Summary
Highlights
This is the first part of a three-part series on Attila the Hun. Attila is often portrayed as a villainous mass murderer, a 'scourge of God' by the Romans. While he did indeed sack cities and threaten both Eastern and Western Roman Empires, much of the historical record comes from the Romans, who are unlikely to portray him positively. The podcast aims to explore the story as a reflection of the Roman Empire's hubris and decline, which created a power vacuum allowing men like Attila to rise. The focus will start with the late Roman Empire, setting the stage for Attila's emergence, and later chapters will cover the blitzkrieg through Europe.
The Roman Empire of the 4th and 5th centuries was in decline, fragmented, and surrounded by enemies. Emperor Diocletian's tetrarchy divided the empire into Eastern and Western halves, fostering civil war. Constantine 'the Great' reunited the empire briefly, famously embracing Christianity after a vision at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. He also moved the capital to Constantinople in 330 AD, a highly defensible city positioned between Europe and Asia. Rome itself became a 'crumbling mausoleum.' The empire stopped expanding and instead focused on fixed fortifications against rising nomadic threats like the Vandals, Ostrogoths, Visigoths, and Huns. Roman accounts of the Huns, such as that by Ammianus Marcellinus, depict them as utterly savage, lacking civilization, law, and morality. This Roman perspective highlights the conflict between 'civilization' and 'nomad' and the Romans' hubris in dealing with 'inferior' peoples.
Historians believe the Huns originated from the Asiatic steppe, possibly related to the Zhongnu who fought the Han Empire. Their mastery of horsemanship and composite bows made them formidable. Our story begins around 376 AD, when a group of Goths, led by Fritigern, fled Hunnic pressure and sought refuge across the Danube into the Roman Empire. Emperor Valens of the Eastern Empire saw this as an opportunity for manpower and tax revenue. However, the chaotic and discriminatory handling of the refugees by Roman subordinates led to widespread suffering, starvation, and enslavement of Goths. This mistreatment, including an assassination attempt on Fritigern, fueled resentment and resistance.
Fritigern, a skilled politician and strategist, rallied his people, incorporating other displaced tribes, including the Gruthungi (who were denied entry by Valens) and even some Huns, into his army. In 377, Fritigern marched towards Constantinople. Emperor Valens, eager for glory and impatient for Western Roman Empire reinforcements, confronted Fritigern's army near Adrianople on August 9, 378 CE. Roman scouts, failing to detect the Gruthungi cavalry, underestimated the enemy's strength. Valens's exhausted troops were ambushed and routed by the Gothic cavalry. The Roman army was annihilated, and Emperor Valens himself was killed. The Battle of Adrianople was a psychological blow to the Roman Empire, proving that Roman armies and emperors were no longer invincible.
Although victorious, Fritigern's army lacked siege tactics, preventing them from exploiting their win against walled cities. The Eastern Roman Empire used this time to rebuild, with Theodosius I becoming the new emperor. After years of stalemated fighting, Theodosius I was forced to a diplomatic shift in 382, allowing Goths and Huns to settle within Roman lands in exchange for manpower for his army. This policy, justified by his advisor Themistius as choosing 'farmers over dead,' showed the empire's decline from conquest to brokered peace. Theodosius I, despite successfully reunifying the empire after a civil war, made the critical decision to divide it between his two young sons upon his death in 395 AD, ensuring future power struggles.
Upon Theodosius's death, his sons Honorius (West) and Arcadius (East) inherited the fragmented empire, ruled by regents like Stilicho (West) and Eutropius (East). Stilicho's claim to regency over both halves was rejected by the East, solidifying the division. Alaric, a Goth leader who fought for Theodosius I, rebelled against Stilicho in 395, was expelled from the West, and was then hired by the Eastern Empire to counter Hun invasions. After successfully repelling a new wave of Huns in 398, Alaric was forgotten by the East and eventually returned to the West, continually being used as a 'ping-pong' between the empires. Stilicho, facing increasing barbarian pressure along the Rhine and secession in Britain and Gaul, hired Hun mercenaries under King Uldin. Honorius, in 408, executed Stilicho and, in a fit of paranoia, ordered the massacre of Gothic families within the Roman Empire, driving 30,000 Gothic troops into Alaric's arms. Alaric, now with a formidable army on Italian soil, sought a nation-state for his people, but Honorius's 'prideful stupidity' led to constant diplomatic failures.
