Aetius and the Western Empire

[Flavivs Aetivs]

I'm not much impressed by Aetius. To me it seems that he was more concerned with his own position than with the strengthening of the Roman state - not different from any 'warlord' behind the throne from Arbogast and valentinian onwards, I suppose. He was mainly a military man, and that fact (comparing the supposedly 'soft' diplomats in the East) was part of the downfall of the West.

I disagree - somewhat. His interests were that of the landowning class, and he was arguably one of the best generals in roman history. Had he managed to re-take africa, well things would have been different, But without africa Aetius' only accomplishment was managing to prolong the existence of the Roman Empire.