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[[File: Hun 8.jpg |200px|thumb|left|] A modern recreation of the Huns]
==The reign of Attila the Hun==
Attila was the nephew of the Hunnic king Rugila. When he died on a campaign against the Emperor in Constantinople in 433 CE, the leadership passed to Attila and his brother Bleda. The two brothers were joint rulers and they changed their people’s relationship with the Roman. Prior to their reign , the Huns had often been hired as mercenaries to guard the Roman borders. In 439 ADS, the two brothers signed a treaty with the Romans<ref> Heather, p. 112</ref>. This treaty resulted in the Eastern Roman Empire paying the Huns protection money to ensure that they did not attack its territories. These payments by the Romans continued in one form or another until after the death of Attila. Attila and his brother after an ill-fated invasion of Persia decided to break the terms of the treaty. Using the alleged desecration of some Hunnic graves by Christians the Huns invaded the territories of the Eastern Roman Empire. Attila and his brother ravaged much of the Balkans and destroyed great cities such as Naissus<ref> Gibbon, p 456</ref>. They had learned siege warfare from the Romans. For the next decade, the Huns regularly invaded the Balkans and they became rich from booty and took many slaves. Sometime in 445 AD , Bleda died, there are suspicions that Attila killed his brother. Attila was a shrewd man and he used religion to maintain his control over his people. He claimed to have a divine ‘war sword’ that allegedly demonstrated that he was destined to rule the world <ref> Boston and Halsall, Paul "Medieval Sourcebook: Pricus on Attila the Hun (Readings in European History)". (HP, London, 1905) 46-49 <ref>. In 446 AD Attila turned his attention to the western provinces. This was because he believed that he could secure an easy victory over the enfeebled western Emperor in Rome. He was given a pretext to invade the west by the sister of the Emperor Valentinian III<ref> Gibbon, p. 478</ref>. She was being forced to marry a nobleman and she pleaded with Attila to rescue her. The king of the Huns took her pleas as an offer of marriage and this became his justification for his invasion of the western European empire. Attila invaded the province of Gaul and he sacked and razed several cities. The Romans could not cope with the Huns and their hit and run tactics. A brilliant Roman general Aetius, who was called the ‘last of the Romans’ by Gibbon forged an anti-Hun coalition<ref> Gibbon, p. 478</ref>. He persuaded many Germanic tribes to join this alliance including the Visigoths and Vandals. The army of Attila penetrated deep into Gaul and they were confronted by a massive army, under Aetius. At the Battle of Cataluanian Fields or the Battle of Chalon’s (451 AD) in what has been described as one of the bloodiest battles in history, the army of Attila was halted. The Hunnic horde was halted but they were far from defeated. The year following the Battle of Cataluanian Fields the Huns invaded Italy. They caused widespread destruction and they sacked the great city of Aquileia that it ‘disappeared from history’<ref> Gibbon, p. 491</ref>. The Huns caused massive devastation and entire populations moved and many cities and towns were abandoned. However, the Huns stopped at the River Po and did not proceed to Rome<ref>. Legend has it that Pope Leo persuaded Attila not to attack Rome. The real reasons why Attila did not attack Rome was that there was a famine and his army was running low on supplies<ref>Kim, Hyun Jin. The Huns, Rome, and the Birth of Europe. (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2013). pp. 17–19 </ref>. Attila and his army returned to their Hungarian homelands. Soon after Attila died after a feast to celebrate a marriage. The Hunnic Empire was divided and soon the subject peoples defeated the Huns and their power was broken forever.
[[File: Hun 1.jpg |200px|thumb|left|A 19th century illustration of a Hun raid]]
==Socio-Economic impact on the Roman Empires==
The Huns preyed upon the Romans. Attila and his brother changed the strategy of the Huns. No longer were they prepared to serve as mercenaries they demanded tribute and other payments, usually in the form of gold and silver. The constant tribute was a serious drain on the Romans. They were forced to raise taxes and this led to a serious economic downturn. Furthermore, so much gold was leaving the Empire that it led to a reduction in economic activity as there was not enough coin in circulation<ref> Kim. p. 119</ref>. The west was unable to pay for subsidies to Attila and they adopted desperate measures such as increasing taxation and minting coins. This led to inflation and this caused great distress in the western provinces <ref>Norwich, p. 5</ref>. The raids and invasions of the Huns were devastating. They not only plundered cities and regions they took a positive delight in destruction. Like many other nomads before and since, they hated sedentary culture and delighted in destroying its form and it structures. This meant that the Huns unlike other tribes who invaded the Empire were unique in the level of destruction they inflicted on the Roman Empire. The Balkans were devastated by the Huns and subsequently became a wasteland apart from some enclaves in Greece and on the coasts. The area was not really controlled by the Emperor in Constantinople and many Germanic and other tribes settled in the area<ref> Heather, p. 203</ref>. It was about 200 years before the Balkans was once more under the control of Constantinople and even then, it never recovered its former prosperity. The impact of Attila on France was devastating. However, Attila’s invasion of Italy was to have profound consequences for Italy. Before the invasion, the area was recovering from the Goths invasion and subsequent sack of Rome. The invasion of the Huns devastated Northern Italy and the area took generations to recover. The area’s urban centres were destroyed and the region depopulated<ref>Kim, p. 167</ref>. Many of the refugees sought shelter in remote areas. Some refugees found sanctuary on some islets in the Adriatic and from these small settlements the great city of Venice emerged in the early Middle Ages<ref> Norwich, John Julius. The History of Venice (Pelican, London, 1997), p. 14</ref>. Attila’s invasion weakened Italy the core area of the western Empire and this fatally weakened the Romans in the west.
