r and reputation,
commanded the alternative of peace or war with the two empires. His
alliance with the Romans of the West was cemented by his personal
friendship for the great Aetius, who was always secure of finding, in
the Barbarian camp, a hospitable reception and a powerful support. At
his solicitation, and in the name of John the Usurper, sixty thousand
Huns advanced to the confines of Italy; their march and their retreat
were alike expensive to the State; and the grateful policy of Aetius
abandoned the possession of Pannonia to his faithful confederates.

The Romans of the East were not less apprehensive of the arms of
Rugilas, which threatened the provinces, or even the capital. Some
ecclesiastical historians have destroyed the Barbarians with lightning
and pestilence; but Theodosius was reduced to the more humble expedient
of stipulating an annual payment of three hundred and fifty pounds of
gold, and of disguising this dishonorable tribute by the title of
general, which the King of the Huns condescended to accept. The public
tranquillity was frequently interrupted by the fierce impatience of the
Barbarians and the perfidious intrigues of the Byzantine court. Four
dependent nations, among whom we may distinguish the Bavarians,
disclaimed the sovereignty of the Huns; and their revolt was encouraged
and protected by a Roman alliance, till the just claims and formidable
power of Rugilas were effectually urged by the voice of Eslaw his
ambassador. Peace was the unanimous wish of the senate: their decree was
ratified by the Emperor; and two ambassadors were named, Plinthas, a
general of Scythian extraction, but of consular rank; and the quaestor
Epigenes, a wise and experienced statesman, who was recommended to that
office by his ambitious colleague.

The death of Rugilas suspended the progress of the treaty. His two
nephews, Attila and Bleda, who succeeded to the throne of their uncle,
consented to a personal interview with the ambassadors of
Constantinople; but as they proudly refused to dismount, the business
was transacted on horseback, in a spacious plain near the city of
Margus, in the Upper Maesia. The kings of the Huns assumed the solid
benefits, as well as the vain honors, of the negotiation. They dictated
the conditions of peace, and each condition was an insult on the majesty
of the empire. Besides the freedom of a safe and plentiful market on
the banks of the Danube, they required that the annual contri