How big of a threat was Attila the Hun?

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The Historian's Craft

The Historian's Craft

Күн бұрын

The Huns, led by Attila, were one of the most fearsome enemies the Roman empire ever faced. But, how much of a threat were they to the Romans?
The Huns, Kim
The Huns, Rome, & the Birth of Europe, Kim
Empires of the Silk Road, Beckwith
The Later Roman Empire, Mitchell
Empires & Barbarians, Heather

Пікірлер: 73
@accessthemainframe4475
@accessthemainframe4475 2 жыл бұрын
Bleda the Hun shortly before being murdered by Attila: "what are you doing steppe bro?"
@hungarienness
@hungarienness 2 жыл бұрын
We please to prove that Attila killed Bleda.
@lucacolombo7603
@lucacolombo7603 Жыл бұрын
Dramatically underappreciated comment
@jbrewski5424
@jbrewski5424 2 жыл бұрын
The air was filled with smoke and blood..
@andreascovano7742
@andreascovano7742 2 жыл бұрын
Based Atilla Total War enjoyer
@indianpotatofarmer6508
@indianpotatofarmer6508 2 жыл бұрын
The Huns gloried in the stench of death
@hungarienness
@hungarienness 2 жыл бұрын
Mint amikor Nero elégette a keresztényeket.
@poocabraxi
@poocabraxi 2 ай бұрын
HE WASN'T THERE FOR THAT 🙄🤦​@@hungarienness
@andreascovano7742
@andreascovano7742 2 жыл бұрын
A question I always had was "How Roman were the Huns?" I ask this because when steppe tribes meet civilized nations, they tend to adopt their looks and some practices from them. From the Khitan, Jurchen, Mongols (in cathay) adopting various level of chinese customs and philosophy, to the turks in the west adopting islamic religion and customs. I wonder just how much influence rome had on the Huns. The Huns nominally were a massive empire/confederation that included most of germania aswell. Did they adopt some aspects of roman law? I know Atilla was not the Barbarian savage he is often depicted as, but how would he have dressed? Would he have a Toga whilst shooting arrows from horseback? Because we can see how romanized the germanic tribes because they lasted a bit longer and we have their written accounts. So we have the Goth duo of Visigoths and Ostrogoths and the Burgundians which were pretty romanized to some degree. Then we have the Franks and Vandals which were more barbaric but still had a military structure based on heavy roman influence and foederization. And then we have complete barbarians like the Angles/Saxons and Longobards which retained all of their germanic traits. Just curious
@MugiwaraLion
@MugiwaraLion 2 жыл бұрын
That's a great question 🤔 hopefully someone with some knowledge can help. Imma leave this comment here just to get the msg
@celdur4635
@celdur4635 2 жыл бұрын
I don't think there was enough tine, by the time of Attila, to Romanized them.
@Ash___________
@Ash___________ 2 жыл бұрын
Probably not very. We can imagine alternate timelines where the Hunnic Empire existed adjacent to the Romans for a protracted period, or where it actually supplanted the Romans as the political authority in the Mediterranean world; in such a scenario, there's every reason to expect the Huns would evetually have been Christianized & Latinized (or Hellenized?), just like happened with later steppe invasions that we know more about - obviously the Turks ended up entirely Islamicized, the Mongols in China ended up thoroughly Sinicized, etc. But the Huns did not (despite Attila's best efforts) succeed in establishing a long-lasting state like the later Seljuk Turks or Yuan Mongols, so there was never a long stretch of time where a stable Hunnic Empire existed next to the Romans, let alone a Hunnic dynasty of Roman or Byzantine emperors. In the actual timeline, they basically arrived in the Danube basin fresh from the steppe, shook things up a lot (both there and in Italy & the west), and then rapidly collapsed as a coherent political force after Attila's death. Obviously that's a crude simplification of complex events, but we're still talking about decades, not centuries. During the relatively brief period of Attila's conquests, I doubt they would have acculturated much. Probably the Huns' lifestyle, religion etc. in Attila's day was pretty similar to when they lived on the Eurasian grasslands. At least that's what I imagine for the core of horse-riding, capital-H Huns that ran the Empire, like Attila & his brother; more generally, what we call the "Huns" were probably a very diffuse constellation of bands/groups/peoples that were scooped up along the way, or simply conquered/absorbed. Many of the most recently added "Hunnic" sub-groups were presumably European barbarian (to use the Roman term) peoples, who had most certainly absorbed a lot of Roman culture during the 400+ years that the Romans' Rhine/Danube frontier zone had existed by that point.
