Long before Attila was born, the Huns had already created a terrible reputation. The original Huns (a Mongolian people) may have wandered on the plains of Central Asia. As far back as 200 B.C. the Huns terrified all of Asia, from the Volga River (Russia) eastward to the Pacific Ocean. They warred constantly with the Chinese and forced heavy payments of food and gold from them each year. The Huns also forced the Chinese to give them their most beautiful girls to become the wives of Hun leaders.
Eventually they came to the shores of the Caspian and Black seas, and after many years crossed the marshes of Kerch Strait. The conquests of the Huns, the total destruction of all that they conquered, and their fierceness came to the attention of the powerful Roman Empire about A.D 375.
In 398 AD a Roman historian wrote of the Huns:"They do not honor truces (agreements) and they have an infinite greed for gold." All historians agree that Huns lived like wild beasts. It was regular practice for them not only to kill off the old men of their tribes but also to eat their bodies!
They had a reputation for striking like lightning, quickly overrunning their enemies on their fast horses, howling and shouting like madmen, lashing out with long, black, snakelike whips, and dragging victims behind them as they rode away. Then they would disappear as quickly as they had come. But this was only the beginning- they soon returned to massacre the shocked villagers with sword and spear, bow and arrow, completing the destruction that they had started before.
One Roman, who spent many months with the Huns, wrote: "… people run away because the Huns look dark and terrible. They have a sort of shapeless lump, not a face, and pinholes rather than eyes. Their wild appearance is like their character, for they are cruel, even to their children on the first day that they are born. They cut the cheeks of the boys with a sword even before they receive the nourishment of milk, and the young men are ugly, because their faces are scarred. Their bodies are somewhat short, and quick in movement. They are excellent on horses and ready with bow and arrow; they have broad shoulders, thick necks, and always stand proud. These men live in the form of humans but with the savagery of beasts."
The Huns increased their ugliness by deforming their skulls during childhood. Flat boards were placed on either side of the head, and pressed together by leather strips, giving the head a pointed look. Adding to their savage appearance was the clothing which the Huns wore-smelly skins of wild beasts and fur hats. Their only shoes were wide slabs of leather.
Milk from female horses (called mares) was their drink and their food was raw meat. The raw meat was made tender by carrying it between the thighs of the horsemen and the sides of their horses. Attila ate no bread in his whole life.
Attila, the most famous Hun of all time, was born about A.D. 406 in a camp next to the Danube River in Hungary, near the site of the present-day city of Budapest. The baby Attila was snatched from his mother's arms only minutes after his birth. His father Mundzuk, king of the Huns, stood by as a Hun warrior slashed the baby's cheeks with a sword and was handed back to his mother.
The Huns believed that each male child must be taught to endure a wound before being permitted to receive nourishing milk from his mother. The early pain would make him a bold and fierce warrior- if he survived. Attila, even though he was a prince, was no exception.
The Huns were on the move most of the time, leaving an area after they had taken everything to strike another. Rarely did they remain in one place for more than a few weeks. When Attila was a young boy the Huns built their 1st wood-enclosed tent village along the Danube.
When the future king, and other Hun children his age, were still too young to ride on horses, they rode on sheep. Their pudgy hands grabbed the sheep's wool. Eventually a small bow and some arrows were placed in their hands. Then the real training began. Hour after hour, Attila practiced killing rabbits, birds, and other small animals. Lessons in the use of the sword, the spear, the rope, and the whip came next.
Attila became skilled in the use of these tools of war and hunting, and took part in many raids on small villages, riding alongside his father, King Mundzuk.
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Attila soon began living, eating, and even sleeping, while riding his horse. He was a true Hun in appearance. "He had a large head, a dark complexion, small, deep-seated eyes, a flat nose, a few hairs instead of a beard, broad shoulders, and a short, strong and square body. The proud way he walked, along with a hard attitude, showed his belief that he was superior to the rest of mankind, and he had the custom of fiercely rolling his eyes while enjoying the terror and destruction he caused."
During Attila's boyhood, the Hun capital moved frequently on skin-covered wagons. The Huns fought not only for food, but also for gold. They were the first mercenaries of recorded history. (A mercenary is a soldier who serves only for pay or treasure.) The Hun nation was made up of numerous tribes. Sometimes the tribes would unite against a common enemy; sometimes one tribe of Huns might fight against a brother tribe, if there was gold to be won. Rome even paid them to fight other barbarian enemies of Rome.
The great Roman Empire began to decline in the early 400’sAD. On the death of Theodosius I, in A.D. 395, the Empire was split in two. One son, Flavius Honorius, became emperor of the West with his court at Rome. Alaric, king of the Visigoths, had attacked Rome three times and finally captured the city in A.D. 410. But Alaric moved on and settled in Gaul, and Honorius regained rule of the Western Empire. In 425, Valentinian III became emperor of the West, but he was a weak prince and his mother, Galla Placidia, actually ruled for him. Theodosius' other son, Arcadias, became emperor of the East with his court in Constantinople. It was in the Eastern Roman Empire that the Huns were looking for opportunities to invade.
To keep the Huns on their side, Rome exchanged members of wealthy Roman families for young princes of Hun chieftains. Actually, the young Huns were hostages for peace. When Attila's father, King Mundzuk, died, Attila and his older brother Bleda were under the protection of their uncles Rugila, Oktar, and Aebarse. Attila felt strongly that Huns should not hire themselves out as warriors for other nations, but Rugila often hired his tribe to fight along side the Roman legions. Because Attila disagreed with his uncle, Rugila sent young 12 year old Attila to the court of Flavius Honorius, ruler of the Western Roman Empire as one of these hostages.
Attila hated his life in Rome. He missed the freedom of hunting and fighting on the plains along the Danube. He felt like a prisoner. Young Attila preferred his diet of raw meat and mares' milk, instead of the delicate and strange Roman food dishes. He never hid his anger or dislike of the Romans, who added to Attila's hatred by making fun of the ugly, ill-mannered youth.
Attila made several attempts to escape. Each time, guards caught him and brought him back. There is no record of how long he spent at Rome, or how he was finally returned to the Hun capital on the Danube. But when he did return he was full of anger and hatred for Romans.
He dreamed of one day ruling the world. He would unite the Hun tribes. Never again would a Hun serve in the army of an enemy, and one day he would destroy the Roman Empire. But Rugila was king of the largest Hun tribe, and Attila made no attempt to seize control from him.
Of the three ruling brothers of the Huns, Rugila ruled the most powerful group and was threatening the Roman Empire of the East. He ruled over many Germanic tribes and was now important enough to receive a yearly tribute (payment) of three hundred and fifty pounds of gold from the eastern emperor.
Attila watched every move his uncle made; he would be ready to take over when Rugila died.
That chance came in 433 AD . Attila became king of the Huns. Although Attila's elder brother Bleda shared the rule with him, Bleda was weak and did not threaten Attila's rule.
