This article is about the year 451. For Ray Bradbury's dystopian novel, see
Fahrenheit 451 .
Calendar year
Invasion ofAttila the Hun inGaul (451) Year451 (CDLI common year starting on Monday of theJulian calendar . At the time, it was known as theYear of theConsulship ofMarcianus and Adelfius (or, less frequently,year 1204Ab urbe condita ). The denomination 451 for this year has been used since the earlymedieval period , when theAnno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Spring –Attila gathers hisvassals —Bastarnae ,Gepids ,Heruls ,Ostrogoths ,Rugians ,Scirians andThuringians (among others), and smashes throughGermany , causing widespread panic and destruction. He arrives inBelgica with an army (50,000 men) and crosses theRhine .[citation needed April 7 – Attila's forces invadeGaul and sackMetz . The major cities ofStrasbourg ,Worms ,Mainz ,Trier ,Cologne ,Reims ,Tournai ,Cambrai ,Amiens andBeauvais are destroyed by theHuns .[citation needed Eudocia , daughter of EmperorValentinian III , marriesHuneric inRavenna . The engagement serves to strengthen thealliance between theWestern Roman Empire and theVandal Kingdom .[citation needed June – Attila approachesAurelianum (modernOrléans ) and the city's inhabitants close the gates, forcing him to laysiege . After learning of the Hun invasion,Flavius Aetius (magister militum Italy into Gaul, and joins forces withVisigoth kingTheodoric I .[citation needed June 20 –Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (Châlons): Attila avoids a pitched battle near Orléans, and withdraws to the Catalaunian Plains (Champagne-Ardenne ). The Romancoalition defeats the Huns, but Theodoric I is killed in the encounter. This is one of the last military victories of the Western Roman Empire, before the victories of EmperorMajorian against the Alemanni, Visigoths, Suebi and Burgundians, between 457 and 461.[citation needed Thorismund succeeds his fatherTheodoric I as king of the Visigoths. He is crowned in the capital atToulouse , and extends theVisigothic Kingdom inHispania .[citation needed 