@JM-nm3bg
@JM-nm3bg 2 жыл бұрын
I think they may have resembled Persians more than Romans in their clothing and customs. Hunnic groups had been diffusing into the borderlands of Persia and the Kushan empire probably starting in the late first century. It was in the mid fourth century that they suddenly exploded into frenzy of military conquest for some reason. Almost like the defeated and separated clans (since beaten by the Chinese and forced to flee West into lands ruled by others) were reinvigorated by new leaders and started by first taking control of the countries where they already lived (as lowly herdsmen outside the wealthy cities) before conquering neighboring lands.
@DISTurbedwaffle918
@DISTurbedwaffle918 2 жыл бұрын
Yeah, they're called Hungarians lol
@hammer86_
@hammer86_ 2 жыл бұрын
In short, VERY BIG!
@Crafty_Spirit
@Crafty_Spirit 2 жыл бұрын
You nailed it!
@peterbaracska8738
@peterbaracska8738 2 жыл бұрын
I think, thet the battle of Catalaunum was a decisive one. Not because it's immediate aftermath, but because Rome (the western part) couldn't muster a large army after this. Therefore the fall of the Western Empire is due to the battle. Attila on the other hand invaded Italy, only a half year later. The sacking of Rome in 476 was only symbolical.
@LLopes
@LLopes 2 жыл бұрын
Great video.
@hiddenhist
@hiddenhist 2 жыл бұрын
Astonishing. I'm curious as to how similar Hunnic institutions in the east and west were; where and how, exactly, the Huns became so acute at siege warfare, how the Chinese states managed to deal with such formidable polities, and how the Huns might relate to contemporaneous steppe polities (hephthalites, for example). On a final note, wondering how many analogues to these polities one might be able to find in Africa... From what I know, most of the semi-sedentary or pastoral peoples there would have been more similarly organized to the Germanic tribes of Europe than the central and east Eurasia originating steppe empires; even traditionally nomadic peoples tended to acculturate to sedentary life before or after imperial expansion... but it's worth asking.
@woff1959
@woff1959 Жыл бұрын
Well, there are the Berber Almoravids who came from the Sahara and created a great dynasty in North Africa-Spain.
@cliffordjensen8725
@cliffordjensen8725 2 жыл бұрын
Nice overview. When the Huns entered the western steppe their riding and archery tech made them superior to all foes in the area. Life became unbearable for the many German tribes and they either left for Roman lands or bent the knee. By the 4th century, Attila was leading a confederation of barbarians mainly consisting of Germanic warbands, Hunnic cavalry, and Roman renegades. I suspect that the infantry and some turncoat Roman siege engineers made it possible to take fortified cities. What made Attila so dangerous was his political skills in holding such a diverse group together. When he died, it all fell apart.
@woff1959
@woff1959 2 жыл бұрын
Hello again! Thanks for another piece on the Huns! Some minor points, if I may: At 2:42. The idea that the Huns had a language shift from Yenisean to Turkic is problematic because the proto-Turks at this point were far to the east of the Central Asian Huns…but nothing is impossible, I suppose. 2:37. “Bleda”. Whether Hunnic was Yenisean, Uralic, Altaic or Tungusic, none of these language families have word-initial consonant clusters, like “bl”. The man’s name might have been “Belda” or something like that. I suspect a Gothic scribe made the name for comfortable when writing it down. Battle of Catalaunian Plains: I view this battle as a Hunnic victory, because if you think about it, Attila presumably went to Gaul to knock out the Visigoths. When Theodoric I died on the first day of the battle, Attila had achieved his goal and after camping out for some days on the battlefield went home. Either way, the Visigoths did not come to Rome’s aid when Attila moved on Italy.
@DarkKhagan
@DarkKhagan 2 жыл бұрын
In Hungarian history his name is known as Buda not Bleda.
@woff1959
@woff1959 2 жыл бұрын
@@DarkKhagan True.
@shaan4308
@shaan4308 2 жыл бұрын
Why do you make a distinction between Huns and proto-turks(xiongnu)? Aren't they the same?
@woff1959
@woff1959 2 жыл бұрын
@@shaan4308 The problem is that there is no indication the Xiongnu spoke a Turkic language. Or that the Huns did. We just don't know...
@shaan4308
@shaan4308 2 жыл бұрын
@@maximus3160 If they weren't proto-turks, what were they?
@kiro6119
@kiro6119 Жыл бұрын
You said the battle of the Catalonian Plains broke the back of Attila and prevented him from campaigning further, but the very next year he was in Eastern Rome campaigning.
