[theme music] MONTE MARKHAM
(VOICEOVER): 452 AD-- after a lightning campaign
through northern Italy, Attila, King of the
Huns, had led his armies to the very gates of Rome. What was once the proud capital
of the most powerful empire in the ancient world lay at the
feet of this fearsome warrior chieftain. His people had swept into
Europe like a tempest from the steps of Central Asia
only a few generations before. But it was Attila who
melded the Hunnish tribes into a single terrifying force. Since he became
their leader in 434, Attila had risen to become
one of the mightiest rulers on the face of the Earth. It is no wonder that, to
his terrified enemies, this remarkable man
came to be known as Attila, the Scourge of God. [music playing] He was an outsider certainly
to Christian society. He was an outsider
to Roman society. Here is evil on horseback. MONTE MARKHAM
(VOICEOVER): Attila the Hun was one of the most
successful conquerors in all of history. At the peak of his power, he
held nearly all the barbarian tribes of Europe in
one fist and threatened to crush the entire Roman
Empire with the other. Attila's success in war has
also gained him another sort of dubious distinction. A few years ago, "Time
Magazine" asked a group of professional historians to
compile a list of the 10 most hated persons in history. Adolf Hitler was
the clear winner, but most historians also
ranked Attila near the top. For many people, the
name of Attila the Hun is associated with barbarism,
terror, and destruction. But in some parts
of the world, Attila doesn't have a bad
reputation at all. In Hungary, for example, Attila
is not only a national hero but a common first name. In many of the regions
Attila conquered, he's remembered as a wise
and benevolent ruler. Even in America,
people have begun to take a second
look at the career of this notorious
barbarian King. In 1985, a book titled "The
Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun" captured the
imagination of many business and political leaders. Like Attila, the book
itself became the subject of a great deal of controversy. Though it is more than
probable that Attila deserves his barbaric reputation,
for the most part the historians who perpetuated
the demonic image of Attila were equally motivated by deep
religious and cultural bias. They established powerful
and enduring myths that differ greatly from the
historical facts, facts which are also at odds with
legends that portray Attila in an over-idealized light. The real Attila was a brutal,
charismatic, and uniquely talented leader. Although he
inherited his throne, he brought a unity and
fierce loyalty to his people that had never existed before. And under his
leadership, the Huns were practically
undefeated in battle. But Attila's greatest
victories weren't always on the battlefield. He was also a shrewd negotiator
and a brilliant leader, who demonstrated both
fairness and modesty. When he did fight,
however, his armies were a bloody,
irresistible force that swept aside
almost everything that stood in their path. A single word from Attila
could make kingdoms crumble and empires shake to
their very foundations. FRANZ H. BAUML: For
Christian society, he became the very symbol
of destructive, wantonly destructive evil-- the Scourge of God. MONTE MARKHAM (VOICEOVER):
But Attila's origins were as obscure as his
conquests had been swift. [mysterious music] Attila is believed to have
been born around 400 AD-- no one knows just where. Some historians believe he
was named for the river Volga, which the Huns called the Atil. Attila's father, King
Mundzuk, knew this river well since it winds through a
region of Russia conquered by his own father. Attila is also thought to
be the Hunnic word for iron. In any event, it's clear that
from the day he was born, great things were
expected of Attila. During his father's
lifetime, the Huns had expanded to the
west and the south. Within a few years
of Attila's birth, the Huns had crossed
the Carpathian Mountains and established a vast empire
centered in present day Hungary. PATRICK J GEARY: Although the
Hunnic leadership initially came from Central Asia,
the Hunnic confederation, like most of these
barbarian peoples, was not a single ethnic group. It was made up of a wide
variety of barbarians, as well as Romans. The Hunnic empire was an
equal opportunity employer. Anyone could be a Hun
who fought with the Huns and who supported
Hunnic leadership. MONTE MARKHAM (VOICEOVER):
The mighty Danube served as a buffer between
the Huns and their neighbors to the south, but not for long. In their new homeland, the Huns
continued the nomadic lifestyle they had pursued on the vast
Eurasian plane for thousands of years. They raised horses,
cattle, sheep, and goats, living a life of
