Attila the Hun: From the Danube to the Catalaunian Plains

Attila and his brother Bleda ride to Margus to meet the Eastern Roman envoys, all seated on horseback in the Hunnic manner. They leave with an advantageous treaty: the Romans double their tribute to 350 Roman pounds of gold, about 115 kilograms, as the cost of peace. The Roman city of Margus lay where Požarevac, Serbia, stands today. Six years later, Hun armies would sack Margus itself.

Location precision: The Roman city of Margus lay at the locality of modern Požarevac; the exact meeting spot is unknown, so the pin marks the town.

In 441 the Romans had sent their Balkan forces to Sicily, and the Hun army struck. It sacked Margus and Viminacium, then took Singidunum (Belgrade) and Sirmium. Viminacium was one of the biggest cities in the region, with perhaps 40,000 people at its peak. Attila destroyed it, and Justinian I rebuilt it more than a century later. Today the archaeological site lies about 6 km from Kostolac in eastern Serbia.

Visitor guidance: An archaeological park near Kostolac, eastern Serbia.

In 451 Attila marched west into Gaul with his vassals. The Roman general Aëtius gathered Franks, Burgundians and Celts, and Visigoth king Theodoric I joined the alliance. Their combined armies reached Orléans ahead of Attila, checking and turning back the Hunnish advance. Alans under their king Sangiban were among the Roman forces. Orléans is a modern city, so the pin marks the city rather than a single battle site.

Location precision: The sources name the city, not a spot in it, so the pin marks Orléans itself.

Aëtius chased the Huns and caught them near Catalaunum, now Châlons-en-Champagne. Attila chose to fight on plains where he could use his cavalry. Theodoric was killed in the fighting,, yet the battle is commonly considered a strategic victory for the Visigothic–Roman alliance. Nobody knows exactly where it happened: historians point to the area around Châlons or Troyes, and Montgueux, just west of Troyes, is considered the most likely spot by some.

Location precision: No conclusive site is known; the pin marks Montgueux, one proposed location near Troyes.

Attila came back in 452 to press his marriage claim with Honoria and invaded Italy. Aquileia was the first city in the Italian Peninsula he sacked, and he razed it so completely that it was afterwards hard to recognize its original site. The attacks led to new communities in what would later become Venice. Aquileia's ruins, with mosaics and an early Christian basilica, are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Visitor guidance: Archaeological ruins, mosaics and the early Christian basilica are open to visitors.

Emperor Valentinian III sent envoys, including Pope Leo I, who met Attila at the Mincio near Mantua. They obtained his promise to withdraw from Italy and negotiate peace. Attila never set foot south of the Po. Ancient writers give different reasons for his retreat: fear of Alaric's fate, or famine and disease. The Mincio is the main outlet of Lake Garda.

Location precision: The meeting was on the Mincio near Mantua, spot unnamed; the pin marks a point on the river below Mantua.