When Rugila died, Theodosius II in Constantinople sent two court officials to try for better peace terms from Attila and his brother. When the Romans rode up, they were not even allowed to get off their horses.
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Attila sat motionless upon his horse. He was dressed in a short, black fur jacket. A black fur cap was pulled down low over his eyes. Bleda was there too, a giant in size compared to his brother. Attila spoke. He wasted no words; he stated the condition under which the Huns and the Eastern Roman (also called the Byzantine) Empire could remain in peace. They were not conditions; they were demands. He spoke in a hard voice.
1.The Romans must stop helping barbarian tribes along the Danube who were
enemies of the Huns.
2. All Hun deserters, now in Roman territory, must be returned.
(Attila wanted to punish them with death!)
3. All Roman prisoners who had escaped should also be returned, or purchased back for eight pieces of
gold per prisoner, paid to the Huns.
4. Emperor Theodosius himself must swear an oath never to give any help to enemies of the Huns.
5. Theodosius must now pay to the Huns seven hundred pounds of gold each year ( twice as much as
before!)
The Romans asked for time to consider the demands. Attila wanted an answer at once. The Romans agreed to every demand.
Among the Huns returned to Attila were two children of a family who had run away when Attila forced the tribe to join him. The children were crucified as a penalty and as a warning to other Huns against running away.
Attila easily passed his first test as King. He then turned his attention to bringing all the Hun tribes into one great nation of Huns. As King of the Huns in the Danube region, Attila had no power over the Huns in Asia or Russia. He immediately began to change that.
There was one man who understood what it meant. The Roman general Flavius Aetius. Aetius had long and loyally served the court of the Western Emperor. He was a skillful general, a careful man, and a man of great planning. Although he had served the emperor many years, at times Aetius had been removed from the court when his power became so great that it appeared he would take over the empire. But he was always brought back when the safety of Rome was threatened.
Aetius was born about 10 years before Attila and had also been a young hostage. He had been given as a hostage to the Visigoths under their leader Alaric, and later to the Huns under Rugila. With each of these barbarian groups Aetius learned not only their customs, but also how they fought! He followed Attila's moves closely. He alone understood the true meaning of the recent treaty with the Eastern Empire. He saw how Attila increased his power by making slaves of the peoples of the smaller tribes in the Danube Valley. Aetius knew that the most serious threat of all Attila's demands was the one that required the Roman Empire to send back to the Huns all the deserters and Hun warriors serving with the Roman legions. It was clear to Aetius that Attila no longer intended to permit any Hun to serve as a soldier of another country. Attila was determined to unify his people and take away the best fighting men from the Roman Empire.
Rugila's brother, Aebarse, should have become the King of the Huns when Rugila died. But Aebarse was far removed from the Danube and satisfied with his own rule over the Caucasian Huns (between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea). When he learned of his brother's death, he did nothing. In fact, Aebarse separated himself and his tribe from the Hun nation.
The ruler of Constantinople sent messengers to the many independent tribes roaming the plains along the Don River (modern Russia), causing them to fear that they would lose their freedom if Attila were allowed to carry out his plan. Attila learned that chieftains had received rich bribes from the Byzantine court to revolt against him. He left his brother Bleda in charge along the Danube, and left at once to confront his uncle .
Aebarse became worried. In Attila, he saw a young man of strong will, a man determined to achieve his goal. Attila explained his plan for world conquest to the older man. He said that almost all the Huns were under his control. He explained that it was only natural to get some resistance, but he could overcome this resistance with a single command. None of the tribes had been able to resist so far; none could resist him. Aebarse gave in. He declared himself in complete support of his young nephew. As further proof of his loyalty to Attila, Aebarse gave him a large number of his most fierce warriors.
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To make sure the rebel Huns obeyed him, Attila made his oldest son Ellak their king, and gave instructions: "Keep a close eye on your great-uncle Aebarse!"
Attila moved farther into central Asia. Everywhere he went he conquered. Tribe after tribe added hundreds of thousands of Huns to his cause.
Attila thought all was well in the vast region that he had left behind for so many years. But he was wrong. His brother Bleda had ruled as sole king along the Danube and let his power go to his head. He had entertained ambassadors. He had made treaties, minor ones, but he had made them. He got used to this power, and he wanted to keep his position. He had felt certain that Attila must have been killed during the many years. But Attila had never been stronger.
A few days after Attila's return to the capital, Bleda suggested to Attila that they share in the rule of the Huns. Three days later, after a hunting trip, Bleda's body was carried into camp. He had been killed in a hunting accident. It was never proven that Attila murdered his brother, but historians agree that this had to be the case. It was how Attila worked. He would allow no one to stand between him and his goal.
And this goal came closer when a herdsman tending cattle on a plain ( an open area of grassland) outside the capital noticed that one of his cows was bleeding badly from one hoof. What could have caused the deep
cut? The herdsman followed the path of blood until he came to a thick clump of grass. He looked closely and saw the point of an ancient sword sticking upward. This could not be a sword dropped in battle.
Eagerly the herdsman pulled the sword out and hurried to Attila. The sword was proclaimed as the “Sword of Mars”, the god of war. He handed it personally to the King. It had been lost for hundreds, even thousands of years. A legend said that the sword would be discovered during the rule of the true and rightful king of the Huns. Possession of the Sword of Mars was proof of its owner's right to rule the world.
Attila proclaimed that it was a gift of the gods, and a great ceremony must be made to celebrate the gift. A huge altar was built outside the capital. It was three hundred yards long and three hundred yards wide. At the top of the altar, the Sword of Mars was placed. The ceremony began by drenching the altar with blood of sheep and horses. Then a prisoner was brought out, his arms were cut off, and thrown high on the altar. From the way in which they fell priests and fortunetellers (called soothsayers) read their meaning. Then the sword was removed and the altar was put on fire.
He was the King of the Huns, owner of the Sword of Mars. He was invincible. He would rule the world.
Shortly after this event, Attila received another amazing gift. He and the Huns interpreted this gift as a sign that the gods were smiling on Atilla. A messenger named Hyacinthus from the western court in Rome rode breathlessly into Attila's camp along the Danube with a letter from the Princess Honoria, sister of the Roman Emperor Valentinian III. Honoria had sent her ring to Attila asking for help against her brother. Attila interpreted the ring as an offer of marriage. But this was shocking- -- unheard of! A royal princess of the great court of Rome asking a barbarian to marry her. But after further questioning of the messenger Attila learned why.
Roman Emperor Valentinian suspected that his sister was plotting against him. He ordered Honoria to marry Flavius Cassius Herculanus, an older man of high rank and loyal to the court of Rome. Herculanus would be expected to stop Honoria's plans for taking over the throne.
Besides marriage, Honoria also offered Attila a large sum of gold to save her from her brother. With Attila's help she would get her revenge.
