Attila

Early life and background Main article: Huns Huns in battle with the Alans . An 1870s engraving after a drawing by Johann Nepomuk Geiger (1805–1880). The Huns were a group of Eurasian nomads , appearing from east of the Volga , who migrated further into Western Europe c. 370 and built up an enormous empire there. [ 1 ] Their main military techniques were mounted archery and javelin throwing. They were in the process of developing settlements before their arrival in Western Europe, yet the Huns were a society of pastoral warriors, [ 2 ] : 259  whose primary form of nourishment was meat and milk, products of their herds. The origin and language of the Huns has been the subject of debate for centuries. According to some theories, their leaders at least may have spoken a Turkic language , perhaps closest to the modern Chuvash language . [ 3 ] : 444  According to the Encyclopedia of European Peoples , "the Huns, especially those who migrated to the west, may have been a combination of central Asian Turkic , Mongolic , and Ugric stocks". [ 4 ] Attila's father Mundzuk was the brother of Kings Octar and Ruga , who reigned jointly over the Hunnic empire in the early fifth century. This form of diarchy was recurrent with the Huns, but historians are unsure whether it was institutionalized, merely customary, or an occasional occurrence. [ 5 ] : 80  His family was from a noble lineage, but it is uncertain whether they constituted a royal dynasty . Attila's birthdate is debated; journalist Éric Deschodt and writer Herman Schreiber have proposed a date of 395. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] However, historian Iaroslav Lebedynsky and archaeologist Katalin Escher prefer an estimate between the 390s and the first decade of the 5th century. [ 5 ] : 40  Several historians have proposed 406 as the date. [ 8 ] : 92  [ 9 ] : 202  Attila grew up in a rapidly changing world. His people were nomads who had only recently arrived in Europe. [ 10 ] They crossed the Volga river during the 370s and annexed the territory of the Alans , then attacked the Gothic kingdom between the Carpathian Mountains and the Danube . They were a very mobile people, whose mounted archers had acquired a reputation for invincibility, and the Germanic tribes seemed unable to withstand them. [ 2 ] : 133–151  Vast populations fleeing the Huns moved from Germania into the Roman Empire in the west and south, and along the banks of the Rhine and Danube. In 376, the Goths crossed the Danube, initially submitting to the Romans but soon rebelling against Emperor Valens , whom they killed in the Battle of Adrianople in 378. [ 2 ] : 100  Large numbers of Vandals , Alans, Suebi , and Burgundians crossed the Rhine and invaded Roman Gaul on 31 December 406, to escape the Huns. [ 5 ] : 233  The Roman Empire had been split in half since 395 and was ruled by two distinct governments, one based in Ravenna in the West, and the other in Constantinople in the East. The Roman Emperors, both East and West, were generally from the Theodosian family in Attila's lifetime (despite several power struggles). [ 11 ] : 13  The Huns dominated a vast territory with nebulous borders determined by the will of a constellation of ethnically varied peoples. Some were assimilated to Hunnic nationality, whereas many retained their own identities and rulers but acknowledged the suzerainty of the king of the Huns. [ 11 ] : 11  The Huns were also the indirect source of many of the Romans' problems, driving various Germanic tribes into Roman territory, yet relations between the two empires were cordial: the Romans used the Huns as mercenaries against the Germans and even in their civil wars. Thus, the usurper Joannes was able to recruit thousands of Huns for his army against Valentinian III in 424. It was Aëtius , later Patrician of the West, who managed this operation. They exchanged ambassadors and hostages, the alliance lasting from 401 to 450 and permitting the Romans numerous military victories. [ 2 ] : 111  The Huns considered the Romans to be paying them tribute, whereas the Romans preferred to view this as payment for services rendered. The Huns had become a great power by the time that Attila came of age during the reign of his uncle Ruga, to the point that Nestorius , the Patriarch of Constantinople, deplored the situation with these words: "They have become both masters and slaves of the Romans". [ 2 ] : 128  ^ Cite error: The named reference Grousset was invoked but never defined (see the help page ). ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference Rouche was invoked but never defined (see the help page ). ^ Cite error: The named reference Pritsak was invoked but never defined (see the help page ). ^ Cite error: The named reference Waldman was invoked but never defined (see the help page ). ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Lebedynsky:Report was invoked but never defined (see the help page ). ^ Cite error: The named reference Deschodt was invoked but never defined (see the help page ). ^ Cite error: The named reference Schreiber was invoked but never defined (see the help page ). ^ Cite error: The named reference Harvey was invoked but never defined (see the help page ). ^ Cite error: The named reference Cooper was invoked but never defined (see the help page ). ^ Cite error: The named reference Bona was invoked but never defined (see the help page ). ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Lebedynsky:Campaign was invoked but never defined (see the help page ).