constant movement, traveling in their
wooden carts and wagons. They carried all
of their belongings with them as they followed
the water in the grassland. The Huns surged into
territory occupied by numerous Germanic tribes,
including the Gepids, Goths, and Vandals. These tribes soon felt the
brunt of another Hun tradition-- rapid brutal warfare. The Huns quickly overran
anyone and anything that stood in their way. The lucky ones fled south
across the Danube and westward across the Rhine, seeking
refuge among the Romans. When they came
out of Asia, they pushed against the
Ostrogoths, they pushed against the Visigoths, who
then push against the Danube frontier and wanted to
come into the Roman Empire. It's been called the first
billiard ball history lesson that we have. And so when they pushed
against the Visigoths, they were terrified by these
Huns, who looked so different, acted so different, and
lived so differently than the Germanic barbarians
that the Romans had been used to for centuries. MONTE MARKHAM (VOICEOVER):
To the Romans, all European tribes who
spoke neither Latin nor Greek were barbarians,
but they had never known a race like the Huns. In fact, they had never
even heard of the Huns until the last quarter
of the fourth century. By the time of Attila's
birth, however, his people were recognized as a grave
threat to the empire. Some Romans even thought
they were subhuman. MICHELLE SALZMAN:
They seemed barbarian even to the barbarians, even
to the Germanic barbarians. The Huns didn't even
cook their meat-- at least the Germans did. According to the Romans,
they lived on horseback, they slept on horseback. They even made
love in the wagons. They didn't have any houses. They didn't wear clean clothing. They were completely
other and frightening. You couldn't trust them. They were treacherous-- at
least, that's the mythology. [music playing] MONTE MARKHAM (VOICEOVER):
Many Roman clergymen saw the Huns as God's
punishment for the decadent ways of their countrymen. The only consolation was
that the Huns were split into several different groups,
each led by a different King. This was a situation, however,
that would not last long. King Mundzuk died shortly after
Attila was born, leaving him and his older brother, Bleda,
to be raised by their uncles. Of the three uncles, Ruga
emerged as the most powerful. Attila was his favorite nephew. Ruga saw to it that Attila learn
to ride a horse before he could walk, to use a bow and
arrow by the age of three, and a saber by the age of five-- a typical childhood
for a young male Hun. The Huns crafted
fine bows and arrows and were experts at
using them on horseback. To be on the receiving end
of a Hunnic cavalry charge was to experience true terror. It was an experience
many survivors still recall with dread
generations afterward. Again and again, you
find the image emphasized in the chroniclers of the
appearance of the Huns on horseback. Here are these
masses of horsemen who seem to be glued to their
mounts, charging against you. This seems to have been
an absolutely frightening experience for the imperial
armies-- an experience, of course, which they
have never had before. MONTE MARKHAM (VOICEOVER):
During Attila's childhood, the Huns continued to gobble
up territory from neighboring barbarian tribes. The Huns also began raiding
Roman provinces in the east. The Roman Empire became hard
pressed to defend itself. The ancient civilization
was a mere shadow of its former glory. The Roman Empire was
actually two empires at this time, the Eastern Roman
Empire and the Western Roman Empire. The eastern empire was
governed from Constantinople. The seat of the Western Empire
had been moved from Rome to Milan and finally,
in 423, to Ravenna. The empire had officially
adopted Christianity in the fourth century, but
debates on the nature of God continued causing bitter
divisions in the empire. Religious controversies
that erupted in violence were a fact of life-- so were political
assassinations, court intrigues, coups, riots, and
rebellions, and so were weak, corrupt emperors. It wasn't unusual for the
real power behind the throne to be wielded by an
emperor's chamberlain or eunuch or his
mother or his sister or his master of soldiers. Oftentimes, these generals
weren't even Roman citizens. They were barbarian chiefs,
and the armies they commanded were largely made up
of allied barbarian tribes or outright mercenaries. These were desperate times. The Romans chose to
fight fire with fire, sending barbarians
to fight barbarians. This was a world in which
barbarians and Romans had long been in very intimate contact. They were necessary
to each other. The Romans had been addicted