After failed negotiations, Alaric marched on Rome, laying siege to the city for months. Despite pleas from Roman senators, Alaric demanded immense ransom. On August 24, 410 AD, Gothic slaves opened the Salarian Gate, and Alaric's forces entered Rome, pillaging it for three days. While less destructive than other sacks, it was a profound psychological blow, marking the beginning of the Dark Ages for many. Rome had been attacked before and would be again, but this event, as Edward Gibbon noted, highlighted the 'vicissitudes of fortune' and the 'awful and deplorable' fall of a once-great power. The psychological impact on the Roman populace was immense, questioning the stability of civilization itself. This 'post-Rome sacked world' saw the Eastern Roman Empire, despite challenges, flourish, while the Western Roman Empire continued its disintegration.
The Eastern Roman Empire, protected by the formidable Theodosian Walls in Constantinople, managed to withstand barbarian threats. The Western Roman Empire, however, continued to crumble, losing Britain, Gaul, Spain, and North Africa to barbarian groups. A power vacuum arose in the West after Honorius's death in 423, leading to a civil war for the throne. Flavius Aetius, a Roman general with deep connections to the Huns, emerged as a key player. From 425 A.D. the Huns settled in the Great Hungarian Plain, evolving from nomadic raiders to extortionists. They learned to exploit Roman weaknesses and were eventually hired by both empires as mercenaries. By 434, Attila and his older brother Bleda seized control of the Hunnic Empire after their uncle Rua's death. Attila, born around 406 CE, had a privileged upbringing and spent time as a political hostage in Rome, learning Roman culture and strategy.
Attila and Aetius, born into different worlds but with similar ambitious personalities, were destined for conflict. Attila, having observed Roman civilization and military tactics, was far from the 'mindless savage' Romans depicted. He was a shrewd leader, consolidating the Hunnic Empire and legitimizing his rule by exploiting Hunnic religious beliefs, claiming to wield the 'Sword of Mars.' Aetius, a Roman aristocrat, also spent time with the Goths and Huns, learning their methods while mastering Roman military logistics. His rise to power was marked by political cunning and ruthless acts of ambition, culminating in his appointment as commander-in-chief of all Roman forces after a daring bluff against Galla Placidia. Both men were masters of strategy and manipulation, making them formidable adversaries.
In 436, Aetius allied with Attila to campaign against the Burgundians in Gaul, a move that secured Roman lands and provided the Huns with valuable insights into Roman siege warfare and tactics. Attila realized the importance of not fighting a two-front war, eyeing the Eastern Roman Empire for future expansion. By 439, Attila and Bleda signed the Treaty of Margum with the Eastern Roman Empire, securing trade centers, increasing tribute, and preventing Roman alliances with Hunnic enemies. In 441, taking advantage of the Eastern Roman Empire's focus on a Vandal invasion of North Africa, Attila and Bleda launched a devastating campaign into the Balkans, sacking numerous cities like Sirmium, Singidunum, and the birthplace of Constantine, Naissus. The Huns, now equipped with Roman siege technology like catapults and battering rams, were unstoppable. The destruction of Naissus was so complete that its ruins were uninhabitable for decades, a testament to Hunnic brutality.
The Eastern Roman Empire, forced to abandon its North African campaign, signed a humiliating peace with the Vandals and sued for peace with Attila. Theodosius II increased annual tribute to Attila to over 1000 pounds of gold. Following this triumph, Attila consolidated his forces. Around 445, Bleda died under mysterious circumstances, leaving Attila as the sole ruler. Attila further legitimized his rule by claiming to possess the mythical 'Sword of Mars.' In 447, a massive earthquake destroyed a significant portion of Constantinople's Theodosian Walls. Attila, sensing weakness, immediately launched another invasion. However, the Romans, led by Flavius Constantinus, heroically rebuilt the walls in just two months, mobilizing the entire city, including rival sports factions, in a frantic effort. Attila failed to breach Constantinople's defenses but continued to ravage the Balkans and Greece. Theodosius II was forced to pay a massive lump sum and increase annual tribute to 2100 pounds of gold, establishing a buffer zone between the Hunnic and Roman empires. Attila's empire now stretched 'from the Rhine all the way to the Volga and from the Danube all the way to the Baltic Sea.'
