Attila the Hun

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Attila the Hun Attila the Hun BIOGRAPHY WORKBOOK Attila the Hun ATTILA THE HUN: THE “SCOURGE OF GOD” (LIVED CIRCA 400-453 C.E.; REIGNED 434-453 C.E.) The Goths were considered by This terrific and brutal little the Romans to be "improvable Kalmuck, with his bead-like eyes, this barbarians." But the Huns whom skin-clad devourer of raw flesh, Attila led to ravage the fair peninsula delighted to lay waste whole empires were, to the people of ancient Rome, with fire and sword, and to terrify the mere Tartar savages of the lowest world. In 434, Attila became king of stamp. the Huns with his brother Bleda. In All the other invaders of Italy 445, Bleda died, possibly by murder. were of Teutonic (Germanic) origin. In 445, Attila, now sole king of the But the Huns were Mongols from Huns, invaded the Eastern Roman Asia—of such perfect hideousness to Empire, and ravaged it even to the European sensibilities of the time that gates of Constantinople. He was only Jornandes regarded them as the bought off from destroying it by an offspring of witches and demons. enormous tribute. Attila, son of Mundzuk, "the scourge of God," resembled his soldiers in his 2. Who was Attila’s brother and co- flat, tan features, deep-set, fierce, ruler? rolling black eyes, and short figure. a. Bleda Historically, Westerners viewed the b. Genghis Huns as uncivilizable savages, who c. Mundzuk might harry a continent, but neither d. Tamerlane under Attila, nor Genghis, nor Tamerlane, could ever found a The infamous plot to assassinate centrally organized kingdom. him by the treachery of Edecon, who was one of his counselors, was 1. Why did the Romans scorn the discovered and foiled, and Attila sent Huns more than other barbarians, message after message filled with such as the Goths? insults to Eastern Roman (Byzantine) ____________________________________ Emperor Theodosius II. ____________________________________ In 451, Attila’s vast army moved ____________________________________ westward, and devastated Gaul. It ____________________________________ was met in the Mauriac plain and www.STUDENTHANDOUTS.com Page 2 Attila the Hun defeated by Ætius in the tremendous 3. Who defeated Attila at the Battle of battle of Chalons, after a carnage Chalons (451)? among the most frightful that the ____________________________________ world has ever seen. ____________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Word Search Puzzle T H E O D O S I U S I I P Y C W O C A D E L B G B S A R A H Y N I O N K I O A R N A E A A R O N M O J C T A N G T X V L Q R E L D I T T O N I B A S O L I V H D L R N U U Z U H U N S A E L E A I H S C B T P I S A L I T T A F Terms Aetius Huns Attila Ildico battle Leo I Bleda Pannonia Chalons Tartars Honoria Theodosius II Hungary Venice The Huns were only saved from saddles and other spoils erected, and final destruction by the heroic declared his determination to burn boldness of Attila. He had a vast hill of himself alive rather than be taken www.STUDENTHANDOUTS.com Page 3 Attila the Hun captive. He led back his shattered host 5. Why do you suppose that Attila to Pannonia, and there in his wooden used a scorched earth strategy palace meditated revenge. In the one (destroying anything that his authentic glimpse which we get of his enemies might find useful) when mode of life, we see him at a banquet, fighting the Romans? while his nobles and warriors ____________________________________ caroused and burst into peals of ____________________________________ laughter at the buffooneries of an idiot ____________________________________ and a jester. But the Hunnish king sat ____________________________________ grave and silent, caressing the cheeks ____________________________________ of the boy Ernak, his favorite son, ____________________________________ whom the augur pointed out as the ____________________________________ heir of his destinies. ____________________________________ 4. How did Attila save himself and his Rome awaited with trembling a remaining troops? fate which seemed to threaten ____________________________________ unprecedented catastrophe. But in ____________________________________ this awful crisis the Pope, Leo I, ____________________________________ showed himself the true Defensor ____________________________________ civitatis. Leo I headed a splendid ____________________________________ embassy to the camp of Attila. ____________________________________ Already Leo had helped to trace with ____________________________________ firm hand the deep lines of Christian ____________________________________ orthodoxy which were accepted by the Church at the fourth great In 452, Attila once more put his Œcumenical Council of Chalcedon in myriads in motion and invaded Italy. 