page_title: History of the Huns
section_title: Under Attila and Bleda
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Huns / Period of unified Hunnic rule / Under Attila and Bleda
caption_attribution_description: Italiano: Brogi, Carlo (1850-1925), "Certosa di Pavia - Medaglione sullo zoccolo della facciata". L'iscrizione latina identifica il personaggio con "Attila, il flagello di Dio". Numero di catalogo: 8227. Italiano: Brogi, Carlo (1850-1925), "Certosa di Pavia - Medallion at the base of the facade". The Latin inscription tells that this is Attila, the scourge of God". Catalogue # 8227.
context_page_description: The history of the Huns spans the time from before their first secure recorded appearance in Europe around 370 AD to after the disintegration of their empire around 469. The Huns likely entered Europe shortly before 370 from Central Asia: they first conquered the Goths and the Alans, pushing a number of tribes to seek refuge within the Roman Empire. In the following years, the Huns conquered most of the Germanic and Scythian barbarian tribes outside of the borders of the Roman Empire. They also launched invasions of both the Asian provinces of Rome and the Sasanian Empire in 375. Under Uldin, the first Hunnic ruler named in contemporary sources, the Huns launched a first unsuccessful large-scale raid into the Eastern Roman Empire in Europe in 408. From the 420s, the Huns were led by the brothers Octar and Ruga, who both cooperated with and threatened the Romans. Upon Ruga's death in 435, his nephews Bleda and Attila became the new rulers of the Huns, and launched a successful raid into the Eastern Roman Empire before making peace and securing an annual tribute and trading raids under the Treaty of Margus.
context_section_description: After Ruga's death, his nephews Attila and Bleda became the rulers of the Huns: Bleda appears to have ruled in the eastern portion of the empire, while Attila ruled the west. Kim believes that Bleda was the supreme king of the two. In 435, Bleda and Attila forced the Eastern Roman Empire to sign the Treaty of Margus, giving the Huns trade rights and increasing the annual tribute from the Romans. The Romans also agreed to hand over Hunnic refugees and fugitive tribes.
  Ruga appears to have made a commitment to aid Aetius in Gaul before his death, and Attila and Bleda kept this commitment. In 437, Huns, under the direction of Aetius and possibly with the involvement of Attila, destroyed the Burgundian kingdom on the Rhine under king Gundahar, an event memorialized in medieval Germanic legend. It is possible that the Huns' destruction of the Burgundians was motivated by revenge for the death of Octar in 430. Also in 437, the Huns helped Aetius capture Tibatto, the leader of the Bagaudae, a group of rebellious peasants and slaves. In 438, an army of Huns aided the Roman general Litorius in an unsuccessful siege of the Visigothic capital of Toulouse. Priscus also mentions that the Huns extended their rule in "Scythia" and fought against an otherwise unknown people called the Sorosgi.
  In 440, the Huns attacked the Romans during one of the annual trading fairs stipulated by the Treaty of Margus: the Huns justified this action by alleging that the bishop of Margus had crossed into Hunnic territory and plundered the Hunnic royal tombs and that the Romans themselves had breached the treaty by sheltering refugees from the Hunnic empire. When the Romans failed to turn over either the bishop of Margus or the refugees by 441, the Huns sacked a number of towns and captured the city of Viminacium, razing it to the ground. The bishop of Margus, terrified that he would be handed over to the Huns, made a deal to betray the city to the Huns, which was likewise razed. The Huns also captured the fortress of Constantia on the Danube, as well as capturing and razing the cities of Singidunum and Sirmium. After this the Huns agreed to a truce. Maenchen-Helfen supposes that their army may have been hit by a disease, or that a rival tribe may have attacked Hunnic territory, necessitating a withdrawal. Thompson dates a further large campaign against the Eastern Roman Empire to 443; however Maenchen-Helfen, Kim, and Heather date it to around 447, after Attila had become sole ruler of the Huns.
  In 444, tensions rose between the Huns and the Western Empire, and the Romans made preparations for war; however, the tensions appear to have resolved the following year through the diplomacy of Cassiodorus. The terms seem to have involved the Romans handing over some territory to the Huns on the Sava River and may also have been when Attila was made magister militum to draw a salary.
caption: A nineteenth century depiction of Attila. Certosa di Pavia – Medallion at the base of the facade. The Latin inscription tells that this is Attila, the scourge of God.
exif: {}