Was Attila The Hun A Hero?
A Different Perspective Beyond The Roman Propaganda
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Was Attila The Hun A Hero?
A Different Perspective Beyond The Roman Propaganda
Most of the World Considered Him a Monster...
A Plague...
A Barbarian...
This is the General History Taught about Attila the Hun.
But Not All of the World Sees him this Way.
There are places, like Hungary, where Attila is Considered a Hero.
A Great Uniter.
The Little Father.
Someone who Repelled Tyrannical Rule...
And Largely Won.
Throughout History, and Even into Modern Events...
Heroes and Villains are often a Matter of Who is Telling the Story.
Since Rome was the Main Power During Attila's Time, and the Main Resource of Modern Knowledge...
Attila was Portrayed as a Villain.
But What If this was Simply Propaganda?
Let's Consider Some Aspects of Attila's Life...
A Boy is Born to a Line of Royalty in a Pastoral Warrior Society.
Their Primary Source of Food was from the Products of their Herds, which they Defended with their Lives.
Their Warrior Might was So Great that the Romans Requested their Assistance in Matters of War Greatly...
Which Required Treaties.
However, Rome's "Treaties" Demanded that Certain Sons of Royal Blood be Held as "Hostages" to Maintain the Treaties...
A "Precaution," the Romans would say.
Attila was condemned to such a Fate.
A Hostage to Ensure that his People Kept their Word.
A Hostage who would be Trained in the "Roman" Ways...
Or you could say Brainwashed with Propaganda to See the Romans as "Superior".
This worked on Many People...
But Not Attila.
He saw the Lavish Lifestyles and Hypocrisy of the Roman People...
He Saw their Deceit, Lack of Loyalty, and Unholiness.
The Romans Saw themselves as "Better" People who had the Right to Rule the World...
Attila saw Prideful People who were Tyrants attempting to Exploit the World, and Sought to Put All People Under Them.
The Romans Believed they Were Teaching Attila to Respect Them in their "Proper" Place as Rulers Over the Huns...
But Attila Knew the Truth...
Instead, Attila was Watching for Weaknesses to Someday Overthrow his People's Oppressors.
Eventually, Attila was Released from being a Hostage and Allowed to Return to His People...
His People Were Good People Who Kept Their Word, People of Honor, so He was Never Worried that He Would Be Allowed to Return Home.
Attila Knew the Real Reason that Hostages were Considered Necessary by the Romans...
It was the Romans Who Did Not Keep Their Word, and They Created these Rules based on Their Dishonorable Behavior...
Which is Something that Attila would See Repeatedly During his Reign.
When Attila came of Age, he Made a Declaration to the Different Hun Groups.
He Would Make Rome Bow Down to Them.
If the Huns Would Unite Together, they Could Overthrow the Largest Empire the World had Ever Seen.
It was Time for these Dishonorable Tyrants to be Shown the True Power of the Righteous Huns.
As the Huns began to Discuss this...
A Shepherd in Attila's Camp came to Him...
A Sword was found near the Camp...
One of the Shepherd's Sheep was Bleeding, and he Followed the Trail of Blood to a Sword...
It had Decended from the Heavens...
The Shepherd had Deciphered the Message...
The Sheep were the Hunish People who had been Bleeding from their Oppressors...
And Their Cries had Been Heard...
A Sword Presented to Overcome those Who Attacked the Innocent.
A Sword from God.
The Sword was Given to Attila to Unleash Divine Judgement Against the Romans.
The Romans called the Sword the "Sword of Mars" to Associate the Huns with Pagans, and Earned Attila the Name of "Scourge of God"...
But Attila Knew that it would be More Accurate to say that he was the "Scourge 'From' God" Against the Wickedness of the Roman People.
Attila became the Co-Ruler of the Huns, alongside his Brother Bleda, in Creating a United Hun People.
They Took Their Rightful Positions in this Righteous Effort...
But Not All Were Happy...
Some had Wanted the Power of the Huns for themselves for Selfish Reasons.
They Sought to Overthrow the Brothers by Uniting with the Eastern Roman Empire.
However, the Brother's Righteousness Led to a Victory.
Attila and Bleda Forced the Eastern Roman Empire into a Treaty, where the Failed Usurpers would be Released to the Brothers, and the Roman Tribute Paid to the Huns would be Doubled.
This led to Peace between the Huns and Roman Empire for a Few Years...
Until a Roman Bishop had Retained Property that had been Given to Attila.
Attila took his Army and Demanded the Bishop and the Land be Handed Over.
A Price was to be Paid for the Romans Going Against their Words...
As the Romans Discussed what they Believed the Fate of the Bishop Should Be...
The Bishop Snuck Out of the City to Discuss the Matter Directly with Attila.
Attila did Not Kill the Bishop, and Instead Took the Rest of the City.