451 C.E. Now Leo showed what Everywhere, the land was as the miracle could be achieved by the garden of Eden before him; behind irresistible might of weakness. him it was a desolate wilderness. Encouraged by the omen of some 6. Devise an English translation for storks leaving their nest, he stormed the Latin term Defensor civitatis. and destroyed Aquileia. Razing city ____________________________________ after city into heaps of blackened ____________________________________ ruins, he advanced to Milan, boasting ____________________________________ that "where his horses' hoofs trod, the ____________________________________ grass never grew." ____________________________________ www.STUDENTHANDOUTS.com Page 4 Attila the Hun Attila's god was a naked iron the Emperor Valentinian had been sword of gigantic size, which had been ready to fly, the Pope Leo was not accidentally found by a herdsman and afraid to advance, and that "when the presented to him, but which Attila successor of Cæsar had been proved palmed off on his nation as the useless, the successor of St. Peter had authentic sword of the Scythian war- been a very present help." Indirectly god. Yet he was easily overawed by Attila was the strengthener of the the majesty of religion. Attila scorned Papacy, and the founder of Venice. the guilty, corrupt courtiers of That stately and gorgeous city owes its Constantinople, but he almost origin to the Italians who fled in terror trembled before a holy man. Already, before the brutal Huns from ruined in 451, he had spared the defenseless Padua to the islands and lagoons at city of Troyes at the entreaty of its the mouth of the Piave. bishop, St. Lupus, and had asked the benefit of his prayers. And when he 8. How was Attila indirectly gazed on the calm countenance, noble responsible for the founding of presence, and dauntless demeanor of Venice, Italy? Pope Leo, an awful dread fell upon ____________________________________ him. Alaric had conquered Rome, but ____________________________________ Alaric had died immediately ____________________________________ afterward. How if it would be so with ____________________________________ Attila? He yielded, he retired; he said—or perhaps he said—that he In retiring, Attila had demanded could conquer men, but that the wolf once more the hand and dower of (Lupus) and the lion (Leo) had learnt Honoria, the disgraced sister of how to conquer him. Theodosius II, who had offered herself to Attila in order to avoid a forced 7. Why was Attila in awe of Pope Leo marriage. But in 453, Attila added a I? beautiful maiden, Ildico, to his ____________________________________ innumerable wives. Attila retired from ____________________________________ the marriage banquet after a deep ____________________________________ carouse, and in the morning was found ____________________________________ dead amid a flood of gore by which he had been suffocated, while Ildico sat The tide of brutal and barbarous weeping beneath her veil by the dead invasion was rolled back again, and king's bedside. Attila died as a fool the world and the city saw that while dieth. His warriors gashed their www.STUDENTHANDOUTS.com Page 5 Attila the Hun cheeks and wept tears of blood, and Heruli reasserted their independence gave him a splendid burial. And his in the great victory of Netad in name passed into legend as the King Pannonia in 454. And though the Etzel of the Niebelungen Lied, and Huns left their name in Hungary, Alti of the Saga. henceforth the empire of Attila became mere "driftwood, on its way to 9. How did Attila die? inevitable oblivion." ____________________________________ ____________________________________ 10. The term “loutish sons” refers to ____________________________________ whom? ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ But Attila’s "loutish sons" ____________________________________ quarreled among themselves. The ____________________________________ Teutons, Goths, Gepidæ, Alani, and ____________________________________ 11. Imagine that you are Attila. Select and describe events and decisions from Attila’s life that you would have handled or decided differently. _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________
Recommended publications
  • Hunnic Warfare in the Fourth and Fifth Centuries C.E.: Archery and the Collapse of the Western Roman Empire
    HUNNIC WARFARE IN THE FOURTH AND FIFTH CENTURIES C.E.: ARCHERY AND THE COLLAPSE OF THE WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE A Thesis Submitted to the Committee of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Faculty of Arts and Science. TRENT UNIVERSITY Peterborough, Ontario, Canada © Copyright by Laura E. Fyfe 2016 Anthropology M.A. Graduate Program January 2017 ABSTRACT Hunnic Warfare in the Fourth and Fifth Centuries C.E.: Archery and the Collapse of the Western Roman Empire Laura E. Fyfe The Huns are one of the most misunderstood and mythologized barbarian invaders encountered by the Roman Empire. They were described by their contemporaries as savage nomadic warriors with superior archery skills, and it is this image that has been written into the history of the fall of the Western Roman Empire and influenced studies of Late Antiquity through countless generations of scholarship. This study examines evidence of Hunnic archery, questions the acceptance and significance of the “Hunnic archer” image, and situates Hunnic archery within the context of the fall of the Western Roman Empire. To achieve a more accurate picture of the importance of archery in Hunnic warfare and society, this study undertakes a mortuary analysis of burial sites associated with the Huns in Europe, a tactical and logistical study of mounted archery and Late Roman and Hunnic military engagements, and an analysis of the primary and secondary literature. Keywords: Archer, Archery, Army, Arrow, Barbarian, Bow, Burial Assemblages, Byzantine, Collapse, Composite Bow, Frontier, Hun, Logistics, Migration Period, Roman, Roman Empire, Tactics, Weapons Graves ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to thank my thesis advisor, Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Reshaping East Roman Diplomacy with Barbarians During the 5Th Century