Attila was not ready for war with the Western Roman Empire. When he was ready, he would make war for his own reasons. Honoria was ignored. He sent the messenger back to Honoria in Rome without a reply, but the messenger was intercepted by Valentinian's men before he could reach Honoria. He was tortured by Valentinian and revealed Honoria's plot. Then he was beheaded, and Honoria was locked up in a convent (a home for nuns) in Ravenna (Italy).
Attila kept the ring. At some time the ring and the letter might be of value in Attila's long-range plans against the Roman Empire.
Attila knew that the Roman Empire in the West had many troubles. Valentinian was constantly in fear of being assassinated. The Vandal King Genseric was destroying Rome's control in North Africa.
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The island of Sicily had been attacked; Carthage (rebuilt many years before by the Romans) had been captured and lay in ruins. For a long time North Africa had been the source of grain for the Romans, and a complete cutoff of this grain was a serious threat. The Roman treasury was nearly bankrupt. For all these reasons, Attila felt certain that the Roman Empire in the West would not try to stop him. The Roman Empire in the East, ruled by Theodosius II, was already paying large amounts of money to the Hun nation to stay away.
The problem that faced Attila was where to strike first. Should the Roman Empire in the West feel the first attack of the Hun army, or should he attack the East?
But before Attila could strike at either part, he first had to solve another major problem- money. Many large chests of gold would be needed to carry out a full-scale attack against the Roman Empire.
Over many years, Attila had received a supply of gold by tricking the two Roman empires. He had sent ambassadors to the courts at Constantinople and Rome. Those ambassadors promised to betray Attila. In return, the Romans filled the pockets of the Hun ambassadors with gold. Returning to the Hun capital on the Danube, the ambassadors poured the gold into Attila's war chest. Attila took great enjoyment from tricking the Romans.
The first strike by Attila's hordes (large armies) came against the city of Margus in Yugoslavia. Fierce horsemen raided the city during the annual fair. The ruthless Huns rode through the marketplace, cutting down merchants, burning, and looting. Hundreds were killed. With Margus under complete Hun control, Attila led his loot-hungry tribesmen to the city of Naissus near the Morava River (today the city is Nis in Yugoslavia). Naissus was the birthplace of Constantine, one of the greatest of all Roman emperors. The city was fortified,
surrounded by a high wooden wall. Inside the city, catapults were made. Attila wanted the city. He wanted to capture the craftsmen and their machines.
But Naissus presented a problem to Attila and his army. The Huns were accustomed to fighting on open plains. A council of war was held. Insults were shouted at the defenders in an attempt to bring them outside the walled city to fight in the open, but the defenders refused to leave. The Huns now brought the only war machines they had into position. These were huge battering rams, copies of those used by Roman legions, and Attila had seen them in use. Many of his Hun warriors had used them when serving as mercenaries in the pay of the Romans. The Huns would now turn them against the Roman enemy. The battering rams had huge metal heads. The warriors seized the ropes attached to the rear of each ram, and pulled backward. At a shouted command, they released the ropes. The ram swung forward, smashing against the wooden wall. On top of the walls, the defenders of the city threw down huge stones. The stones had been gathered as the rams were being brought into position. Many of the rams were destroyed and the men crushed to death. But there were too many rams and too many Huns.
Large holes were smashed in the walls. The Huns, shouting and grinning ferociously, rushed through the wall and attacked the defenders with sword and spear. Other Huns threw rope-scaling ladders to the top of the wall. They scrambled up, and then jumped down to join in hand-to-hand combat. Soon it was all over and the city was captured. Attila rode through the broken wall. The city of Naissus was his.
Theodosius II, alarmed by the destruction of Margus and further frightened by the capture of Naissus, ordered his soldiers to defend other towns in the Hun's destructive path. But nothing could hold Attila back. Seventy more towns fell to his army. When Attila reached the pass of Thermopolae, Theodosius sent a messenger to ask for a truce.
Attila agreed, but Theodosius was made to pay heavily for the peace: six thousand pounds of gold paid now, and yearly tribute from the Byzantine court must be tripled. Theodosius agreed to these demands. He signed the treaty and the invasion was stopped. However, the harsh demands resulted in another plot to assassinate Attila.
The Byzantine Court
The Eastern Roman Empire(also known as the Byzantine Empire) was nearly bankrupt (out of money). To make sure he received the large amounts he had demanded, Attila sent two of his most trusted advisors to the Byzantine court in Constantinople.
They were Edeco, a Hun who was Attila's chief bodyguard, and Orestes, an Illyrian from the land of Pannonia (now western Hungary). (By strange circumstances, Orestes was the father of Augustulus, "Little Augustus," who later became the last emperor of the Roman Empire of the West)
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Edeco the Hun was amazed at the wealth and the beautiful buildings all around him. He had never visited a Roman palace before and was dazzled by the difference with the wooden houses of the Hun's camp. Edeco stopped again and again to marvel at the beautiful vases that lined the hallways. He touched the colorful tapestries and marble sculptures. His bedroom was luxurious and impressed him greatly.
Chests of jewels were opened before Edeco's startled eyes. Silver and gold were everywhere. Often drunk and full of rich foods, Edeco was quickly losing his value to Attila.
How could Edeco gain these things for himself? "Perhaps it could happen", replied the emperor's adviser, "if you learned Roman ways and were less loyal to your King Attila . On your return to Attila's camp, would you be willing to kill your master? If yes, you could come back to Constantinople and have a happy life and great wealth." Hesitating only a moment, Edeco agreed. The two men swore oaths of secrecy about the plan.
With Attila dead, almost all the problems of the Roman Empire would be ended. Theodosius liked this plan. Edeco and Orestes were to return to Attila along with members of the Roman court. A clever young historian named Priscus would go along too. He was to observe and record all the happenings that took place. (Large pieces of Priscus' writings of this journey have been preserved through history, and they give the best details of Attila's court and the lives led by the Huns.)
The long journey from Constantinople to Attila's capital on the Danube took several weeks. After thirteen days, the group reached Bulgaria. Several days later, the party reached Naissus, the fortified city that Attila had captured some months before. Everywhere along the river bank they saw the destruction.
Priscus wrote: "Where the Huns have passed, no grass will ever grow again."
It was a long journey. Along the way, the group met up with Attila who was returning to his capital.
Priscus , in his journal, described the many rivers crossed-- the greatest of which was the Danube--- before they came to the Hun capitol.
On a hill nearby, the Romans caught the first glance of Attila's palace built of polished wood. It was simple compared to the Byzantine palaces in Constantinople, but it had a beauty of its own.
As the group entered the capitol with Attila in the lead, row after row of young girls greeted them with Hun songs in praise of the great King of the Huns. They walked in rows in front of Attila, with white linen cloths stretched so that seven to ten girls walked under one piece.
