Ancient History of Central Asia - Introduction of Ancient Northern Huna in Eurasia PDF

AncientHistoryofCentralAsiaIntroductionofAncientNorthernHunainEurasia(Art.
08)
*Notacopyrightmaterial,onlyastudymaterialCompiledBy:AdeshKatariya
AncientHistoryof
CentralAsia
(Articleno03:NotesonAncientNorthernHunainEurasia)
Imp.Note: Till now many researches publoished on the history of

Great yuezhi tribe but schollers are not in position to clearify all
happinings in a series. In this article, we are trying to compile all
happinings as per their timings. We also would like to clarify that the
material under this article is not a copyright matter and main
motive of this article is, to attract good scholers to discuss and
research on the great Yuezhi Tribes and its clans. We are proposing
current forms of Clans of Gurjars v/s Yuezhi Tribe origin Clans
(described on Socond Page).
CompiledBy:
AdeshKatariya
(ChemicalTechnologistandHistoryResearcher)
Email:plast.adesh@gmail.com,Contactno:+919540992618
AncientHistoryofCentralAsiaIntroductionofAncientNorthernHunainEurasia(Art.08)
ProposeddescendentClans(Gotras)/currentnamesofAncientClansof
Yuezhi(GurjarswerecalledYuezhiinChineeseLiterature)Origin:
ClanofGurjars NamesinAncientLiteratures MajorRullingArea
TobedefinedNext
version
RulingClanofGreatYuezhi TarimBasin,China
Kashana/Kusanna Kushana NorthwestIndia,Pakistan
Khatana Kings of Khotan under Kushana
Empire
Khotan,WesternChina
Bokkan Xim() Walkhan,NortheastedgeofAfghanistan
Nagadi/Naggars Nagar of Kashmir under
Kushanaempire
Kashmir
Bhatti Bhati of Doab under Kushana
Kingdom
WesternUPState,India
Kataria/Kadara/Kidaria Kidarite kingdom under kink
Kidara
Afganistan
TobedefinedNext
version Shuangmi()
Shughnan,BadakhshanProvince,
Afganistan
TobedefinedNext
version Xidun()
Balkh,NorthernAfghanistan.
TobedefinedNext
version Dm()
Termez,southernmostpartof
Uzbekistan
Huna WhiteHuna/Hepthelites
CentralAsia
TobedefinedLater
version Xionites
AfganistanandPakistan
Karhana/KaraHuna
NorthernHuna/Ak(Black)
Khazar
GeorgiaandWestAsia
Panwar/Parmar GurjarPratihar
NorthernandCentralIndia
Chandela/Chandila Chandela
CentralIndia
TobedefinedNext
version Chalukya
WestandSouthIndia
Chawda Chap
WestandSouthIndia
Chechi Chechi
Chechenya,NorthWestAsia
TobedefinedNext
version Gurja/Gurza
Georgia,Gurjistan
BadGujar BadGujar
WestIndia
Tanwar/Tomer Tanwar
Delhi,india
Mavi Mavai
Mavanaregion,Meerut,India
Northern Hunas-Introduction:
InancientliteraturetheHunswerefirstmentionedbyPtolemy(3.5.10),whoattestsforthe
firsthalformiddleofthe2ndcenturyC.E.apopulationoftheKhounoi"togetherwithsix
other tribes mentioned by name in the Ukrainian forest and steppe areas. A detailed
analysis of the text has made it possible to locate the habitations of the Khounoi at the
time, whose identification with the later Huns is beyond doubt (Kiessling, col. 2591;
Altheim,I,1959,pp.3ff.;Werner,p.487).TheylivedbetweentheDonandManychinthe
north,theupperreachesoftheKubaninthesouth,andtheSeaofAzovinthewest.Tothe
east, their habitations may have extended as far as the Caspian Sea and the area near the
mouthoftheVolga(Werner,p.488).Duringthefollowing200yearstheydonotappearto
have moved, since Ammianus Marcellinus continued to locate the Huns behind the
Maeoticmarshes,andhenceneartheSeaofAzov(Amm.Marc.,31.2.1).Hissimultaneous
statement that the settlement of the Huns had extended as far as the Arctic Ocean has
beentheobjectofvariousattemptsatinterpretation(cf.Kiessling,col.2583;Sinor,p.179,
Haussig, 1992, p. 146) but is hardly credible. Important, however, is the fact that Ptolemy
andAmmianusbothlocatedtheHunsintheneighborhoodofthe IranianSarmatianAlans,
and that the land of the Alans between the Sea of Azov and the Caucasus was still
consideredbyByzantinehistoriographyasthecountryoforiginoftheHuns(Priscus,frag.1;
Procopius,Bella4.5;Agathias,5.11).TheAlansareknowntohavebeenthefirstvictimsof
the sudden expansion of the Huns between 370 and 375 C.E., and to have been forced by
thelattertoparticipateinsubsequentmilitaryexpeditions(Amm.Marc.,31.3.1).
A direct confrontation between the Huns and the Persian empire first occurred twenty
years after the beginning of the great migration. In the summer of 395, hordes of Huns
crossed the Don near its estuary, turned southeast, and made their way through the
CaucasusintoPersiaandtheRomanprovinces.WhiletheplunderingoftheRomanareasis
variouslyattested(forsources,seeMaenchenHelfen,pp.3842),onlyPriscus(frag.11)and
theLiberCalipharum(Chroniconmiscellaneum3.4;tr.,pp.1067)reporttheinvasionofthe
Persian empire. Under the leadership of Basikh and Koursikh, a detachment of Huns rode
down the valleys of the Euphrates and Tigris to Ctesiphon. Upon the news that a Persian
armywasmarchingtowardsthem,theHunsturnedback;buttheywereeventuallycaught.
ThePersiansthenmanagedtokillsomeoftheHuns,totakealmosttheirentirebootyfrom
them, and allegedly to free 18,000 prisoners. The rest of the Huns troops made their way
backintothesteppeovertheDarbandpass.ThisinroadintoPersiawasrememberedbythe
RomansandtheHunsmorethanfiftyyearslater:whenPriscuswasstayingatAttilascourt
in449C.E.,heheardfromtheWesternRomanenvoyRomulusthatthekingwasplanninga
campaign against Persia, which was to be carried out on the route previously taken by
Basikh and Koursikh (Priscus, frag. 11). Attilas death in 453 C.E. saved the Sasanians from
anarmedencounterwiththeHunswhiletheywereattheheightoftheirmilitarypower.
In the tribal movements which took place after the dissolution of the European empire of
the Huns, the Sabires were particularly prominent. After being ousted by the Avars from
theirprevioushomebetweentheAltaiandtheUral,theypushedtheSaragureswestward.
The latter then conquered the Akatziresin 466 C.E. and proceeded against Persia (Priscus,
frag. 47), possibly goaded on by Byzantium (Moravcsik, I, p. 65). The later fate of the
Saragures is unknown. A tribe which soon after 500 C.E. invaded northern Iran and was
simplycalledHuns(Ounnoi)byProcopius(Bella1.8)mightbeidentifiedwiththeSabires
themselves, who from then on participated in the PersianByzantine wars for several
decades,sidingalternatelywiththePersiansandtheEasternRomans.Intheconflictsofthe
mid6thcentury,bothwarringpartiesweresupportedbySabiredetachments.Afterhaving
foughtonthePersiansidein573C.E.,theSabiressubjectedthemselvesayearlatertothe
EasternRomanemperorandweresettledintheByzantinepartofArmenia.
IranianHuns:
The term Huns was also used for several tribes who posed a continuous threat to
northeastern Iran and northwestern India from the 4th century C.E. Earlier research
attemptedtoestablishaconnectionbetweenthedifferenttribesmentionedinthesources,
andtoconsiderthemallasHephthalites(cf.Ghirshman,pp.69134).Altheim(III,1961,p.7)
viewed the Hephthalites as the original tribe of the Huns, from which the European Huns
had split off. In addition, he also assumed a Turkish origin for all these tribes (Altheim, I,
1959,pp.45ff.).However,thisfartoosimplisticperspectivehasbeensucceededbyamore
discriminating view based on Robert Gbls research. According to Gbl, Iran and India
underwent several successive invasions by clearly distinct tribes, whom he referred to
collectivelyasIranianHuns.TheyapparentlyhadnoconnectionwiththeEuropeanHuns,
butmayhavebeencausallyrelatedwiththeirmovement.Aprominentcharacteristic,which
they shared with all other Central Asian power constellations, was their ethnic mixture,
amongwhichtheelitewassaidtobeIranian,oratleastexpresseditselfassuchthroughits
coinage(Gbl,1978,p.107).Itisnoteworthythatthetribesinquestiondeliberatelycalled
themselves Huns in order to frighten their enemies.
