
Date sent:        Mon, 29 Apr 1996 00:56:19 -0700

Attila and the Huns: Horsemen of the Apocalypse

     Few men in the annals of history inspire such horrific infamy as Attila and the Huns. 
     Although the Huns had swept down from the Steppes of Asia onto the western edges of the
     Roman Empire as early as the late fourth century, it was not until some time after 435,
     that Attila became leader of the Huns.  This transition would prove to mark the
     beginning of what would be one of the greatest death blows to the already ailing Roman
     Empire.  For under Attila, the Huns would ravage the European continent to such an
     extent never felt before and almost unparalleled since.

     As a precursor to the aggressive and fierce campaign Attila would one day let loose on
     Europe, the Huns had established themselves with the reputations of biblical monsters
     amongst the Europeans.  Known for mastering the art of horseback riding and their
     bloodthirsty savagery in battle, the Huns were a force to be reckoned with.  Stout in
     stature, bow-legged (from constantly being on their horses)in stance, and mantled with
     grotesquely scared faces (purposely done at birth to inspire fear into the hearts of
     their enemies), the Huns proved to be just as savage in appearance, as they were in
     action.  

     Since their arrival in the west, the Huns had from the outset, caused an unsettling of
     nerves as well as peoples.  In 372 AD, the Huns destroyed the Ostrogothic Empire of
     Hermanic, and temporarily absorbed these eastern Goths, into their own population. 
     Next they let loose on the Visigoths, under Athanaric on the Dniester River, and forced
     them to flee into the Roman Empire.  This event marked the first time a peoples had
     ever been forced into mass migration.  It is also, more important to note, signified
     the beginning of a barbarian presence in the Roman Empire that would eventually not be
     so much assimilated, as it would dominate.  

     The Huns crossed the Carpathian Mountains, and setup their so-called 'headquarters' on
     the Great Hungarian Plain.  It was from this vantage point that they would eventually
     raid southward into the Balkans, and westward into Italy and Gaul.  Also, it was the
     place where, in just after the year 400 AD, a Hunnic ruler by the name of Munzak, bore
     a son, whom he named Attila (Attila being the hunnic word for 'iron').  Munzak,
     however, soon died after the birth of his son, which meant it was up to Munzak's
     brother Ruga to raise both Attila and his older brother Bleda.  Attila's uncle taught
     him to ride a horse before he could even walk, and use both a bow and a saber, before
     the age of five.  It was also in Attila's youth, around 410 AD, that he would befriend
     a prominent young Roman citizen, whom had been sent to the Hunnic court as a sign of
     peace between the Romans and Huns.  The name of this boy was Flavius Aetius, a name not
     to be soon forgotten.  Before long though, Attila was sent to the court of the Western
     Roman Empire, to live as a hostage himself.  There, he learned the Roman's language,
     culture and military tactics, all of which would be of great importance later on in
     Attila's future campaigns against the Roman Empire.  It was also while Attila lived
     here, amongst the Romans, that he learned to despise their decadent and excessive
     lifestyles.  In 420 AD, Attila departed back for his homeland, with much knowledge of
     the Roman civilization.

     During Attila's 20s and 30s, he fought as a respected warrior in his uncle Ruga's army,
     and by the time Attila had reached the age of 32, he had already invaded Italy twice. 
     Both times however, it is important to note, were done in aid of his boyhood friend
     Aetius.  Attila was of course handsomely paid for his services in fending off the
     Visigoths, but it was Aetius who gained the most, for he won the powerful position as
     the Master of Soldiers in Rome.  

     By the time of Attila's accession as the leader of his own people in 433 AD, however,
     his aggressive and ambitious barbarian nature, was personally restrained in action. 
     Due to this, he was rather quite impressive in council, and was not to be considered a
     savage by any means, except for his looks.  Indeed, after his accession to the throne,
     "his head, rather than his hand, achieved the conquest of the North;  and the fame of
     an adventurous soldier was usefully exchanged for that of a prudent and successful
     general."  It is more likely then, that Attila gained such a vicious reputation as
     being the "Scourge of God" through several other contributing factors.  For one, Attila
     epitomized the quintessential Hun.  He as did all Huns, looked different, acted
     different and lived different than any known peoples of that time in Europe.  The Huns
     were barbarian, even to the barbarians, and it is for this reason, a clash of cultures
     so to say, that they were viewed as being almost sub-human.  Another reason for
     Attila's bad image was due to the anti-Hun propaganda, that the church had been
     spreading throughout the Roman Empire.  This created horror stories of a demon-man, to
     which many people became horrified.  A final, and notably substantial reason for
     Attila's besmirched image, was due to the way the Huns treated their enemies.  They
     burned and looted towns, raped, killed and beat the inhabitants, and raised churches
     and monasteries without remorse.  Although this was an indeed brutal and different way
     of waging battle, it was purposely  done for the demoralizing psychological effect it
     gave.  Hence, a menacing image made it easier to intimidate ones enemies.  

