The siege and capture of Milan was one of the episodes of the Hun wars fought in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It was carried out by

Attila Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central Europe, C ...

and his

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...

in 452, it resulted in the victory of the barbarians and the destruction of Milan. Milan, then called ''

Mediolanum Mediolanum, the ancient city where Milan now stands, was originally an Insubres, Insubrian city, but afterwards became an important Ancient Rome, Roman city in Northern Italy. The city was settled by a Celts, Celtic tribe belonging to the Ins ...

'', had been the capital of the

Western Roman Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...

until 402 AD.

Background

Attila invaded Italy in 452 to renew his marriage claim to Honoria. Attila launched an invasion of Italy, passing through Pannonia into Venetia, where he laid siege to

Aquileia Aquileia is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river Natiso (modern Natisone), the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times. Today, the city is small ( ...

, a fortified city of great strategic importance: its possession made it possible to control a large part of northern Italy. Attila besieged it for three months but in vain. Legend has it that just as he was about to retire, a white

stork Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons and ibise ...

took off from a tower on the walls and left the city with its baby on its back. The superstitious Attila at that sight ordered his army to stay: shortly after the part of the walls where the tower left by the stork was located collapsed. Attila was thus able to take possession of the city, which he razed to the ground without leaving any trace of its existence. He then proceeded towards

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

, which he sacked completely. Before his arrival, many of the city's inhabitants sought refuge in the lagoon, where they would later found

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. After the capture of Aquileia, Attila's advance to Milan took place without difficulty as no city attempted resistance but all opened their doors to the invader out of fear.

Siege

No chronicles have come down to us that have described the events in detail, but from indirect testimonies, such as the subsequent letter from Massimo II, bishop of Turin, to the Milanese, it is clear that the battle was bloody and the city was almost completely destroyed. The singular way in which Attila asserted his superiority over Rome has remained famous: in the imperial palace in Milan there was a painting in which the Caesars were depicted seated on thrones and the Scythian princes at their feet; Attila, struck by the painting, had it modified: the Caesars were depicted in the act of emptying suppliant bags of gold in front of Attila's throne.

Flavius Aetius Flavius Aetius (also spelled Aëtius; ; 390 – 21 September 454) was a Roman Empire, Roman general and statesman of the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, closing period of the Western Roman Empire. He was a military commander and the most inf ...

, the

Magister militum (Latin for "master of soldiers"; : ) was a top-level military command used in the late Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, the e ...

of the

had been unable to meet Atilla in battle. Instead he harassed Attila's force, managing to slow the Hunnic advance.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milan, Siege of 450s conflicts 452

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

Battles involving the Huns Military history of Lombardy 5th century in Italy Military history of Milan Attila the Hun Looting in Italy Invasions of Italy