to the barbarians for almost a century. They needed them for slaves. They needed them for trade. They also needed them as
a source of their troops. Because increasingly, the Roman
army was made up of barbarians. MONTE MARKHAM (VOICEOVER):
Around AD 410, the Romans sought
peace with the Huns. As a sign of their good
faith, the Western Empire sent a prominent young citizen
to live in the Hunnic court as a hostage. The young man's name
was Flavius Aetius. While living among the Huns,
he learned their language, culture, and military tactics. Aetius also became friends
with younger Attila. A few years later,
the two young men were separated when
Attila was sent to live as a hostage at the
court of the Western Empire. Well, exchanging hostages
had been a centuries old way for one culture to learn
about another culture. The Romans and the Huns
exchanged hostages. That's the way Aetius learned
about the Hunnic language, learned about Hunnic
techniques, of warfare. And similarly, that's where
Attila learned about Roman techniques and warfare. It was like a finishing
school, as it were, for potential military
and diplomatic leaders. MONTE MARKHAM (VOICEOVER):
During Attila's years in the Roman court,
he learned much about his enemies, their
language and military tactics, their great wealth and
their ancient culture. But Attila wanted no part
of the Roman way of life. He was revolted by what he saw
as the decadence and corruption that infected
Roman civilization. For Attila, to know
Rome was to hate it. By the year 420, Attila was
returned to the Huns and Aetius was returned to the Romans. Both young men had learned a
great deal about their foes. Aetius realized it would be
healthier to have the Huns as allies than as enemies. Attila's attitude was different. He was willing to remain
friends with Aetius, but he also made a vow to himself-- someday he'd return to
Italy not as a hostage, but as a conqueror. [horse neighing] [music playing] The Huns left no
written language, and the portraits of
Attila that exist today were created centuries
after his death by artists motivated by
their own cultural bias. The extremes ranged from
the demonic to the romantic. But there is a description
of Attila written by a Greek historian named
Priscus, who actually met him in his camp. Wrote Priscus,
"He was a man born to shake the races of
the world, a terror to all lands, who,
in some way or other, frightened everyone by the dread
report noised abroad about him. For he was haughty
in his carriage, casting his eyes
about him on all sides so that the proud
man's power was to be seen in the very
movements of his body. A lover of war, he was
personally restrained in action, most
impressive in council, gracious to his suppliants,
and generous to those to whom he had once
given his trust. He was short of stature with
a broad chest, massive head, and small eyes. His beard was thin and sprinkled
with gray, his nose flat, and his complexion
swarthy, showing thus the signs of his origins." Priscus is the only
contemporary account that we have of Attila. And even Prescott's is supposed
to be a very astute historian, but he is, after all, a
Greek and an aristocrat. So he's viewing Attila
from that perspective. Is this really the way Attila
was or is it Priscus' attempt to paint him in a certain light? Conflict between
myth, on the one hand, and what we call history is
something that you can't really separate in the ancient
world, in ancient accounts. Their idea of history
was very different. History was a story. And stories that
were good, that was history, not objective,
pure scientific fact as we think of it. So Priscus, although
he's better than nothing, is not without his problems. MONTE MARKHAM
(VOICEOVER): Attila was barely out of
his teens when he began leading the Huns into
battle against their enemies. During his 20s and early
30s, he participated in all of King Ruga's military
and diplomatic excursions. By the age of 32, Attila
had invaded Italy twice. His purpose, however,
wasn't conquest. He came to Italy to
assist his friend, Aetius, who was engaged in violent
internal power struggles. Although Attila was
well paid for his help, Aetius got the better
end of the bargain. He acquired the title
Master of Soldiers and thus became the
most powerful man in the Western Roman Empire. Aetius owed it all to Attila. For the next 15 years,
Attila was the best friend and most powerful ally
Aetius would ever have. As long as Attila was
paid for his services, Aetius' enemies were
Attila's enemies. When rebellions erupted in
Gaul, Attila came to the rescue. His warriors massacred
the Burgundians and killed their King. Attila's army slaughtered
the Goths, then laid siege to Toulouse, capital
of the Visigoths. In desperation, the Visigoths