Week after week the Romans remained in the Hun capitol. They were given freedom to walk around through the huge village. Many of the Huns, even though resting in the capitol, still lived in tents constructed on top of wagons. Only Attila's palace and those of his closest friends were off limits to the Romans.
The Roman, Priscus, sent word to Attila that he had many presents for Attila's wife, which he wished to present to her. Her name was Kreka, and she was his # 1 wife. She had given him three sons whom Attila had made his heirs (the ones to take over after his death). Attila also had about three hundred other wives. Many of them lived at the capitol, others lived in Hun villages throughout the nation.
At the end of their stay, the Romans came to Attila's banquet hall for a dinner with Attila. Cupbearers met the Romans. They handed a silver goblet to each of them. The Romans knelt briefly in silent prayer, and then sipped from their cups, and returned them to the bearer. They were then shown to the seats they were to occupy during the feast.
Chairs were arranged along the walls of the banquet hall. In the middle of the large room sat Attila on a raised chair with steps leading to it. The position to the right of Attila was reserved for the person whom Attila considered the most honorable. Onegesius sat here. Further to the right of Attila, two of Attila's sons sat silently on their chairs. Attila's oldest son sat directly below Attila , his head bent down, his eyes staring at the floor. This was his way of showing respect for his father.
On Attila's left sat Berichus the Goth. Attila had conquered the Goths, but Berichus, a nobleman, was respected by the Hun king. Also on the left, but below Berichus, sat the Romans. When all of the guests had been seated in the order of their rank and importance, the dining ceremony began.
A cupbearer walked proudly up to Attila and offered him a wooden cup decorated with ivory and filled with wine. Attila took the cup and raised it in salute. The guests rose, waited for Attila to sip from his cup, then they drank and returned to their seats.
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Attila's personal servant entered with raw meat on a plain wooden tray. Other servants followed bringing specially prepared food for the Romans and for other barbarians who did not like raw meat. This food was served on silver plates, unlike the wooden tray out of which Attila dug his raw meat with his hands. The guests were served drinks in gold and silver goblets. Attila drank from a wooden mug.
Attila's clothing was as plain as his food. Other guests wore boots and swords with gold and jewels, but Attila's boots were plain. His sword was equally plain, but it was "The Sword of Mars." After the food on the platters was eaten, the cupbearers returned. They brought goblets of wine. All of the guests stood up and remained standing until they had drunk the wine and offered a prayer or toast that Attila remain in splendid health.
The Roman, Priscus, noticed that Attila's expression on his face never changed except when Ernach, Attila's youngest son, came up to him. Attila pinched the boy's cheeks, and the harsh expression on the king's face softened. Priscus was surprised that Attila paid no attention to his other sons, only to Ernach. A guest who spoke Latin and who was sitting beside Priscus explained Attila's affection for his youngest son. The guest first warned Priscus that he must never reveal what he was about to be told. Fortunetellers had told Attila that the Huns would fall and lose their power ,but they would get it all back through Ernach.
The night continued, and the drinking continued, but the Romans asked permission of Attila to go to bed. The King of the Huns granted the request and the Romans returned to their tents. The great banquet was over.
On the morning after Attila's banquet, Attila's secretaries prepared letters for the Romans to take back to Emperor Theodosius.
Three days later the Romans were brought before Attila, and honored with gifts from the King of the Huns. Berichus the Goth, Attila’s trusted nobleman, was to join them on their journey back home.
The group left early on the fourth morning. A few hours later a spy was captured. The group halted, and a messenger was sent back to Attila. The messenger returned to the group with Attila's orders. The spy was to be impaled (the person’s body was rammed down on top of a wooden stake sharpened on the top ) and left to be eaten by the birds and wild beasts.
The following day, the party was halted again when two slaves of the Huns were brought to the group. They had killed their masters, and they were caught trying to escape. Now they stood, hands tied behind their backs , in front of Berichus and the Hun guards in the group. This time no messenger was sent to ask Attila what was to be done with the two men. They were crucified at once; their heads were chopped off and placed on two tall-sharpened poles stuck into the ground.
Meanwhile back in Attila’s camp Edeco told Attila how Theodosius' advisor encouraged him to assassinate Attila. Attila ordered Orestes to go back to Constantinople to confront Theodosius.
Orestes was then to say to the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius," Since you have paid your tribute to me, you are my slave, but you do not act with justice toward me, your superior, your master--- because you secretly planned an attack like a miserable houseslave. You must hand over the advisor for punishment or cut off his head and send it to Attila”. Attila never received the advisor's head. Not long after this, Theodosius died on July 28, 450AD from a fall off his horse. The next emperor, Marcianus, was much stronger.
Attila the Hun now decided that the time had come for him to make his move toward conquest of the world.
Preparing to strike
The new emperor, Marcianus, was on the throne. The Byzantine treasury was nearly empty. Attila would make sure that heavy payments to him further emptied it. Marcianus was no weakling. He was a soldier, energetic and bold. To a friendly and peaceful Attila, Marcianus would pay. But an army would meet an Attila who threatened war.
Attila knew that Marcianus could not stop him, but it did cause him to change his plans.
Rome would
be his final target. The final preparations to strike at Rome began. Attila sat
on his wooden throne in his wooden palace on the Danube and eagerly heard the
news brought to him daily by his spies. The power of the Western Roman Empire
was being weakened through constant revolts by tribes that it used to control
for hundreds of years.
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1. The Visigoths had seized control of all of Aquitania. (South-west France)
2.The Vandals ruled Africa and threatened the Italian coasts.
3. The Alans, a large tribe, controlled the Loire River in central Gaul and were no longer loyal.
Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III was seriously worried. His spies brought back reports of the Hun's daily preparations for war. Large tribes of Huns were answering Attila's call to war. Valentinian's own mercenaries were complaining about being under paid.
Was the fall of the Roman Empire coming soon? It seemed so, as strange signs appeared daily and panic spread among the Roman people. Statues were said to have tears falling from their eyes. Loud thunder in a clear sky were interpreted as the spirits at war in the heavens. There were earthquakes and, on one occasion, the people of Rome said that a rain of blood was falling from the sky.
Valentinian consulted with his fortuneteller. He was told that all these weird omens were connected with the Huns.
In Attila's capital, the king of the Huns was also talking with fortunetellers. The future was read from the intestines of chickens, and the foam of boiling water. Priests and sorcerers shouted and danced to the barbarian gods. Attila's palace was in a constant uproar as these gods were called upon to reveal Attila's destiny.
His fortunetellers gathered before Attila and told their prophecies. The King of the Huns would become the Lord of the Universe. Attila would conquer all.
The signs were favorable. The Hun capital was filled with fierce warriors. Weapons were sharpened, bows restrung. The attack was ready to begin. But Attila's first move was not with the sword. Again he changed his plans. He called for the ring sent to him by Honoria fifteen years before.
