Attila aux portes de Rome

This scene depicts Attila, leader of the Huns, at the gates of Rome in the 5th century, facing Pope Leo I. According to tradition, the pope persuaded Attila to abandon his invasion of the city, illustrating the growing role of the Church in defending and organizing Western societies as imperial authority weakened. The episode symbolizes both the threat of barbarian invasions and the rising power of spiritual authority in a declining Roman world.