Accounts vaguely suggest that the Huns had already settled in the area north west of the
Caspian Sea as early as the 3rd century. Around 370 A.D. the Huns moved west and
destroyed their neighboring Alans. They continued westward and destroyed the sedentary
OstrogothickingdomofEramanarich,inducingwidespreadpanicintoEurope.Ataroundthe
same time, another Hun force crossed the Caucasus and ravaged Armenia, penetrating as
farasSyria.ThestoryoftheHunsbeginshere,whentheirferocityhasfinallyearnedthema
placeinthechronicles.
Although the Huns soon became a prominent force in Europe, they did not have the
political unity to stage a massive and serious campaign. More often than not, the Huns
beforeAttilawerealooseconfederationofmanykingsratherthananempire.Thereexisted
thetitleof"highking"butfewofsuchrankhadthecompetencetocontrolalloftheHuns.
For the most part the Huns attacked and operated in separately commanded groups
withoutaunifiedobjective.
EarlyHistoryofHuna:
InspiteofthefactthatthefirsthistoricallyrecordedTurkishstateisthatoftheAsianHuns
in the third century B.C., it is highly probable that many centuries earlier major part of
Yuezhi peoples migrated from tochristan to the south and west. These earlier migrations
were due to several motives. European Hunas subjugated Tibet, the Tunghuzs, the Small
Yuechis, and some other tribes. Some went as far as Scythia, where they were able to
conquer a number of less fearsome tribes. Combined, these peoples became the Huns.
During the last two centuries scholars in different disciplines of the social sciences have
advanced various theories about the origins of the Western Huns. Recent cultural and
ethnographic sources have made it clear that the WesternHuns wereof the yuezhi origin,
andthattheywerethedescendentsoftheAsianHuns.
The northern Huns began to migrate towards the west at the beginning of the second
century, where they reunited with the tribes of Chichi. Due to the pressure of nomadic
tribesinthemiddleofthefourthcentury,theHunsbeganamassivemigrationwestwards.
TheHunsbeforeAttila:
By432C.E.,theHunswereunitedunderRugila,whosedeathin434lefthisnephewsAttila
andBleda(thesons ofRugila'sbrotherMundzuk)incontrol overalltheunitedHuntribes.
At the time of their accession, the Huns were bargaining with Byzantine emperor
Theodosius II's envoys over the return of several renegade tribes who had taken refuge
within the Byzantine Empire. The following year Attila and Bleda met with the imperial
legation at Margus (present day Poarevac) and, seated on horseback in the Hunnic
manner,negotiatedasuccessfultreaty.

EarlylifeofAttila:
Attila'sfather,Mundzuk,wasthebrotherofthekingsOctarandRugila,whoreignedjointly
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. His family was from a noble lineage, but it is uncertain whether
they constituted a royal dynasty. Attila's birthdate is not known, but the journalist ric
Deschodt and the writer Herman Schreiber have proposed a date of 395. However, the
historianIaroslavLebedynskyandarchaeologistKatalinEscherpreferanestimatebetween
the390sandthefirstdecadeofthefifthcentury.Attheageoffifteen,Attilawasofferedas
a hostage to the Imperial court of the Western Roman Empire to cement a peace treaty
between the western Romans and the Huns. While as a hostage, Attila was to learn the
Roman language and military techniques. Attila also witnessed first hand Rome's great
wealthandwasrevoltedbythedecadenceandcorruptionthatinfectedRome'swayoflife.
AttilaandBleda'sRisetoPower:
Rua died in 434 history does not record the cause of death. He was succeeded by his
nephews, Bleda and Attila. It's not clear why the older brother Bleda was unable to take
solepower.PerhapsAttilawasstrongerormorepopular.
ThebrotherstriedtoextendtheirempireintoPersiainthelate430s,butweredefeatedby
theSassanids.TheysackedEasternRomancitiesatwill,andConstantinopleboughtpeacein
exchangeforanannualtributeof700lbsofgoldin435,risingto1,400lbsin442.
Meanwhile, the Huns fought as mercenaries in the Western Roman army against the
Burgundians(in436)andtheGoths(in439).
TheDeathofBleda:
In445,Bledasuddenlydied.AswithRua,nocauseofdeathisrecorded,butRomansources
from that time and modern historians alike believe that Attila probably killed him (or had
himkilled).
HistoryofNorthernHuna:
AsthesoleKingoftheHuns,AttilainvadedtheEasternRomanEmpire,seizingtheBalkans,
and threatening earthquakeravaged Constantinople in 447. The Roman Emperor sued for
peace, handing over 6,000 pounds of gold in backtribute, agreeing to pay 2,100 pounds
annually, and returning fugitive Huns who had fled to Constantinople. These refugee Huns
wereprobablythesonsornephewsofthekingskilledbyRua.Attilahadthemimpaled.
Intheyear420AD,afterfiveyearsincaptivity,Attilawasreturnedtohispeople.Attilahad
learned a great deal about his foe and swore he would return to Italy one day not as a
hostage, but as a conqueror. It was during his return home that Attila was to meet the
hostage offered by the western Romans, one Flavius Aetius. The two young men
immediately became friends and were inseparable, during his captivity Aetius also learned
the Hunnic way of life as well as their military techniques. The friendship forged between
thetwowastohaveeverlastingeffectsonboththeirlivesinwaystheycouldnotpossibly
imagine.
King Rua died in 434 AD and was succeeded by Attila and his brother Bleda. The two co
ruled peacefully for the next seven years until in 441, the Eastern Roman Emperor,
Theodosiushaltedtheannualpaymentsofgold.ThiswastheopportunityAttilawaswaiting
for,Attilahadhisbrotherkilledanddecidedonapolicyofnationalexpansion.
TheHunscrossedtheDanuberiverandinvadedtheBalkanprovincesoftheEasternRoman
Empire.TheHunsravagedanddestroyedthecountryside,burningeverytownandcityin
theirpathtotheground.NearthecapitaloftheEasternEmpire,Constantinople,theHuns
utterlydestroyedtheRomanarmysentagainstthematthebattleofGallipoli.
Attila had given specific orders that everything in their path was to be destroyed and no
livingthingspared,theEasternRomansweretopaydearforthislatestinsult.Theodosius
sent the Eastern Roman army to stop Attila, but the Romans were once again completely
destroyedatthebattleofMarcianopolis.
WithnoRomanforceslefttoopposethem,theHunsrangedsouthtopillageGreece.Attila
had now conquered most of the Balkan region of the Eastern Empire and then turned his
army northwest towards the Eastern capitol of Constantinople. Outside the gates of the
great city the Hunnic army made camp, the inhabitants were terrifiedand Theodosius had
nochoicebuttoonceagainsueforpeace.
ThetermsofferedtoTheodosiuswereveryharsh,Attilademandedanimmediatepayment
of 7,000 lbs of gold and 1,000 lbs to be paid annually. To raise the 7,000 lbs up front,
Theodosius emptied the treasury, stripped every statue and monument of its wealth and
even went so far as to confiscate gold from the citizens of the city itself. With Attila's
wagonsoverflowingwithriches,theHunscrossedtheDanubeandreturnedhome.
Since becoming king in 434 AD, Attila had united the warring Hunnic tribes into an
unstoppable war machine. Attila's rein now stretched along the borders of both the East
andWesternRomanEmpiresincludingallthebarbariantribeswithin.Justonesingleword
fromAttilacouldmakekingdomscrumbleandempirestremble.Withhisinvinciblearmies,
Attila was to become the most powerful man on the face of the earth. Attila and Belda
remained out of Roman sight for the next five years as they tried to invade the Persian
Empire. A defeat in Armenia caused them to abandon this attempt and return their
attention to Europe. In 440, they reappeared on the borders of the Roman Empire,
attacking merchants at a market on the north bank of the Danube. The Huns' first major
raid under Attila was launched across the Danube in 440 against the Eastern Empire.
Whetherbycoincidenceordesign,itcoincidedwiththeVandals'siegeofCarthage.Roman
troops that had been dispatched to forestall the Carthage threat had to be recalled by
Emperor Theodosius to defend the capital. As a result, Carthage and Africa were lost.
