Attila, << AT uh luh or uh TIHL uh >> (?-A.D. 453), was a leader of the Huns, a central Asian people. The Huns settled in central Europe, north of the Roman Empire, in the late A.D. 300’s and then began to raid Roman territory. Attila inherited the Hunnish kingdom, which was centered roughly in present-day Hungary. He conquered the surrounding areas, until the Huns controlled a region extending from the Danube River to the Baltic Sea, and from the Rhine River to the Caspian Sea.
About 434, Attila and his older brother, Bleda, became the leaders of the Huns. Attila murdered Bleda around 445 and became the sole leader of his people. From 435 to 439, Attila conquered many Germanic peoples in eastern and central Europe. He forced the East Roman Empire to pay him a yearly fee so he would not attack. But he looted its provinces in southeastern Europe from 441 to 443, and again in 447.
Attila then turned his attention to the West Roman Empire. In 450, he demanded Honoria, sister of Emperor Valentinian III, as his bride, and half the West Roman Empire as her inheritance. Valentinian refused, and Attila invaded Gaul (now mainly France). A combined army of Roman and Germanic forces stopped Attila in the Battle of Chalons-sur-Marne, near Troyes, in 451. He then retreated east of the Rhine River. Attila invaded Italy in 452, capturing and destroying many cities north of the Po River. But famine and disease forced his troops to withdraw. Attila died in 453, and the various peoples under Hunnish control rose up in revolt. In time, the Huns were absorbed into the peoples of southeastern Europe.
Scholars question Attila’s historical significance. Although Attila seriously threatened the East and West Roman empires during periods when they were weak, he was unable to conquer them pemanently. Attila’s kingdom collapsed soon after his death. Perhaps his greatest importance was his ability to unite the Huns for a short time.
See also Huns .
