Attila

“Do not underestimate the power of an enemy no matter how great or small, to rise against you another day” (Roberts). This quote was from the leader of the Huns who “played a role in Romes’s slow fall (Man). Another name given to this horror was the “scourge of God” (Freeman). He was so brutal, his “tales of Hunnic cruelty [rose] … in late Roman literature” (Crowley). This man had such a “passion for power, however, required him to provide for the wants of those who would follow him” (Gordon). As long as this man, Attila the Hun supplied plunder, he had the “loyalty of the entire Hunnic Nation” to his disposal to go forth and conquer as much as he wanted (Gordon).
 * Background**[[image:ahswhg2/Attila the hun image #1.jpg width="285" height="393" align="left" caption="Attila's stature" link="@http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attila_de_Hun#/media/File:Atli.jpg"]]

Atilla was “a savage, ruthless, and bloodthirsty man” (Miles). He was born in 406 A.D. “living in the Great Hungarian Plains” (Crowley). Attila ended his power hungry journey “in the arms of [his] new wife” in 453 A.D. (Man). Attila was born of royal inheritance, but the Goths captured him and he lived among them as a hostage (Scaliger). Living with the Goths as a child, they taught him many things such as the languages of Greek and Latin. Another thing the Goths taught Attila, was his training to becoming a great warrior (Miles).

From his time wi th the Goths, he was determined to “subdue the foremost nations of the world” (Scaliger). The role of being “king of the huns” was passed down to Attila and his brother (Crowley). However, sharing the throne with his brother did not satisfy him enough, for his “passion for power” made him want to rule and take over the world by himself. Attila being so power hungry, made him murder his own brother for the throne (Gordan).

Attila did many things to help him achieve as much as he did. He developed the first “infantry army” for the huns. Now having this infantry army, he had the “ability to conduct successful sieges [on] fortified cities (Crowley). Attila later earned the name “scourge of God” because of how such a good military strategist and leader he was (Freeman). However, even though he had so much power and knew more than one language, Attila was “illiterate” (Man).

Attila was a man without avarice, or having no greed, nonetheless he still wanted more power (Gordan). He gave all his wealth to his people, letting him have such a great amount of raw power at his disposal (Man). So what Attila and his huns did was “not conquest but large scale looting (Gordan). In his lifetime, Attila played a major “role in Rome’s slow fall”.

Despite of everything he has accomplished, Attila’s “empire instantly collapsed” after his death. What he left behind was his “reputation for barbarian brutality that echoed back and forth across Europe long after Rome’s collapse” (Man).


 * Personality Traits**

 Throughout history, the actions of Attila the Hun made people think he is a savage barbarian. He is bloodthirsty, but that didn’t diminish his abilities to lead his people (Miles). Attila was cunning and intelligent when it came to the battles he fought, knowing when and when not to retreat (Scaliger). Being as fierce as he was, Attila “struck terror into the hearts of the inhabitants of the Roman Empire”. Attila always “unleash[ed] a fury of destruction” making him seem ruthless and not caring for everyone else but his people (Crowley).

 Attila was a barbarian that was nomadic wanting to give his people what they want, which was gold (Man). Always getting so much loot by his plundering, Attila was still “without avarice” or having little desire (Gordan). Attila being so power hungry attempted to conquer most of Europe (Miles). Attila left Rome almost defenceless (Gordan). After almost taking down the most powerful force in Europe, Attila proved he is a sophisticated leader (Freeman).

Attila was a man of great temper, which causes him to unleash his “barbarian brutality” upon his enemies (Man). But what counters that temper, is his “patience and loved labor” (Gordan). Attila is “undaunted by danger” making him much “more admirable than some of his Roman opponents” (Freeman). When he was born, Attila was “endowed with the gifts of the mind, not serving from his purpose for any kind of evil instigation” (Gordan). Being endowed with gifts, it made Attila a very effective leader (Freeman).

[[image:http://0.tqn.com/d/create/1/0/4/N/K/-/profile-of-attila-the-hun.jpg align="left" caption="Attila dominating his opponents " link="@http://0.tqn.com/d/create/1/S/4/N/K/-/profile-of-attila-the-hun.jpg"]]**Obstacles**

Through Attila’s campaign of trying to conquer Europe, he had to go against many obstacles. Attila as a child even went through things a child should never experience. He faced a harsh childhood when he was kidnapped by the Goths (Scaliger). Attila was living as a hostage under the rule of the Goths for many years. When the rule over the Huns was passed down, Attila had to kill his own brother (Miles).

