Sack of Aquileia

The Sack of Aquileia occurred in 452, and was carried out by the Huns under the leadership of Attila.

A year after Attila's defeat at the Battle of Catalaunian Fields, Attila launched an invasion of Italy, during which he razed Aquileia to the ground. It was only when Saint Leo arrived beseeching Attilia to turn back was his invasion halted.

Before its destruction, Aquileia was a center of government (with an imperial residence), commerce and finance (with a mint), military defense, and Christianity (with a bishop). Its destruction and Attila's subsequent unimpeded ravaging of the province of Venetia (modern Veneto and Friuli) paved the way for the rise of Venice which within a few centuries replaced and even surpass it in importance.

Popular culture
This sack appears as part of the final scenario in the Attila the Hun campaign in the Microsoft computer game Age of Empires II: The Conquerors. The destruction of Aquileia also figures prominently into the background of several characters in the novel The Last Legion.