@andrejmucic5003
@andrejmucic5003 2 жыл бұрын
good sooth bro
@tbmike23
@tbmike23 2 жыл бұрын
Just ask yourself for context. How big a threat were the Mongols? Atilla was basically an ancient Mongol.
@WarDogMadness
@WarDogMadness 2 жыл бұрын
That reconstruction of that ostrogothic queen might be part hunnic .
@spencerchamp
@spencerchamp Жыл бұрын
rip Aquileia. You can still see the scorch marks in the old Monastery church.
@thirstyserpent1079
@thirstyserpent1079 2 жыл бұрын
Where can I find that thumbnail art?
@hungarienness
@hungarienness 2 жыл бұрын
Hello guys! It is an assumption that Attila killed Buda, we please to prove it.
@isabellaciella1187
@isabellaciella1187 2 жыл бұрын
Me who has played total war attila: Oh you have no idea...
@nowthenzen
@nowthenzen 2 жыл бұрын
Yankee and Red Sox fans working together would be a better analogy in terms of rivalry. Mostly Yankee fans pity Mets fans and Mets fans mostly pretend Yankee fans don't exist.
@jonathanwilliams1065
@jonathanwilliams1065 2 жыл бұрын
Given that they fought against both Roman empires, Persia, and China, um yeah big threat
@SkyFly19853
@SkyFly19853 2 жыл бұрын
Isn't the Goths between the West and East Roman Empires? Like more closer to Italy?
@JM-nm3bg
@JM-nm3bg 2 жыл бұрын
Not yet. The two gothic groups diffused into numerous mixed groups that eventually re coalesced into two new groups. One defining feature is that the Visigoths were never under Hunnic rule while the Ostrogoths were for a time.
@SkyFly19853
@SkyFly19853 2 жыл бұрын
@@JM-nm3bg I understand. If I remember it right, the first time the Goths arrived, it was the border of West Roman Empire before they moved to East Roman Empire to pillage and make them understand about their demands.
@JM-nm3bg
@JM-nm3bg 2 жыл бұрын
I just think Attila was descended from Grumbates’ group. The timeline is perfect, Grumbatese fought for the Persians in W Iran or E Turkey in 365 I think. He was previously defeated by the Persians in Bactria and as a condition it seems like he fought for the Persians and his horde probably was then sent beyond Derbent so they could not reunite with other Xionite/Kidarite hoards still back east. I know Grumbates’ son died in that siege so I think upon his own death a brother or nephew would have taken the throne. I think that could be Balamer. The prestige of the Huns in Dagestan would have helped them quickly gather a hoard of locals (added to their own warriors) big enough to challenge the Allans and their Hunnic empire would have snowballed from there the way steppe empires always do.
@maximus3160
@maximus3160 2 жыл бұрын
Is there any evidence of this?
@GoogleUserOne
@GoogleUserOne 2 жыл бұрын
Keep it up mayn. If you ever need help with any aspects of your channel let me know. I’ve been doing this for almost a decade now. Maybe just a couple tips. I don’t want anything in return don’t worry
@Thegamer68913
@Thegamer68913 Жыл бұрын
Actually it's Atilla
@cudanmang_theog
@cudanmang_theog 2 жыл бұрын
Nomads would gradually settle down and become romanized (just like the five barbarian confederacies Xianbei Jie Qiang Di and later Khitan Jurchen)
@Thegamer68913
@Thegamer68913 Жыл бұрын
Spelling mistake it's not A t t I l a it's A t I l l a
@Thegamer68913
@Thegamer68913 Жыл бұрын
My real name is Atilla
@jacquesdeburgo2878
@jacquesdeburgo2878 2 жыл бұрын
you should change your profile picture come on man it's obviously meant to look like the Historia Civilis profile picture
@maximus3160
@maximus3160 2 жыл бұрын
Where did the map at 9:23 come from? There is zero evidence the Hunnic empire reached as far North as the Baltic Sea.