A swift messenger sent the ring and a letter from Attila to Valentinian. In the letter, Attila stated that he was now ready to accept the hand of Valentinian's sister, offered to him by Honoria herself in her proposal of marriage.
Attila had no romantic interest in the Roman Princess; he already had over three hundred wives. To get just another wife meant nothing to him: but a wife who would bring him half of the Western Roman Empire was certainly worthy of being added to his harem.
Valentinian consulted with his First General, Aetius, upon whom he had been trusting more and more. Aetius pointed to the ring.
Honoria had pledged herself to Attila - the ring was the evidence, Aetius said. But there was one way out: marry Honoria off immediately. Valentinian quickly agreed.
Aetius then advised Valentinian to send a reply to Attila explaining the situation. Regretfully, Valentinian would not be able to grant the request of the King of the Huns. Honoria was already married.
Valentinian also took care to point out that under Roman law the empire belonged to the males of the ruling family, not the females. Honoria, therefore, was not entitled to any of the property of the Roman Empire.
The time had come. Attila made a quick inspection of his armies. He brought before him his strongest allies, Ardaric, King of the Gepidae, and Theodemir, King of the Ostrogoths. Each would command a major force in support of Attila's attacking Huns.
As the year 451 began, Attila was ready. His armies of over half a million fierce tribesmen were eager for battle. The King of the Huns, with the Sword of Mars at his side, rode out of the Hun capital on the first part of his great adventure -- the conquest of the world. His howling Huns swarmed behind him.
Reporters poured in daily to Valentinian's court in Rome. Never had there been such a huge buildup of men and arms as was seen in the Hun capitol on the Danube. The Huns were on the march.
Aetius worked frantically. The great Roman general gathered his allies. He called on the Franks in Gaul; they roamed in the areas near the Rhine River. Aetius called on the Saxons, the Burgundians, the Visigoths, and the Alans still loyal to Rome. He strengthened Roman cities and reinforced the fortresses.
Attila had been busy too. Attila would strike against the Franks and the Visigoths in Germany and Gaul. He had arranged a treaty with Genseric, King of the Vandals, who controlled North Africa, to raid the Italian coasts. While the Romans were busy fighting off the Vandals Attila would strike in the north. Attila would conquer the Franks and the Visigoths, enslave them in his army, and turn them -- as his soldiers -- against Rome.
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At the front of this huge army rode yellow-skinned, Huns dressed in fur clothing, with Attila leading the way. Their deadly whips cracked in the air. Ostrogoths wearing leather clothing and carrying long lances and axes, followed. Giant Germans, their yellow hair flying in the wind, came next. They were followed by a second wave of barbaric Huns, recently arrived from Asia.
It was a wild, terrifying army that Attila led. Many different languages were spoken by the bloodthirsty troops. But although the army was weird-looking and wild acting, it was orderly. Attila's command was firm. The savage barbarians were held together by their complete confidence in their leader and by their fired-up love for war. Thoughts of plunder and of loot that went to the winner filled their minds.
Attila's army moved westward toward the Rhine Valley with unbelievable speed. Town after town fell to his conquering forces. The Burgundians offered no resistance. The Franks along the lower Rhine were beaten in a single, lightning strike. Their king, a friend of Rome, was murdered. Attila proclaimed a new king who rode by his side as the Huns neared the Rhine.
It had all been so simple, so easy. Wagons were piled high with the loot taken by the conquering Huns. The peoples of the regions overrun by the Huns offered no resistance. These barbarians terrified them. There had been little fighting, only a few small battles. The Roman forts in the small villages, certain of defeat, left before the approach of the Huns.
At the banks of the Rhine, Atitila called a halt.
Everywhere he went, in the villages that fell into his control, Attila proclaimed himself as the friend and savior of the villagers. His true enemy was Rome, he said. He would bring about the downfall of the Roman Empire, which had held these villages in near slavery for so many hundreds of years.
To cross the Rhine River the men put together pontoon bridges and stretched them across the Rhine. Attila and his hordes crossed the river near the city of Koblenz. Their attack was stopped for a day or two when a large number of Burgundians surprisingly offered the first resistance that Attila had met. Led by their king, Gundicar, and joined by a tribe of Franks, the enemies met in Rhineland just north of the town of Worms. The battle was over quickly. The Huns captured the Burgundians and Franks, captured Childeric, king of the Franks, and destroyed the city of Worms.
The army of more than half a million rode down the western bank of the Rhine, destroying the countryside and every town and village in their path. Attila spread his troops out in a wide wave stretching westward from the Rhine across what is now the northern border of France. He crossed into northern Gaul and hurried his troops to the fortified city of Metz.
The walled city had plenty of food and water, and was governed by a bishop who had once been a skilled warrior. The bishop refused Attila's demand to open the city's gates.
Huns tried to climb the wall. Battering rams were put into action and pounded on the city's gates. Hun arrows bounced off the city's walls. Metz put up a stubborn fight. Boiling oil and flaming tar were poured down on the heads of the attackers. Huge stones were heaved over the walls to knock the men off their horses. Many horses, crippled from the force of the rolling stones, had to be destroyed.
Attila became more and more furious as Metz refused to fall to his forces. No city, no people, no tribe had stopped his onrushing armies so far. Attila, wise as a warrior, knew that the delay at Metz could well break the rhythm of his advance and depress his plunder-hungry troops. He decided to stop the siege and march westward toward Reims.
So the king of the Huns abandoned Metz. But after one day's march, he called a halt. As a skilled general, Attila knew well the danger of leaving a strong, undefeated enemy in his rear, so he sent his scouts back to check. The inhabitants of Metz had laid down their arms and were making repairs in the city. Quickly Attila reversed his army. On April 7, 451, the Huns swept back to Metz and in a few hours massacred the city's inhabitants, including the bishop and other churchmen--all who had opposed him.
Word of the massacre spread throughout northern Gaul. The people of Reims trembled as the Huns approached, and many left the city. Nicaise, the Bishop of Reims, gathered a few brave men, but their defense lasted only a few hours. Nicaise was murdered; the brave men who had fought with him were slain. Reims fell.
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A monk who had heard of the death of the Bishop of Metz and who witnessed the slaying of Nicaise, labled Attila "the Scourge of God." It was a title in which Attila took pride. He valued highly his reputation for fierceness. He saw to it that word was spread around, about the people he had tortured, crucified, or impaled. He did this purposely to inspire greater fear in his enemies and make his conquests less difficult.
With the fall of Reims, Attila moved his army farther westward, easily capturing and looting the villages of St. Quentin and Laon, then called Laudunum. On the road to the south was the large town of Lutetia--the town that was later to become Paris. People poured into the city daily, bringing with them stories of horror, of villages burned, of people put to the sword. The Lutetians had sworn an oath of loyalty to Rome, and now Rome's greatest enemy was on the way to their town.