Attila's warriors sacked Belgrade and numerous other centers70 according to historian
EdwardGibbondefeatingRomanarmiesthreetimesinsuccessionandpenetratingasfaras
the outskirts of Constantinople itself. Thrace and Macedonia were ravaged, but in spite of
an earthquake that leveled part of its mighty land walls, the Eastern capital itself was left
untouched.
Fornow,theHunssettledforreturningtothePannonianplainswiththousandsofcaptives
and wagonloads of booty. Theodosius was forced to sue for peace on unfavorable terms,
buttheywerenotallfulfilledbytheRomans,givingAttilaanexcusetolaunchasecondraid
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For the Eastern Empire, this was a critical time. Constantinople's armies were gone, its
treasuryemptyanditssourceofrevenuetaxesdriedupbythedevastationoftheHunnic
raids. In 449 a delegation set out from Rome to sue for a lasting treaty with the
seminomadicbarbarianwarriorsofPannonia.Attilawassurprisinglyaccommodating,andin
return for a huge cash payment he agreed to desist from further raids on the Eastern
Empire. The shrewd warrior realized that the East was now exhausted, with little prospect
leftforplunderinthenearfuture.Thepeacewouldleavehimwithasecurerearforhisnext
projectaninvasionofthevirtuallyuntouchedWesternRomanEmpire.
In the West, the patrician Flavius Aetius was trying to hold a crumbling empire together,
with the child emperor Valentinian III and his mother and regent, Aelia Galla Placidia,
servingmostlyasfigureheads.
Recent wars between Aetius and Theodoric the Visigoth, his theoretical vassal who had
beenallowedtosettlewithintheempire,gaveAttilaconfidencethattheWesternEmpire's
strengthwouldbedrainedandunabletoresisthisonslaught.Inaddition,hewassurethat
rather than unite with Aetius, Theodoric would use the opportunity of Attila's invasion to
asserthisownindependence.AndsotheHunnicleaderconfidentlycrossedtheRhineinto
GaulwithahostconsistingofnotonlyHunsbutalsonumerousGermansubjects,including
Ostrogoths,Gepids,Franks,Rugians,Sciri,BurgundiansandThuringians.Advancinginthree
columnsthroughmoderndayBelgium,theHunsspreadterroranddestruction.Townafter
town was destroyed, including Metz, Cambrai, Strasbourg, Rheims, Amiens and Worms.
PariswassavedonlybecausetheHunsconsideredittoosmalltobeworththetroubleofa
siege.
All the while, Aetius was marching to intercept Attila. In spite of Aetius' entreaties,
Theodoric at first refused to commit himself to an alliance against the Huns, just as Attila
predicted.Eventually,however,hedecidedthatthethreatofHunnicdevastationwasmore
serious than that of Roman domination, and summoning his warriors, he set out north to
joinAetius.
Another barbarian tribe that Aetius had allowed to settle in the empire, the Alans, was
settled around the town of Orlans, but they and their king, Sangiban, were of doubtful
loyalty. As it transpired, it was at Orlans that the Hunnic host converged and also where
Aetius and Theodoric met up. The allies arrived just in time to prevent Sangiban from
openingthecity'sgatestoadmitAttila.TheHunswerealreadyinthesuburbswhenAetius
arrived. Without hesitation the Romans fell on the scattered Huns, inflicting heavy
casualties in the town, where the mounted Huns were at a severe disadvantage. As night
fell, Attila withdrew his forces, heading east for the more open terrain around Chlons,
which better suited his style of fighting. The Romans and Visigoths followed the retreating
Hunsclosely,overtakingandannihilatingtheirrearguard.
Bythatstage,withhiswarriorsheavilyladenwithplunder,Attilawouldhavebeencontent
towithdrawtoPannonia.
BattleoftheCatalaunianPlains
The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (or Fields), also called the Battle of Chlons or the
Battle of Maurica, took place in AD 451 between a coalition led by the Roman general
Flavius Atius and the Visigothic king Theodoric I against the Huns and their allies
commanded by their leader Attila. It was one of the last major military operations of the
WesternRomanEmpirethoughVisigothicsoldiersalsoformedthecoreofthealliedRoman
army. The battle was a strategic victory for the Romans, stopping the Huns' attempt to
conquerRomanGaul.
By450RomancontrolofGaulhadbeenrestoredinmuchoftheprovince,althoughcontrol
over all of the provinces beyond Italy was continuing to diminish. Armorica was only
nominally part of the empire, and Germanic tribes prowling around Roman territory had
been forcibly settled and served as foederati under their own leaders. Northern Gaul
between the Rhine north of Xanten and Marne rivers (Gallia Belgica) had unofficially been
abandonedtotheFranks.ThelineofeffectiveRomancontrolranfrom Cologneto Amiens
and to the coast at Boulogne. The Visigoths in Gallia Aquitania were growing restive. The
BurgundiansinSapaudia
[6]
weremoresubmissive,butlikewiseawaitingopeningsforrevolt.
ThepartsstillsecurelyinRomancontrolweretheMediterraneancoastline,awidebandof
varying width running from Aurelianum (presentday Orlans) upstream along the Loire as
far north as Amiens and one downstream along the Rhne River including the Auvergne,
ProvenceandLanguedoc.
The historian Jordanes states that Attila was enticed by the Vandals' king Gaiseric to wage
war on the Visigoths. At the same time, Gaiseric would attempt to sow strife between the
VisigothsandtheWesternRomanEmpire(Getica36.1846).
Honoria'sProposal:
Other contemporary writers offer different motivations: Honoria, a troublesome sister of
the emperor Valentinian III, had been married off to the loyal senator Herculanus a few
years before. This kept her in respectable confinement. In 450, she sent a message with a
note and a ring to the Hunnic king asking for Attila's help in escaping her confinement.
Honoriahadbeenpromisedinmarriagetoamanshedidn'tlike.Honoria'sdowryincluded
half of the provinces in the Western Roman Empire, a very nice prize.. He demanded
Honoria to be delivered along with the dowry. Valentinian rejected these demands. Then,
onlytheinfluenceofhismother,GallaPlacidia,convincedhimtoexileHonoriaratherthan
killing her. He also wrote to Attila strenuously denying the legitimacy of the supposed
marriage proposal. Attila, not convinced, sent an embassy to Ravenna to proclaim that
Honoria was innocent, that the proposal had been legitimate, and that he would come to
claim what was rightfully his. Coincidentally, the Pipurarian Frankish Confederation was in
civil war with brothers fighting for succession. One of the brothers appealed to Attila for
helpwhiletheotherappealedtoAetiusandtheRomans.WithHonoriabeingkepthostage
by the Western Emperor and the civil war of the Franks, Attila's invasion was justified and
AttilauseditasanexcusetolaunchadestructivecampaignthroughGaul.
Aetius, however, was determined to bring him to battle. The place chosen by the Huns to
turnandfightwasknownastheCatalaunianPlains.
Anotherpossibleexplanationisthatin449,theKingoftheFranks,Chlodio,died.Aetiushad
adoptedtheyoungersonoftheFrankstosecuretheRhineFrontier,andtheeldersonhad
fledtothecourtofAttila.
AttilacrossedtheRhineearlyin451withhisfollowersandalargenumberofallies,sacking
Divodurum(Metz)onApril7.Othercitiesattackedcanbedeterminedbythehagiographic
vitae written to commemorate their bishops: Nicasius was slaughtered before the altar of
hischurchinRheims;SaintServatiusisallegedtohavesavedTongerenwithhisprayers,as
Genevieve is to have saved Paris. Lupus, bishop of Troyes, is also credited with saving his
citybymeetingAttilainperson.
Attila's army had reached Aurelianum by June. This fortified city guarded an important
crossing over the Loire. According to Jordanes, the Alan king Sangiban, whose foederati
realmincludedAurelianum,hadpromisedtoopenthecitygates;
[12]
thissiegeisconfirmed
by the account of the Vita S. Anianus and in the later account of Gregory of Tours,
[13]
although Sangiban's name does not appear in their accounts. However, the inhabitants of
Aurelianumshuttheirgatesagainsttheadvancinginvaders.Attilabegantobesiegethecity,
whilehewaitedforSangibantodeliveronhispromise.
Uponlearningoftheinvasion,theMagistermilitumFlaviusAtiusmovedquicklyfromItaly
into Gaul. According to Sidonius Apollinaris, he was leading forth a force consisting of few
andsparseauxiliarieswithoutoneregularsoldier.
