Attila the Hun, 5th-century king of the Hunnic Empire, devastated lands from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, inspiring fear throughout the late Roman Empire.

Get kids back-to-school ready with Expedition: Learn! His father's name was Mundzuk, and his uncle, Rugila (also known as Rua and Ruga), was king of the Huns. He never invaded Constantinople or Rome, and left a divided family following his death in 453.Born in Pannonia, a province of the Roman Empire (present-day Transdanubia, Hungary), circa 406, Attila the Hun and his brother, Bleda, were named co-rulers of the Huns in 434.

By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica.Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. But the famine and pestilence raging in Italy in that year compelled the Huns to leave without crossing the Apennines.In 453 Attila was intending to attack the Eastern Empire, where the new emperor Priscus, who saw Attila when he visited his camp in 448, described him as a short, squat man with a large head, deep-set eyes, flat nose, and a thin beard.

According to the historians, Attila was, though of an irritable, blustering, and Shortly afterward, in 450, Attila’s Huns invaded the West—first Gaul, where, after having been kept out of Paris, they were defeated by Aetius on the Campus Mauriacus (near Troyes), then Italy, which they evacuated soon after having received tribute from the pope, St. Leo. Attila ruled the Hunnic empire from 440 to 453 AD, first with his brother Bleda, then alone after he had Bleda murdered. About 445 he murdered his brother Bleda and thenceforth ruled the Huns as an autocrat. He also reputedly scared others by claiming to own the actual sword of Mars, the Roman god of war.In 434, Roman Emperor Theodosius II paid a tribute—in essence, protection money—to Attila, but Attila broke the peace treaty, destroying towns along the Danube river before moving into the empire's interior and obliterating Naissus and Serdica. He made his second great attack on the Eastern Roman Empire in 447, but little is known of the details of the campaign.

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The historian Peter Heather writes:Although in the present day, his mother's name is sometimes given as Hungysung Vladdysurf, her name is actually not known, and this name is considered a recent fabrication. Attila united the tribes of the Hun kingdom and was said to be a just ruler to his own people. He was a powerful warlord and an astute politician, keeping a diverse confederation of tribes together for decades. He expanded the rule of the Huns …

The Eastern Romans do not appear to have paid the sums Attila’s movements after the conclusion of peace in the autumn of 443 are unknown.

Attila had many wives and is reported to have died after his final wedding. It was planned on an even bigger scale than that of 441–443, and its main weight was directed toward the provinces of Lower Scythia and In 452 the Huns invaded Italy and sacked several cities, including Aquileia, Patavium (Padua), Verona, Brixia (Brescia), Bergomum (Bergamo), and Mediolanum (Milan); Aetius could do nothing to halt them. If you see something that doesn't look right, Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives.Charlemagne was the founder of the Carolingian Empire, best known for uniting Western Europe for the first time since the fall of the Roman Empire.Constantine I was a Roman emperor who ruled early in the 4th century.

But Attila was also an aggressive and ruthless leader.

They also invaded the Pontic steppes and forced thousands of Goths to seek refuge in Roman cities in the Lower Danube.Attila was born north o… An assassination ended his reign on the Ides of March.Newspaper editor and publisher Joseph Pulitzer helped set the pattern of the modern newspaper.

He expanded his empire while building the city of Babylon into a wonder of the ancient world.Attila the Hun was one of the most successful barbarian rulers of the Hunnic Empire, attacking the Eastern and Western Roman empires.© 2020 Biography and the Biography logo are registered trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC.

Theodosius II had specifically built the great walls to defend against Attila. Attila died shortly afterward; and… Byzantine Empire: Relations with the barbarians …the Huns …