sent bishops to the Huns to beg for peace. A cynical Roman writer said,
"While they laid their hopes in God, we laid
ours in the Huns." They employed the tactics
of feigned attack and retreat. That is, they would
attack, swiftly retreat, and as the enemy
was pursuing them they would turn back
on the enemy, who was at that point in
disarray and unsuspecting, and simply cut the enemy down. [dramatic music] MONTE MARKHAM (VOICEOVER):
When King Ruga died in 434, there was great rejoicing
in the Eastern Roman Empire. At the time of his death,
Ruga was at war with the East. Now the Romans hoped
peace might be possible. Peace was possible, but
the price would be high. The Romans would now
have to deal with Attila. Under Attila, they
became unified-- Attila and his brother-- they became unified and began
pillaging the Eastern Empire. The eastern emperors, when they
couldn't defeat them in battle, paid them off. And when the eastern emperors
refused to pay them off, then they went after
the Western Empire. Basically, they
wanted to be paid off. They wanted gold. [music playing] MONTE MARKHAM (VOICEOVER):
The Eastern emperor was to pay Attila a tribute
of 700 pounds of gold every year, twice
the amount that had been paid to King Ruga. Attila also demanded a ransom
for each Roman prisoner in his custody and provided for
the return of his own subjects from Roman territory. Henceforth, the Romans were
forbidden to sign treaties with enemies of the Huns or to
interfere with the Huns' right to trade on the Danube. The treaty was signed in 435. Theodosius, the emperor
of the Eastern Empire, knew that an expensive,
humiliating peace with Attila was still cheaper and less
humiliating than a war, he could not win. For Attila, treaties with
the Romans were a kind of war without violence. The annual tribute he received
from both the East and the West was more like a
form of extortion. So were the gifts he
received every time the Romans negotiated with him. Every pound of gold
extorted from the Romans and every cartload of
plunder taken during raiding expeditions bought Attila more
influence at home and abroad. Wealth was power. And with every pound of
gold across the Danube, Attila grew more powerful
and more intimidating-- and the Romans, more humiliated. I mean, Attila
was a tribal leader, and he ruled by virtue of
being the most powerful and being able to deliver
the goods to his followers. If there was no gold
and plunder coming in, then they would be dissatisfied
and go someplace else. [music playing] MONTE MARKHAM (VOICEOVER):
Peace between the Huns and the eastern Romans
was shattered in 440. The Huns had caught
a Roman bishop on the wrong side of the
Danube, stealing artifacts from the tombs of their dead. Attila was outraged. His army crossed the Danube
inflamed with righteous anger and tore into a
Roman trading center. In fierce hand-to-hand
combat faster than lightning, Attila's mounted swordsmen
were upon the Romans, cutting them to pieces. As his onslaught rolled
forward, Attila's skillful use of captured Roman
siege [inaudible] meant that even powerful
walled fortresses could not stand before him. City after city was sacked
and raised to the ground, its riches plundered. The Romans suffered
defeat after defeat. By the fall of 442, Attila had
conquered most of the Balkan region, including present
day Bulgaria, Greece, and the states that
formerly made up Yugoslavia. PATRICK J. GEARY:
The great strength of Hunnic military
success was their ability to operate in the steps--
the rolling plains of Eastern Europe and into Central Asia. They were fantastic horsemen,
practically born and raised on horses. They could use the steps the
way the Arabs later would use the desert, the way the British
in the 18th and 19th century would use the oceans. They could travel great
distances, come out of nowhere, hit hard, and disappear
back into the grasslands. MONTE MARKHAM (VOICEOVER):
Emperor Theodosius sued for peace. This time the price was
to be higher than before. Attila insisted on an immediate
payment of 6,000 pounds of gold and an annual tribute
of 1,000 pounds of gold. Theodosius had no choice but
to agree to Attila's terms. [music playing] Incredible as it may
seem, Attila's life was not completely consumed
with war and negotiations. While in camp, his tribesmen
gathered around the entrance to his wooden house to
seek his arbitration of minor grievances. He was entertained by
processions of singing maidens, court jesters, and poets. During this period,
Attila also found time to marry his first wife, Aryka. She bore him four sons. Attila doted on their
youngest son, Ernak. According to a prophecy,
Attila's empire would fall into ruin
after his death, but this son, Ernak, would
build the empire all over again. Catholic writers spread
