Historical Figures
Attila the Hun
Also Known As Scourge of God (a later Christian epithet, not a contemporary title)
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Attila was ruler of the Hunnic Empire from 434 until his death in 453 CE, and the most feared enemy the late Western and Eastern Roman Empires faced in the fifth century. Ruling jointly with his brother Bleda until having him killed around 445, Attila unified the Hunnic confederation and led repeated invasions into the Balkans, Gaul and Italy, extracting enormous tribute payments from the Eastern Roman court at Constantinople. His invasion of Gaul in 451 was checked at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains by a coalition of Roman and Visigothic forces, and his invasion of Italy in 452 was turned back before reaching Rome itself, traditionally credited in part to a personal appeal from Pope Leo I. He died suddenly in 453, reportedly on his wedding night, and the Hunnic Empire fragmented within a few years under his sons. Later medieval legend, especially in Germanic and Norse epic tradition, transformed him into the figure of Etzel or Atli, but the historical Attila's campaigns are documented mainly through Roman and Byzantine sources such as Priscus, who met him in person on a diplomatic mission.
Facts
Partially Attested
Death PlacePannonia, north of the Danube (his own royal encampment; no specific settlement recorded) 2 Ancient sources (Priscus, via Jordanes) place his death in his own residence beyond the Danube, in Hunnic Pannonia, the night after his wedding feast, but do not name a specific settlement or site. Open Questions
BirthplaceNot recorded by any surviving source 2 No source contemporary with Attila's life names his birthplace. He is generally placed within Hunnic-controlled territory north of the Danube, in the Pannonian steppe, but no specific site is attested. RoleRuler of the Hunnic Empire, jointly with his brother Bleda (434 to circa 445) and then alone (circa 445 to 453). 1 Disputed
Birth YearNo contemporary source records Attila's birth; circa 406 is the modern scholarly estimate from his approximate age at death. Cross-Tradition Connections
In Era
Attila died in 453, before this atlas's own Classical Antiquity to Post-Classical boundary at 476 (the fall of the Western Roman Empire); his invasions are among the pressures that led to it.
Related To
Attila's invasions did not by themselves cause the fall of the Western Empire in 476, but severely weakened its western provinces in the decades before it.
Sources
1. The Cambridge Medieval History
Cambridge University PressRelated To: The Fall of the Western Roman Empire
2. Wikipedia
WikipediaAttilaQuote, Attila
Attila (c. 406 - 453), frequently called Attila the Hun and also known by his nickname The Scourge of God, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453.
2. Wikipedia
WikipediaAttila: Death and the empire's collapseQuote, Attila: Death and the empire's collapse
Attila's sons Ellac, Dengizich and Ernak, 'in their rash eagerness to rule they all alike destroyed his empire'.
Open Questions (1 open question)
Where was Attila the Hun born?
No source contemporary with Attila names his birthplace. He is generally placed within Hunnic-controlled territory north of the Danube, in the Pannonian steppe, but no specific site is attested.
What would resolve this A surviving contemporary source naming Attila's birthplace; none of the Greek or Latin accounts of his life (transmitted through Priscus) records where he was born.
Hunnic and late Roman/Byzantine history; archaeology of the Pannonian steppeWikipedia
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