[14]
Heimmediatelyattemptedtoconvince
Theodoric I, king of the Visigothics, to join him. Theodoric learned how few troops Atius
hadwithhimanddecideditwaswisertowaittoopposetheHunsinhisownlands.Atius
turned then to the powerful local magnate Avitus for help, who was not only able to
convince Theodoric to join with the Romans, but also a number of other wavering
"barbarians" resident in Gaul.
[15]
The combined armies then marched for Aurelianum
(Orlans),reachingthatcityaboutJune14.
AccordingtotheauthoroftheVitaS.Anianus,theyhadreachedthebesiegedAurelianum
literally at the last possible minute. Attila's men had made a breach in the city's walls and
had positioned a party within the city. At this very moment, news of an advancing hostile
armyreachedtheHuns.Theywerevirtuallyincontrolofthecity,buttokeepitmeanttobe
besieged in it. Hence they broke camp and proceeded back homewards, doubtless looking
foranadvantageousspottomake astand.Theodoricand Atiusfollowedinclosepursuit.
ThetwoforcesatlastmetattheCatalaunianFieldsonJune20,adatefirstproposedbyJ.B.
Buryandsinceacceptedbymany,althoughsomesourcesclaimSeptember20.
The night before the main battle, one of the Frankish forces on the Roman side
encountered a band of the Gepids loyal to Attila. Jordanes' recorded number of 15,000
deadoneithersideforthisskirmishisnotverifiable.
In accordance to Hunnic customs, Attila had his diviners examine the entrails of a sacrifice
the morning before battle. They foretold disaster would befall the Huns and one of the
enemyleaderswouldbekilled.AttheriskofhisownlifeandhopingforAtiustodie,Attila
atlastgavetheordersforcombat,butdelayeduntiltheninthhoursotheimpendingsunset
wouldhelphistroopstofleethebattlefieldincaseofdefeat.
According to Jordanes, the Catalaunian plain rose on one side by a sharp slope to a ridge.
This geographical feature dominated the battlefield and became the center of the battle.
TheHunsfirstseizedtherightsideoftheridge,whiletheRomansseizedtheleft,withthe
crest unoccupied between them. Jordanes explains that the Visigoths held the right side,
the Romans the left, with Sangiban of uncertain loyalty and his Alans surrounded in the
middle. The Hunnic forces attempted to take the ridge, but were outstripped by the
Romans under Aetius and the Gothic Left flank under Thorismund. The Huns remained
unabletotaketheridge,butroutedtheAlansunderSangiban.
Theodoric,whileleadinghisownmenafterthedisorderedenemy,waskilledintheassault
without his men noticing. Jordanes states that Theodoric was thrown from his horse and
trampled to death by his advancing men, but he also mentions another story that had
TheodoricslainbythespearoftheOstrogothAndag.SinceJordanesservedasthenotaryof
Andag'ssonGunthigis,evenifthislatterstoryisnottrue,thisversionwascertainlyaproud
familytradition.
The Visigoths outstripped the speed of the Alans beside them and fell upon Attila's own
Hunnic household unit. Attila was forced to seek refuge in his own camp, which he had
fortified with wagons. The RomanoGothic charge apparently swept past the Hunnic camp
in pursuit; when night fell, Thorismund, son of king Theodoric, returning to friendly lines,
mistakenly entered Attila's encampment. There he was wounded in the ensuing mle
beforehisfollowerscouldrescuehim.DarknessalsoseparatedAtiusfromhisownmen.As
he feared that disaster had befallen them, he spent the rest of the night with his Gothic
allies.
Onthefollowingday,findingthebattlefields"werepiledhighwithbodiesandtheHunsdid
not venture forth", the Goths and Romans met to decide their next move. Knowing that
Attila was low on provisions and "was hindered from approaching by a shower of arrows
placed within the confines of the Roman camp", they started to besiege his camp. In this
desperate situation, Attila remained unbowed and "heaped up a funeral pyre of horse
saddles,sothatiftheenemyshouldattackhim,hewasdeterminedtocasthimselfintothe
flames, that none might have the joy of wounding him and that the lord of so many races
mightnotfallintothehandsofhisfoes".
While Attila was trapped in his camp, the Visigoths searched for their missing king and his
son Thorismund. After a long search, they found Theodoric's corpse beneath a mound of
corpses and bore him away with heroic songs in sight of the enemy. Upon learning of his
father's death, Thorismund wanted to assault Attila's camp, but Atius dissuaded him.
According to Jordanes, Atius feared that if the Huns were completely destroyed, the
VisigothswouldbreakofftheirallegiancetotheRomanEmpireandbecomeanevengraver
threat. So Atius convinced Thorismund to quickly return home and secure the throne for
himself, before his brothers could. Otherwise, civil war would ensue among the Visigoths.
Thorismund quickly returned to Tolosa (presentday Toulouse) and became king without
any resistance. Gregory of Tours (Historia Francorum 2.7) claims Atius used the same
stratagem to dismiss his Frankish allies, and collected the booty of the battlefield for
himself.
Forces:
Both armies consisted of combatants from many peoples. Besides the Roman troops,
Jordanes lists Atius' allies as including (besides the Visigoths) both the Salian Franks and
Ripuarian Franks, Sarmatians, Armoricans, Liticians, Burgundians, Saxons, librones (whom
he describes as "once Roman soldiers and now the flower of the allied forces"), and other
CelticorGermantribes.
Jordanes' list for Attila's allies includes the Gepids under their king Ardaric, as well as an
Ostrogothic army led by the brothers Valamir, Theodemir (the father of the later
OstrogothickingTheodorictheGreat)andWidimer,scionsoftheAmali.
[24]
Sidoniusoffersa
more extensive list of allies: Rugians, Gepids, Gelonians, Burgundians, Sciri, Bellonotians,
Neurians, Bastarnae, Thuringians, Bructeri, and Franks living along the Neckar River . E.A.
Thompson expresses his suspicions that some of these names are drawn from literary
traditionsratherthanfromtheeventitself:
The Bastarnae, Bructeri, Geloni and Neuri had disappeared hundreds of years before the
timeoftheHuns,whiletheBellonotihadneverexistedatall:presumablythelearnedpoet
was thinking of the Balloniti, a people invented by Valerius Flaccus nearly four centuries
earlier.
[26]
Ontheotherhand,ThompsonbelievesthatthepresenceofBurgundiansontheHunnicside
is credible,noting that a group is documentedas remaining east of the Rhine; likewise, he
believes that the other peoples Sidonius alone mentionsthe Rugians, Scirans and
Thuringianswerelikelyparticipantsinthisbattle.
However, the number of participants for either sideor in totalis entirely speculative.
Jordanesreportsthenumberofdeadfromthisbattleas165,000,excludingthecasualtiesof
the FrankoGepid skirmish previous to the main battle. Hydatius, a historian who lived at
thetimeofAttila'sinvasion,reportsthenumberof300,000dead.Noprimarysourceoffers
anestimateforthenumberofparticipants.
The figures of both Jordanes and Hydatius are implausibly high. Thompson remarks in a
footnote, "I doubt that Attila could have fed an army of even 30,000 men."
[27]
As a
reference,intheearly3rdcentury,theRomanEmpiremaintainedthirtythreelegionswith
justunder5,200actualmenforeachlegionwiththetotalof171,600soldiers;ifwefollow
the generalassumption that the number of auxiliaries matched the number of legionaries,
then add the Praetorian Guard as 15,000 strong, and six Urban Cohorts which totalled
9,000,wefindthattheEmpireatitsheightfieldedagrandtotalof395,000soldiersacross
its territories. However in the early 3rd century the number of auxiliaries was larger than
legionaries by 50,000 and the figures given by Thompson do not include men in the navy.
Harl in Coinage in the Roman Economy gives the estimateson page 231 as 481,000. There
are many estimates of the size of the armed forces under Diocletian that range between
389,000to645,000(Agathias).ThepointisthattheregularRomanarmyin450A.D.inthe
Westwasrundowntohalfitssize50yearspreviously.
