Attila the Hun

• Born: c. 406
• Birthplace: ?
• Died: c. 453
• Best Known As: 5th century barbarian threat to the Roman Empire

From his base in what is now Hungary, Attila, king of the Huns, waged war against the Roman Empire in the middle of the 5th century with such ferocity his reputation as the "Scourge of God" continues to this day. He shared power with his brother, Bleda, for a dozen years, but after 445 Attila was the sole commander of a force that extended from the Rhine to the Caspian and the western edges of China. He defeated Emperor Theodosius, almost overran Constantinople and invaded Gaul, where he was turned back by Roman commander Flavius Aetius and Visigoth king Theodoric in 451. Attila then invaded Italy in 452 and headed toward Rome. But Pope Leo I and Attila reached some agreement -- a deal based on extortion, divine intervention or simple pragmatism, it's hard to say -- that kept the Huns from sacking Rome. Attila died the next year and the empire he built crumbled within a generation.

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Opera in a prologue and three acts by Verdi to a libretto by Solera and Piave after Werner (1846, Venice).

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Attila (died 453) was a chieftain who brought the Huns to their greatest strength and who posed a grave threat to the Roman Empire.

The Huns first appear in European records at the end of the 4th century A.D., when they descended from the Steppes and attacked the Germanic tribes on the northeastern edge of the Roman Empire, either subjecting them or driving them into the empire. By the 430s the scattered nomadic bands had been united into a powerful force which attacked both Germans and Romans alike.

Rua, the man responsible for much of this unity, died in 434 and left the kingdom to his nephews Attila and Bleda. For 10 years they ruled jointly and threatened the Eastern Roman Empire on several occasions. In 435 a "peace" was signed with the Romans, which among other things guaranteed the Huns an annual payment of 700 pounds of gold. In 441 the Huns attacked the provinces across the Danube. In 443 Attila so severely defeated the Roman general Aspar that the Romans had to purchase peace with an annual tribute of 6000 pounds of gold.

In 445 Attila murdered Bleda and united all the Huns under his own leadership. The Roman Priscus, an eyewitness who was an ambassador to Attila's court, describes him as short with a broad chest, flat nose, and beard sprinkled with gray. Attila ruled with absolute authority, his power based in large part on the extensive wealth from his conquests.

War with the Eastern Empire was renewed in 447, and the Romans were defeated in the bloody battle of Marcianopolis. In the peace treaty of 448 they were forced to cede extensive territory along the Danube. Attila then turned his attention to the Western Empire. Geiseric the Vandal urged Attila to attack the Goths so as to remove their pressure on the Vandals, and Attila moved to attack the Visigoths. At the same time the sister of the emperor Valentinian III, Honoria, asked Attila to rescue her from an unwelcome marriage. This gave Attila the excuse to move against Rome. Aëtius, the strongman of the Western Empire and one-time hostage of the Huns, created an alliance of Romans and Visigoths, and when the Huns invaded Gaul in 451, he defeated them on the Catalaunian Plains in Champagne.

Although defeated, the Huns escaped destruction and the next year attacked Italy. The important city of Aquileia was destroyed, but Attila did not attack Rome. An embassy from Pope Leo I was credited with dissuading him, but the growing fear of plague and famine probably determined the decision. In 453, while planning another attack on the Eastern Empire, Attila died suddenly from a hemorrhage, reportedly the result of excessive drinking at a wedding. After his death his sons divided his "empire," and the power of the Huns was soon destroyed by internal strife. Attila proved to be a major threat to Rome in his lifetime but left no permanent power to challenge the empire.

Further Reading

The major ancient source on Attila is Priscus, who visited Attila. Fragments of his work are translated in Colin D. Gordon, The Age of Attila (1960). A full account of Attila and the Huns is given by the 6th-century priest and historian Jordanes, The Origin and Deeds of the Goths, translated and edited by Charles C. Mierow (1908; rev. ed. published as The Gothic History of Jordanes, 1915). The best modern account is E. A. Thompson, A History of Attila and the Huns (1948).

Attila, king of the Huns AD 434–53 (known as Etzel in medieval German saga); he ruled an empire stretching from the Alps to the Caspian Sea. In 452 he invaded Italy and sacked several cities, but was persuaded to withdraw without entering Rome. While preparing to invade the eastern empire again, having ravaged it in the 440s, he died suddenly on his wedding night. See FALL OF ROME.

Tragedy by Pierre Corneille, first performed 1667. It is a play of love and ambition, culminating in the death of the hero from a bleeding nose.

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King of the Huns from ad 445 who, for a short period, united his people against the Roman Empire and invaded Gaul and Italy. He was defeated in battle by Aetius in ad 452, and died in ad 453 while preparing to resume the attack. His death destroyed the Hunnic ‘empire’ and the nomads were crushed by revolts of their German subjects.

Attila (ətĭl'ə, ăt'ələ), d. 453, king of the Huns (445-53). After 434 he was coruler with his brother, whom he murdered in 445. In 434, Attila obtained tribute and great concessions for the Huns in a treaty with the Eastern Roman emperor Theodosius II, but, taking advantage of Roman wars with the Vandals and Persians, he invaded the Balkans in 441. Peace was made, and Attila's tribute was tripled. In 447 he again attacked the empire and spent the following three years negotiating a new peace. In 450, however, the new Eastern emperor, Marcian, refused to render further tribute as did Valentinian III, emperor of the West. In a bid for power, and without her brother's knowledge, Valentinian's ambitious sister, Honoria, jeopardized his peaceful relations with Attila by attempting an alliance with the Hun. Attila took her proposal as a marriage offer and demanded half of the Western Empire as a dowry, a demand that was refused. Leaving Hungary with an army of perhaps half a million Huns and allies, Attila invaded Gaul but was defeated (451) by Aetius at Maurica. Attila turned back and invaded (452) N Italy but abandoned his plan to take Rome itself. His withdrawal, often ascribed to the eloquent diplomacy of Pope Leo I, appears to have been motivated by a shortage of provisions and the outbreak of pestilence. Soon afterward in Hungary, Attila died of a nasal hemorrhage suffered while celebrating his marriage to Ildico. The fear Attila inspired is clear from many accounts of his savagery, but, though undoubtedly harsh, he was a just ruler to his own people. He encouraged the presence of learned Romans at his court and was far less bent on devastation than other conquerors. Often called the Scourge of God, he appears in many legends, particularly as Etzel in the Nibelungenlied (see under Nibelungen).

Bibliography

See C. D. Gordon, The Age of Attila (1960); O. Maenchen-Helfen, The World of the Huns (1973).

(at-il-uh, uh-til-uh)

A king of the Huns in the fifth century. Attila's forces overran many parts of central and eastern Europe. His armies were known for their cruelty and wholesale destruction, and Attila himself was called the “scourge of God.”

attila (Attila the Hun) rhymes with 2:1
0 upper-second honours degree. See desmond, douglas, geoff, trevor.

Attila (406-453) was a king of the Huns, known as 'The Scourge of God' for his military exploits.

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