rumors that the Huns were savage, subhuman beasts. They also began to call
Attila "the Scourge of God." FRANZ H. BAUML: He was
characterized as a danger. He fulfilled a very practical
purpose for Roman society, for Christian society. And anything that was considered
as wantonly destructive, anything that was
considered as evil was equated with
the image of Attila. MONTE MARKHAM (VOICEOVER):
But Attila quickly turned such negative
propaganda to his favor. The more menacing
his image, the easier it was for him to
intimidate his enemies. Despite Attila's growing
wealth and power, he retained modest habits and
a relatively Spartan lifestyle. When the Greek historian
Priscus dined with Attila, he was astonished to
see the King of the Huns eating off wooden dishes
and using wooden utensils, while his lieutenants dined
off of platters made of silver. Attila also passed
up the delicacies being served to others in favor
of plainer fair, primarily meat. He wore no gold or
gems on his person. His clothes were
plain and clean. Attila's combination of
modesty and absolute power could, on occasion,
lead to bizarre events. On one such occasion,
a poet sought to flatter Attila with a poem in
which he was compared with God. Attila was so offended
by the poet's work that he almost had him executed. [music playing] Attila's brother,
Bleda, died in 444. Attila now became the supreme
ruler of the Hun Empire. Shortly thereafter, a cattle
herder asked for an audience with Attila. he brought with him
a sword he discovered in the pasture, where his
cattle have been grazing. One of his cattle
had been injured after stepping on the sword,
which had been partially buried in the ground. After examining
the sword, Attila was convinced it was
the sacred sword of God. According to Hunnic
legend, the sword of God, which had been lost
during ancient times, possessed great powers. Indeed it had been,
and forever would be, the key to the
destiny of his people. And now, it was in his hands. Attila consulted with
his most trusted shamans. All concurred there was no
doubt as to the interpretation of this momentous event. Now that he, Attila,
supreme ruler of the Huns, possessed the sword of
God, it was his destiny to conquer the world. [music playing] By the middle of
the fifth century, Attila's might
seemed unquestioned. After another war with
the eastern Romans in 448, Attila had brought
Constantinople to its knees. The Huns now had complete
control of the Balkans, as well as a vast
stretch of territory to the east and a broad strip of
territory south of the Danube. Attila had refined the practice
of extorting the Roman Empire down to a fine art. He had only to grumble
or rattle his saber and the Roman emperors
would send diplomatic envoys scurrying across the
Danube, loaded with gifts and apologies. Although perhaps he
was not as great a threat to the Roman Empire-- he certainly, alone,
would not have caused the fall of the Roman Empire-- nevertheless there was good
room to be afraid of him. When he came, he destroyed. He plundered and he destroyed. MONTE MARKHAM
(VOICEOVER): And yet Attila's actions
during this period suggest he was becoming
restless and frustrated. His demands became more
and more stringent, to the point of being bizarre. Perhaps he only wanted to see
just how far he could push the Romans. In June of AD 450, a
free spirited young woman by the name of Honoria
entered the picture. She was the sister of
Valentinian III, emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Honoria had become something
of an embarrassment to the royal family
after being caught in a compromising position
with her household steward. The Steward was promptly
executed for his indiscretion. Honoria was married off to
an unambitious bureaucrat. Still rebellious, Honoria
sent a message to Attila, pleading for his help. MICHELLE SALZMAN: She had sent
Attila a letter and her ring and offered to become his
wife, if he would free her from basically what
was house arrest. And he, as the bridegroom
of the emperor's sister, claimed half of the Roman
Empire of the West as his. So it was a bit daring. MONTE MARKHAM
(VOICEOVER): Few proposals of matrimony have threatened
such cataclysmic events. Attila didn't take long to
think over Honoria's offer. He fired off a
message to Valentinian demanding that
Honoria be released so they could be married. Valentinian sent a
parade of ambassadors to Hungary to plead with
the King of the Huns. Each one carried
the same message-- Honoria would not be released. After all, she was already
married to someone else. Each embassy also carried
a new shipment of gifts to make the message more
palatable to Attila. Attila accepted the gifts,
but not Valentinian's answer. More embassies were sent