     Attila, himself was a rather humble man, who although was surrounded by wealth, never
     showed it.  He lived in clean but very 'plain' quarters, and "in everything else he
     showed himself temperate; his cup was of wood, while to the guests were given goblets
     of gold and silver.  His dress, too, was quite simple, affecting only to be clean.  The
     sword he carried at his side, the latchets of his Scythian shoes, the bridle of his
     horse were not adorned . . .".  This aversion towards decadencey, could probably be
     attributed to the disgust he felt of living in excess which he got while living in Rome
     as a young boy.  He saw how it weakened the Roman Empire, and thus took personal
     precautions to avoid contaminating himself with such an exorbitant lifestyle.  Attila
     may have also been displaying that he felt himself no better than any other man of whom
     he ruled over.        

     Attila's first decision as partial leader of the Huns, was to demand double the annual
     subsidy from the Eastern Emperor, Theodosius II, which had been normally collected up
     to that time.  These subsidies were little more than subtle forms of extortion, yet as
     what would become usual, Attila got what he demanded.  Peace between the Eastern Roman
     Empire and the Huns was extremely fragile, and it only took specific instances to
     shatter that peace.  Such as what happened in 440 AD, when a Roman bishop was caught
     stealing artifacts from buried Hun dead.  The Huns under Attila and Bleda, crossed the
     Danube in the Eastern Empire, and by 442 AD had made it as far as Thrace, until they
     were halted by the great Eastern Roman general, Aspar. Peace was finally agreed upon
     with the Eastern Roman Emperor, Theodosius II, but only at an initial cost of six
     thousand pounds of gold, and an annual cost of one thousand pounds of gold, all at the
     Romans expense.  In 444 AD, Attila's brother Bleda died, which left him solely in
     charge of the Huns.  In 447 AD, Attila again attacked the Eastern Empire, however this
     time he had managed to conquer the entirety of the Balkans (i.e. present day Greece,
     Bulgaria, and the former Yugoslavia).  A peace treaty was again drawn up, this time
     however, as was to be expected, Attila demanded more gold, 2, 100 pounds worth, which
     he would receive annually. 

      With the east thus being subjugated, Attila turned towards the west in the 440's, for
      future conquest.  Attila had amassed an army made up of numerous barbarian tribes and
      ethnic groups, including many Romans.  The core of Attila's army was nonetheless,
      still made up solely of the infamous mounted calvary that was a staple of the Huns
      success up to that time.  The Huns were masters of rapid and brutal warfare.  They
      could strike anywhere at almost any given time, due to their mounted mobility.  They
      would ride up on their enemies and from a safe distance let loose a volley of arrows
      that blackened the skies.  Attached to these arrows were whistles that screamed
      through the darkened sky, creating a menacing psychological effect on their victims. 
      The Huns would then retreat for a distance, and then suddenly turn back on their
      pursuers, who were caught off guard.  From there, the Hunnic infantry would make short
      work of their prey, due, if not to their skill in combat, then simply to their sheer
      numbers.  Estimates of Attila's army range from as low as 50, 000 to as high as half a
      million in number.

     Attila set his expansionist sights next on the province of Gaul.  Although still
     considered to be under Roman rule, Gaul had long been overrun by barbarian tribes. 
     Nevertheless, many large Roman cities still existed throughout the province, ripe for
     the taking.  Attila, who had become a shrewd negotiator and benevolent ruler, thought
     it somewhat necessary to find a substantial reason for invading the West.  He got that
     reason from the Western Emperor, Valentinian III's sister, Honoria.  Honoria had been
     caught in a love affair with her steward, who had been subsequently executed.  Honoria
     was kept in seclusion, and it was from there that she managed to have her ring smuggled
     out to Attila, asking for his aid.  Attila took this as a marriage proposal, and in
     return asked/demanded that he receive half of the Western Empire as a dowry.  For
     Attila, this was the perfect opportunity to take Gaul.  So, in 451 AD, Attila crossed
     the Rhine with his army of Huns, Ostrogoths, Burgundians, Alans, and other small tribal
     factions, using Honoria as a rouse for taking Gaul.  Before long, the cities of Metz,
     Rhemis, Mainz, Strasbourg, Cologne, Worms, and Trier, were all sacked and burned.  For
     unknown reasons, Attila spared Paris, although some believe it was because the city
     harboured St. Genvieve.  Attila believed in karma and soothsayers, which probably lead
     him to believe attacking Paris, would be bad luck.

     Next, Attila turned towards the Champagne region of Gaul, which held the Roman city of
     Orleans.  The city was put to siege, but to Attila's unexpected surprise, Aetius had
     shown up, with a force of upwards of 50, 000 men, which he had managed to put together,
     of Celts, Visigoths, Franks, Burgundians and Romans.  All of these tribes which had
     been the traditional enemies of Rome, had now temporarily aligned into one massive
     force, in order to take out the marauding Attila.  The siege on Orleans was halted, and
     Attila and his men retreated out onto the Catalonian Plains near Chalons, were one of
     the greatest battles of history took place. 