    Chapter 1 From Hegemony to Negotiation: Reshaping East Roman Diplomacy with Barbarians during the 5th Century Audrey Becker Introduction During the first half of the 4th century ad, thanks to their military power, the Romans had been giving the barbarian tribes bordering the Danube and the Rhine no choice but to accept the conclusion of deditio after losing the war, leav- ing them in a very humiliating position.1 Yet, the military and political events of the second half of the 4th century ad, and even more of the 5th century ad, led the Romans to reconsider their relationship with the barbarian tribes.2 The characteristics of diplomatic relationship changed even before the defeat at Andrinople in 378, because the barbarian tribes, in the middle of the 4th cen- tury, gradually became able to restore the balance of power, leading the Eastern Roman Empire to reconsider its relations with its barbarian neighbours. This compelled the Byzantine Empire, from the end of the 4th century onward, to take into account barbarian leaders or kings who became, at that time, real dip- lomatic actors playing, of necessity, with formal rules of diplomatic protocol to 1 For instance, Constantinus with the Sarmatians in 323: Zosimus, Historia Nova 2.21.3, ed.Paschoud (Paris, 2000), p. 92; Julian in 358 with the Alemanni kings Suomarius and Hor- tarius: Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae 17.10.3, ed. Sabbah (Paris, 1989), p. 64; Ammianus Marcellinus 17.10.9, p. 66; Constantius ii, in 358 as well, with the kings of the Sarmatians and Quadi: Ammianus Marcellinus 17.12.9–16, pp.
    [Show full text]
  • 33 Hungarian Histories
    Miklós M. Molnár 33 HUNGARIAN HISTORIES HUNGARIAN IDENTITY THROUGH PORTRAITS www.CatchBudapest.com Table of Contents Preface ........................................................................................ 5 How to Read this Book (Preface by the Author) ............................. 6 In Search of Roots ....................................................................... 8 Attila the Hun, Our Hun ............................................................................. 9 Chief Árpád, The Founding Father ............................................................ 13 Sándor Kőrösi-Csoma, Seeking Hungarian roots, founding Tibetology .... 16 Ármin Vámbéry, The Dervish in Disguise ................................................. 19 Nation Builders ......................................................................... 23 Mátyás, The King in Disguise ................................................................... 24 István Széchenyi, The Greatest of the Magyars ........................................ 28 Albert Apponyi, The Architect of Trianon ................................................ 32 Mihály Károlyi, The Red Count ................................................................ 36 Anna Kéthly, A Friend of Social Justice, a Thorn in the Side of Politicians ................................................................................................. 40 László Rajk, The Man who was Buried Three Times ................................ 43 Voices .......................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Things Fall Apart
    ChurchChurch HistoryHistory ChurchChurch HistoryHistory IntroductionIntroduction toto ChurchChurch HistoryHistory st rd TheThe AncientAncient ChurchChurch AD 11st-3-3rd centuriescenturies th th TheThe RiseRise ofof ChristendomChristendom AD 44th-5-5th centuriescenturies th th TheThe EarlyEarly MiddleMiddle AgesAges AD 66th-10-10th centuriescenturies th th TheThe AgeAge ofof CrusadesCrusades AD 1111th-13-13th centuriescenturies th th TheThe RenaissanceRenaissance AD 1414th-15-15th centuriescenturies th ConquestConquest andand ReformationReformation AD 1616th centurycentury th th TheThe AgeAge ofof EnlightenmentEnlightenment AD 1717th-18-18th centuriescenturies th TheThe AgeAge ofof RevolutionRevolution AD 1919th centurycentury th TheThe ModernModern AgeAge AD 2020th centurycentury st TheThe PostmodernPostmodern AgeAge AD 2121st centurycentury ChurchChurch HistoryHistory IntroductionIntroduction toto ChurchChurch HistoryHistory st rd TheThe AncientAncient ChurchChurch AD 11st-3-3rd centuriescenturies th th TheThe RiseRise ofof ChristendomChristendom AD 44th-5-5th centuriescenturies Constantine: The Thirteenth Apostle The First Ecumenical Council The Constantinian Line The Establishment of Christendom The Second Ecumenical Council Fathers of the New Church Things Fall Apart... TheThe RiseRise ofof ChristendomChristendom TheThe FallFall ofof thethe RomanRoman EmpireEmpire tooktook aa whilewhile 410410 AlaricAlaric andand hishis VisigothsVisigoths sackedsacked RomeRome ItIt waswas aa horrifichorrific threethree days,days, butbut thenthen itit