to smooth things out, but the crisis was not resolved. Honoria's role in all
this is very interesting. She, in some ways,
is seen as a pawn because that's the way
women always functioned in the ancient world. You marry them off, you kill
them, you mutilate them, you cement alliances
by using women. Honoria, by offering
to wed Attila, was following with a
traditional role pattern, a role that impure women could play. By making an alliance
with a foreign king, she could validate his
place in the Roman world and become important herself. MONTE MARKHAM (VOICEOVER):
During this period, Attila also demanded the
immediate return of fugitives who had fled across the Danube. Emperor Theodosius claimed
there were no fugitives in the eastern empire. Attila began to threaten war. More ambassadors were sent
to straighten things out. Of course, they
all carried gifts. Attila became more
and more intractable. He became particular about the
rank of the ambassadors who were sent to meet him. At one point, he refused
to see a Roman delegation, but insisted they leave
their gifts anyway. When they refused, he threatened
to have them executed. Given this state of affairs,
it became inevitable that Attila and Aetius,
Attila's former friend and ally, would finally face
each other in battle. [suspenseful music] In 450, this prospect
became a reality when Attila announced
that he was launching a war against the Huns'
traditional enemies, the Visigoths. Attila claimed that his
campaign was not directed against the Western
Roman Empire, but the Visigoths' homeland
was Gaul and, to the Romans, Gaul was still a
part of the empire. For the Romans, the prospect
of losing Gaul to the Huns was unthinkable,
but Aetius didn't have the military strength
to face Attila alone. His only hope was to convince
the Visigoths to set aside their differences
with the Romans and unite against their
common foe, the Huns. Attila's invasion of Gaul
was really an ironic reversal of fortunes, in the
sense that he had, in the 430s and 440s,
worked as a Roman ally in defeating the Visigoths. Now he was on the other side-- the Romans were allied with
the Visigoths against the Huns. [music playing] MONTE MARKHAM
(VOICEOVER): Aetius was still gathering his forces
in Italy when Attila marched westward out of Hungary, leading
a massive multi-tribal army into central Gaul. Some estimates place the
strength of Attila's grand army at half a million strong. Attila's grand army crossed
the Rhine in AD 451. Panic spread like wildfire
as they entered Gaul. Villages and towns
went up in flames, and the wooden carts of the
Huns became weighted down with plunder. As Attila's army
rolled through Gaul, often the cities
he conquered were empty by the time the Huns
arrived, the citizens having fled in terror. By May, Attila's army had
reached the city of Orleans. Orleans held up under siege
as no other city had before. Finally, the
fortifications gave way. However, as the Huns
entered the city proper, the allied army suddenly
stormed into Orleans-- the Roman contingent led
by Aetius, the Visigoths by their King Theodoric. Caught off guard, Attila
led his grand army on a hundred mile retreat. Upon reaching an area known
as the Catalaunian Plains, Attila tried to
regroup his forces. Coordinating this
hodgepodge of nationalities proved difficult, even for
this famed master of war. And much sooner than
he would have liked, the Romans and Visigoths
were upon them. Attila's crack horsemen were
trapped in the middle of a four mile long battlefront. Immobilized, they were unable
to launch their sweeping attacks on the enemy's flanks. Boxed in by their own infantry
on one side and the Romans and Visigoths on the other, the
Huns fell by the thousands-- so did the Romans and Visigoths. The battle began
in mid-afternoon. It lasted until
late into the night. Finally, both sides withdrew-- Attila to the south, his
enemies to the north. Attila had suffered his
first serious setback. Here in more forested
areas, far away from areas where they could
sustain enough horses to maintain their momentum,
they had terrible problems. By the time they met
up with this combined Roman-Gothic-barbarian army,
under the command of the Roman General Aetius, they were
probably more of an infantry than a mounted army, and the
result was disastrous for them. [dramatic music] MONTE MARKHAM (VOICEOVER):
And yet its effect on Attila's momentum
was actually minor. After his return to
Hungary, Attila immediately renewed his demands
on Valentinian to release Honoria and cede
half of Italy as her dowry. Valentinian apparently decided
to call Attila's bluff. In the spring of 452, he began
to suffer the consequences. Attila's army stormed
across the Danube, crossing the Julian Alps