     Aetius struck down hard against his former ally.  The Roman leader along with the
     Visigothic King, Theodoric, managed to envelope the Hunnic forces on both sides, and in
     doing so, stole the Huns of their greatest weapon, which was the mobility of their
     calvary.  Confounded by heavy losses, Attila prepared for his demise by having a
     funeral pyre set up to have himself burned alive, in the event of his conceivable
     defeat.  Aetius however let him retreat, for his side too, had suffered great losses,
     and it was also his intention to maintain order by keeping the barbarians of Gaul
     united behind Rome.

     The Huns continued their long retreat across the Rhine, and marched vengefully over the
     Julian Alps, through a harsh winter.  The Huns by this point were down, but definitely
     not beaten, for "War has long been their industry, and defeat has not dampened their
     spirits or drive.".  In 452 AD, Attila set out to re-make his claim on Honoria, and
     entered Italy with an unbridled fury.  His first target was the great city of Aquileia,
     which he laid siege to for three long months.  When he entered it, he and his warriors
     raised it to the ground and paid special attention to destroying the city's magnificent
     harbour.  The city's inhabitants fled to the marshes, where the Huns dared not tread,
     for the soft ground was too unstable for their horses.  The fugitives established a new
     city which they named Venne Atsium (trans.- "I made it this far."), or as it is
     presently known today - Venice.  From that point, Attila and his men continued to
     ravage the Northern Italian country side, giving rise to the Roman belief that they
     were the 'horsemen of the Apocalypse'.  

     Despite this initial momentum, three major events halted Attila's advances into Italy,
     before he could do any more damage.  The first being that a bad case of malaria had
     broken out amongst his men, which weakened his power substantially.  Secondly, food
     shortages due to an Italian famine which had occurred in the previous years of 450-451
     AD, had weakened his forces even further.  Finally, the Eastern Emperor Marcian, had
     sent out troops across the Danube, to attack the Huns territory in the Great Hungarian
     Plains.  This caused Attila's attention to be diverted from his present course of
     action, to what was going on back at 'home'.  Fate, however, would spare Attila once
     again. 

     In 452 AD, the Western Roman Emperor unwittingly sued for peace.  Pope Leo I, was sent
     out along with an embassy from Rome, to meet with Attila.  Roman legend claims that the
     heathen Hunnic King turned back due to the eloquence of the Pope, and the warnings that
     he gave Attila of a possible divine intervention by God, had Attila wished to pursue
     his present course of action.  What is more likely to have occurred though, is that
     Attila agreed to peace due to his weakened position and also due to a large subsidy
     that he was more than likely paid by the Emperor.

     Thus, Attila and his men rode off in 453 AD, laden down with the bounty they had
     occurred both from the great cities they had sacked, as well as from the treasure they
     were paid off by.  Attila's castle at Estagrom-gron, on the banks of the Danube in
     Hungary was to be the sight of a large party, held both in triumph of the Huns
     conquests, as well as in honour of Attila's recent marriage to Ildico, the daughter of
     a Germanic prince.  This was to be Attila's last appearance though, for that night he
     died asleep in his drunkenness - drowned on his own nosebleed.     

     Attila was buried in a tomb lined with lead, which represented his conquests, as well
     as gold and silver, which represented the tribute he received from both Roman Empires. 
     His tomb was laid to permanently rest at the bottom of the Theiss River in Hungry. 
     Attila's saddle, clothes, and weapons, on the other hand were burned while a group of
     the Huns best horsemen circled around, and looking on "having cut their faces deep with
     knives, so that they may mourn the great warrior not with tears, but with the blood of
     men.".

     Attila had had many sons, but as they all wrestled for power after their father's
     death, the Hunnic Empire fell to pieces around them.  Even Attila's favorite son
     Ernoch, who had been chosen by a great Hun prophet, to raise the Hunnic Empire back up
     after his father's death, was to become of nothing.  Thus, by the year 469 AD, the
     great Hunnic Confederation, had virtually "scattered to the winds".

     In conclusion, the Huns under their most formidable leader Attila, combined to sap one
     of the greatest civilizations ever, of both its wealth and pride.  In war, Attila's
     fury was unparalleled, and even when calm, the peace agreements he made were corrosive.
      Punishing the Romans for becoming weak and living such decadent lifestyles, the best
     epitaph for Attila, may just be the one written on a 1500 year old fresco on a
     monastery wall in Pavia, Italy, which reads, Attila the Hun - 'Flagellum Dei' - the
     Scourge of God.  

Name: attila.txt
Uploader: Tom D.
E-mail: tom@ionline.net
Language: English
Subject: History
Title: Attila and the Huns: Horsemen of the Apocolypse
Grade: 84%
System: University
Age: 21 years old (when handed in)
Country: Canada
Comments: An accurate account of the life and reign of Attila the Hun. Work not cited.
Where I got Evil House of Cheat Address: From a friend