    [Show full text]
  • Attila the Hun: a Barbarian King and the Fall of Rome Free
    FREE ATTILA THE HUN: A BARBARIAN KING AND THE FALL OF ROME PDF John Man | 416 pages | 17 Apr 2006 | Transworld Publishers Ltd | 9780553816587 | English | London, United Kingdom Attila The Hun: Who Was The “Scourge Of God” Who Terrorised The Romans? - HistoryExtra Attila the Hun c— was the leader of the ancient nomadic people known as the Huns from to AD and ruler of the Hunnic Empire. He was a Attila the Hun: A Barbarian King and the Fall of Rome warlord and an astute politician, keeping a diverse confederation of tribes together for decades. He was also a successful crime lord, extorting money from his enemies with a ruthlessness that exceeded any later mafia don, says Miles Russell. Unfortunately we know very little of the man himself, for the Huns failed to write their own version of history. Born into Hunnic aristocracy early in the fifth century, Attila and his elder brother Bleda were nephews of King Rugila. The Huns were a nomadic, pastoralist society who, from the fourth century AD, had been migrating west towards the Roman Empire. Growing up, Bleda and Attila would have learnt to ride almost as soon as they could walk. They would also have been trained as archers, for the Huns were renowned for being able to dispatch arrows with great accuracy from horseback in battle. He was certainly known to have had many wives, polygamy helping to bind the Hunnic clans together. When King Rugila died inhe was succeeded by his nephews. Inhowever, Bleda was dead. Yet given what he achieved, it is hard to understand why, says John Man.
    [Show full text]
  • Nominalia of the Bulgarian Rulers an Essay by Ilia Curto Pelle
    Nominalia of the Bulgarian rulers An essay by Ilia Curto Pelle Bulgaria is a country with a rich history, spanning over a millennium and a half. However, most Bulgarians are unaware of their origins. To be honest, the quantity of information involved can be overwhelming, but once someone becomes invested in it, he or she can witness a tale of the rise and fall, steppe khans and Christian emperors, saints and murderers of the three Bulgarian Empires. As delving deep in the history of Bulgaria would take volumes upon volumes of work, in this essay I have tried simply to create a list of all Bulgarian rulers we know about by using different sources. So, let’s get to it. Despite there being many theories for the origin of the Bulgars, the only one that can show a historical document supporting it is the Hunnic one. This document is the Nominalia of the Bulgarian khans, dating back to the 8th or 9th century, which mentions Avitohol/Attila the Hun as the first Bulgarian khan. However, it is not clear when the Bulgars first joined the Hunnic Empire. It is for this reason that all the Hunnic rulers we know about will also be included in this list as khans of the Bulgars. The rulers of the Bulgars and Bulgaria carry the titles of khan, knyaz, emir, elteber, president, and tsar. This list recognizes as rulers those people, who were either crowned as any of the above, were declared as such by the people, despite not having an official coronation, or had any possession of historical Bulgarian lands (in modern day Bulgaria, southern Romania, Serbia, Albania, Macedonia, and northern Greece), while being of royal descent or a part of the royal family.
    [Show full text]
  • Bowl Round 5 – MIDDLE SCHOOL First Quarter
    IHBB Beta Bowl 2018-2019 Bowl Round 5 Bowl Round 5 – MIDDLE SCHOOL First Quarter (1) Henry Jennings was one of many of these people who based their forces in Port Royal. A famous leader of these people, Edward Teach, renamed a captured merchant vessel the Queen Anne’s Revenge. For ten points, name this occupation of Blackbeard and other seafaring criminals. ANSWER: pirates (2) This monarch tried to force Scotland to give up Queen Mary in marriage to his son in the War of the Rough Wooing. This king executed his advisor Thomas More and effectively replaced him with the author of the Book of Common Prayer, Thomas Cranmer, because More did not attend the coronation of Anne Boleyn. For ten points, name this English king who ordered the executions of two of his six wives. ANSWER: Henry VIII of England (prompt on Henry) (3) The Bodhnath Stupa is a major landmark in this country’s capital, where Gurkha soldiers have been recruited for decades. Kangchenjunga is located on this country’s border with the Indian state of Sikkim, and climbers of it and other mountains have helped develop this country’s tourism industry. For ten points, name this country whose border with China is home to Mount Everest. ANSWER: Nepal (4) This leader’s policies helped put the SEAT 600 automobile into mass production, leading to his country’s economic “miracle.” This leader saw action in the Rif War and eventually became the leader of the Falange party. Juan Carlos I succeeded this man, whose forces were supported by the Condor Legion during a 1930s civil war.
