Name:

Date: The Ferocious, uncivilized and unpredictable, learned their ways. He became the Huns were nomadic warriors who terrorized close to Uldin, a savage prince the Europe for a generation in the fifth century. who later ruled the Huns. Then, after the death of the brutal but Aetius’ experience with the charismatic leader, , the Huns Huns served him later, when disappeared from the pages of history. he became the most The Romans saw the Huns as half animals; dominant general of the they spoke a language of grunts and had a taste Western Roman Empire. for raw meat. They had no interest in farming, When Uldin died, his building, or trade. They had no writing or any nephew briefly ruled interest in governing. Their talent lay in the Huns. Bleda died, probably at the hand of attacking and plundering settled people, using his younger brother, Attila. A ruthless leader, fear as their primary weapon. Attila often impaled those who opposed him, The Huns were pastoralists, which means driving their bodies onto sharp sticks and they tended to animals. Throughout history, leaving them to a torturous death that could pastoralists have generally been more warlike take days. than farmers. With no permanent home, the Attila transformed the Huns from savage Huns had no interest in the lands they raided. nomads into a disciplined army. Instead of Skilled horsemen, the Huns were known to gathering livestock and roots to survive, the attack quickly and travel long distances. They Huns amassed wealth by collecting tribute and could appear at an instant, take what they plundering cities throughout Southeast Europe. wanted and ride off again, leaving behind chaos In 435, as Attila began military campaigns to and panic as they destroyed villages in Asia and build a powerful empire, he found an unusual Europe. ally in a Roman princess. Scholars believe China constructed the Honoria was the older sister of Emperor Great Wall of China to keep out the Mongol Valentinian. When she became pregnant with ancestors of the Huns. Driven west by China’s the child of a servant, Valentinian ordered his Han Dynasty, the nomadic hoard exacted terror sister to marry a Roman senator. To escape her on the barbarian tribes in their path. As the fate, Honoria sent a messenger to Attila, Huns pushed west of the Caspian Sea in offering herself as a bride if the Huns could Western Asia, their violent raids forced the rescue her. and other Germanic tribes to move When the Roman emperor refused Attila's inside the borders of the Roman Empire. demand for the emperor's sister, the Huns By 405, the Romans formed an began cutting a swath of destruction through alliance with the Huns by paying the Roman Empire, leading to a great tribute, or payment confrontation in 451. for protection. The The two armies met in the Battle of in Romans also sent a present-day France. Aetius, the general who young man named once lived with the Huns, led the Romans. Aetius to live with After two days of brutal fighting, the better- the warriors as a trained Roman army outflanked the Huns. gesture of their Aetius allowed his defeated enemy to retreat; he goodwill. believed that if he destroyed the Huns, the For three years, Visigoths and other Germanic cultures would Aetius lived with become an even greater threat to the Roman the Huns and Empire. ©2015 Mike Dowling, www.mrdowling.com, All rights reserved. Defeated but still defiant, Attila regrouped Attila left Italy to return to his home in present- his forces and returned to Italy to claim day Hungary. Honoria. In 452, his army suddenly retreated A year later, the Huns celebrated a great after a meeting with the head of the Christian feast as Attila took a new bride, a teenaged girl Church. Church stories say Pope Leo I, without named . Legends say that at the end of an army or weapons, met Attila, a man he called the festivities, Attila retreated to his tent in a the “scourge of God.” drunken stupor. The next morning, the new Their meeting was secret, so we don't know bride was found quivering in their tent after why Attila suddenly withdrew his forces from finding that Attila had choked to death from a Italy. Leo may have bribed the Huns, or the nosebleed during the night. charismatic Pope may have simply convinced Attila’s death led to a civil war among his Attila to stop fighting. Italy had suffered from sons. The Huns, without Attila, were no longer a poor harvest the previous year, so there was a unified people. Many of the subject peoples little food for Attila’s starving army. There is stopped paying tribute, and the Huns slowly also evidence that many of his soldiers were assimilated into other cultures. suffering from the plague. For whatever reason, Answer in Complete Sentences *1. Describe the Huns.

*2. The text states, “Throughout history, pastoralists have generally been more warlike than farmers.” Why do you think this is true?

*3. Why did Aetius have insight into the military tactics the Huns in the Battle of Châlons?

*4. Based on your reading of the article, why do you think Attila withdrew his forces from Italy in 452? Use facts from the article to explain your opinion.

5. What happened to the Huns after the death of Attila?

*This is a higher order learning question. You will earn credit for any reasonable answer.