Attila and Honoria
- In 450, Honoria, the sister of Valentinian III, emperor of Western Rome, sent Attila a ring and asked him to help her get out of the marriage to a Roman aristocrat her brother was forcing on her. Attila, thought Honoria’s act as a proposal but Honoria claimed to have intended no such thing. Her brother forced her to marry the Roman aristocrat after all. Attila wouldn’t give up so easily, however, and would wage his next two military campaigns in Honoria’s name.Battle of Catalaunian Plains
- In 451, some 200,000 of Attila’s Hun forces invaded Gaul. As they moved through the countryside, leaving slaughter and devastation in their wake, the Romans formed an alliance with King Theodoric I of the Visigoths. The combined Roman-Goth army confronted Attila in the decisive Battle of Catalaunian Plains, finally defeating the great Hun leader in one of the bloodiest conflicts in history. Theodoric was killed in the clash, while Attila withdrew his forces and retired from Gaul.
Attila was a Modest Man
- Attila was living modestly. According to Priscus, Attila threw a banquet at which he served the guests a luxurious meal on silver plates. Attila himself, was served separately and he “ate nothing but meat on a wooden trenche. His cup was of wood, while his guests were given goblets of gold and silver.” His subordinates had gold and gems on their weaponry, but Attila dressed simple.
Attila's Family
-Attila was born into the most powerful family north of the Danube River. His uncles, Octar and Rugila, jointly ruled the Hun Empire in the late 420s and early 430s. Attila and his elder brother, Bleda, received instruction in archery, sword fighting and how to ride and care for horses.Bleda
- Attila killed his own brother to get all the power for himself. The Roman writer Priscus claimed that in 445 “Bleda, king of the Huns, was assassinated as a result of the plots of his brother Attila.”
Attila Death
-Attila and Ildico got married in 453. During the wedding at Attila’s palace, the groom feasted and drank late into the night. The next morning, , his guards broke down the door and found Attila dead, with Ildico weeping at his bedside. No wound could be found, and it appeared that Attila had suffered a bad nosebleed and choked to death on his own blood.Huns and the Hungarians
- In spite of the similarity in name, the Huns are not connected with the modern Eastern European population of Hungary. Even so, Attila and Ildiko are common Hungarian names today.- The tribes that invaded Europe in the 3rd century were called the Hsiung-nu. In the West they became known as the Huns.
