ATILLA, THE HUN - THE MAN WHO DARED TO TAKE ON ROME.

Described as being “born into the world to shake nations”, the king of the Hunnic Empire certainly shook Europe, but he would eventually bow to diplomacy, writes Miles Russell.

Early summer AD 452, and the whole of northern Italy is ablaze. The city of Aquileia, one of the largest and wealthiest in the Roman Empire, is the first to fall to the enemy, its treasures looted and population butchered without mercy. The towns of Bergamo, Brescia, Mantua, Milan, Padua, Verona and Vicenza follow, together with the villas, temples, farms and all other centres of population. hose fortunate enough to escape the horror flee to the relative safety of the islands and marshy lagoons of the Adriatic. Many believe this to be Armageddon, the end of days, a war of terror coordinated by none other than Satan himself.

SCOURGE OF GOD

Attila the Hun, later branded as “the scourge of God”, is arguably one of history’s most infamous characters, standing as the ultimate barbarian. He was certainly a powerful warlord, but he was also an astute politician, keeping a diverse confederation of tribes together for decades, and a successful crime lord, extorting money from his enemies with a ruthlessness that exceeded any later mafia don.

Unfortunately we know very little of the man himself, for the Huns failed to write their own version of history. In fact, ‘Attila’ may not have been his real name, for ‘Ata-ila’ may be translated as ‘Little-Father’, akin perhaps to the title ‘Atatürk’ (the ‘Father of the Turks’) later given to Mustafa Kemal, first president of Turkey. For information surrounding Attila’s life and world-view, we have to rely on the writing of his bitterest enemies, the Romans.

Born into Hunnic aristocracy early in the fifth century, Attila and his elder brother Bleda were nephews of King Rugila. he Huns were a nomadic, pastoralist society who, from the fourth century AD, had been migrating west towards the Roman Empire. Growing up, Bleda and Attila would have learnt to ride almost as soon as they could walk. hey would also have been trained as archers, for the Huns were renowned for being able to dispatch arrows with great accuracy from horseback in battle. He was certainly known to have had many wives, polygamy helping to bind the Hunnic clans together.

When King Rugila died in 434, he was succeeded by his nephews. We don’t know how Bleda and Attila got on, but they seem to have at least tolerated each other, successfully co-ruling for over a decade. In 445, however, Bleda was dead. Some hinted at Attila’s involvement and, whilst there is no direct evidence, dispatching his brother in a bid for power would certainly fit what we later know of his character.

MONEY WITH MENACES

By the mid-fifth century, Hunnic influence spread from the Danube to the Volga and the Baltic to the Black Sea. In reality, this immense ‘empire’ was no more than a loose coalition of tribes, bound together by the genius and military prowess of Attila. Priscus, an envoy sent from Constantinople to Attila’s court, came face to face with the King, and observed that “he was a very wise counsellor, merciful to those who sought it and loyal to those he had accepted as friends”. In fact, so generous could he be to his supporters that, Priscus noted, many considered life with the Huns to be better than in the Roman Empire; corruption, injustice and taxation all being unknown. While Attila lived, his empire was a successful business operation.

The Huns soon discovered that large amounts of cash could be extorted from the Roman Empire merely from threats, both direct and implied. hroughout the 420s and 30s, the Eastern Roman emperor Theodosius II paid the Huns 350lb of gold a year just to stay away. By 442, this had increased to 1,000lb. When, in 447, heodosius refused to pay, Attila took an army directly into the Balkans and began burning towns. heodosius swiftly capitulated, immediately agreeing to settle arrears and restart payment, Attila raising the annual sum to 2,100lb of gold. he Hunnic King was evidently not a man to cross.

Mindful of the effect that Roman luxuries could have on his people, Attila tightly controlled all movement across the frontier. He decreed that no Hun could settle within the Roman world nor serve in its army, all ‘deserters’ being returned to him for punishment by the subservient Roman state.

