 Edward Gibbon refers to him as "the man universally celebrated as the terror of Barbarians and the support of the Republic" for his victory at the Catalaunian Plains.Aetius was born at Durostorum in Moesia Secunda (modern Silistra, Bulgaria), around 391.His father, Flavius Gaudentius, was a Roman general and described as a native of the Roman province of Scythia, although some have interpreted this as a "topos" and used to describe a Gothic origin.