Hunnic Empire

Flag of the Hunnic Empire

The  **Hunnic Empire** (370-466 CE), sometimes called the **Hunnish Empire**, was an ancient tribal empire, at its peak reaching from Kazakhstan to the Alps. In 370 CE, the Hunnic leader Balamber established the Hunnic Empire, which devastated Europe for almost 100 years. In 445, Attila took power over the Huns and expanded Hunnic hegemony even further, until his devastating defeat at the Battle of Antioch during the Third Hunnic-Sasanian War, from 450-451 CE. After his death just two years later, Hunnic hegemony began to vanish until 466 CE, after the death of Dengizich, the empire collapsed once for all.

## History

### Before Attila (370-445 CE)

After the foundation of the empire under Balamber, the empire expanded west into Ukraine from 370-380. (for a detailed view, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YwwOzOaZfk, though leaders and borders could be slightly inaccurate). Between 373 and 375, the Huns assaulted Sassanid holdings in Crimea, effectively conquering the Peninsula. In 395, they invaded modern day Moldova under their new regents Kursich and Basich. In 399-400, the Huns launched their first invasion of the Sasanian Empire, which would result in the death of the two kings and the rise of their new leader Uldin. That same year, the Hunnic king annihilated the kingdoms of Bastarnae and Britolagia. During the next two years, Uldin advanced far into the Carpathian Basin and Pannonia, absorbing the Gepids, Rugii and Iazyges.

From 404-405 CE, the Huns started the Second Hunnic-Sasanian War which resulted in a defeat once again, near Ctesiphon. At the same time, the Huns launched a successful invasion into Gothic-controlled eastern Thrace, occupying the city of Mithripolis as well. In 412 Charaton had risen to power, though a year later, Octar and Rugila took his place. The Sasanian Empire recaptured Mithripolis in 425, with a huge naval advantage. From 430-435 CE, the Hunnic king was now only Rugila. Shortly after, Attila and Bleda had risen to power until 445, when only Attila would rule over the Huns.

### Under Attila (445-453 CE)

After Attila took power in 445, he advanced to the Danube, after conquering the Dacian kingdom, crossed it, and invaded the Sassanid client kingdom of Thrace, the independent Illyrian kingdoms, as well as the Hellenic League from 447-448. This was the high point of Hunnic terror; Almost every Church in Greece was either damaged or entirely burned down, and Christians were harshly persecuted.

From 450 to 451, Attila once again waged war with the Sassanids, advancing as far as Syria. However, he was heavily defeated at the Battle of Antioch (451), thanks to the overwhelming Sasanian Cataphracts, though, with heavy losses on both sides. Shortly after, the Sassanids liberated Mithripolis. In 453, Attila died on a feast.

### After Attila (453-466 CE)

After Attila's death, the Huns lost control over Greece. Soon after, they lost the Battle of Nedao in 454 CE against the Gepids, which resulted in the death of Ellac, the oldest son of Attila. After this, Dengizich and Ernak took power. From 458-461 CE, the Huns lost more land in Pannonia and the Carpathian Basin. In 463 the Huns were also dealing with the arrival of more Oghur Turkic-speaking tribes from the East, including the Oghurs, Saragurs, Onogurs, and the Sabirs. In 463, the Saragurs defeated the Huns and gained dominance in the Pontic region. Finally, in 466 CE, Dengizich attempts a last all-out invasion against the Sasanians, which would ultimately end in his death and the collapse of the Hunnic Empire.

## List of Hunnic Rulers

These are the names and reign dates.

- Balamber (370-395 CE)

- Joint rule of Kursich and Basich (395-400 CE)

- Uldin (400-412 CE)

- Charaton (412-413 CE)

- Joint rule of Octar and Rugila (413-430 CE)

- Rugila (430-435 CE)

- Attila and Bleda (435-445 CE)

- Attila (445-453 CE)

- Ellac (454-454 CE)

- Joint rule of Dengizich and Ernak (454-466 CE)

## See also

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YwwOzOaZfk YouTube video about the Hunnic Empire (Has some mistakes. Consider this article as the most accurate information source)

## Source

This page uses content from **Wikipedia**. The original article was at **Hunnic Empire** (view authors). As with Sine Roma - What if Rome never existed? Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huns