@TheFallofRome
@TheFallofRome 2 жыл бұрын
It’s a generalized map of the Hunnic empire, the northern borders shouldn’t Necessarily be taken at face value since we lack much evidence of how far north it extended. There is one argument which says the huns had some sort of presence in the Baltic region, but it’s not that widely supported. If it did extend that far north it was probably tributary and not direct control. If you aren’t familiar with it Kim’s work on the huns explore it quite a bit
@saratmodugu2721
@saratmodugu2721 Жыл бұрын
@@TheFallofRome well when you say tributary, it should be included in his empire because those territories recognized great Khagan as overlord. Btw, one thing almost everyone forgets is that Attila’s empires didn’t conquer the Ostrogothic tribe… They conquered the Ostrogothic empire of the 15 tribes of the Golthescytha (Chud-Scuti Finnic peoples) , Thiudos , Inaunxis , Vasinabroncae , Merens , Mordens , Imniscaris , (Rugii of the Baltic since s. Rugii were never conquered by them) Rogas , Tadzans , Athaul , Navego , Bubegenes , Coldas, Aesti, and Veneti tribes Also that the tribes that paid tribute, had all foreign policy under the hunnic logades, and overlordship extended up to Scandinavia “But the children Japheth...., unwilling to support the tyranny of the sons of Ham, sailed to they came to the lower islands of the west and possessed them, that is to say HiBern, Britain, Iceland, Friesland and Sweden. The rest of the island that is to say, Dacia, Norway, Gotland, and others from the sons of Japheth, a place of slaves giving, they were possessed from Ruzia to the Rheum. -Chronicon imperatorum et pontificum Bavaricum (Mon. Germ. SS. xxIV, 221 seq.), Speaking of the tribute given to him, Attila decided what tribute amount it would be, would send ambassadors for demands, AND… They demanded to use the Roman army for the Huns to use and gain plunder for their economy Sounds like the Romans were a vassal of the hunnic empire When we expressed amazement at the unreasonableness of the barbarian, Romulus, an ambassador of long experience, replied that his very great good fortune and the power which it had given him had made him so arrogant that he would not entertain just proposals unless he thought that they were to his advantage. No previous ruler of Scythia or of any other land had ever achieved so much in so short a time. He ruled the islands of the Ocean and, in addition to the whole of Scythia, forced the Romans to pay tribute. He was aiming at more than his present achievements and, in order to increase his empire further, he now wanted to attack the Persians.(14)~Western Roman ambassador Romulus rms. 5. Odin Divides his Kingdom, “There goes a great mountain barrier from north-east to south-west, which divides the Greater Swithiod [ancient Samartia and Scythia Magna] from other kingdoms. South of this mountain ridge [Ural Mountains] it is not far to Turkland [probably Turkistan in around the Aral Sea in Asia Minor], where Odin had great possessions. In those times Roman chiefs went wide around the world, subduing to themselves all people; and on this account many chiefs fled from their domains. But Odin having foreknowledge, and magic - sight, knew that his posterity would come to settle and dwell in the northern half of the world. He therefore set his brothers Ve and Vilje over Asgaard; and he himself, with all the gods and a great many other people, wandered out, first westward to Gardarike [Russia], and then south to Saxland [Germany].” At this point the story takes an abridged version of what is stated in the Eddas, and again Odin ends up in Sweden in some sort of power sharing arrangement with the Swedish king Gylve (Gylfi), who realized that he could not defeat the Asaland peoples. Odin “took up residence at Malar Lake, at a place now called Old Sigtun (Gamla Sigtun)”. He then gave his temple priests large estates in the district. 6. Of Odin’s Accomplishments, “When Odin of Asaland came to the north, and the Diar (gods) with him, they introduced and taught to others the arts which the people have long afterwards practiced.” It was Odin who introduced the skaldic arts including singing of great deeds. Also, “People sacrificed to Odin and the twelve chiefs from Asaland, and called them their gods, and believed in them long after.” This statement ties in with the archaeological information noted above, with the introduction of Scythian art forms at about this time. It was also Odin who introduced the new burial practices with cremations and the possessions buried with the deceased and then the building of a mound over the grave of “renowned men”. 