Attila was an important conqueror of the 5th century, famous for the attacks he led against the Roman Empire. He was chief of the Huns, a nomadic people of Mongolian origin. “Attila appears to have been an astute commander of great skill. Under his leadership, the Huns dominated and terrorized vast areas of Europe and Asia,” says English historian John Warry.
In addition to being skilled warriors and having a strong leadership, the Huns had another important military advantage: a large number of soldiers, which was guaranteed by the populations they subjugated, forcing them to supply men for the conquering army. Attila seemed to have an insatiable appetite for gold: if she was given a good amount of the precious mineral, she was able to halt offensives and spare cities from destruction. But there is little reliable information about his life, surrounded by legends, and it is not known for sure where or when he was born.
What seems certain is that, around the year 434, Attila inherited the leadership of several disorganized tribes weakened by internal disputes, managing to unify them. He ruled the Huns alongside his older brother Bleda until he murdered him around 445, when he became sole chief of his people. For the next eight years, Attila led successive offensives into Europe, sending the Western Roman Empire into panic.
Although he was known as a violent ruler, he was probably not as ruthless as the fame he gained from his enemies indicates. In the year 453, while preparing an attack against the Eastern Roman Empire, Attila died, apparently of natural causes. He would then be between 50 and 60 years old. With the loss of their great leader, the strength of the Huns was never the same.
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Leaving Asia, he led a nomadic people in a devastating invasion of Europe.
1 – The Huns are probably from Central Asia. They used their horses masterfully in battle and knew how to take advantage of their enormous skill with archery. At the end of the 4th century, they began a long march towards the west. In their advance, they forced barbarian peoples to flee and invade territories controlled by the Roman Empire.
2 – Attila started to command the Huns in the year 434, when there had already been clashes with the Romans. He negotiated peace with the Empire, which would pay 300 kilos of gold annually to the Huns. As the agreement seems not to have been fulfilled, Attila started a major attack, destroying important cities in the Danube river region, such as Serdica (today Sofia, capital of Bulgaria)
3 – Around 447, when he was devastating the region between the Black and Mediterranean Seas, Attila was informed of the riches of Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey). He then decided to conquer the city, which only escaped destruction because it was protected by great walls.
4 – Back on the march towards the west, Attila invaded Gaul in 451. One of his objectives with this campaign would have been to win the right to marry Honoria, sister of Valentinian III, who ruled the Western Roman Empire. If the marriage had taken place, Attila could have claimed half the Empire as her dowry.
5 – Attila’s ambitions, however, were thwarted by a military alliance between the Romans and the Visigoths, a barbarian people of Germanic origin. In the same year 451, the Huns were defeated by the Allies at the Battle of Chalons, in the northeast region of present-day France. Attila had to give up the marriage and withdrew from Gaul.
6 – The defeat made the Huns change their plans and invade Italy in 452, taking advantage of the fragility of the semi-dead Roman Empire. There is a myth that Attila did not sack Rome only because of a request from Pope Leo I. The most likely, however, is that the lack of supplies and epidemics in the region have encouraged the withdrawal of the Huns. A year later, Attila would die