 On Attila’s journey, he did not have that many major obstacles for he was the “the supreme power in Europe”. A problem he had was disease spreading through his ranks of men (Scaliger). Another thing that bothered Attila was that he was “running short on supplies”. Those were the only two reasons he “withdrew from Italy” and abandoned the invasion. If not for these obstacles, Italy would be destroyed and left in ruins, however because of these things Italy was saved from the savage barbarians known as the Huns (Crowley).

Going around in Europe, the other obstacles he had were people trying to stop and destroy him. He had the roman army always bugging him but they could never successfully stop him. Another opponent he had was a bunch of barbarian groups joining together and joining the Romans to face Attila (Crowley). Attila always looting and raiding had further problems under his shoulders, always being weighed down by loot (Gordan). Attila being almost the most powerful man and force with his Huns during the time did not have that many obstacles running against him, yet he died of a simple nosebleed from celebrating his “marriage to a new, young wife” (Crowley).


 * Historical Significance**

Attila created his image to have a major reputation on Rome. He was the “sole leader of the huns” who used his power against all of Europe until his downfall (Miles). Attila wanted power where his enormous armies wanted wealth. He “sought to subdue the foremost nations of the world” (Scaliger). Attila with the help of his army already “conquered most of Europe” (Miles).

 After having already conquered most of Europe, Rome was next on his List. Attila attempted to conquer the big and mighty Rome (Miles). The way he did this was of two ways, his “success was because of the Hun bow” in which he perfected. Another thing that he learned at a young age and used, was his reliable “attack strategies” knowing when, where and how to attack (Man). Attila and his armies using both the Hun bow and his attack strategies “dominated northern frontier of Roman Empire” (Crowley).

 What Attila accomplished was mainly large scale looting and not conquest (Gordan). He did this to keep his power because his armies only followed him for the wealth. His armies and he “extracted tribute from emperors of Eastern and Western empires (Scaliger). Attila joining with the other powerful Gothic tribes “inflicted terrible defeat on army of Adrianople in 378” (Freeman). This allowed them to push against Rome and Europe as well as get the loot that they truly want.

 Even after the other tribes helped Attila, he managed to even be feared by the other Germanic tribes causing panic among them (Freeman). This shows how ruthless Attila was and making sure his name is known throughout history. Being known to travel and attack on horses, he “rapidly swept westward leaving havoc in their wake (Freeman). Attila with his army and strategies defeated Roman armies repeatedly. After defeating the Roman armies, he made sure to “[extract] as much booty from Roman Empires” which having so much, became a problem he came across (Gordan).

Attila having attacked Rome so much with so much wrath left “Rome virtually defenceless” (Gordan). His attacks were so vicious, he resulted his enemies in a “demographic nightmare for the overstretched army”. All of these things were what gave him his name “Scourage of God” (Freeman). He left his name to stand out in history and left “tales of Hunnic cruelty rose in Roman literature (Crowley). Attila’s made nonstop attacks against all of Rome “play[ing] a role in Rome’s slow fall (Man).


 * References**

Crowley, Robert., Parker Geoffrey. "Attila." //The Reader's Companion to Military History.// 1996. //eLibrary.// Web. 18 Nov. 2014. **(SE5)**

Freeman, Jay. "The End of Empire: Attila the Hun and the Fall of Rome." //Booklist.// 15 May 2009. //eLibrary.// Web. 02 Oct. 2014. **(SE2)**

Gordan, Richard. "Stopping Attila: The Battle of Chalons." //Military History.// 01 Dec. 2003. //eLibrary.// Web. 03 Nov. 2014. **(SE4)**

Man, John. "Centaur of Attention." //History Today.// 01 Apr. 2005: 62. //eLibrary.// Web. 15 Dec. 2014. **(SE6)**

<span style="background-color: #f1f5f4; color: #0e0e0e; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px;">Miles, Lana. "Attila the Hun." //School Library Journal//. Mar. 2006. //ProQuest.// Web. 17 Oct. 2014. **(SE3)**

Scaliger, Charles. "The Battle of Chalons."//New American.// 09 Jul. 2007: 34. //eLibrary.// Web. 16 Sep. 2014. **(SE1)**

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Roberts, Wess. __<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Leadership Secrets of Atilla the Hun __<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">. New York: Books, 1987.