he reigned almost 20 years as king of the Huns, the image of Attila
in history and in the popular imagination is based upon two aggressive
military campaigns in the last two years of his life which threatened
to dramatically redirect the development of Western Europe.
Attila and his
brother succeeded their uncle as leaders of the Huns in 434, with
Attila in the junior role until his brother's death (perhaps at Attila's
hand) 12 years later. The Hun kingdom was centered in modern-day Hungary.
Attila embarked immediately upon a series of wars extending Hun rule
from the Rhine across the north of the Black Sea as far as the Caspian
Sea. From that base he soon began a long series of saber-rattling
negotiations with the capitals of the Roman Empire at Constantinople
in the East and Ravenna in the West.
forged an alliance with the Franks and Vandals and in Spring 451 unleashed
his long-threatened attack into the heart of Western Europe. After
pillaging a broad swath of cities in his path, he was near obtaining
the surrender of Orleans when the combined Roman and Visigoth armies
arrived and forced Attila's retreat to the northeast.
Near Troyes the
opposing forces joined battle at Chalons in one of the decisive battles
of European history. Though the margin of victory was slim, the Western
army prevailed, precipitating Attila's withdrawal back across the
Rhine and avoiding a decisive shift in the course of political and
economic development in Western Europe.
in the West had not ended, however. In the following year he launched
a devastating campaign into Italy.