The scourge of God: Who is Attila?

(400-453) Western Hun ruler. By conquering Central and Western Europe, he established a great empire and left deep traces in the history of medieval Europe. The name of Attila's father, who is thought to have been born around 400 BC, was Muncuk. His father and uncles Rua, Aybars, and Oktar were ruling the country together, especially before 422. Upon Muncuk's early death, his uncle Rua, who played an important role in Attila's upbringing, began to pursue an active policy together with his brothers, who were "wing lords". Upon Rua's death in 434, Attila and his elder brother Buddha (Bleda) took over the administration. During this period, their uncles, who were the lords of the east and west wings, continued their old functions. Until the death of Buddha in 445, this "double kingdom" rule continued successfully. However, before the death of his elder brother Buddha, Attila was an active person in both military and diplomatic relations. The first operation the two brothers embarked on was the treaty with Byzantium in 435. Since it was built outside the Margos Castle at the confluence of the Danube and Morova rivers, with the treaty, the tax that Byzantium had been obliged to pay for a long time was doubled, and Byzantium agreed to give 700 pounds of gold annually. Other terms of the treaty included the return of fugitives and captives and ease and equality in trade. When the Byzantine emperor Theodosius II returned the fugitives, Attila had them hanged within the Byzantine territory, causing his name to strike fear. After that, there is no detailed information about what Attila did between 435-440. However, it is a fact that efforts to establish political unity played an important role in this period. During these years, Attila was politically entrenched among tribes of various languages and ancestry living in the vast region stretching from the Black Sea to the Rhine and including Southern Russia, Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Northern Yugoslavia, and Southern and Central Germany. unity has been achieved. In fact, the death of the Burgundian king, who was the inspiration for the famous Nibelungen Epic of the Germans, coincides with these years. Thus, it is understood that the western borders of the formed political union extended to the North Sea and the English Channel coasts during this period.

Attila (c. 406–453), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in March 453. He was also the leader of a tribal empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Bulgars, among others, in Central and Eastern Europe.

Attila increased the pressure on Byzantium in the early 440s, which failed to fully meet the terms of the Treaty of Margos and was slow to pay the annual tribute. In 441-442, he suddenly walked over the Danube to Byzantine territory and captured Belgrade and Naissus. However, a new treaty was made with the intervention of Aetius, a friend of Attila, one of the notables of Western Rome. Aetius sent his own son hostage to Attila as assurance that the Byzantines would pay the tax.

Meanwhile, Attila, who became the sole ruler of his country upon the death of his elder brother Buda (445), set out for the second Balkan campaign due to the lax attitude of the Byzantines regarding both fugitives and taxes. Upon reaching Büyükçekmece after the capture of places such as Sofia, Plovdiv, and Lüleburgaz, Theodosios immediately sent Anatolios, one of the notables, to discuss peace terms, and Anatolios Peace was made in 447. The conditions that Attila put forward and that Byzantium had to accept were quite harsh. This treaty, as in the past, included prisoners, fugitives, and trade issues, as well as 6,000 pounds of gold as war compensation and 2100 gold as annual taxes, in return for unpaid taxes until that time. Heavy taxes created an inextricable situation for Byzantium. In this context, especially the wealthy Byzantines were pressed and discontent was increasing. Finally, plans were made to have Attila killed by obtaining one of Attila's envoys, who came about the delayed taxes, and the notables of Byzantium were sent to Attila as ambassadors to realize this plan (448). We owe our detailed information about both the Hun country and Attila to the clerk Priskos, who participated in this embassy delegation. Meanwhile, Attila was aware of the plans of the embassy delegation. Therefore, he did not accept them before him and caused them a lot of trouble. When he accepted, he mockingly said that he was proud of Theodosios II asking for his sake through the ambassadors and that he returned their wishes exactly, but the embassy delegation did not understand the situation. Thus, while the embassy returned without fulfilling its duty, Attila did not neglect to send a message declaring that he condemned the Byzantine emperor. While very high-ranking envoys such as Anatolios, who were sent to rectify the situation in 450, thought they would encounter difficulties, they were received very softly, and they managed to soften the conditions of the 447 treaty both by this and their own skillful diplomacy.

From this date until his death in 453, Attila no longer dealt with Byzantium but with Western Rome. His gentleness towards Byzantium should also be understood in this context. However, Attila's Western policy was very different from his Eastern policy. In this context, he stated that he would marry the sister of the Western Roman Emperor, Honoria, who had proposed to him, and that he wanted his share of the Roman Empire. The Gallic expedition in 451, the Catalan War on the same date, in which both sides suffered heavy losses, and the Italian expedition, which ended with a treaty at the request of Pope II Lco in 452, generally show divergences from the policy implemented in previous periods. While contemplating an expedition to Eastern Rome or Persia in 453, Attila was found dead the day after his marriage. Although the opinion that his sons could not take his place is dominant, when the course of events is considered, it is understood that some problems have arisen in the last years of Attila's reign. This is evident when comparing Eastern and Western policies.

While the policy followed in the East was generally supported by specific and concrete demands, the Western expeditions were more in the form of collecting booty and instilling fear in the environment. Within the framework of these intense raids and plundering events between 451-453, the "barbarian" view of Attila developed in European literature. In the writings dealing with Attila, it is stated that this "barbarian" ruler, who could enter into negotiations with Byzantium and Rome, was also hurtful and relentless, like his policy. Afterward, especially with the traces left by the Genghis invasions, attention is drawn to Attila's destructiveness like all the steppes, and his short-lived political union. Sometimes these considerations center on personality: Attila is either a "barbarian" or a hero.

In the 5th century Europe was fluctuating with movements known as the "migration of tribes". Tribes of Germanic origin have an important place in the migration of tribes. Rulers such as Clovis (484-507), the first ruler of the Franks who settled in today's France, and Theodoric (493-526), who ruled Italy as the Eastern Goth king, are heroes, each playing a role in later western literature, especially in epics. These "barbarian" heroes appear in every aspect of Western culture, from children's books to Wagner's operas. We come across Attila in the same frame. Since these legends and epics also carry the values of later periods, they also provide important clues about how Attila was seen in Western culture and literature. Approaching Attila with views such as "God's whip" or "barbarian" are values that have always been attributed later. Within the framework of the migration of tribes at that time, the only people who remained "barbarian" without accepting Christianity were the Huns, who later dissolved into other groups. Attila and the Huns under his rule, as the symbol of the unchristianized "barbarians", are referred to as cruel and brutal in church literature. In the epics of the "barbarians" who later accepted Christianity, Attila is only a hero and has heroic characteristics. For example, in the Nibelungen Epic, Attila is portrayed as a benevolent and fatherly ruler. Considering that European literature remained under the domination of the church until the 11th century, it is understood how effective the church was in the evaluation of Attila. Attila and the Huns are symbols of the time when non-Christian "barbarian" communities, which could put the Pope in a difficult position, emerged not only as a political union, but also with an active worldview. In that respect, it is possible to see the negative attitude of the church towards Attila in literature, history and painting.

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Who was Attila the Hun, the barbarian ruler who terrorized the Romans?

https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-history/attila-hun-huns-leader-roman-empire-barbarian-who-scourge-god-death-buried-nationality/