Hunnic Empire

The Hunnic Empire, at its height under Attila.

Nomads from the Steppes of Central Asia, the Huns were a barbarian tribe whose mass emigration into Europe in the 4th Century brought with it great ethnic and political upheaval. Through a combination of advanced weaponry, amazing mobility and battlefield tactics, they achieved military superiority over many of largest rivals, subjugating the tribes conquered.

Origins

The origins of the Huns that swept through Europe during the 4th Century is still unknown. However, it is the wide belief of historians that they were a group of nomadic tribes from Central Asia. Before this it is suggested the Huns were the Xiong Nu tribe, who were forced west by the Chinese. However, aside from the fact that the Huns appear about the same time as the Xiong Nu disappeared, there is no evidence to back this claim up.

The Huns were an ethnically diverse tribe, due to the variation of cultures bought under their banner through subjugation. However, it is thought that they were ruled by a Turkic-speaking nobility.

Early Campaigns

Ancient accounts suggest that the Huns had settled in the lands north-west of the Caspian Sea as early as the 3rd Century. By the latter half of the century, about 370, the Caspian Huns mobilized, destroying a tribe of Alans to their west. Pushing further westward the Huns ravaged and destroyed an Ostrogothic kingdom. In 395, a Hun raid across the Caucasus mountains devastated Armenia, there they captured Erzurum, besieged Edessa and Antioch, even reaching Tyre in Syria.

In 408, the Hun Uldin invaded the Eastern Roman province of Moesia but his attack was checked and Uldin was forced to retreat.

Consolidation

For all their early exploits, the huns were still politically too disunited to stage a serious campaign. Rather than an empire the huns were rather a confederation of kings. Although there was the title of 'high king', there were very few who of those in this post that managed to effectively rule over all the hunnic tribes. As a result, the Huns were without clear leadership nor did they have any united objectives.

From 420, a chieftain named Oktar began to weld the disparate Hunnic tribes under his banner. He was succeeded by his brother, Ruga who became the leader of the Hun confederation, uniting the huns into a cohesive group with a common purpose. He lead them into a campaign in the Western Roman Empire, through an alliance with Roman General Aetius. This gave the huns even more notoriety and power. He planned a massive invasion of the Eastern Roman Empire in the year 434 but died before it came to fruition. His heirs to the throne were his nephews, Bleda and Attila, who ruled in a dual kingship. Although they both divided hunnic lands in half, however still regarded the empire as being one.

Under the Dual Kingship

Attila and Bleda were as ambitious as king Ruga, they forced the Eastern Roman Empire to sign the treaty of Margus. This gave the Huns trade rights and an annual tribute from the Romans amongst other things. With such a treaty in effect with along his southern border with the Romans, the Huns continued to subjugate tribes to the east.

However, when the Romans failed to deliver tribute and other conditions of the treaty of Margus were not met, both kings turned their attention back to the Eastern Romans. Also reports that the Bishop of Margus had crossed into Hun lands and desecrated royal graves incensed the kings. War broke out between the two empires, with the Huns capitalizing on a weak Roman army, they razed the cities of Margus, Singidunum and Viminacium. Although a truce was signed in 441, war resumed two years later with another failing to deliver tribute by the Romans. In the following campaign Huns armies came alarmingly close to Constantinople, sacking Sardica, Arcadiopolis and Philippopolis along the way. After complete defeat at the Battle of Chersonesus, the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II gave in to Hun demands and the Peace of Anatolius was signed in autumn 443. The Huns returned to their lands with a vast train full of plunder.

In 445, Bleda died, leaving Attila the sole ruler of the Hun Empire.

As Attila's Empire

With his brother gone and as the only ruler of the united Huns, Attila possessed undisputed control over his subjects. In 447, Attila turned the Huns back toward the Eastern Roman Empire once more. His invasion of the Balkans and Thrace was devastating, with one source citing that the huns razed 70 cities. The Eastern Roman Empire was already beset from internal problems, such as famine, plague as well as riots and a series of earthquakes in Constantinople itself, with only a last-minute rebuilding of its walls left Constantinople unscathed. A Hun victory over a Roman army had already left them virtually unchallenged in Eastern Roman lands and only disease forced a retreat, after they had conducted raids as far south as Thermopylae.Finally, the war came to an end for the Eastern Romans in 449 with the signing of the Third Peace of Anatolius.

Throughout their raids on the Eastern Roman Empire, the Huns had still maintained good relations with the Western Empire, this was due in no small part to a friendship with Aetius, a powerful Roman general (sometimes even referred to as the defacto ruler of the Western Empire) who had spent his some time with the Huns. However, this all changed when Honoria, the Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III's sister sent Attila a ring and requested for his help to escape her betrothal to a senator. Although it is not known whether Honoria intended this as a proposal of marriage to Attila, that is how the Hun King interpreted it. Claiming half the Western Roman Empire as dowry and rightfully his. To add to the failing relations, a dispute between Attila and Aetius about the rightful heir as king of the Salian Franks also occurred. Finally, the repeated raids on the Eastern Roman Empire had left it with little to plunder.

In 451, his forces entered Gaul, with his army recruiting from the Franks, Goths and Burgundian tribes they passed en route. Once in Gaul, the Huns first attacked Metz, then his armies continued westwards, passed both Paris and Troyes to lay siege to Orleans.

The General Aetius was given the duty of reliving Orleans by Emperor Valentinian III. Bolstered by Frankish and Visigothic troops (under King Theodoric) Aetius' own Roman army met the Huns at the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields. Aetius won the battle and repulsed Attila's invasion of Gaul, forcing their retreat back to hunnic lands.

The following year, Attila renewed his claims to Honoria and territory in the Western Roman Empire. Leading his horde across the Alps, into Northern Italy, there he sacked and razed the cities of Aquileia, Vicetia, Verona, Brixia, Bergomum, and Milan. Finally, at the gates of Rome he turned his army back, the reason for this is still a mystery, however they could have been either due to an epidemic in Hun ranks or a renewed threat from the Eastern Roman Empire. With neither Honouria nor her dowry, Attila retreated back to Hunnic lands once more.

From the Hungarian Plains, Attila planned to attack and destroy Constantinople, in retaliation of the new Eastern Roman Emperor Marcian cutting off tribute. Before his attack he chose to marry a Germanic girl named Ildico. He died of a nosebleed in 453, on his wedding night.

After Attila

Attila was succeeded by his eldest son, Ellak. However, Attila's other sons, Dengizich and Ernakh challenged him for the throne. Taking advantage of the siutation, subjegated tribes rose up in rebellions. The Huns were defeated in the Battle of Nedao. In 469, Dengizik the last Hunnic King and successor of Ellak died, this date is seen as the end of the Hunnic Empire. It is believed that some of Attila's huns in South-East Europe continued ruling over lands there, forming the Bulgarian Empire, which stretched over the Balkans, Pannonia and Scythia.