Optila (
fl.
''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...
455 AD) was a either a
Hun
The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...
or a Goth bodyguard
working for general
Aetius and later for Roman Emperor
Valentinian III
Valentinian III ( la, Placidus Valentinianus; 2 July 41916 March 455) was Roman emperor in the West from 425 to 455. Made emperor in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by powerful generals vying ...
. He is best known for being the assassin of Valentinian III, himself the assassin of Aetius.
History
He initially served as ''
bucellarius
Bucellarii (the Latin plural of ''Bucellarius''; literally "biscuit–eater", '' el, Βουκελλάριοι'') were formations of escort troops used in the Roman Empire in Late Antiquity. They were employed by high-ranking military figures (su ...
'' and was later promoted to the imperial guard.
In September 454, Emperor Valentinian killed with his own hands
Aetius in
Ravenna
Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the c ...
, while the latter was delivering a financial account. With the death of Aetius,
Petronius Maximus
Petronius Maximus ( 39731 May 455) was Roman emperor of the West for two and a half months in 455. A wealthy senator and a prominent aristocrat, he was instrumental in the murders of the Western Roman ''magister militum'', Aëtius, and the W ...
looked forward to being made patrician in place of Aetius. However, he was blocked by the eunuch
Heraclius
Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, led a revol ...
. Thus Maximus arranged with Optila and
Thraustila Thraustila (fl. 455 AD) was a Hun or a Goth bodyguard of Roman general Aetius, who participated in the assassination of Emperor Valentinian III, ordered by Petronius Maximus. He probably served Aetius as a ''bucellarius''.
History
In September 45 ...
, both Aetius' former bodyguards, for the assassination of both Heraclius and emperor Valentinian. Optila stabbed the emperor to death on 16 March 455, as he was dismounting in
Campus Martius
The Campus Martius (Latin for the "Field of Mars", Italian ''Campo Marzio'') was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome. The IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which cove ...
in preparation for a session of archery practice. Meanwhile, Thraustila killed Heraclius.
[Given, John (2014). The Fragmentary History of Priscus: Attila, the Huns and the Roman Empire, AD 430–476. Arx Publishing. p. 128. ISBN 978-1-935228-14-1.]
References
{{Huns
Hun military leaders
Western Roman people of Hunnic descent