Sarmatiana: A List of References, Old & New

[Flavivs Aetivs]

@Michael

Yes, Aetius sent Goa to deal with the Amoriciani, who were troublesome rebels. In the end the Amoriciani became semi-independent and supplied troops to Aetius, as evidenced by Iordanes account of the Peoples involved at Chalons.

It's possible that Goa died before Chalons, I saw his death being placed in 449, but we know Sambida was alive (although its possible he died in the battle.)

Sambida is recorded as "King" of the Alans in Aurelianum, when his group of Alans was settled North of modern-day provence. It's likely he became king of both groups of Alans (Goa's being settled in Orleans) prior to Chalons.

@Alanus

There are a few theories as to why the Alans were placed in the center; the most likely seems to be that if the huns were deploying in a standard formation, expecting the Visigoths or Romans to be their primary foe, than deploying the Alans in the center would be a surprise to them, as the Alans had very different tactics. The Alans also had a similar fighting style to the Huns, so this could put the huns potentially at a disadvantage if they weren't prepared for an Alan center.

If the Alans used a "feigned retreat" tactic (as they are recorded as breaking and fleeing) it could have served as a trap, where Attila's forces would rush forward chasing the Alans, and then Alanic Cataphracts would turn and Roman/Visigothic/Barbarian troops would close on the Front and the Flanks (respectivly), probably causing large casualties and routing the Hun force.

Another possibility is that a Byzantine-style tactic was used, where Aetius had his Hun Auxilliaries travel to the rear of the enemy formation, and fire Arrows on the Gepids; a likely scenario for the Roman side of the Battlefield as the Gepids/Thuringians would have been typical enemies for the experienced Romans.

This is all just theoretical, of course.