All of northern Gaul had fallen to the King of the Huns. Attila rested his troops for a few days, preparing to move against the Lutetians--but their city was saved by a sudden change in Attila's plans. According to church legend, a woman named Genevieve told her fellow citizens to stop sinning, pray, and stand firm believing in God to protect them. The people listened. Genevieve became known as a prophetess (one who talks to God and can tell the future). Attila turned away from the city. Spies in the Visigoth court at Toulouse, in southern Gaul (now France), learned that King Theodoric I was being pressured by the Romans to join with Aetius in order to defeat the Huns. When the spies brought news to Attila, he decided to bypass the Lutetia and move swiftly to the south of Gaul where he would crush Theodoric and the Visigoths before they could be joined by Aetius' Roman legions.
Attila planned to cross the Loire River at Orleans. This area was inhabited by the Alans, whose leader, Sangiban, was not so convinced he wanted to remain loyal to Rome. Attila sent valuable presents to Sangiban and a huge bribe saying Sangiban and the Alans could accept the friendship of the Huns or be forced out of the Loire Valley. Sangiban accepted Attila's terms and sent word back to the King of the Huns that the bridges over the Loire at Orleans would be open to the Hun army.
Early in May, A.D.451, five months after his army had left of the Hun capital on the Danube, Atilla arrived outside the walls of Orleans. His all-conquering troops had covered nearly one thousand miles, laying waste to hundreds of towns and villages in their path. Orleans, destroyed by Julius Caesar four hundred years before, had been rebuilt into a strong, heavily fortified, and well-guarded city, governed by Bishop Aignan, who was loyal to Rome and didn't trust the Alans. The gates of Orleans were closed as the Huns thundered across the Loire bridges and took up siege positions near the city's walls. Attila, his army increased by the addition of Sangiban's Alans, felt that Orleans would fall quickly to his thousands of soldiers.
Bishop Aignan sent messengers to Aetius in Rome and to Theodoric in Toulouse. Theodoric feared the Huns would overrun Toulouse and march into Spain (where the Visigoths ruled). H e also wanted help from Aetius. Although Theodoric distrusted Rome, he distrusted Attila even more. Weeks passed as the Huns laid siege to the walls of Orleans. Theodoric promised that he would come to the rescue of the city within fifteen days. He was waiting only for Aetius and the Roman legions.
At Orleans, each charge of the Huns was pushed back. Once again the army of the Huns was showing its greatest weakness. The city had less than fifty thousand people , and it was surrounded by a fierce army of well over half a million, but the Huns' attacks were thrown back time and time again. As the days passed slowly, Orleans' defenses began to weaken. The brave defenders could not hold out much longer. The people of Orleans were beginning to doubt their governor, the Bishop of Aignan. Where were Theodoric and Aetius?
Toward the end of June, nearly seven weeks after the Huns' first attack on Orleans, a section of the city's walls tumbled. Attila's troops poured in, burning and looting. In the southern part of the city, the defenders were engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the Huns. Suddenly, from the top of the southern wall, a great shout was heard. A cloud of dust told of the fast approach of a large army. It was the Roman legions, led by the great General Aetius. Theodoric I, King of the Visigoths, rode by his side.
Attila had no desire to meet his enemies inside the city. The Huns' looting was abruptly halted as Attila ordered them out of Orleans. Aetius and Theodoric followed Attila closely. They struck at the rear defenders of Attila's army and killed many.
Attila retreated, but he did not consider this a defeat. He wanted to bring his enemy onto land that would be easier for his army to fight on. He would make his stand on the Catalaunian Plain surrounding Chalons on the Marne River. (southwest of the present city of Chalons-sur-Marne.)
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The Battle of Chalons in June 451, was to become one of the most decisive battles in world history. It would determine how Western Europe would be ruled and who would rule it. Would it become a poor, barbarian region or a rich and cultured one? This battle would make or break Europe.
The night before the great battle, the Franks, led by their king, Merovee, fought against the tribe called the Gepidae, Attila's allies. In this first short battle, fought under the lights of burning torches, fifteen thousand warriors died, most of them Gepidae warriors. It was a bad start for the King of the Huns, but more bad news was to follow. When Attila had set up his camp, he had not noticed a hill to the right of his center. Since it was above Attila's camp, this hill, if held by the enemy, would give them an outstanding advantage. Young Torismond, prince of the Visigoths, was trying to capture that hill even as Attila was meeting with his generals.
Attila sent a strong force to stop Torismond's attempt to take the hill, but the Huns were thrown back. Torismond and his Visigoths held on.
Attila must have been nervous. In the first two battles with the enemy, the Huns and their allies had met defeat. Attila waited before sounding the battle call, which would bring the two great armies together. First he would talk to his fortunetellers who could predict the future. The bodies of several enemy soldiers were brought in front of Attila's tent. They were cut open, and the fortunetellers looked through the bodies for signs. Next, they scraped the bones of the victims. The signs indicated the defeat of the Huns. This was bad news to Attila, who had already suffered two defeats. The sorcerers continued chanting. They saw also the death of an important enemy leader. To Atilla, this could only mean Aetius, the Roman general. The Hun leader showed little concern of his own defeat, but he rejoiced in the promised death of his greatest enemy.
A fog rolled across the Catalaunian Plains. More than a million warriors waiting for battle could not see their enemy. Attila mounted his horse, pulled the Sword of Mars from its scabbard, and rode among his soldiers. He sensed the low spirits of his men, who had been shaken by the two early defeats. Rumors of the fortunetellers’ predictions were already spreading through the camp.
On the bank of the Marne River, Attila placed himself at the front of his brave and loyal Huns, directly in the center of a long line of warriors. On his right, Atilla placed Ardaric and his Gepidae. On his left side, the Ostrogoths were in position, led by three brothers Walamir, Theodemir and Widmer. Directly behind Atilla were his camp and baggage.
On the opposite side the Romans put Theodoric and the Visigoths. They would fight the Ostrogoths – their own related tribesmen (The Goths were a people divided many years before into the Eastern Goths [Ostrogoths] and the Western Goths [Visigoths]. Now they were fighting each other.) Aetius and his Roman legions would battle Aradaric's Gepidae. Attila's Huns would be fighting the Alans, led by Sangiben, who had been Attila's ally in the siege of Orleans, but was now fighting for the Romans.
Prince Torismond and his proud Visigoths still held the hill. They were directly behind Ardaric's Gepidae. Although Torismond's force was not large, it overlooked Attila's armies from the rear, and the arrows they shot down on the Huns did exceptional damage. Attila was actually in a poor position, for the enemy was both in front and behind !.
The fog covering the Catalaunian plains lifted after midday, and about 3 p.m. the battle began. Attila rode toward the Roman line, and threw his javelin to signal the start of the great conflict. He turned, raced back to his Huns, and moments later the sky was darkened as arrows from each side filled the air. When all the arrows had been sent, the Cavalry charged.