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Campaigns against the Eastern Roman Empire The Empire of the Huns and subject tribes at the time of Attila The death of Rugila (also known as Rua or Ruga) in 434 left the sons of his brother Mundzuk , Attila and Bleda , in control of the united Hun tribes. At the time of the two brothers' accession, the Hun tribes were bargaining with Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II 's envoys for the return of several renegades who had taken refuge within the Eastern Roman Empire , possibly Hunnic nobles who disagreed with the brothers' assumption of leadership. The following year, Attila and Bleda met with the imperial legation at Margus ( Požarevac ), all seated on horseback in the Hunnic manner, [ 1 ] and negotiated an advantageous treaty . The Romans agreed to return the fugitives, to double their previous tribute of 350 Roman pounds (c. 115 kg) of gold, to open their markets to Hunnish traders, and to pay a ransom of eight solidi for each Roman taken prisoner by the Huns. The Huns, satisfied with the treaty, decamped from the Roman Empire and returned to their home in the Great Hungarian Plain , perhaps to consolidate and strengthen their empire. Theodosius used this opportunity to strengthen the walls of Constantinople , building the city's first sea wall , and to build up his border defenses along the Danube . The Huns remained out of Roman sight for the next few years while they invaded the Sassanid Empire . They were defeated in Armenia by the Sassanids, abandoned their invasion, and turned their attentions back to Europe. In 440, they reappeared in force on the borders of the Roman Empire, attacking the merchants at the market on the north bank of the Danube that had been established by the treaty of 435. Crossing the Danube, they laid waste to the cities of Illyricum and forts on the river, including (according to Priscus ) Viminacium , a city of Moesia . Their advance began at Margus, where they demanded that the Romans turn over a bishop who had retained property that Attila regarded as his. While the Romans discussed the bishop's fate, he slipped away secretly to the Huns and betrayed the city to them. While the Huns attacked city-states along the Danube, the Vandals (led by Geiseric ) captured the Western Roman province of Africa and its capital of Carthage . Africa was the richest province of the Western Empire and a main source of food for Rome. The Sassanid Shah Yazdegerd II invaded Armenia in 441. [ citation needed ] [ 2 ] The Romans stripped the Balkan area of forces, sending them to Sicily in order to mount an expedition against the Vandals in Africa. This left Attila and Bleda a clear path through Illyricum into the Balkans, which they invaded in 441. The Hunnish army sacked Margus and Viminacium, and then took Singidunum ( Belgrade ) and Sirmium . During 442, Theodosius recalled his troops from Sicily and ordered a large issue of new coins to finance operations against the Huns. He believed that he could defeat the Huns and refused the Hunnish kings' demands. Attila responded with a campaign in 443. [ 3 ] For the first time (as far as the Romans knew) his forces were equipped with battering rams and rolling siege towers, with which they successfully assaulted the military centers of Ratiara and Naissus ( Niš ) and massacred the inhabitants. Priscus said "When we arrived at Naissus we found the city deserted, as though it had been sacked; only a few sick persons lay in the churches. We halted at a short distance from the river, in an open space, for all the ground adjacent to the bank was full of the bones of men slain in war." [ 4 ] Advancing along the Nišava River , the Huns next took Serdica ( Sofia ), Philippopolis ( Plovdiv ), and Arcadiopolis ( Lüleburgaz ). They encountered and destroyed a Roman army outside Constantinople but were stopped by the double walls of the Eastern capital. They defeated a second army near Callipolis ( Gelibolu ). Theodosius, unable to make effective armed resistance, admitted defeat, sending the Magister militum per Orientem Anatolius to negotiate peace terms. The terms were harsher than the previous treaty: the Emperor agreed to hand over 6,000 Roman pounds (c. 2000 kg) of gold as punishment for having disobeyed the terms of the treaty during the invasion; the yearly tribute was tripled, rising to 2,100 Roman pounds (c. 700 kg) in gold; and the ransom for each Roman prisoner rose to 12 solidi . Their demands were met for a time, and the Hun kings withdrew into the interior of their empire. Bleda died following the Huns' withdrawal from Byzantium (probably around 445). Attila then took the throne for himself, becoming the sole ruler of the Huns. [ 5 ] ^ Cite error: The named reference Howarth was invoked but never defined (see the help page ). ^ Foundation, Encyclopaedia Iranica. "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica" . iranicaonline.org . Retrieved 3 June 2021 . ^ Cite error: The named reference Dupuy was invoked but never defined (see the help page ). ^ "Priscus at the court of Attila" . ucalgary.ca . ^ Cite error: The named reference Haas was invoked but never defined (see the help page ).

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