page_title: History of the Huns
section_title: Unified rule under Attila
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Huns / Period of unified Hunnic rule / Unified rule under Attila
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Das Reich Attila und das Römische Reich um 450 n.Chr. Kenntlich sind auch die Siedlungsräume germanischer Stämme innerhalb des Imperium Romanum. English: Empire of Attila and the Roman Empire around 450 AD. Settlement area of Germanic tribes within the Imperium Roman are marked, controlled areas are in color.
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: Bleda died some time between 442 and 447, with the most likely years being 444 or 445. He appears to have been murdered by Attila. Following Bleda's death, a tribe known as the Akatziri either rebelled against Attila or had never been under Attila's rule. Kim suggests that they rebelled specifically because of Bleda's death, as they were more likely to have been under Bleda's control than Attila's. The rebellion was actively encouraged by the Romans, who sent gifts to the Akatziri; however, the Romans offended the supreme chief, Buridach, by giving him gifts second rather than first. He subsequently appealed to Attila for help against the other rebellious leaders. Attila's forces then defeated the tribe after several battles: Buridach was allowed to rule his own tribe, but Attila placed his son Ellac in command of the remaining Akatziri.
  Maenchen-Helfen argues that the Huns likely fought a war against the Longobards, living in modern Moravia, in 446, in which the Longobards successfully resisted Hunnic domination.
  Some time after Bleda's death, while the Huns were busy with internal affairs, the Theodosius had ceased paying the stipulated tribute to the Huns. In 447, Attila sent an embassy to complain, threatening war and noting that his people were dissatisfied and that some had even begun raiding Roman territory. The Romans, however, refused to resume the tribute payments or hand over any refugees, and Attila began a full-scale attack by capturing the forts along the Danube. His forces included not only Huns, but also his subject peoples the Gepids, led by their king Ardaric, and the Goths under their king Valamer, as well as others. After they had cleared the Danube of Roman defences, the Huns then marched westward and defeated a large Roman army under the command of Arnegisclus at the Battle of the Utus. The Huns then sacked and razed Marcianople. The Huns then set out for Constantinople itself, whose walls had been partially destroyed by an earthquake earlier in the year. While the Constantinoplitans were able to rebuild the walls before Attila's army was able to approach, the Romans suffered another major defeat on the Gallipoli peninsula. The Huns proceeded to raid as far south as Thermopylae and captured most of the major towns in the Balkans except for Hadrianople and Heracleia. Theodosius was forced to sue for peace: in addition to the tribute the Romans had failed to pay before, the amount of yearly tribute was raised, and the Romans were forced to evacuate a large swath of territory south of the Danube to the Huns, thus leaving the border defenseless.
  In 450, Attila negotiated a new treaty with the Romans and agreed to withdraw from Roman lands; Heather believes that this was in order for him to plan an invasion of the Western Roman Empire. According to Priscus, Attila contemplated an invasion of Persia at this time as well. The treaty with Constantinople was abrogated shortly afterward by the new emperor Marcian, however, Attila was already occupied with his plans for the Western Empire and did not respond.
caption: A map of Europe in 450 AD, showing the Hunnic Empire under Attila in orange, and the Roman Empire in yellow.
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