The Romans said that the Bishop Sold Out the City...
But this would be Simply be the First Time in Attila's Life where a Holy Person would be "Saved" from Death During Attila's Wars Against the Roman Empire.
It was around this Time that the Vandals would Attack the Roman Empire in Africa.
In Response, Rome Moved Forces from the Balkan Area to Mount an Expedition Against the Vandals...
Leaving Attila and Bleda a Perfect Path to Begin to Remove the Roman Rule from that Area...
Attila saw the Opportunity to Remove his Oppressors and Took It.
Attila and Bleda began to Take Land.
The Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius was Unhappy, and Attila Provided an Offer.
Attila Knew that the Demand would Never be Taken though...
Roman Pride was Too High.
In Response, Theodosius began to Issue New Coins and Sought to Destroy Attila for his "Insolence".
Exactly as Attila Wanted.
In his Campaign, Attila Decimated Two Military Strongholds: Ratiara and Naissus.
This was Followed by the taking of Serdica, Philippopolis, and Arcadiopolis.
Attila came All the Way Up to Constantinople, and then further took Callipolis.
Theodosius had to Admit Defeat.
In Response, Attila Demand Three Times the Yearly Tribute of what was Offered Before...
Prideful Arrogance had a Price...
A Price that Attila's Divine Judgement would Require the Romans to Pay Heavily For Many Times in Attila's Life.
But, Attila was Good to His Word and Kept Peace based on the Terms of the Treaty.
Attila was Honorable in this Way.
It was around this time that Attila's Brother Bleda passed away.
Within the Roman Empire, there were Rumors that Attila had Murdered his Brother...
But there has Never Been Evidence of this, and Seems to Go Against Attila's Desire for a United Hun People...
For a Family Divided Could Not Lead a Nation United.
After the Mourning Period, Attila became the Sole Ruler of the Huns, Seemingly More Dedicated to Showing the World the Power of his People United.
Attila began to Continue to Expand the Hun Empire Further and Further South, and Captured Over a Hundred Cities.
Soon, the Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III decided to make an Alliance with Attila to Attack the Visigoth kingdom.
Attila was hesitant to Accept the Alliance, but Eventually Decided that Expanding the Hun Empire into that Region could be Beneficial for When the Romans Went Against their Word Again.
What Attila was Not Expecting However, was How his Deeds would Impact Another Individual in the Western Roman Empire...
Emperor Valentinian III had a Sister, Augusta Justa Grata Honoria.
She had been pushed into a Forced Bethrotal with a Roman Senator that She was Not Happy About.
She had also Heard of the Great Power of Attila, and How He had United His People.
She saw Attila as far more Honorable than the Roman Senator, and so Enacted a Plan...
She Sent Her Engagement Ring, and a Letter asking for Attila to Save Her...
And in Return She Proposed Marriage to Attila.
He Accepted, and asked for Half of the Western Empire as Dowry.
Attila Now had his Path to Legitimacy Over the Roman Empire...
One which Did Not Require War.
He had Already Pushed the Eastern Roman Empire to their Walls...
This Alliance Would Solidify the Huns as the Greatest Power in the World, having Taken Most of the Land from Both the Western and Eastern Roman Empires.
However, Emperor Valentinian III Discovered the Plot and Attempted to Deny the Marriage Proposal, saying that his Sister was Guilty of Treason.
Attila knew the Truth...
The Proposal was Real...
Honoria was Innocent...
He was Coming to Claim what was Rightfully His.
But Attila Knew that there would Sadly Be No Peace...
Valentinian III did as the Romans did... Became Prideful...
And Attila Brought Humility to the Prideful.
So Attila began a Long March into the Western Roman Empire.
He began to Take City after City.
The Romans talked about how Barbarous the Huns Were...
But for Every City that Attila Took, there is a Different Story that comes from the Catholic Church...
The Prayers of Servatus saved Tongeren from the Huns...
The Prayers of Saint Genevieve saved Paris from the Huns...
Lupus, Bishop of Toryes, saved his City by Speaking with Attila...
What is the Same in All of these Cities is that the Holy Individuals Were Saved...
For the Scourge of God only Undid the Wicked.
The Only Saint Recorded to be Killed by the Huns was Saint Nicasius of Rheims...
Who had Died Nearly 50 Years Prior by the hands of the Vandals.
Yes, the Romans Brought a Saint Back to Life and Killed Him Again as Propoganda to Describe the "Barbarism" of the Huns...
A Barbarism that Did Not Exist.
Attila's Advance was only Paused when the Visigoth King Theodoric I decided to make an Uneasy Aliance with the Romans.
In the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains...
Three Things Happened...
King Theodoric I was Killed...
Attila Retreated...
The Western Roman Military Failed to Press their Advantage.