Instructing the Emperor Theodosius to create a no-man’s-land along the border, Attila was able to limit any form of direct contact, this early ‘Iron Curtain’ establishing cultural apartheid between Roman and Hun. Now Roman envoys had to come directly to Attila’s capital at Margus(Požarevac, near Belgrade) in order to negotiate treaties and pay protection money.

Priscus, who provides an eyewitness account to life inside Attila’s court, notes that, after being kept waiting for a number of days, ambassadors were invited to a banquet in the great hall. Here Attila, dressed simply and without ornament, sat on a raised couch at the head of the company. According to Priscus, the guests all received “a luxurious meal, served on silver plate”, but Attila, ever aware of theatrical nature of the feast, “ate nothing but meat on a wooden trencher”. His cup too was of wood, whilst the visitors drank from goblets of gold.

BARBARIAN INVASION

In the spring of AD 451, Attila crossed the river Rhine at the head of a vast army. The reasons for this sudden change of strategy, from extortion to military intervention, are unclear. It may be that, in order to stay in power, he required a major demonstration of strength. Alternatively, it may be that he felt the Western Roman Empire simply hadn’t paid him enough respect (or gold). History tells us that the catalyst was a letter from Honoria, sister of the Western emperor Valentinian, pleading with Attila to come and rescue her from an arranged marriage. Whatever the true reason, the Huns were now inside the Empire, burning, looting and killing large numbers of civilians.

Mobilising the defence was Aetius, chief general of the Western Roman army. Aetius had spent his youth as a hostage with the Huns and had grown up with Attila. Even though the two men were on opposing sides, they evidently had great respect for one another. Gathering what regular troops he had, Aetius rallied an anti-Hun coalition of barbarian tribes and hurriedly marched to battle. On the morning of 20 June 451, both sides clashed on the Catalaunian Plains, near Troyes, northeast France. Over 160,000 died on either side, the Roman historian Jordanes noting the fields were “piled high with bodies” and the rivers “swollen with blood”. It was close, but the Huns were beaten.

Curiously, Aetius allowed Attila to leave the battlefield, possibly because he felt that the Huns may yet prove useful to him. Perhaps he was simply letting a respected opponent retreat with honour intact. It would ultimately prove to be a costly mistake. The following year, Attila returned with an even larger army, this time striking deep into northern Italy.

RETURN OF THE KING

Following the destruction of Aquileia, the Western emperor Valentinian sent ambassadors to Attila hoping to negotiate terms. Among the envoys was Leo, Bishop of Rome. We don’t know what was said at the meeting, but when it finished, the Huns simply packed up and left. his was spun by the Church as “he Great Miracle”, Rome saved by the word of God and the bravery of Leo, his representative on Earth, and was immortalised in a painting by Raphael. Here, the saintly Leo defiantly stares Attila down, whilst behind him Saints Peter and Paul descend from heaven, fully armed and up for a fight. Upon seeing this, the satanic Attila recoils in abject terror.

The reality was perhaps more down-to-earth. The Emperor offered a complete and unconditional surrender, agreeing to all of Attila’s demands, promising him Honoria as a wife and offering a dowry to be paid in gold. Attila, on his part, was probably also keen to leave Italy, for not only was the campaign taking its toll (food was short and disease rife), but also his army was starting to fall apart.

The retreat from Italy marked the beginning of the end for Attila. Returning home, Jordanes tells us, the King took another wife and, after “he had given himself up to excessive joy” on his wedding night, died of a nosebleed brought on by drunkenness. Given that Attila was renowned for moderation (at least as far as alcohol was concerned), it is more likely that he was assassinated. His death deprived the Huns of a great and charismatic leader. Within a few years, their empire had disintegrated.

It may have been no more than a violent, short-lived robber state, but the impact of the Hunnic Empire upon the political, religious and cultural institutions of Europe was profound. The meeting between Leo and Attila proved a turning point for the Western Empire, demonstrating that it was the Bishop of Rome who wielded ultimate power. Arguably, it was this that cemented the status of the papacy, and ended the secular supremacy of the emperors.

By Miles Russell in "History Revealead"- Collector's Editions - History Greatest Leaders 2017, UK, excerpts pp.22-26.Digitized, adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.

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