    [Show full text]
  • Attila the Hun: Barbarian Terror and the Fall of the Roman Empire Pdf, Epub, Ebook
    ATTILA THE HUN: BARBARIAN TERROR AND THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Christopher Kelly | 320 pages | 03 Sep 2009 | Vintage Publishing | 9781844139156 | English | London, United Kingdom Attila The Hun: Barbarian Terror and the Fall of the Roman Empire PDF Book Following Priscus, Kelly argues that Attila was not an irrational barbarian but a sophisticated ruler who played a clever hand in contemporary international politics. Pretty much what one wants out of a general history. However, he's not the nail in the coffin but certainly the hammer. I'm not sure. They would also have been trained as archers, for the Huns were renowned for being able to dispatch arrows with great accuracy from horseback in battle. They were just another Central Asian nomadic people, moving west like countless other tribes. So the first half is Roman history leading up to the Hun invasion and the second half is taken from a Roman historian who was actually present for most of the events during and after. Face-Off on the Catalaunian Plains Two fateful moments marked the battle. Release 15 February Limited by lack of sources, it about as definitive as we are likely to get. ISBN Oct 01, Elisheva rated it really liked it. Refresh and try again. The Huns were not savages on horseback, sweeping suddenly out of Asia to the gates of Rome only to vanish again. This battle revealed to the Goths, in particular, that the Roman empire was not as strong as they had hitherto believed. There is a notes and further reading section for each chapter at the end of the book.
    [Show full text]
  • Myth and Historical Facts About Rome and the Huns Leader Attila
    INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL & SCIENCE EDUCATION 2016, VOL. 11, NO. 12, 5299-5310 OPEN ACCESS Myth and Historical Facts About Rome and the Huns Leader Attila Anar T. Sadyrovaa, Muratbek M. Imangazinova, Saylauhan K. Kozhagulova, Gulmira S. Suleimenovaa and Arailym A. Amanzholovaa aZhetysu State University named after Ilyas Zhansugurov, Taldykorgan, KAZAKHSTAN ABSTRACT The article reviewed the history of Rome and Attila, their influence on the political and social situation in Europe. The aim of the article is to study the origins of Rome, its crisis and destruction. It also considers the impact on the collapse of the Empire, the impact that Attila had on the destruction of Rome and the analysis of Attila as a political and military leader, his history, heritage and influence on the cultures of European and Turkic people. The article also tells about the life of the Huns. The principles of historicism, objectivism, dialectical unity of the historical and logical are applied in the article, as well as the comparative-historical and historical-analytical methods. Abstraction and generalization were applied from the general methods of scientific knowledge. The analysis of foreign and domestic historians is undertaken, and the folklore of European countries, in particular the North German and Norse tribes is considered in the article. The results of the article show social, economic and political factors that influenced the emergence and decline of Rome, describe Attila's personality as a prudent and cruel leader, and the motives that drove him like a lust for power and expansionist views. The formation of Attila as a legend contributed to European militarized tribes, as well as his pursued policy of cult of personality.