10-Snorri Asia. Snorri speaks of Odin making “ready to journey out of Turkland, and was accompanied by a great number of people, young folk and old, men and women; and they had with them much goods of great price.” Furthermore, “They made no end of their journeying till they were come north into the land that is now called Saxland [Germany]; there Odin tarried for a long space, and took the land into his own hand, far and wide” (p. 8). Here Odin set up three of his sons as “land - wardens”, one in East Saxland, another in Westphalia, and a third in Frankland, and “from all these are 8 sprung many and great houses” (p. 8). Odin then headed northward, installing another of his sons as ruler of Jutland, and proceeded on to Sweden whose king was Gylfi. “When the king learned of the coming of these men of Asia, who were called Asir, he went to meet them, and made offer to them that Odin should have such power in his realm as he himself wielded.” Continuing, Snorri reported that, “The fields and the choice lands in that place seemed fair to Odin, and he chose for himself the site of a city which is now called Sigtun. There he established chieftains in the fashion which had prevailed in Turkland; he set up also twelve head - men to be doomsmen over the people and to judge the laws of the land; and he ordained also all laws as, there had been before, in Turkland, and according to the customs of the Turks. After that he went into the north, until he was stopped by the sea, which men thought lay around all the lands of the earth; and there he set his son over this kingdom, which is now called Norway. This king was Saemingr; the kings of Norway trace their lineage from him, and so do also the jarls and the other mighty men, as is said in the Haleygjatal. Odin had with him one of his sons called Yngvi, who was king in Sweden after him; and those houses come from him that are named Ynglings. The Asir took wives of the land for themselves, and some also for their sons 8.5. (7. 10.) Since Frothi realized that it was becoming more and more difficult to maintain the costs of the army as days went by, he directed Roller to go to Norway, Olimar to Sweden, King Onef and the pirate chieftain Glomer to Orkney to seek supplies, assigning each man his own troops. Thirty kings, his devoted friends or vassals, followed Frothi. Immediately Hun heard that Froth had dispersed his forces, he gathered together a fresh mass of fighting men. Hogni betrothed his daughter to Hithin and each swore that if one perished by the sword, the other would avenge him. 8.6. (7. 11.) In the autumn the hunters of supplies returned, richer in victories than actual provisions. Roller had killed Arnthor, king of the provinces of Sormore and Nordmore, and laid these under tribute. Olimar, that renowned tamer of savage peoples, vanquished Thori the Tall, king of the Jämts and Halsings, with two other leaders just as powerful, not to mention also Estland, Kurland, Oland, and the islands that fringe the Swedish coast. He therefore returned with seventy ships, double the number he had sailed out with. Trophies of victory in Orkney went to Onef, Glomer, Hithin, and Hogni. These carried home ninety vessels. The revenues brought in from far and wide and gathered by plunder were now amply sufficient to meet the costs of nourishing the troops. Frothi had added twenty countries to his empire, and their thirty kings, besides those mentioned above, now fought on the Danish side. 8.7. (7. 12.) Relying in this way on his powers, he joined battle with the Huns. The first day saw a crescendo of such savage bloodshed that three principal Russian rivers were paved with corpses, as though they had been bridged to make them solid and passable. Furthermore, you might have seen an area stretching the distance of a three days' horse-ride completely strewn with human bodies. So extensive were the traces of carnage. When the fighting had been protracted for seven days, King Hun fell. His brother of the same name saw that the Huns' line had given way and lost no time before surrendering with his company. In that war a hundred and seventy kings, either from the Huns or who had served with them, capitulated to the Danish monarch. These Erik had specified in his earlier account of the standards, when he was enumerating the host of Huns in answer to Froth's questions. 8.8. (7. 13.) Summoning these kings to a meeting Froth imposed on them a prescription to live under one and the same law. He made Olimar regent of Holmgard, Onef of Konugard, assigned Saxony to Hun, his captive, and Orkney to Revil. A man named Dimar was put in charge of the provinces of the Halsings, the Jarnbers, the Jämts, and both of the Lapp peoples; 1" the rule of Estland was bequeathed to Dag On each of them he laid fixed obligations of tribute, demanding allegiance as a condition of his liberality. Frothi's domains now embraced Russia to the east and were bounded by the River Rhine in the west. -Gestae Danorum
@maximus3160
@maximus3160 Жыл бұрын
@@TheFallofRome Thanks for the reply! I have read Kim's work, and while informative and interesting, he's a bit too much of a Hun fanboi for my taste. I don't believe the Hun culture influenced the wider Germanic and European cultures as much as he asserts.
@maximus3160
@maximus3160 Жыл бұрын
@@saratmodugu2721 nonsense
@anathardayaldar
@anathardayaldar 2 жыл бұрын
And poor Al Tilly, The Bum, suffered from mistaken identity, prejudice and fear all his life.
@QalOrt
@QalOrt 2 жыл бұрын
They terrorised the Romans, Persians and Indians
@hungarienness
@hungarienness 2 жыл бұрын
And the West? Colonization, sadism, etc.
@QalOrt
@QalOrt 2 жыл бұрын
@@hungarienness did you know that in 528 Mihirakula the king of the Huns who invaded India was defeated, pretty much ending the last big push by the Huns?
@epsilonxvi5675
@epsilonxvi5675 2 жыл бұрын
attila so weak wife killed him why genghkis khan die from falling the horse
@hia5235
@hia5235 Жыл бұрын
I dont agree that Catalaunian Plains was a draw. The Roman coalition did accomplish its objective, to defend the province.
@alpha2011
@alpha2011 2 жыл бұрын
Genghis khan is shiting himself
@IgthornTheDuke
@IgthornTheDuke 2 жыл бұрын
It was no such a thing as slavic emigration
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