Attila led the charge, sometimes turning and urging his horsemen forward. Sangiban's Alans met the Hun charge head on. There was a clash of spears bouncing off metal shields. The Alans could not hold and were forced back. Attila shouted a command, and led his horsemen to the left to join the Ostrogoths, who were being severely beaten by Theodoric's Visigoths. Hun infantry (foot soldiers) rushed into the hole left by Attila's horsemen and met the Alans in hand-to-hand combat.
Theodoric gathered his horsemen to meet the additional challenge of Attila's charge. He rode among his men, shouting encouragement, inspiring them to even greater efforts against the enemy. A javelin flew through the air from the hands of Andages, an Ostrogoth. His aim was good. It pierced Theodoric's chest and he fell from his horse. In the furious fighting, Theodoric's own horsemen rode over their King, trampling him to death.
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Shock at the death of their king spread quickly throughout the army of the Visigoths. They became confused without their leader. As they began to panic and run, down from the hill dashed Prince Torismond. He inspired the Visigoths to fight with greater fury. It worked. They turned back toward the enemy and charged the Ostrogoths and Attila's supporting cavalry. Attila and the Ostrogoths were forced to retreat. They moved back slowly to the center where the Hun horsemen had made the first charge.
Aetius and his Roman legions had charged Ardaric and the Gepidae and had cut them off, isolating them between the Marne and the hill held by Torismond's Visigoths. The Roman general, feeling that the future of the West and the Roman Empire were at risk in this battle, inspired his Roman and Frank soldiers to their greatest efforts and slashed his way to victory.
Attila , still fighting at the head of his Huns, was slowly being forced back. The Visigoths were pressing him from the left; Aetius and the Roman legions had turned on his right. Attila was being pinned down from both sides. The Alans, supported now by the pressure from both sides, struck back at the Hun infantry. Attila was in a pocket. His only escape was to the rear. He was forced to retreat.
Night was falling as the battle ended. Attila retreated within the circle of wagons surrounding his camp. Archers on the wagons fought off the repeated charges of the Romans and their allies.
Attila, fearing total defeat, swore that he would never be taken alive. He ordered wooden saddles to be removed from the horses. These were piled high. At the bottom of the pile were all the spoils and loot that the Huns had captured. If the enemy broke through the circle of wagons, Attila would climb to the top of the pile (called a pyre). As the enemy approached, the Hun King would signal for the pile to be set on fire. He would die in the roar of flames before allowing the enemy to take him prisoner. However, Attila did not have to use it.
As night came, the Catalaunian Plain became silent over the field of one of the bloodiest battles ever fought. Attila, King of the Huns, the Scourge of God, had been defeated. The last great battle between the barbarians and the West was over. The West was victorious. If Attila and his Huns had won the battle, the entire course of history might have been changed. Christianity might have been wiped out, and Western civilization, with its beginnings back to Greece, might have been destroyed and barbaric rule taken its place.
Before World War I, no single battle in history had killed as many men as the Battle of Chalons. Perhaps as many as 300,000 killed in fierce fighting that lasted only about six hours. The Marne River ran red with blood from the thousands who died along its shores.
At dawn on the day after the battle the terrible destruction of human life could be seen. Dead warriors and bodies of dead horses littered the field of battle as far as the eye could see. You could hardly see the ground because of the dead.
The Battle of Chalon was over, but the armies remained in position. Atilla had been defeated, as predicted. The sorcerers had been right in their second prediction too. Theodoric, King of the Visigoths, had been killed. He was one of Attila's greatest enemies.
Aetius took a quick count of those killed, It could not be an accurate one, but there was no doubt that the greater losses had been suffered by Attila's armies.
The Visigoths immediately announced Prince Torismond their new king to succeed his father Theodoric. Torismond wanted to press on, to destroy completely the forces of Atilla. But Aetius became cautious.
If Attila was killed in a second attack, Torismond , who had no love for Romans,, might turn on Aetius. Aetius wanted to reduce any risk that Torismond and his Visigoths might become the new enemy .The Visigoth Empire was already strong and growing stronger. Before Atilla, the Visigoths already presented a threat to the rule of Rome. He suggested that Torismond might want to return quickly to the Visigoth court at Toulouse. Torismond's four brothers, Fredrick, Turic, Rotemen, and Himmerit, might be trying to seize the throne, even though Torismond had been proclaimed the new king. This worried the young leader, and by late afternoon, the Visigoth army gathered up its weapons, took down its tents, and marched south toward Toulouse.
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Aetius had another reason for not wanting of Attila and the Huns destroyed. Perhaps, Attila might become an ally of Rome. But Aetius was wrong. Attila still hated the Romans, and his hatred was even greater now that he had been defeated by the Roman general. Attila wanted the defeat of Rome and he still planned to make Honoria his bride.
With the Visigoths gone, Aetius assembled his army, and the victorious Roman legions turned their steps toward Italy.
Attila remained at Chalons for another three days. He suspected a trap by Romans and the Visigoths. When nothing happened, the king of the Huns gathered his defeated armies and started back to the Danube.
As Attila led his weary, defeated army on the long journey back to the Danube, he was pursued across the Rhine, deep into Germany, by Merovee and his Franks. The Franks made continuous raids on Attila's soldiers in the rear, harassing the Huns and killing many of them. At night the Franks lit many small fires, many more than they needed, to give Attila the impression that he was being pursued by an extremely large army. It worked. Attila did not turn and attack his tormentors. If he had done so , the smaller Frank army and its leader would have been wiped out by the larger Hun forces.
Merovee followed Attila until he reached Thuringia in central Germany; then the Franks stopped and returned to the land around the Rhine.
Attila had been defeated , but he was by no means through. Once again Rome would feel Attila's power, for Rome itself was the next target of the Scourge of God. Attila's failure did not hurt his reputation as a leader. Hundreds of tribes of barbarians remained loyal to the King of the Huns. During the winter months, Attila had many war machines and battering rams constructed. He even had his soldiers trained in the ways the Roman legions front. He remembered Metz and Orleans, and his troops were prepared for sieges. The large army rested throughout the Winter and with the coming of Spring they were ready to march again, to follow Attila at his first command.
This time they would attack Rome itself. In the Spring of 482, Attila sent a messenger to the court in Rome, repeating his demand for Honoria and for half of the Roman Empire, which Attila insisted, was rightfully hers. Again the demands were rejected.
With the snow mostly gone the king of the Huns led his large army of barbarians swiftly over the Carnic Alps (Southern Austria) and down the western slopes of the Venetian Alps into Italy. The Huns would strike first against the strong fort city of Aquileia. Aquileia was one of the richest, most populated, and strongest of the cities on the coast of the Adriatic sea. It was also the northeastern gateway to all of Italy. The city had to be captured to allow Attila free movement to the south and to Rome.
