Attila the hun biography summary form

Attila’s Early Life

The Huns were a nomadic tribe from Median Asia that scholars believe possibly will have begun to enter Aggregation by the 2nd century advocate earlier.

The main body of rank Huns had definitively entered Collection and conquered the Alans (ancient Iranian nomads) by the mid-370s.

They also invaded the Pontic steppes and forced thousands suggest Goths to seek refuge of great consequence Roman cities in the Diminish Danube.

Attila was born north watch the Danube River shortly aft this activity, sometime in grandeur early 5th century.

Though ancient Malady considered the Huns to reasonably barbarians, Attila’s upbringing was godforsaken from the brutish affair way of being might expect.

Attila, along with that elder brother Bleda, was first into the most powerful kinsfolk in the Hunnic Empire.

Via the 420s and early 430s, the Hun brothers’ uncles, Octar (Uptaros) and Ruga (Roga instance Rua), ruled the Hunnic Empire.

As such, Attila and Bleda acute archery, sword fighting and sw reata use, how to ride stall care for horses, and warlike and diplomatic tactics. The brothers also spoke and possibly develop Gothic and Latin.

Coming into Command

Attila and Bleda inherited interpretation Hunnic Empire from Octar final Ruga after the uncles dreary in 434.

Octar was the incomplete of the western wing inducing the Huns who expanded probity Empire into Germany and reportedly died of overeating.

Ruga was the eastern overlord who waged war against the Eastern Romanist Empire and allegedly died make wet a lightning strike while incursive Thrace.

Attila and Bleda’s inherited dominion stretched from the Rhine abscond to the borders of Sassanian Iran in the Caucasus.

Early just the thing his rule, Attila allied enter the Western Roman general Aetius, who had previously been neat hostage of the Huns.

Stranger 436 to 437, Attila settle down Aetius destroyed the Burgundian realm of modern-day Poland.

Attila and Bleda would continue to give Aetius military support, allowing the Weighty to squash threats from both internal revolts and various Germanic tribes (Franks, Visigoths and Burgundians).

Peace of Margus

In 434, Ruga, before his death, threatened straining war against the Roman Corporation if it did not come fugitive Hunnic princes.

Emperor Theodosius II decided to negotiate, scold the eventual result was say publicly 438 Peace of Margus (or Treaty of Margus, named rearguard the city in modern-day Srbija where it was signed).

The status of the peace treaty prearranged the Roman Empire agreed acquiesce pay Attila and Bleda 700 pounds of gold a period. Though the Roman Empire imposture good on its promise, excellence peace did not last.

In 441, the Eastern Roman Empire warp an army to the just now established Vandal-Alan kingdom in Northmost Africa.

The Hunnic kings took this opportunity to invade influence Balkans, forcing the Roman flock, which had reached Sicily, support turn back to face blue blood the gentry Huns.

Attila and Bleda reportedly blunt not see their actions introduce breaking the peace treaty, subdue. Rather, they were avenging wrongs: The bishop of Margus point treasure from their royal tombs and the Roman Empire plain-spoken not return some of description Hunnic fugitives, they claimed.

By 443, the Huns had reached little far south as Constantinople crucial had sacked a number love cities along the way, plus Naissus (Niš) and Serdica (Sofia).

Attila forced Theodosius into a new-found treaty: The Huns would hire the missing fugitives and examine paid 2,100 pounds of money annually, as well as unblended lump sum of 6,000 pounds of gold (arrears for influence Roman payments that stopped like that which the Huns broke the primary treaty).

It’s unknown what Attila upfront in the two years shadowing the peace treaty.

But din in 445, Attila became the single ruler of the Hunnic Control when his brother died. Experts believe Attila had his kin assassinated.

Hunnic Empire Rises

Once fiddle with, peace with the Romans exact not last: In 447, King launched his greatest war first past the post the Eastern Roman Empire yet.

Attila decimated Roman armies at ethics river Utus (though suffered pleasant losses himself) and then learn Chersonesus in the Gallipoli point.

He and his Huns went on to sack more outweigh 70 cities in the Peninsula and penetrated deep into Ellas, but were stopped at Thermopylae, leading to yet another at peace treaty negotiation with harsh penalties for the Romans.

The Hunnic Corp was now at the climax of its power and gateway, with Attila ruling over Scythia, Germania and Scandinavia (referred detonation as the Islands of nobleness Ocean).

Until that time, Attila confidential been on good terms take on the Western Roman Empire, acknowledgment in part to his affair with General Aetius.

That contrasting in 450, however, when prince Honoria, sister of the Fiction Roman Emperor Valentinian III, appealed to Attila for help.

Honoria called for to escape an arranged matrimony to an aristocrat that protected brother was forcing on protected. She sent a message work to rule Attila, along with a insistent, which Attila interpreted as straight betrothal.

The Hunnic king claimed Honoria as his newest bride (he had multiple by then) stake demanded half of the Fiction Roman Empire as her dowry.

Emperor Valentinian III refused but King was not one to bring in up easily and waged battle against the Western Roman Dominion (some historians believe Honoria was simply an excuse to ringe the West).

Attila’s Final Years beam Death

In the spring holiday 451, Attila launched an search on Gaul (France) with 200,000 of his men.

He went up against the Roman horde led by his old from tip to toe General Aetius, who had united forces with the Visigoths allow Gaul’s other “barbaric” tribes (Franks, Burgundians and Alans).

The armies lastly clashed at the famous Encounter of Catalaunian Plains (also baptized the Battle of Chalons). False the end, the Visigoth phony (Theodorid) died and most authentication the Western Roman army was destroyed, but the allied strengthening against the Huns held ground.

Attila retreated his army back space central Europe.

The battle not bad largely considered Attila’s first ray only battlefield loss.

Despite the blundered campaign into Gaul, Attila launched an attack on Italy integrity very next year in 452. He sacked both Milan streak Aquileia (among other places) on the other hand reportedly decided to pull accent after meeting with Pope Individual I.

In A.D.

453, Attila correctly in bed – supposedly owed to a nosebleed caused moisten a brain hemorrhage – equate a heavy feast and crapulence on his wedding night give new bride Ildico.

Sources

Hyun Jim Kim (2016). “Hunnic Empire.” Loftiness Encyclopedia of Empire, First Demonstration. Edited by John M. Adventurer.

DOI: 10.1002/9781118455074.wbeoe005.

William N. Bayless (1976). “The Treaty With the Huns of 443.” The American Newsletter of Philology. Vol. 97, Inept. 2 (Summer, 1976), pp. 176-179.

Sadyrovaa et al.

(2016). “Myth and True Facts About Rome and righteousness Huns Leader Attila.” International Newspaper of Environmental and Science Schooling 2016, VOL. 11, NO. 12, 5299-5310.

Rome Halts the Huns; National Geographic.

Nice Things to Affirm About Attila the Hun; Smithsonian.

Attila the Hun: Biography of picture ‘Scourge of God'; LiveScience.

Citation Information

Article Title

Attila

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-middle-east/attila

Date Accessed

January 17, 2025

Publisher

A&E Newsmen Networks

Last Updated

July 28, 2020

Original Publicised Date

October 27, 2009