[28]
AbettersenseofthesizeoftheforcesmaybefoundinthestudyoftheNotitiaDignitatum
byA.H.M.Jones.Thisdocumentisalistofofficialsandmilitaryunitsthatwaslastupdated
inthefirstdecadesofthe5thcentury.NotitiaDignitatumlists58variousregularunits,and
33 limitanei serving either in the Gallic provinces or on the frontiers nearby; the total of
these units, based on Jones analysis, is 34,000 for the regular units and 11,500 for the
limitanei,orjustunder46,000alltold.However,thisfigureistheestimatefortheyear425
A.D.TheregularRomanfieldarmypresentatthebattlemayhavenumberedaround22,500
men if one accounts for paper strength, attrition, and other factors. The federates would
have been far greater in number, possibly between 20,000 and 50,000 men. While the
Roman forces in Gaul had become much smaller by this time, if we accept this number as
the total of all of the forces fighting with Theodoric and Atius, one should not be too far
off.AssumingthattheHunnicforceswereroughlythesamesizeastheRomanoGothic,the
number involved in battle is around 100,000 combatants in total. This excludes the
inevitableservantsandcampfollowerswhousuallyescapemention.
Historicalimportance:
Traditionalview:Thebattlewasofmacrohistoricalimportance
This battle, especially since Edward Gibbon addressed it in The Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire and Sir Edward Creasy wrote his The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World,
has been considered by many historians to be one of the most important battles of Late
Antiquity,atleastintheLatinspeakingworld.
CreasyquotedHerbert'sAttilaconcerningthisbattle
ThediscomfitureofthemightyattemptofAttilatofoundanewantiChristiandynastyupon
thewreckofthetemporalpowerofRome,attheendofthetermoftwelvehundredyears,
towhichitsdurationhadbeenlimitedbytheforebodingsoftheheathen.
Creasyalsostated:
Attila'sattacksontheWesternempireweresoonrenewed,butneverwithsuchperiltothe
civilizedworldashadmenaceditbeforehisdefeatatChlons;andonhisdeath,twoyears
afterthatbattle,thevastempirewhichhisgeniushadfoundedwassoondisseveredbythe
successful revolts of the subject nations. The name of the Huns ceased for some centuries
toinspireterrorinWesternEurope,andtheirascendancypassedawaywiththelifeofthe
greatkingbywhomithadbeensofearfullyaugmented.
JohnJuliusNorwich,thehistorianknownforhisworksonVeniceandonByzantium,saidof
thebattleofChalons:
Itshouldneverbeforgottenthatinthesummerof451andagainin452,thewholefateof
western civilization hung in the balance. Had the Hunnish army not been halted in these
twosuccessivecampaigns,haditsleadertoppledValentinianfromhisthroneandsetuphis
own capital at Ravenna or Rome, there is little doubt that both Gaul and Italy would have
beenreducedtospiritualandculturaldeserts.
He goes on to say that though the battle in 451 was "indecisive insofar as both sides
sustained immense losses and neither was left master of the field, it had the effect of
haltingtheHuns'advance."
[32]
There are a couple of reasons why this combat has kept its epic importance down the
centuries. One is that ignoring the Battle of Qarqar (Karkar), which was forgotten at this
time this was the first significant conflict that involved large alliances on both sides. No
single nation dominated either side; rather, two alliances met and fought in surprising
coordinationforthetime.ArthurFerrill,addressingthisissue,goesontosay:
AfterhesecuredtheRhine,AttilamovedintocentralGaulandputOrleansundersiege.Had
hegainedhisobjective,hewouldhavebeeninastrongpositiontosubduetheVisigothsin
Aquitaine, but Atius had put together a formidable coalition against the Hun. Working
frenetically, the Roman leader had built a powerful alliance of Visigoths, Alans and
Burgundians, uniting them with their traditional enemy, the Romans, for the defense of
Gaul. Even though all parties to the protection of the Western Roman Empire had a
commonhatredofthe Huns,itwasstillaremarkableachievementon Atius'parttohave
drawnthemintoaneffectivemilitaryrelationship.
Addressing Attila's fearsome reputation, and the importance of this battle, Gibbon noted
that it was from his enemies we hear of his terrible deeds, not from friendly chroniclers,
emphasizing that the former had no reason to elevate Attila's reign of terror, and the
importanceoftheBattleofChalonsinprovingAttilatobedefeatable.
Aftermathandreputationofthebattle:
"Cadaveraveroinnumera,"theRomanssaidafterwards:"Trulycountlessbodies!"
Gibbonsuccinctlystates:
Attila'sretreatacrosstheRhineconfessedthelastvictorywhichwasachievedinthename
oftheWesternRomanEmpire.
Thefollowingyear,AttilarenewedhisclaimstoHonoriaandterritoryintheWesternRoman
Empire.LeadinghistroopsacrosstheAlpsandintoNorthernItaly,heconqueredthecities
ofAquileia,Vicetia,Verona,Brixia,BergomumandMilan.Finally,attheverygatesofRome,
heturnedhisarmybackonlyafternegotiatingwiththepope.
Another reason the ferocity of this campaign left a deep impression upon its
contemporaries is that not only did Attila savage much of Europe in a manner unrepeated
for centuries, but the battle acquired a reputation for carnage almost immediately.
Considering the extravagant totals for casualties, Gibbon remarked that they "suppose a
real and effective loss, sufficient to justify the historian's remark that whole generations
maybesweptawaybythemadnessofkingsinasinglehour".
Two contemporary descriptions survive showing that this battle had an unparalleled
reputationforitscarnage.ThefirstisfromJordanes:
For,ifwemaybelieveourelders,abrookflowingbetweenlowbanksthroughtheplainwas
greatlyincreasedbybloodoftheslain.Itwasnotfloodedbyshowers,asbrooksusuallyrise,
but was swollen by a strange stream and turned into a torrent by the increase of blood.
Thosewhosewoundsdrovethemtoslaketheirparchingthirstdrankwatermingledingore.
In their wretched plight they were forced to drink what they thought was the blood they
hadpouredfromtheirownwounds.
[39]
ThesecondcomesfromthephilosopherDamascius,whonotmanyyearsafterwardsheard
thatthefightingwassosevere"thatnoonesurvivedexceptonlytheleadersoneitherside
andafewfollowers:buttheghostsofthosewhofellcontinuedthestruggleforthreewhole
days and nights as violently as if they had been alive; the clash of their arms was clearly
audible".
[40]
A further reason for the reputation of this battle is that it was the first major battle since
the death of Constantine I where a predominantly Christian force faced a predominantly
pagan opponent. This factor was very much apparent to the contemporaries, who often
mentionprayerplayingafactorinthisbattle
Attila invaded the Roman province of Gaul with a large army of Huns and dependent
barbariantribessubjecttohisrule.TheHunnicadvancesackedanddestroyedsomeofthe
greatestcitiesinalltheWesternRomanEmpire.TheHunsadvancedunopposeddeepinto
central Gaul and put the walled city of Orleans under siege.The Roman General Aetius,
worked frantically to build a coalition of barbarian tribes to stand with Rome against the
Huns. The barbarians had no interest in allying themselves with their long time enemy,
buttheydidhaveacommonhatredfortheHunsandatthetime,theRomansseemedto
bethelesserofthetwoevils.
In 450 AD, The Eastern Emperor Theodosius was killed when falling from a horse. His
successor Marcian, took a hard line stance on Attila's encroachments and also refused to
pay the annual tribute. Attila chose to ignore the actions of the new Eastern Emperor,
eventsintheWesthadcaughthisattention.
Honoria,thesisteroftheWesternEmperorValentinian,objectedtoherbrother'schoicefor
herhusband.HonoriasecretlywrotetoAttilaandenclosedagoldring,Attilaacceptedthis
gift assuming she was proposing to him and then demanded that the western Roman
province of Gaul would make a suitable dowry. Valentinian's refusal of Attila's request
would result in the Huns crossing the Rhine river and invading the Western Roman
Empire.TheodosiushadnochoicebuttobuyoffAttilaandhishorde,butthepriceofpeace
would be high. The Eastern Empire was to pay a huge tribute of 700 lbs of gold annually,
Attila also demanded a ransom for each Roman citizen held in his custody and the
immediate return of his own subjects from Roman territory. The Romans were also
forbidden to sign treaties with known enemies of theHuns or interfere withHunnic trade
alongtheDanube.
Theodosius knewthatahumiliatingandexpensivepeacewasstillfarbetterthanawarhe
could not win. With every pound of gold that crossed the Danube, Attila became more
powerful and intimidating, while the Eastern Romans more weak and humiliated.The
Western Roman Empire offered no assistance to their Eastern cousins, Attila's childhood
friend Aetius had risen in the ranks to become Emperor Valentinian's second in command
and master General of all Roman armies of the west. Because of Aetius's friendship with
Attila,astrongalliancewiththeHunsprotectedthewesternhalfoftheempire.