of northern Italy, in May. Aetius had no real
hope of stopping him. His mighty allied army
of the previous year had disbanded immediately after
the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains. Aetius had just one
suggestion for Valentinian-- abandon Italy and move
the capital to Gaul. Surely Gaul would be safe for
another few months, at least. Valentinian rejected the idea. He decided to flee to Rome
and pray for the best. As Attila advanced into
Italy, city after city fell to his army. Most of them, fearing the
Huns' savage reputation, simply opened their gates
and accepted Attila's terms. Those that resistance
were destroyed, their citizens put to the sword. There's a wonderful story
in Priscus about this town of Naissus that these women
ambassadors are passing through on the way to see somebody else. And they are passing
through and they can't even go close to the town because
of the stench of human bodies rotting. And when they camp, they
cannot even camp alongside of the river, because
there's no clear space. There's so many human
bones along the sides of the riverbank. That's the kind of
devastation that Attila used to get towns to capitulate. And those that didn't were
destroyed, like Naissus. MONTE MARKHAM (VOICEOVER):
Northern Italy had fallen to Attila. It was only a matter
of time, it seemed, before he reached Rome itself. Valentinian and Aetius
decided their only hope was to send a delegation to
Attila and beg for peace. The fate of the Roman Empire
and all of the Christian world was at stake. Valentinian and Aetius
decided to take no chances. Pope Leo would lead the
delegation to Attila's camp. The head of the
Roman Catholic Church was sent to meet Attila,
the Scourge of God, to sue for terms. Attila received the pope in
his camp on the Mincius River. Reportedly, the
meeting was amicable. His terms consisted of the
usual crushing tribute and gold, plus some other provisions the
Romans were probably not going to live up to. Undoubtedly, Attila realized
this and didn't mind. Any treaty violations
by the Romans could provide a pretext
for future invasions. He eventually agreed
to withdraw from Italy. By the time Attila met Pope
Leo I at the gates of Rome, his army was
suffering from plague. The terrain of Italy was
not ideal for the kind of mounted tactics that
he was best controlling. He had terrible problems. And his decision to accept
whatever payoff the pope gave him and leave Italy may have
been that he was looking for a face-saving way
to extract himself and his army from the
Italian peninsula. MONTE MARKHAM
(VOICEOVER): The Romans believed Attila agreed to
withdraw from Italy because he feared the wrath of
the Christian god. In reality, his horses and carts
were already so loaded down with plunder, the
mobility of his army had become seriously impaired. And although he despised
Roman civilization, he had no desire to destroy it. Why would he want to wipe
out a society that had been his greatest source of income? Attila was more than
happy to withdraw. [music playing] In late 452, richer and
more powerful than ever, Attila returned to his homeland. He immediately began making
plans for an invasion of the Eastern Roman Empire. He also made plans for
an elaborate wedding. A Germanic noblewoman
by the name of Ildico had captured his fancy. She was described as
being young and beautiful. The King of the Huns,
now in his mid 50s, married Ildico one day
in the spring of 453. As usual, a huge feast followed. And as usual, the revelry
lasted far into the night. The next morning, Attila
was found dead in his bed. After indulging heavily
in food and drink, the great warrior King
had suffered a hemorrhage of the nose and strangled
on his own blood. The medieval poet Chaucer
wrote, "Look, Attila, the great conqueror, dead in his
sleep with shame and dishonor, bleeding at the
nose in drunkenness. A captain should
live in soberness." The Huns mourned the
passing of their King by tearing their clothes,
cutting off their hair, and mutilating their bodies. The Huns believed their finest
leader should be bewailed not with feminine lamentations and
tears, but with manly blood. Attila's body was placed in a
coffin lined with iron, gold, and silver. The iron stood for his
conquests, the gold and silver for the tribute he received
from both Roman empires. Beside his body lay his royal
sword, his bow and arrow, his lance, and a multitude
of jewels and ornaments. According to legend,
Attila was laid to rest in the bed of the
Tisza River in central Hungary. Temporary dams
erected by thousands of slaves held the waters back
while the tomb was prepared. Once Attila's remains
were in place, the dams were dismantled. The waters of the Tisza
flooded the river bed again, ensuring that the location
