
behind the imperial throne, but because he had for so long been a general
in the field. The role of the empire’s representative on the frontier, which
had been that of the emperors until the end of the fourth century, had
been assumed by the long-serving magister militum. 140 The embassies did
not prevent strife. Barbarian groups both within and outside imperial
136
Hyd., cc. 217 (surrender of Narbonne), 218 (battle of Orl´ eans), 228 (Goths take areas previously
held by Aegidius after his death) [212, 214, 224]. Cf. Muhlberger, Fifth-Century Chroniclers,
233–4.
137
Table 1 nos. 24–6, 28–9.
138
PLRE ii, 28; Stein i, 349; Seeck, Untergang vi, 319–20; B. L. Twyman, ‘Aetius and the Aristoc-
racy’, Historia 19 (1970), 480–503; O’Flynn, Generalissimos, 95.
139
Hyd., c. 161 [153]: His gestis legatos Valentinianus mittit ad gentes,ex quibus ad Suevos venit Iustinianus.
140
Cf. Seeck, ‘Flavius Aetius’, RE i.1, 702–3; O’Flynn, Generalissimos, 86–7, 89–90.
70