The Romans claimed that an Overwhelming Visigoth Triumph was as Bad as a Loss...
But the Reality is that Attila had Not Expected the Visigoth King to Unite with the Romans.
Without the Visigoth Army's Intervention...
Attila would have Made it to Italy on his First Attempt.
His Huns Killed the Visigoth King as a Future Warning about Getting in the Way of the Hun Army...
But at Heavy Costs...
And for Attila to Get to Rome, He Needed More Men...
Especially if there were to be Potentially More Unexpected Alliances who Feared the Power that Attila was Amassing.
The Roman Army did not Pursue because the Huns into the Territory they Now Inhabited would be a Death Sentence...
And they Knew that Attila would Return for his Bride.
Which after Amassing More Forces, is Exactly what Attila Did.
This Time...
Nothing Could Stop Attila.
He Drove his Army Further and Further into the Western Roman Empire.
The Roman Military could only Slow Down Attila's Approach, and Only Barely.
Attila Marched All the Way into Rome Itself, Ready to Marry Honoria...
But Valentinian III sent Envoys to Hopefully Make Treaty with Attila.
Of Note, Pope Leo I was chosen to Speak with Attila...
For the Romans had Noticed a Trend in How Attila Treated Holy People, even if their Propoganda said Otherwise.
No One Knows what was Said between Pope Leo I and Attila.
The Romans say that the Spirits of Saint Peter and Saint Paul went with Pope Leo I and Struck Fear into Attila...
But what would Attila have to Fear?
It is Far More Likely that Pope Leo I gave Attila Devastating News...
Emperor Valentinian III had in Secret Exiled his Sister and already Married Her Off to Another.
For Attila to Reach Honoria...
Attila would have had to Continued to go "Past" the Rome in order to Find Her.
This put Attila in a Difficult Position...
He had Prepared his Army to "Take" Rome, Not Go Beyond It...
To Take Rome was also Not Militarily Advantageous, for Rome had been through a Terrible Famine the Year Before and was Not Fairing Better that Year...
With this, the New Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, Marcian, had decided to Stop Paying Tribute to the Huns, Pridefully Going Against the Agreement of his Predecessor...
And was beginning to Press Attacks Against the Huns that were Left Behind.
Attila Resented that Valentinian III had Dishonored his Sister Honoria...
And Stolen Attila's Path to a Peaceful Resolution...
But Attila did Not have the Ability to Go Further...
Plus, Attila had Already Made a Point of His Military Prowess by Making it All the Way to Rome.
He Thanked Pope Leo I for his Honesty, and Honored him by Allowing Rome to Remain Standing...
What Little there was Left of Rome.
And Perhaps Saint Peter and Saint Paul did Appear to Attila...
Not to Instill Fear in Attila...
But to Tell Him that there was No Need to Use His Blade to Scourge Rome Any Further.
So, Attila Left...
Having Won...
But Discouraged.
In his Discouragement, one of the Peoples he had Conquered Offered Attila a Different Wife...
Perhaps Honoria was Not HIs...
But perhaps a New Alliance could be Forged through this Marriage.
To a Beautiful Woman named Ildico.
A Celebration was Had and Attila was Married to Ildico.
On their Wedding Night, Ildico gave Attila much Wine, and Led him to the Bed Chambers...
Where Upon Falling Asleep...
She Killed Him for Killing Her Family.
Ildico had used the Marriage and Celebrations to Put Attila in a Position to be Murdered.
No Man could Kill Attila on the Field, and so a way was found to Kill him Dishonorably.
Upon his Death, the Rulers of the World Received a Dream...
Attila's Bow Broken...
For Even God Told the World of Attila's Death.
Attila was Given the Greatest of Burials...
He was Given Three Coffins...
One of Gold for Overcoming the Western Roman Empire...
One of Silver for Overcoming the Eastern Roman Empire...
One of Iron for His Strength in Subduing the Nations in Military Might.
In Secret, he was Buried in his Land...
In Secret, he Remains at Peace to this Day.
This is the Story of the Hero Attila.
The Story that the Romans Attempted to Burn...
But the Story which can be Seen when You Look Beyond the Propaganda of the Roman Empire.
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Now here is an Interesting Question…
What is “Truth”?
I ask because the Reality Is…
Truth can be Difficult to Know for Certain.
In Today’s World, I Frequently see people put out “Truths”…
But they “Look” More like Propaganda…
Not Unlike the Romans’ Version of Attila the Hun Created through Propaganda…
Not Unlike My Version of Attila the Hun that I Created for a Writing Contest, which You Just Read.
Which Version is True?
Perhaps Both…
Perhaps Neither…
It is Difficult to Say because there are Limited Resources Available to Know for Cerrtain…
But what does this All Mean for Us in Today’s World?
Let’s Dive In…
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