History Focus

(0406 - 0453)

King of the Huns from 434 until his death in 453. He was defeated by the Romans on September 20, 451, in ancient History's bloodiest battle.

The Huns were were nomadic Asian people, probably of Turkish, Tataric, or Ugrian origins, who spread from the areas north of the Caspian Sea to make repeated incursions into the Roman Empire during the 4th and 5th centuries AD. Attila the Hun, united these people. He was born around 406.

He was king of the Huns from 434 until his death in 453. He shared power temporarily with his elder brother, Bleda. Attila murdered his brother in 436 to gain sole control over the Hunnish Empire.

Attila was a fierce warrior. He earned the nickname Scourge of God. He was called Etzel by the Germans and Ethele by the Hungarians. He invaded the Roman Empire from 436 to 453. To keep from being attacked, the Eastern-Byzantine emperor paid an annual tribute to the Huns. The emperor stopped making payments so Attila invaded the Byzantine Empire in two campaigns, in 441-443 and in 447-449. In 447 he advanced through Illyria and devastated the whole region between the Black and the Mediterranean seas. Those he conquered were either destroyed or forced to serve in his armies. He defeated the Byzantine emperor Theodosius II. The army of Attila was primarily a cavalry force, and lacked the technique of besieging a great city, therefore, Constantinople was not destroyed.

In 450 Attila claimed Honoria, sister of the Western emperor, Valentinian III, as his wife. As a dowry he expected half of the Western Empire. To enforce this claim, Attila invaded Gaul (France) in 451. He was met by the Roman general Flavius Aetius and defeated on September 20, 451, in the great Battle of Châlons. According to all accounts it was one of the most terrible battles of ancient history. The Romans were assisted by the Visigoths, or West Goths, under their king, Theodoric I. Historians of the period estimated the losses of the army of Attila at from 200,000 to 300,000 slain.

Attila in the next year turned his attention to Italy, where he devastated Aquileia, Milan, Padua, and other cities and advanced upon Rome. Rome was saved from destruction only by the mediation of Pope Leo I, who in a personal interview is said to have impressed the Hunnish king by the majesty of his presence. His next plan was to lead another invasion of the Byzantine Empire, but he died suddenly after celebrating the last of his marriages. It is suspected that Attila partied too long and hard at the wedding feast. He drank too much and died from Gastro-intestinal bleeding. He was succeeded by his sons, who divided his empire.

Sources: | Comptons Pictured Encyclopedia | Microsoft(R) Encarta(R)