Just as Attila and his army were about to launch their final assault to take Orleans, Aetius
and the relief army arrived. The Huns did not expect any opposition and were caught
completely by surprise. Attila immediately ordered his troops to abandon the siege and
withdrawal to more open country. Aetius and the allied army followed close behind never
losingcontactwiththeirfoe.OntheCatalonianplainsnearChalons,theHunsturnedand
preparedforbattle.
ATTILASADVANCE
Thetwocommandersnowspentthedayarrangingtheirtroops,theoncechildhoodfriends
nowstaredoneanotherdownacrosstheopenbattlefield.Botharmieswerequitelargefor
fifth century standards. Attila's army numbering 300,000 men ( 200,000 Huns, 60,000
Ostrogoths and 40,000 Gepidae, totalling some 200,000 cavalry and 100,000 infantry )
would be countered by Aetius's Roman Gothic army numbering 260,000 men ( 120,000
Visigoths, 90,000 Romans and 50,000 Alans comprising 150,000 cavalry and 110,000
infantry).
Attilaformeduphisforcesonabroadfront,onhisrightwingstoodtheGepidaeunderKing
Adaric, on the left King Valamir and his Ostrogoths, Attila and his Hunnic troops
commanded the center. Aetius placed his least reliable troops the Alans under King
Sangiban inthe center,in the hopes they would absorb and slow down the Hunnicattack
asmuchaspossible.TheVisigothsunderKingTheodoricwerepositionedontherightwing
whiletheRomansformedtheleftflankofthealliedarmy.
Over looking the battle field on both the Huns left and the allied right flank, was a
dominatingridgewhichbothAttilaandAetiussoughttogainfortheirarmy.Attilasentthe
Ostrogoths along with Hunnic forces from his center to take the mountain summit, at the
sametimeAetiusorderedtheVisigothstoseizethisimportantfeature.
KingTheodoricsentinVisigothicforcesleadbyhisson,theCrownPrinceThorismundwho
reached the summit before the Ostrogoths. Holding the high ground, the Visigoths easily
repelled the Huns and their Ostrogothic levies as they attempted to claim this strategic
prize.
Attila's army was thrown into confusion by the failure to take the high ground. Attila's
Germanic subjects had never witnessed an attack by the Huns to fail, an eerie silence
dawned over the Hunnic side of the battle field. Attila knew he had to act quickly to take
their minds of this set back and immediately ordered his fearsome Huns to attack the
Alan'sholdingthecenterofthealliedline.
The Hunnic charge was able to drive back but not break through the allied center. As the
AlansslowlybegantogivegroundAttilaorderedhisHunstoturninwardandstrikeatthe
Visigoths from their rear, it was during this assault that King Theodoric was killed. Prince
Thorismund,stillholdingthesummit,orderedhisforcestochargedowntheslopetowards
their beleaguered country men, catching the unsuspecting Huns in their right flank. The
Visigoth assault struck hard at the enemy, driving both the Ostrogoths and Huns before
them.ItwasatthismomentthatAetiusorderedtheRomanstoadvanceacrossthebattle
fieldtothreatenAttila'srightflankheldbytheGepidae.Thingswerebeginningtogobadfor
theHuns.ThealliedcenterhadbentbutnotbrokenandAttila'sleftflankwasfallingback
under the weight of renewed Visigothic attacks. Attila also knew the Gepidae on his right
wingcouldnotholdtheRomanlegionsbearingdownonthem.Attilathereforedecidedto
withdrawalhisHunstothesafetyoftheirwagons,leavingtheGepidaeandtheremainder
oftheOstrogothstofightarearguardactiontomakegoodtheHunsescape.
The Romans and Visigoths continued to press hard on the retreating Huns and their
Germanicsubjectsuntilthecomingofnightfallcalledoffthepursuit.BothAetiusandAttila
anticipated that the battle would resume the next day, but when morning dawned, both
armiesweretoweakanddisorganizedtocontinue.Attila'sarmysuccessfullyescapedand
re crossed the Rhine, returning to their homelands along the Danube. Loses at Chalons
were considerable for both sides. The Romans and her allies suffered 80,000 casualties
(45,000 Visigoths, 25,000 Alans and 10,000 Romans). Attila and his Germanic subjects
sufferedmoreseverecasualtiesnumbering115,000,(60,000Huns,40,000Ostrogothsand
15,000Gepidae).
THEHUNSINVADEITALY
Althoughsufferinghisfirstdefeat,Attilawasstillverypowerfulandhequicklyrestoredhis
armytofullstrength.In452AD,AttilaturnedhisattentiononceagaintowardstheWestern
RomanEmpire,crossingthealpsandinvadingItaly.ThecityofAquileiawasthefirsttofeel
Attila'swrathasitwaswipedfromthefaceoftheearth,somuchso,thattwentyyearslater
the site was still uninhabited. Northern Italy was utterly devastated, Aetius could not
persuadetheAlansandVisigothstocometothedefenceofItalyastheyhaddoneayear
earlier in protecting Gaul. Attila razed all the towns and cities in his path to the ground,
continuing ever south towards the eternal city of Rome itself. it appeared that nothing
couldstopAttilafromdestroyingtheentirecountry.
All Rome awaited the coming of the Hunnic king in absolute terror. The Romans had no
legions within Italy to put against Attila, this was truly Rome's darkest hour. The holy
pontiff Pope Leo, took it upon himself and went out from the terrified city to meet with
Attila.AfterenteringtheHunniccamp,PopeLeobeganlecturingAttilatorepentthesinshe
had committed against humanity and warned him of the absolute power of God's wrath if
he did not turn back and leave Italy immediately. Incredibly, after their meeting Attila
agreed to spare Rome and turned his army back for home.Attila lead his army out of Italy
notsomuchastoPopeLeo'sthreatsandinfluence,butmoreprobablethatAttila'sposition
was weaker than the Romans realized. There had been a severe famine in Italy the year
before Attila's invasion and the Hunnic troops were having a hard time living off the land.
The Huns were running low on supplies and a devastating plague was sweeping through
Attila'sarmy.
Raphael's The Meeting between Leo the Great and Attila depicts Leo, escorted by Saint
PeterandSaintPaul,meetingwiththeHunkingoutsideRome
Also while Attila was in Italy, the Eastern Roman Emperor Marcian, had sent a Roman army across
theDanubetostrikeattheheartlandofAttila'sEmpire.AlongwiththedefeatsufferedbytheHuns
thepreviousyearatChalonsandthefactthatalltheHunnicwagonswereoverloadedwithplunder
anyway,PopeLeo'svisitwasanopportunityforAttilatoendhisItaliancampaignasthevictor,and
return home.Unlike Attila's crushing victories in the Eastern half of the Roman Empire, in the last
two successive campaigns the Huns proved incapable of bringing the Western Roman's to their
knees.
Attila'sMysteriousDeath:
The conventional account, from Priscus, says that After his return from Italy, Attila married a
teenaged girl named Ildiko. The marriage took place in 453, and was celebrated with a grand feast
and plenty of alcohol. After dinner, the new couple retired to the wedding chamber for the
night.Attila did not show up the next morning, so his nervous servants opened the chamber door.
The king was dead on the floor (some accounts say "covered with blood"), and his bride was
huddledinacornerinastateofshock.
Some historians theorize that Ildiko murdered her new husband, but that seems unlikely. He may
have suffered a hemorrhage, or he could have died of alcohol poisoning from the wedding night
revels.
Another account of his death, first recorded 80 years after the events by the Roman chronicler
Marcellinus Comes, reports that "Attila, King of the Huns and ravager of the provinces of Europe,
waspiercedbythehandandbladeofhiswife."TheVolsungasagaandthePoeticEdda.alsoclaim
that King Atli (Attila) died at the hands of his wife, Gudrun. Most scholars reject these accounts as
no more than hearsay, preferring instead the account given by Attila's contemporary Priscus.
Priscus'version,however,hasrecentlycomeunderrenewedscrutinybyMichaelA.Babcock.Based
on detailed philological analysis, Babcock concludes that the account of natural death, given by
Priscus,wasanecclesiastical"coverstory"andthatEmperorMarcian(whoruledtheEasternRoman
Empirefrom450to457)wasthepoliticalforcebehindAttila'sdeath.