    [Show full text]
  • „…Ut Strenui Viri…” a Gepidák Kárpát-Medencei Története
    Szegedi Tudományegyetem Bölcsészettudományi Kar Történelemtudományi Doktori Iskola Medievisztika alprogram Kiss Attila „…ut strenui viri…” A gepidák Kárpát-medencei története Doktori értekezés Témavezet ı: Dr. Prof. Olajos Terézia professor emerita Szeged, 2014 Tartalom KÖSZÖNETNYILVÁNÍTÁS ............................................................................................................... 2 I. BEVEZETÉS ...................................................................................................................................... 3 I. 1. A GERMÁN KÉP VÁLTOZÁSAI A TÖRTÉNETI FORRÁSOKBAN ÉS A KUTATÁSBAN ........................ 3 I. 2. A NEMZET NÉLKÜLI „SZEGÉNY ” GERMÁNOK , A GEPIDÁK MEGÍTÉLÉSE A KUTATÁSBAN ....... 15 II. A GEPIDA CSOPORTOK KÁRPÁT-MEDENCEI BEKÖLTÖZÉSE .................................... 20 II. 1. KIS GEPIDA İSTÖRTÉNET ........................................................................................................... 20 II. 2. A GEPIDÁK MEGJELENÉSE A KÁRPÁT -MEDENCÉBEN – ISMERKEDÉS A RÓMAI HATÁROKKAL ? ............................................................................................................................................................... 28 II. 3. GEPIDÁK A 3–4. SZÁZADI KÁRPÁT -MEDENCÉBEN ? ETNIKAI INTERPRETÁCIÓK A RÉGÉSZETI KUTATÁSBAN ........................................................................................................................................ 36 III. GEPIDÁK A HUN KORSZAKBAN..........................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Scobol Solo 2015 Packet 6 (Round 6)
    Scobol Solo 2015 PORTA Packet 6 (Round 6) NIGRA 1. After this person died, his sons lost the Battles of Bassianae [bah-see-AN-ay] and Nedao [nay-dow], leading to the collapse of his empire. This person defeated Ar·neg·is·clus in what is now Bulgaria, but he did not have enough manpower to take Constantinople after winning the Battle of the Utus. This person was slowed down by a coalition that included Merovech, the grandfather of Clovis I [1] and father of the first Merovingian [mair-oh-VIN-jee-un] king. Theodoric I [1], a Visigoth king, died fighting this person at the Battle of the Ca·ta·lau·ni·an Plains, also known as the Battle of Châlons [shah-lawn]. Name this fifth century brother of Bleda [BLAY-duh] who ruled the Huns. Answer: Attila the Hun 2. If one of these mathematical objects is made up of real numbers, it being Cauchy [koh-shee] is equivalent to it having a limit. Infinite examples of these entities can be subjected to the root, ratio, orintegral test to determine if they converge. They can be defined recursively by a difference equation or recurrence relation. If one of these has a common ratio between −1 and 1 and is geometric, then it converges. Name these mathematical things that are called arithmetic [air-ith-MET-ik] if they are based on a common difference, and which are ordered lists of numbers. Answer: sequences [accept series] 3. Bertrand Russell stated that if he saw God after he died, he would complain that there was not enough of this concept.
    [Show full text]
  • Empires of the Silk Road: a History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze
    EMPIRES OF THE SILK ROAD A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present 5 CHRISTOPHER I. BECKWITH PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS Princeton and Oxford Copyright © 2009 by Princeton University Press Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, 6 Oxford Street, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1TW All Rights Reserved Library of Congress Cata loging- in- Publication Data Beckwith, Christopher I., 1945– Empires of the Silk Road : a history of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the present / Christopher I. Beckwith. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978- 0- 691- 13589- 2 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Asia, Central–History. 2. Europe, Eastern—History. 3. East Asia—History. 4. Middle East—History. I. Title. DS329.4.B43 2009 958–dc22 2008023715 British Library Cata loging- in- Publication Data is available Th is book has been composed in Minion Pro. Printed on acid- free paper. ∞ press.princeton.edu Printed in the United States of America 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 CONTENTS 5 preface vii a c k n o w l e d g m e n t s x v abbreviations and sigla xvii introduction xix prologue: The Hero and His Friends 1 1 Th e Chariot Warriors 29 2 Th e Royal Scythians 58 3 Between Roman and Chinese Legions 78 4 Th e Age of Attila the Hun 93 5 Th e Türk Empire 112 6 Th e Silk Road, Revolution, and Collapse 140 7 Th e Vikings and Cathay 163 8 Chinggis Khan and the Mongol Conquests 183 9 Central Eurasians Ride to a Eu ro pe an Sea 204 10 Th e Road Is Closed 232 11 Eurasia without a Center 263 12 Central Eurasia Reborn 302 epilogue: Th e Barbarians 320 appendix a: Th e Proto- Indo- Eu ro pe ans and Th eir Diaspora 363 appendix b: Ancient Central Eurasian Ethnonyms 375 endnotes 385 bibliography 427 index 457 This page intentionally left blank PREFACE 5 Th is book presents a new view of the history of Central Eurasia and the other parts of the Eurasian continent directly involved in Central Eurasian history.
    [Show full text]