Many rough warrior slashed , burned and blazed their way through the ancient public in an attempt to seize and command — Julius Caesar , Alexander the Great andGenghis Khan , to name a few . But perhaps no ancient warrior was as fell and storied as Attila the Hun .
Over a 10 - year yoke , Attila and his army invaded the territories that today cover Hungary , Spain , Italy and Greece . They burned towns and settlement after stripping them of their belongings . One historian wrotethat " Attila and his US Army seemed genuinely to savour warfare , the rigors and rewards of military life were more likeable to them than farming or advert livestock . "
But a portraiture of a rampageous boor is not a full picture of Attila . Although he could not read and publish , he was born into a hefty Hun home . He have it away a lot about human nature and how to rule with cunning rather than force . Exaggerated stories of his ferociousness , some of which he may have spread , also helped him curb without necessarily obliterate a lot of people .
Attila was born around 406 C.E. in Pannonia , then a province in the Roman Empire . Today , it ’s part of Hungary . The peregrine Huns , who were animal - herders , had transmigrate to Europe from Central Asia in 370 . By the sentence Attila arrived into the world , the Huns had been long feared throughout Europe .
They were hump for their prodigious skill as equestrian – their steed reportedly joined in the battles with their teeth and hooves – and as mount archers . Their artillery of alternative was the notable Hun bow , a recurve bow whose ends curved back on itself , make more torque and the power to pierce armour 100 grounds ( 91 meters ) away . The stem were also smaller than traditional bows , and thus more manoeuvrable . Additionally , the Huns were infamous for their strategic , ferocious battles and impressive mobility [ source : Andrews ] .
Growing up in a privileged household , Attila and his brother Bleda were learn sword fighting , archery , equestrian skills , and military and diplomatic manoeuvre . Sometime around 430 , when Attila and Bleda were untried men , two of their uncles jointly reign the Hun Empire . The brothers study over as co - rulers in 434 . But 11 years later on , in a power - grab , Attila hit his sidekick to become sole ruler of the Huns .
By the prison term Attila became king of the Huns , the kinship group had discontinue the nomadic living and were base in the Great Hungarian Plain , where they had developed an foot army . Over the next two decades , Attila and the Huns pillaged and destroyed unnumbered Romanist cities so as to expand their realm , which finally included large portions of the Eastern and Western Roman Empires . ( On today ’s map , the Hun Empire at its greatest would stretch from Germany in the west to Romania in the south , the Netherlands in the north , and Russia and Kazakhstan in the Orient . ) Because of his uncivilised , bloody struggle , Attila became dub " Flagellum Dei , " or " Scourge of God . "
Although a vehement warrior and looter , Attila is said to have lived humbly in large a logarithm house decorated with brute skins . By dividing line , his subordinates often grace themselves , their homes and their knight with amber , ash gray and jewels . He is also read to have treated his own people justifiedly . He die in 453 under mystic circumstances and his oldest boy , Ellac , was his appoint successor . But Ellac was n’t the potent leader his father was , and he shortly scrapped with his brothers for restraint . The Hunnic Empire fell aside by 469 and never revived [ source : Mark , Biography ] .
Attila’s Main Battles
When Attila and Bleda exact over formula of the Huns in 434 , they complete a peace pact their uncles had been arrange with Theodosius II , head of the Eastern Roman Empire . In addition to Theodosius II turning over some deserter Huns who had escaped , he agreed to bear the Huns 700 pounds ( 317 kilograms ) ofgoldas an yearly tribute , among other terms , to keep the Huns at bay [ rootage : New World Encyclopedia ] .
The next few year were peaceable in theRoman Empire , as the Huns were off attempt to intrude on the Persian Empire . They did n’t succeed , however , which may be why Attila suddenly cried out that the Romans had break their treaty , lead the Huns to begin assail metropolis in the Eastern Roman Empire once again in 441 . barrel through the territory , they follow to within 20 miles ( 32 kilometers ) of the capital letter , Constantinople , when Theodosius II once again bartered with the man to lay off their attacks . This time the price was a staggering 2,100 pounds ( 952 kilo ) of atomic number 79 per twelvemonth [ sources : Pruitt , New World Encyclopedia ] .
Back in their home in the Great Hungarian Plain , the Huns lived reasonably peacefully until 445 , when Attila is enjoin to have slain his brother , Bleda , to become lonesome leader of the Huns . A few years after that , he again battled the Romans , roll through today ’s Balkans and into Greece . Once again the Romans could n’t best the Huns , begged for a cease - fire and agreed to even harsher penalties and peacekeeping terms .
Attila ’s first and only battlefield passing came in 451 , when roughly 200,000 Hun soldier invaded Gaul ( France ) . At first they fared well , per usual , easily desolate all they came across . But the Romans bounce to action under General Flavius Aetius , who form an alliance with Visigothic King Theodoric I. In a shoo-in battle on the Catalaunian Plains ( eastern France ) , the Roman - Goth army vote out the Huns . King Theodoric I was killed during the bloody battle , while Attila just withdrew his military man and left Gaul .
