In 423, the general Flavius Aetius entered the service of the usurper Joannes as "cura palatii" and was sent by Joannes to ask the Huns for assistance. Joannes, a high-ranking officer, lacked a strong army and fortified himself in his capital, Ravenna, where he was killed in the summer of 425. Soon, Aetius returned to Italy with a large force of Huns to find that power in the west was now in the hands of Valentinian III and his mother, Galla Placidia. After fighting against Aspar's army, Aetius managed a compromise with Galla Placidia. He sent back his army of Huns and in return obtained the rank of "comes et magister militum per Gallias", the commander-in-chief of the Roman Army in Gaul.