Attila attacked the city's walls. Catapults threw stones weighing as much as three hundred pounds against the heavy wooden walls surrounding the city. Metal-tipped battering rams crashed against the gates non-stop. Attila had his carpenters build tall, moveable towers on wheels. These were rolled up to the walls so that the archers could be more effective in firing at the defenders. But still the city held out.
The siege continued for three months, but the city did not weaken. Food was running low in Attila's army. The meat portion was cut to once a week. Soldiers searched the countryside for chickens, geese, cattle, horses ---- anything that would feed the hungry army. Complaints began to rise among the warriors.
The Hun king ordered a cease fire and the attack was halted. In the morning, the troops were to take down their tents and prepare to retreat to the Danube.
Italy might have been saved and Attila once more defeated if it had not been for the actions of a bird. The King of the Huns had become more and more superstitious as he grew older. In his march from the Danube to Italy, he had, on several occasions, saved churches and cathedrals on the towns he destroyed, believing that he had heard the voices of the Christian God warning him away,
Attila rode around the wall of Aquileia. He was in an angry mood. Edeco, his faithful warrior, reminded him that the long siege was tiring. Attila noticed a large white bird, a stork. As the two warriors watched, the stork flew from its nest in the city to the woods outside. This was a good sign. In an excited, cheerful voice, Attila told Edeco that the stork would never leave its nest unless it knew that the destruction of the city was certain. The superstitious king said that animals, especially birds, had a better sense of future happenings than men had. This was the greatest of signs.
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Attila once more encouraged his armies. The Huns attacked the walled city with greater fury than before. Ladders were brought against the walls. The siege towers were rolled up and archers swarmed to their tops. Battering rams pounded with crashing thuds. Finally an opening was made in the wall. Huns poured through the hole in the wall. From the towers, archers took deadly aim and the brave defenders of Aquileia were cut down. The city was torn apart, and its men, women, and children massacred.
Attila rode among the dead and dying. He gave his soldiers two hours to loot the city. Then he ordered the city put on fire. Later generations could hardly find the ruins of Aquileia. The city never recovered its former greatness, and even today, it is a small village of about fourteen hundred people. The survivors who successfully ran away found safety in the marshy islands along the coast. Here the Huns could not reach them on horseback. The frightened survivors dared not return to Aguileia. Instead they began to build huts there on the islands. This fearful beginning eventually became the rich and successful city of Venice whose name comes from their Latin words Venezium "We made it this far."
The Huns, encouraged by their victory, moved westward quickly. The cities of Milan and Pavia and Torino fell before them. The Italian people, who had not seen enemy soldiers on their soil for forty years, surrendered without a battle to the advancing Huns.
Aetius had gathered the Roman legions and was prepared to fight against the onrushing Huns. Valentinian hesitated, and desperately asked Pope Leo I, head of the Christian church, to meet with Attila.
The historic meeting took place on the banks of the Mincio River, where it flows into Lake Garda near Verona. Pope Leo, looking impressive in flowing white robes and surrounded by members of the church dressed in gold and silver, filled Attila with awe. It is not known what was said between the Scourge of God and the man of God, but Attila listened long and respectfully to the words spoken to him by the Pope. It was said that during their long conversation, the figures of St. Peter and St. Paul, the patron saints of Rome, appeared in the sky above. They are said to have threatened Attila with instant death if he did not leave. (A painting by the great Italian artist Raphael shows this meeting.)
Attila decided to return home. He also may have done this because his men were suffering from malaria and hunger. Because Pope Leo helped save Italy and Rome from the savage barbarian, he became known as Pope Leo the Great.
Although he was leaving, Attila could still show the pride of a conqueror. He had shown Italy who was master. He was now about forty-seven years old, and he was never again to ride against the Roman Empire.
A Broken Bow
Songs of victory and the blare of trumpets sounded as Attila led his proud army back into the Hun capital in the year 453. He was greeted by graceful young women under white banners of silk.
Quickly the word spread that the King of the Huns had brought with him a beautiful young Burgundian princess called Ildico, who was to become another of his many wives. The wedding ceremony and Attila's triumph in Italy was celebrated all day in the huge wooden palace of the king.
Gifts of gold, jewels, beautiful fabrics and rugs, silks, and gold-decorated saddles were brought to the wooden palace.
Throughout the day of the wedding, the fields around the palace rang with the clashing of weapons and the shouts of daring horsemen as they played at games of war. Clowns and court jesters entertained the crowds gathered around the palace.
At night the great wedding feast began. The beautiful Ildico, a light veil covering her face, sat beside her husband, her eyes lowered, shyly accepting the compliments of the many guests. Attila drank heavily with the princess and chieftains who toasted his great success and his newest marriage. Attila's wooden goblet was filled with wine time and time again. The feasting and drinking lasted far into the night.
Attila and his young bride went to bed just after midnight. The guests continued drinking and feasting into the early hours of the morning. The next day the guests slept late, exhausted by their long hours of partying.
At noon, Attila still had not come out of his tent. At first this caused no concern. But as the day went on, Attila's closest friends and advisors began to worry. The loyal friend, Edeco, went to the king's room. He knocked on the door, softly at first. Receiving no reply, he knocked louder, pounding on the door. Edeco shouted his master's name, no reply.
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Edeco broke open the door and gasped. He saw Attila lying naked on his large bed. Its white fur cover was stained with blood. Edeco rushed to his master's side. Attila the Hun was dead. Ildico sat by the bedside, tears running down her cheeks, trembling with fear.
At first Attila's friends thought that their king had been assassinated, but the body showed no wounds of any kind. Attila had died a natural death. During his heavy, alcoholic sleep, an artery had burst. He had bled heavily; a rush of blood had flooded into his lungs.
Attila's body was placed in three caskets. The first was made of iron. The iron casket was encased in a silver casket , and the silver and iron caskets were placed into a casket of gold. Prisoners were brought to dig the grave. It was a large grave, and into it were placed the stolen valuables of many nations. The triple casket of gold, silver, and iron was lowered into the grave and covered. The gravediggers were killed so that enemies would never know the exact location of Attila's final resting-place.
Hun warriors tore out their hair and slashed their faces so that their king would be remembered not in tears but in blood, as was fitting for so great a leader.
Attila's rule had lasted 20 yearsn and it was filled ith glory, for those who followed him. He was the most powerful ruler in the western world from A.D. 433 to 453 , but this was the end of the Scourge of God, and the Hun Empire.
Attila's many sons tried to carry on, but tribes who had been loyal to Attila gave none of this loyalty to the sons. The prophecy that Attila's son Ernach would one day restore the Hun Empire to its full power and glory never came true. The Hun tribes scattered all across Europe and Asia. As the years passed on, the Huns blended into other nations, forgotten.