Italy was next on Attila ’s agenda . He and his troops drove down into the territory in 452 , destroying many metropolis . But the land was sustain a dearth and there was much disease , both of which also affected the Huns . They decided to direct for nursing home , leaving Rome – the principal plunder – intact . The following class , Attila died . It was a very odd destruction which we ’ll explore next .
Attila’s (Love) Life and Death
Attila , like any good peasant in ancient times , had many wife and children , although no one knows how many . He also once receive an interestingmarriage proposition . Sort of .
It was the natural spring of 450 when Attila received an engagement closed chain from Honoria . Honoria was the sister of Valentinian III , emperor of Western Rome . Valentinian III was trying to arrange a marriage ceremony for Honoria , but she did n’t need to splice the aristocrat he had in mind . So , she sent herengagement ringto Attila , asking him to help her head off her scheduled nuptials . Attila either imagine she was hinting that she wanted to scat by marrying him instead , or he may have pretend that ’s what he thought . Either way , upon have the ring he predicate Honoria would soon become his newest wife , and demanded half of the Western Empire as her dowry .
Naturally , Valentinian III was furious with Honoria . She deny she was trying to marry Attila , and eventually agree to wed the blue blood . Meanwhile , Attila infest Italy in 452 , claiming the reason was to find Honoria and make her his wife . But plainly he was easily distracted from this mission , because in 453 he marry the young , beautiful Ildico . On their wedding night , he eat up and drank a lot more than usual . The next morning Ildico found Attila dead in their marital layer . The crusade ? Attila , prone to nosebleed , obviously abide one in his sleep ( or sottish stupor ) and choke to death on his own blood line .
Fables and Legends About Attila
When you ’re notoriously noted , story begin circulating about you , both dependable and mistaken . There are several caption associated with Attila the Hun . Perhaps the most spectacular involves his penetration into Italy in 452 . According to the famous tale , when Attila and his flock put down Italy , Valentinian III , the Western Roman Emperor , fled to Rome . That apply the Huns loose sovereignty to loot and ruin at will .
But the Huns were so destructive , Pope Leo I traveled up from Rome to face the aggressor . He tell apart Attila he was not welcome in Italy , making a heavy show of his bravery , and remark his personal hotline to God . Then , a miracle occurred . Saints Peter and Paul look before Attila and told him he must obey Pope Leo I or he would die . Attila hold and quickly left the country . No written records exist about Attila ’s encounter with Pope Leo I. But a more likely natural event is that after come across with the Holy Father , Attila decided to call off the encroachment because his supply were running low and his troops were falling inauspicious from thediseaseravaging the country . He was also probably concerned he was more needed back at home , where the Eastern Roman Empire had recently launched at offensive into Hun territory .
The allegory about Pope Leo I confronting Attila with Saints Peter and Paul at his side is interesting because little is known about Attila ’s religious belief , or miss thereof . Whether or not he was aChristian , there is some evidence Attila may have believed in prophecy . One story about the Hun relates how a sheepman once discovered one of his animals limping and bleeding . search for the drive , the sheepman encounter a finely crafted brand lying in the plain . The shepherd brought the sword to Attila , who believed it was a sign that he was ruler of the humankind , and was given the blessing to agitate at will . Attila claimed this blade once belong to Mars , the Roman god of war , which mint fear in the hearts of many .
Attila relish his nefarious reputation . He fuel it by acquire a bowelless gaze say to make hoi polloi quake , and excellently said , " There , where I have sink , the eatage will never grow again . " part because of this , ancient artists drew Attila as an unsightly creature with devil ’s horns and a goatish beard .
In more recent times , the names " Attila " and " Huns " continue to evoke savagery . During World War I , the British foully compared the German U. S. Army to the Huns because of the soldier ' brutality . The compare was also probable due to the fact that the German Kaiser station troop to China in 1900 to squelch the Boxer Rebellion , telling the men to fight like Boche [ sources : History , Biography , Dash ] .
Lots More Information
Every sentence I hear about the Huns , I reckon of the Disney flick " Mulan " and its attention-getting song " I ’ll Make a Man Out of You . " The tune include the opening business , " rent ’s get down to byplay , to vote down the Huns . " And then I always think , " Who were the Jerry anyway ? ! " Because I did n’t know much about them , or Attila , it was fun to enquiry and drop a line this small-arm .
Another enjoyable part of this duty assignment was that during my research I come across some info that said the name " Attila " stay pop in central - eastern Europe ( namely Hungary ) and in Turkey . Interesting , as I was once friend with a strange exchange student from Turkey named Attila . I institute him on Facebook a few class ago , too . How many of you have a friend list Attila ? !
