Thraustila (fl. 455 AD) was a
Hun
A Hun is a member of the Huns, a confederation of nomadic tribes in Western Asia and Europe in late antiquity.
Hun or huns may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Hun, a British subcultural stereotype, see Hun subculture
* Hun, a charac ...
or a
Goth
Goth or Goths may refer to:
* Goths, a Germanic people
Arts and entertainment
* Gothic rock or goth, a style of rock music
* Goth subculture, developed by fans of gothic rock
* ''Goth'' (2003 film), an American horror film
* ''Goth'' (2008 f ...
bodyguard
of Roman general
Aetius, who participated in the assassination of Emperor
Valentinian III
Valentinian III (; 2 July 41916 March 455) was Roman emperor in the Western Roman Empire, West from 425 to 455. Starting in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by civil wars among powerful general ...
, ordered by
Petronius Maximus
Petronius Maximus (31 May 455) was Roman emperor of the Western Roman Empire, West for two and a half months in 455. A wealthy Roman Senate, senator and a prominent aristocrat, he was instrumental in the murders of the Western Roman ''magister ...
.
He probably served Aetius as a ''
bucellarius
Bucellarii (the Latin plural of ''Bucellarius''; literally "biscuit–eater", ') were formations of escort troops used in the Roman Empire in Late Antiquity. They were employed by high-ranking military figures (such as Flavius Aetius and Belisari ...
''.
History
In September 454, Valentinian had killed with his own hands Aetius, whom he held responsible for the troubles of the Roman Empire.
In March of the next year, Valentinian was stabbed to death by Thraustila's fellow bodyguard
Optila, while Thraustila killed the eunuch
Heraclius
Heraclius (; 11 February 641) was Byzantine 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 revolt against the unpopular emperor Phocas.
Heraclius's reign was ...
. Most of the soldiers standing by, who had been followers of Aetius, did not move a finger to help the emperor.
[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.]
Thraustila was probably married to a daughter of Aetius.
He was a Hun, though he is described both as a "Hun" and a "Scythian", a term applied to the Huns at the time.
References
{{Huns
Hun military leaders
Western Roman people of Hunnic descent
Flavius Aetius