Jordanes says: "The greatest of all warriors should be mourned with no feminine
lamentations and with no tears, but with the blood of men." His horsemen galloped in
circles around the silken tent where Attila lay in state, singing in his dirge, according to
Cassiodorus and Jordanes: "Who can rate this as death, when none believes it calls for
vengeance?"
Then they celebrated a strava (lamentation) over his burial place with great feasting.
Legend says that he was laid to rest in a triple coffin made of gold, silver, and iron, along
withsomeofthespoilsofhisconquests.Hismendivertedasectionoftheriver,buriedthe
coffinundertheriverbed,andthenwerekilledtokeeptheexactlocationasecret.
His sons Ellac (his appointed successor), Dengizich, and Ernakh fought over the division of
hislegacy,specificallywhichvassalkingswouldbelongtowhichbrother.Asaconsequence,
theyweredivided,defeated,andscatteredthefollowingyearintheBattleofNedao,bythe
OstrogothsandtheGepidsunderArdaric,whohadbeenAttila'smostprizedchieftain.
Attila'smanychildrenandrelativesareknownbynameandsomeevenbydeeds,butsoon
validgenealogicalsourcesallbutdriedup,andthereseemstobenoverifiablewaytotrace
Attila's descendants. This has not stopped many genealogists from attempting to
reconstruct a valid line of descent for various medieval rulers. One of the most credible
claims has been that of the Khans of Bulgaria (see Nominalia of the Bulgarian khans). A
popular,butultimatelyunconfirmed,attempttriestorelateAttilatoCharlemagne.
Attila'sEmpireFalls:
After Attila's death, his three sons divided up the empire (reverting, in a way, to the pre
Uncle Rua political structure). The sons fought over which would be the high king.Eldest
brotherEllacprevailed,butmeanwhiletheHuns'subjecttribesbrokefreefromtheempire
one by one. Only a year after Attila's death, the Goths defeated the Huns at the Battle of
Nedao,drivingthemoutofPannonia(nowwesternHungary).Ellacwaskilledinbattle,and
Attila'ssecondsonDengizichbecamethehighking.Dengizichwasdeterminedtoreturnthe
Hunnic Empire to the glory days. In 469, he sent a demand to Constantinople that the
EasternRomanEmpirepaytributetotheHunsagain.HisyoungerbrotherErnakhrefusedto
getinvolvedinthisventure,andtookhispeopleoutofDengizich'salliance.
The Romans refused Dengizich's demand. Dengizik attacked, and his army was crushed by
Byzantine troops under General Anagestes. Dengizik was killed, along with the majority of
his people.The remnants of Dengizik's clan joined Ernakh's people, and were absorbed by
the Bulgars, ancestors of today's Bulgarians. Just 16 years after Attila's death, the Huns
ceasedtoexist.
TheLegacyofAttilatheHun:
Attila is often portrayed as a cruel, bloodthirsty and barbaric ruler, but it's important to
remember that our accounts of him come from his enemies, the Eastern Romans.The
historian Priscus, who went on the fateful embassy to Attila's court, also noted that Attila
was wise, merciful, and humble. Priscus was amazed that the Hunnic king used simple
woodentableimplements,whilehiscourtiersandguestsateanddrankfromsilverandgold
dishes. He did not kill the Romans who came to assassinate him, sending them home in
disgraceinstead.ItissafetosaythatAttilatheHunwasamuchmorecomplexpersonthan
hismodernreputationreveals.
Laterfolkloreandiconography
Attilahimselfissaidtohaveclaimedthetitles"DescendantoftheGreatNimrod",and"King
oftheHuns,theGoths,theDanes,andtheMedes"thelasttwopeoplesbeingmentioned
to show the extent of his control over subject nations even on the peripheries of his
domain.
Jordanes embellished the report of Priscus, reporting that Attila had possessed the "Holy
War Sword of the Scythians", which was given to him by Mars and made him a "prince of
theentireworld."
AttilawasthestandardsourceoflegitimacyontheEuropeansteppeuntilGenghisKhan.By
theendofthe12thcenturytheroyalcourtofHungaryproclaimedtheirdescentfromAttila.
LampertofHersfeld'scontemporarychroniclesreportthatshortlybeforetheyear1071,the
Sword of Attila had been presented to Otto of Nordheim by the exiled queen of Hungary,
Anastasia of Kiev. This sword, a cavalry sabre now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in
Vienna,appearstobetheworkofHungariangoldsmithsoftheninthortenthcentury.
Later writers developed the meeting of LeoI and Attila into a pious "fable which has been
represented by the pencil of Raphael and the chisel of Algardi",reporting that the Pope,
aidedbySaintPeterandSaintPaul,convincedAttilatoturnawayfromthecity.
According to a version of this legend related in the Chronicon Pictum, a mediaeval
Hungarian chronicle, the Pope promised Attila that if he left Rome in peace, one of his
successorswouldreceiveaholycrown(whichhasbeenunderstoodasreferringtotheHoly
CrownofHungary).
AttilaintheNurembergChronicle(1493)
Some histories and chronicles describe him as a great and noble king, and he plays major
roles in three Norse sagas: Atlakvia, Vlsungasaga, and Atlaml. The Polish Chronicle
representsAttila'snameasAquila.
Frutolf of Michelsberg and Otto of Freising pointed out that some songs as "vulgar fables"
made Theoderic the Great, Attila and Ermanaric contemporaries, when any reader of
Jordanesknewthatthiswasnotthecase.
In 1812, Ludwig van Beethoven conceived the idea of writing an opera about Attila and
approachedAugustvonKotzebuetowritethelibretto.Itwas,however,neverwritten.
In World WarI, Allied propaganda referred to Germans as the "Huns", based on a 1900
speech by Emperor WilhelmII praising Attila the Hun's military prowess, according to
JawaharlalNehru'sGlimpsesofWorldHistory.
Der Spiegel commented on November 6, 1948, that the Sword of Attila was hanging
menacinglyoverAustria.
AmericanwriterCeceliaHollandwroteTheDeathofAttila(1973),ahistoricalnovelinwhich
Attila appears as a powerful background figure whose life and death deeply impact the
protagonists,ayoungHunnishwarriorandaGermanicone.
In modern Hungary and in Turkey, "Attila" and its Turkish variation "Atilla" are commonly
used as a male first name. In Hungary, several public places are named after Attila; for
instance,inBudapestthereare10AttilaStreets,oneofwhichisanimportantstreetbehind
the Buda Castle. When the Turkish Armed Forces invaded Cyprus in 1974, the operations
werenamedafterAttila("TheAttilaPlan").
[49]
The1954UniversalInternationalfilmSignofthePaganstarredJackPalanceasAttila.
DepictionsofAttila

AttilainamuseuminHungary

AdepictionofAttilaintheBadischesLandesmuseum,Karlsruhe,Germany
Renaissancemedalwiththelegend,
"Atila,FlagelumDei"(dubiouslyspelledLatinfor"Attila,ScourgeofGod").
Successorrealms:
LocationsofHunsuccessorstatesin500AD
After the breakdown of the Hun Empire, they never regained their lost glory. One reason
was that the Huns never fully established the mechanisms of a state, such as bureaucracy
andtaxes,unlikeBulgars,MagyarsortheGoldenHorde.Oncedisorganized,theHunswere
absorbedbymoreorganizedpolities.LiketheAvarsafterthem,oncetheHunpoliticalunity
failed there was no way to recreate it, especially because the Huns had become a
multiethnicempireevenbeforeAttila.TheHunEmpireincluded,atleastnominally,agreat
host of diverse peoples, each of whom may be considered 'successors' of the Huns.
However, given that the Huns were a political creation, and not a consolidated people, or
nation, their defeat in 454 marked the end of that political creation. Newer polities which
later arose might have consisted of people formerly in the Hun confederacy, and carrying
closely related steppe cultures, but they were new political creations. Later historians
provide brief hints of the dispersal and renaming of Attila's people. According to tradition,
after Ellac's defeat and death, his brothers ruled over two separate, but closely related
hordesonthesteppesnorthoftheBlackSea.Dengizichisbelievedtohavebeenking(khan)
of the Kutrigur Bulgars, and Ernakh king (khan) of the Utigur Bulgars, whilst Procopius
claimedthatKutrigursandUtigurswerenamedafter,andledbytwoofthesonsofErnakh.
Such distinctions are uncertain and the situation is not likely to have been so clear cut.
