Editing Marcian (section)

===Conflict with the Huns===
[[File:451 CE, Europe.svg|right|thumb|A map of Europe in A.D. 451, showing the Hunnic confederation under Attila with a name, and the Roman Empire in purple|upright=2|alt=A colored drawing of Europe in 451 A.D., showing the borders of states at the time of Attila by different colors, with the Roman Empire in purple, and the Hunnic Confederation by name]]
Almost immediately after becoming emperor, Marcian revoked Theodosius' treaties with Attila and proclaimed the end of subsidies. He stated that he might grant gifts if Attila was friendly, but Attila would be repelled if he attempted to raid the Eastern Roman Empire. At this time Attila was preparing to invade the Western Roman Empire, under the guise of helping Emperor [[Valentinian&nbsp;III]] against the [[Visigoths]]. Attila reacted angrily to Marcian's proposal, demanding tribute, but did not alter his invasion plans. He led his horde from [[Pannonia]] in spring 451 into the Western Roman Empire.{{sfn|Friell|Williams|2005|p=84}} [[Flavius Aetius]], who was the supreme commander of the Western Roman army as {{lang|la|[[Comes et Magister Utriusque Militiae]]}}, organized a defense and called upon the Visigoths, [[Franks]], [[Burgundians]], Alans, Saxons, Celtic [[Armorica]]ns, and other tribal groups numbering about 60,000 to aid him. Attila's forces were made up of [[Gepids]], Alans, [[Sciri]], [[Heruli]], [[Rugii|Rugians]], along with some Franks, Burgundians, and [[Ostrogoths]].{{sfn|Friell|Williams|2005|p=85}}

Attila sacked [[Metz]] and attempted a siege of [[Orléans]], before meeting Aetius' forces at the [[Battle of the Catalaunian Plains]], in northeast [[Gaul]]. This battle involved around 100,000 men and resulted in very large losses on both sides. After the battle, Attila retreated to the [[Great Hungarian Plain]], and Aetius dismissed his coalition of tribes, sending them back to their own territories. In spring 452, Attila again launched a raid into Italy, which was almost entirely undefended. He was likely motivated by a desire for revenge, along with a need to raid to stabilize his tribal state, which was dependent upon raiding for loot and resources. Attila captured the city of [[Aquileia]] after a long and difficult siege,{{sfn|Friell|Williams|2005|p=86}} and [[looted|sacked]] it. He then raided across northern Italy, taking [[Mediolanum]] ([[Milan]]) and other important cities. There was much fear that Attila would attack [[Rome]] itself, the walls of which were weaker than those of some cities he had already captured. During this period, other than cutting his [[lines of communication]] and harassing his rear forces, Aetius did not launch a direct attack on Attila.{{sfn|Friell|Williams|2005|p=87}}

Despite the plunder he now had from capturing Aquileia, Milan, and other cities, Attila was quickly placed in a precarious situation, because of the actions of both Eastern and Western Rome. In Italy, he was seriously lacking in funds, having not received subsidies from either Eastern or Western Rome for two years. Constant warfare had depleted his forces. As well, Attila's homeland was threatened by the Eastern Empire which, despite the punitive raids he ordered, took the offensive against the Great Hungarian Plain in mid-452, attacking across the Danube and inflicting a defeat upon the Huns.{{sfn|Friell|Williams|2005|p=87}} The area attacked by the Eastern Romans was home to Ostrogoths and Gepids, two groups bitterly opposed to Hunnic rule, and was the [[breadbasket]] of the Hunnic Empire. The loss of food supply from Attila's own land coupled with a famine that Italy was suffering at the time, along with a plague that followed it, placed yet more strain upon Attila, allowing the Western Roman Empire to bribe him into retreating to his homeland. After returning to the Great Hungarian Plain, he threatened to invade the Eastern Empire the following spring and conquer it entirely.{{sfn|Friell|Williams|2005|p=87}}{{sfn|Thompson|1950|p=70}} Marcian and Aspar ignored his threats. They reasoned, based upon the previous treaties that Attila had broken, that he could not be permanently deterred even by tons of gold. The pair believed the gold would be better spent building up armies, not appeasing threats. Also, the rich Asian and African provinces, which were protected behind Constantinople, were secure enough to allow the Eastern Empire to retake any European provinces it might lose. This campaign never came to fruition, as Attila died unexpectedly in 453, either from [[hemorrhaging]] or alcoholic [[suffocation]], after celebrating a marriage to one of his many wives. After his death, his tribal confederation rapidly fell apart, starting first with rebellions of the Ostrogoths.{{sfn|Friell|Williams|2005|p=88}}

This fragmentation allowed the Eastern Empire to resume its policy of playing off barbarians against each other, to stop any one tribe from becoming too powerful. It is almost certain that the Gepid king [[Ardaric]] came to an agreement with Marcian. Ardaric had formed a coalition of the Rugians, Sciri, Heruli, and his own Gepids, which he led against the remaining Hunnic confederation. Ardaric, alongside the Ostrogoth leaders [[Theodemir (Ostrogothic king)|Theodemir]], [[Valamir]] and [[Videmir]], decisively defeated Attila's oldest son, [[Ellac]], at the [[Battle of Nedao]] in 455, where he was slain. After this battle, the Hunnic confederation could no longer sustain the cohesion of its previous days, although they still remained prominent.{{sfn|Friell|Williams|2005|p=89}} In the wake of the reduced power of the Hunnic Empire, Marcian accepted the Ostrogoths, who had established themselves in [[Pannonia Prima]] and [[Pannonia Valeria|Valeria]]—nominally two Western Roman provinces—as {{lang|la|[[foederati]]}}.{{sfn|Nathan|1998}}{{sfn|Friell|Williams|2005|pp=89–91}}{{sfn|Elton|2018|p=172}} This marked the continuation of the tacit abandonment of a [[Danube–Iller–Rhine Limes|rigid Danube barrier]], which had previously been manned by Roman {{lang|la|[[laeti]]}}, barbarians settled directly in Roman land in exchange for military service. For some time before Marcian, the {{lang|la|laeti}} had been replaced by {{lang|la|foederati}}, although the distinction between the two was increasingly breaking down. Marcian's successors would grant the status of {{lang|la|foederati}} to multiple peoples and ceding them lands in the recovered European provinces: the Rugians in eastern Thrace, Sciri in [[Lower Moesia]] and [[Scythia]], Gepids in [[Diocese of Dacia|Dacia]]. This network of subject peoples, who were generally reliable and manageable, was beneficial to the Eastern Empire. The tribal peoples generally kept each other's power in check without Roman intervention. They could also be induced to serve the empire against its enemies by way of gifts, subsidies, and treaties.{{sfn|Nathan|1998}}{{sfn|Friell|Williams|2005|pp=89–91}} With the Hunnic empire's diminished might after the death of Attila, Marcian enjoyed a relatively peaceful reign, although he won some small campaigns against the [[Saracens]] in [[Roman Syria|Syria]] and against the [[Blemmyes]] in [[Roman Egypt|Egypt]].{{sfn|Nathan|1998}}{{sfn|Kazhdan|1991|p=1296}}