The Western Roman Empire, under the weak Valentinian III and the cunning Justa Grata Honoria (his sister), had so far avoided Attila's wrath, largely due to Aetius's maneuvering. Honoria, bored and resentful of her brother's control, sent a 'love note' and her signet ring to Attila, pleading for rescue from an arranged marriage. Attila, interpreting this as a marriage proposal, demanded half the Western Roman Empire as a dowry. Valentinian, despite his fury, refused, giving Attila the pretext for war. In March 451, Attila's vast army invaded the Western Roman Empire, meeting little resistance as Roman fortifications along the Rhine were in disarray. Dozens of cities were sacked and burned, including Metz, which was completely destroyed. Reims was spared due to the miraculous intervention of Bishop Nicasius, according to Christian legend. Paris (Lutetia at the time), deemed too insignificant, was also spared.
The destruction wrought by the Huns led Christian leaders to dub Attila the 'Scourge of God.' By mid-June, Attila was besieging Orléans. Aetius, the Roman general, convinced Valentinian not to abandon Gaul. Instead, Aetius formed an unlikely alliance with the Visigoths under King Theodoric and other barbarian tribes, gathering an 'ad hoc army' to confront Attila. Aetius aimed to catch Attila far from his supply lines. Attila, seeking open terrain favorable for his horse archers, moved to the Catalaunian Plains (near modern-day Châlons), where the two armies clashed on June 20, 451 AD. Aetius, anticipating Attila's direct attack, strategically placed his weakest troops (the Alans) in the center, flanked by his elite Romans and the Visigoths. The battle was a horrific, hand-to-hand clash. The Visigoths, capturing a crucial ridge, repulsed the initial Hunnic charge and killed King Theodoric. Attila, rallying his troops with a dramatic speech, launched a ferocious counter-attack, nearly breaking the Roman center. But Aetius's elite troops counter-flanked, trapping the Huns in a 'vice-like grip.' Attila's forces were defeated, and he retreated to his camp, preparing for self-immolation, acknowledging his first defeat. The battle resulted in 'truly countless' casualties on both sides.
Aetius, surprisingly, allowed Attila to retreat, possibly to maintain a balance of power in the Roman court. Many historians view the Battle of Châlons as a pivotal moment for Western Civilization. Attila, unwilling to accept defeat, spent the winter of 451 rearming his forces for a new offensive. In spring 452, he invaded Italy, seeking a quick victory to restore his reputation. He bypassed the more formidable Eastern Empire and the combined Roman-Gothic forces in Gaul. His first target was Aquileia, which, despite its strong fortifications, was eventually sacked and utterly destroyed—never to be rebuilt. Refugees from Aquileia founded Venice on nearby islands, seeking safety from future invasions. Attila continued to ravage northern Italy, but a combination of famine, plague, Aetius's advancing army, and Marcian's invasion of the Hungarian Plain severely weakened his position. Pope Leo I met with Attila, and while ecclesiastical accounts credit his diplomacy with turning Attila back, practical concerns were likely the true motivators. Attila died in early 453, on his wedding night, from a massive hemorrhage, marking the end of his destructive reign. The Hun Empire, lacking a strong successor, rapidly disintegrated, its vassal states rebelling and its power fragmented among Attila's squabbling sons.
Attila's death signaled the end of Aetius's influence. Without the Hunnic threat, Valentinian III no longer needed Aetius and brutally assassinated him. Valentinian himself was murdered shortly after by Aetius's loyal bodyguards. The Western Roman Empire, already in decline, entered a death spiral and ceased to exist within a generation. The podcast reflects on lessons from the fall of civilizations. Unlike the Roman Empire, the Hunnic Empire, built solely on conquest and ruled by a single despot, crumbled quickly and left little physical trace. The Roman Empire, despite its imperial ambitions, laid foundations for Western legal systems, languages, and governmental structures. Its eventual downfall, as Edward Gibbon suggested, was primarily internal, born from a failure to adapt and maintain the security and freedom of its people. The episode concludes with a quote from Abraham Lincoln, emphasizing that true threats to a free nation come from within, rather than from abroad.