Some Huns remained in Pannonia for some time before they were slaughtered by Goths.
Others took refuge within the East Roman Empire, namely in Dacia Ripensis and Scythia
Minor. Possibly, other Huns and nomadic groups retreated to the steppe. Indeed,
subsequently, new confederations appear such as Kutrigur, Utigur, Onogur / (Onoghur),
Sarigur,etc.,whichwerecollectivelycalled"Huns","BulgarianHuns",or"Bulgars".Similarly,
the6thcenturySlavswerepresentedasHungroupsbyProcopius.
However,itislikelythatGraecoRomansourceshabituallyequatednewbarbarianpolitical
groupings with old tribes. This was partly due to expectation that contemporary writers
emulate the great writers of preceding eras. Apart from exigencies instyle was the belief
thatbarbariansfromparticularareaswereallthesame,nomatterhowtheychangedtheir
name.
A 14th century chivalricromanticized painting of the Huns laying siege to a city. Note
anachronisticdetailsinweapons,armorandcitytype.HungarianChroniconPictum,1360.
Appearanceandcustoms
Roman villa in Gaul sacked by the hordes of Attila the Hun. Illustration from a book by
GeorgesRochegrosse.
AllsurvivingaccountswerewrittenbyenemiesoftheHuns,andnonedescribetheHunsas
attractiveeithermorallyorinappearance.
Jordanes, a Goth writing in Italy in 551, a century after the collapse of the Hunnic Empire,
describestheHunsasa"savagerace,whichdweltatfirstintheswamps,astunted,fouland
puny tribe, scarcely human, and having no language save one which bore but slight
resemblancetohumanspeech."
"They made their foes flee in horror because their swarthy aspect was fearful, and
they had, if I may call it so, a sort of shapeless lump, not a head, with pinholes
rather than eyes. Their hardihood is evident in their wild appearance, and they are
beingswhoarecrueltotheirchildrenontheverydaytheyareborn.Fortheycutthe
cheeks of the males with a sword, so that before they receive the nourishment of
milk they must learn to endure wounds. Hence they grow old beardless and their
youngmenarewithoutcomeliness,becauseafacefurrowedbytheswordspoilsby
its scars the natural beauty of a beard. They are short in stature, quick in bodily
movement, alert horsemen, broad shouldered, ready in the use of bow and arrow,
andhavefirmsetneckswhichareevererectinpride.Thoughtheyliveintheform
ofmen,theyhavethecrueltyofwildbeasts."
JordanesalsorecountedhowPriscushaddescribedAttilatheHun,theEmperoroftheHuns
from 434453, as: "Short of stature, with a broad chest and a large head; his eyes were
small, his beard thin and sprinkled with grey; and he had a flat nose and tanned skin,
showingevidenceofhisorigin."
Artificial cranial deformation was practiced by the Huns and sometimes by tribes with
whom they influenced. However, Ammianus may have been incorrect in saying that the
facial scars dated from infancy. MaenchenHelfen writes: "Ammianus' description begins
with a strange misunderstanding... This was repeated by Claudian and Sidonius and
reinterpreted by Cassiodorus. Ammianus' explanation of the thin beards is wrong. Like so
many other people, the Huns inflicted wounds on their live flesh as a sign of grief when
their kinsmen were dying."
[36]
When a leader died, it was tradition to mourn them with
bloodinsteadoftearsandsothewarriorswouldslashtheircheeksto"cryblood".
Societyandculture
Hunnishcamp
The Huns kept herds of cattle, horses, goats and sheep. Their other sources of food
consisted of wild game and the roots of wild plants. For clothes they had pointed caps,
trousersorleggingsmadefromibexskin,andeitherlinenorrodentskintunics.Ammianus
reportsthattheyworetheseclothesuntiltheclothesfelltopieces.PriscusdescribesAttila's
clothesasdifferentfromthoseofhismenonlyinbeingclean.Womenwouldembroiderthe
edgesofthegarmentsandoftenstitchsmallcolorfulstonebeadsonthemaswell.
In warfare they used the bow and javelin. Early writers such as Ammianus (followed by
Thompson) stated that they used primitive, bonetipped arrowheads. MaenchenHelfen
outrightdisputesthisclaim.Hestates:"HadtheHunsbeenunabletoforgetheirswordsand
cast their arrowheads, they never could have crossed the Don. The idea that the Hun
horsemenfoughttheirwaytothewallsofConstantinopleandtotheMarnewithbartered
andcapturedswordsisabsurd."(See:MaenchenHelfenTheWorldoftheHunsp12)They
also fought using iron swords and lassos in close combat. The Hun sword was a long,
straight,doubleedgedswordofearlySassanianstyle.Theseswordswerehungfromabelt
usingthescabbardslidemethod,whichkepttheweaponvertical.TheHunsalsoemployed
a smaller short sword or large dagger which was hung horizontally across the belly. A
symbol of status among the Huns was a gilded bow. Sword and dagger grips also were
decoratedwithgold.
WiththearrivaloftheHuns,atraditionofusingmorebonelathsincompositebowsarrived
in Europe. Bone laths had long been used in the Levantine and Roman tradition, two to
stiffen each of the two siyahs (the tips of the bow), for a total of four laths per bow. (The
Scythian and Sarmatian bows, used for centuries on the European steppes until the arrival
oftheHuns,hadnosuchlaths.)AstylethatarrivedinEuropewiththeHuns(aftercenturies
of use on the borders of China), was stiffened by two lathson each siyah, and additionally
reinforcedonthegripbythreelaths,foratotalofsevenperbow.
Language
ThesubjectoftheHunniclanguageismetwithmuchcontroversy.Sofar,thereisnogeneral
consensusontheexactoriginorclassificationofHunnic.Agroupofauthorssupposethatit
mayhavebeenamemberof,orrelatedto,theTurkiclanguagefamily.Havingsaidthat,the
literarysourcesofPriscusandJordanespreserveonlyafewnames,andthreewords,ofthe
language of the Huns, which have been studied for more than a century and a half. The
sourcesthemselvesdonotgivethemeaningofanyofthenames,onlyofthethreewords.
Thesewords(medos,kamos,strava)donotseemtobeTurkic,butprobablyasatemIndo
EuropeanlanguagesimilartoSlavicandDacian.
Traditionally notable studies include that of Pritsak 1982, "The Hunnic Language of the
Attila Clan.", who concluded, "It was not a Turkic language, but one between Turkic and
Mongolian, probably closer to the former than the latter. The language had strong ties to
OldBulgarianandtomodernChuvash,butalsohadsomeimportantconnections,especially
lexical and morphological, to Ottoman and Yakut... The Turkic situation has no validity for
Hunnic, which belonged to a separate Altaic group." On the basis of the existing name
records, a number of scholars suggest that the Huns spoke a Turkic language of the Oghur
branch, which also includes Bulgar, Avar, Khazar and Chuvash languages. English scholar
Peter Heather called the Huns "the first group of Turkic, as opposed to Iranian, nomads to
have intruded into Europe". MaenchenHelfen held that many of the tribal names among
the Huns were Turkic. However, the evidence is scant (a few names and three nonTurkic
words), thus scholars currently conclude that the Hunnic language cannot presently be
classified,andattemptstoclassifyitasTurkicandMongolicarespeculative.
A variety of languages were spoken within the Hun pax. Roman sources, e.g. Priscus,
recordedthatLatin,Gothic,"Hun"andotherlocal'Scythian"languageswerespoken.Based
on some etymological interpretation of the words strava and medos, and subsequent
historicalappearance,thelatterhasbeentakentoincludeaformofpreSlaviclanguage
RelationwithByzantineEmpire:
In the reign of Byzantine king, Theodosius II (408450), the Huns under , Attila received
subsidies of gold that both kept them in a state of uneasy peace with the Eastern Empire
andmayhaveprovedprofitabletothosemerchantsofConstantinoplewhotradedwiththe
barbarians. When Marcian (ruled 450457) refused to continue the subsidies, Attila was
diverted from revenge by the prospect of conquests in the West. He never returned to
challengetheEasternEmpire,and,withhisdeathin453,hisHunnicempirefellapart.Both
Marcian and his successor, Leo I (ruled 457474), had ruled under the tutelage of Flavius
Ardaburius,Aspar;butLeoresolvedtochallengeAspar'spreeminenceandtheinfluenceof
theGothselsewhereintheempirebyfavoringthewarlikeIsauriansandtheirchieftain.

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