of Attila's resting place would remain a secret forever. [music playing] To the Romans, Attila's death
was a cause for rejoicing. Their empires had been spared. In the east, the emperor
claimed that God told him of Attila's death on
the very night he died. He had a dream,
he said, in which the broken bow of the barbarian
king was brought before him. Whether the story is true or
not, the symbolism was apt. The bow of the Huns
was indeed broken. After Attila's death, his sons
took over the reins of power but none proved up to the task. The Huns, who had been united
under Attila like never before, fell into chaos and civil war. By the year AD 469, the Hun
Empire was all but a memory. After the death of
Attila, the empire vanished very soon after. This was an empire that was
built upon administration or good government and the way
the Romans-- or even protection against other barbarians. It was an empire built upon
plunder, upon satisfying other tribal leaders,
and no one person was able to win the
goodwill of the followers, certainly not Attila's sons, who
quickly squabbled and divided the empire amongst themselves. The effect of his
death on the Roman Empire was also disastrous, because
his presence guaranteed a certain degree of order on
the boundaries of the empire. The Romans obviously, in
paying tribute to Attila, felt, well, it was worthwhile. Whatever Attila did,
it was worth the price. Well, what did he do? He provided a certain
amount of order on the borders of the empire. Scholars have become
accustomed to see the movements in history in terms
of east-west conflict, where an eastern barbarian
people is threatening western civilization. And I think that is also partly
the reason for the fascination of the subsequent centuries
up to the present day with Attila, is that he's
seen as the barbarian threat to Roman civilization, who
advanced as far as France, and God knows what would have
happened had he prevailed. [music playing] MONTE MARKHAM (VOICEOVER):
Like the waters of the river that flooded over
Attila's final resting place, the currents of time and
myth swirl about his legacy. Like his empire, which
disappeared along with the language of
his tribe, the history of his life and
accomplishments fell into the hands of the people
he terrorized while he lived. In the English
speaking world, Attila is remembered as a cruel
and destructive barbarian. The roots of this image
can be traced directly to Roman Catholic
historians who began writing anti-Hun propaganda
even before Attila was born. In nearly all of
these chronicles, Attila is guilty of
unspeakably vile atrocities and his innocent
Christian victims are saved by divine
intervention. This tradition continued
into the 20th century when, during two world wars,
the British used the Huns as a metaphor for the Germans,
a symbol of wanton destruction that threatened the entire
English speaking world. In the Germanic world, a
far different view of Attila has been preserved. Ironically, Attila is remembered
in a much more favorable light by cultures descended from
people he had conquered. In medieval German epics, such
as "Song of the Nibelungs," Attila is a peaceful,
unambitious King, a model husband and father
married to a somewhat domineering wife. In Hungary, Attila is a national
hero, a symbol of that nation's proud and noble past, even
though the Hungarian people of today are only partly
descended from the Huns. The present day Romanian
province of Transylvania, formerly a part of Hungary,
is famous as the home of Vlad the Impaler, better
known as Count Dracula. Like Attila, the bloody
exploits of this medieval count provided the foundation for
one of the most enduring literary villains of all time. But among modern
day Transylvanians, the legend of Attila is also
a part of everyday life. The Sz kely people of
Transylvania claim to be direct descendants of a tribe
of Huns led by Ernak, Attila's youngest son. In Sz kely culture, the Hunnish
prince is not only regarded as a cherished figure and
hero, but as a protector of his people who possesses
supernatural powers. Modern historians must sift
through these myths and legends to attempt to discover
just who Attila really was. Viewed in the
context of his time, Attila was a remarkably
talented man. He melded a loose
federation of nomadic tribes into one of the most fearsome
and violent military machines in history. Then, with skill and
daring, he used that machine to rival and conquer the
greatest powers of the age. He was a leader who made the
most of the opportunities that history presented
to him and to his people. In the process, Attila the Hun
rose from relative obscurity to become one of the most
famous and infamous figures in history. [music playing]
