<b>The Huns (408 to 453)<b>

The Huns were a nomadic people from around Mongolia in Central Asia that began
migrating toward the west in the third century, probably due to climatic change.
They were a horse people and very adept at mounted warfare, both with spears and
bows. Moving with their families and great herds of horses and domesticated animals
they migrated in search of new grasslands to settle. Due to their military prowess
and discipline, they proved unstoppable, displacing all in their path. They set in
motion a tide of migration before them as other peoples moved to get out of their
way. This domino effect of large populations passed around the hard nut of
Constantinople and the Eastern Roman Empire to spill over the Danube and Rhine
Rivers, and ultimately overwhelm the Western Roman Empire by 476.

Finding lands to their liking, the Huns settled on the Hungarian plain in Eastern
Europe, making their headquarters at the city of Szeged on the Tisza River. They
needed large expanses of grasslands to provide forage for their horses and other
animals. From this area of plains the Huns controlled through alliance or conquest
an empire eventually stretching from the Ural Mountains in Russia to the Rh�ne
River in France.

The Huns were superb horsemen, trained from childhood, and some believe they
invented the stirrup, critical for increasing the fighting power of a mounted man
charging with a couched lance. They inspired terror in enemies due to the speed at
which they could move, changing ponies several times a day to maintain their
advance. A second advantage was their recurved composite bow, far superior to
anything used in the West. Standing in their stirrups, they could fire forward, to
the sides, and to the rear. Their tactics featured surprise, lightning attacks, and
the ensuing terror. They were an army of light cavalry and their political
structure required a strong leader to hold them to a purpose.

The peak of Hun power came during the rule of Attila, who became a leader of the
Huns in 433 and began a series of raids into south Russia and Persia. He then
turned his attention to the Balkans, causing sufficient terror and havoc on two
major raids to be bribed to leave. In 450 he turned to the Western Empire, crossing
the Rhine north of Mainz with perhaps 100,000 warriors. Advancing on a front of 100
miles, he sacked most of the towns in what is now northern France. The Roman
general Aetius raised a Gallo-Roman army and advanced against Attila, who was
besieging the city of Orleans. At the major battle of Chal�ns, Attila was defeated,
though not destroyed.

The defeat at Chal�ns is considered one of the decisive battles of history, one
that could have meant collapse of the Christian religion in Western Europe and
perhaps domination of the area by Asian peoples.

Attila then invaded Italy, seeking new plunder. As he passed into Italy, refugees
escaped to the islands off the coast, founding, according to tradition, the city of
Venice. Though Roman forces were depleted and their main army still in Gaul, the
Huns were weak as well, depleted by incessant campaigns, disease, and famine in
Italy. At a momentous meeting with Pope Leo I, Attila agreed to withdraw.

The Hun empire disintegrated following the death of Attila in 453 with no strong
leader of his ability to hold it together. Subject peoples revolted and factions
within their group fought each other for dominance. They eventually disappeared
under a tide of new invaders, such as the Avars, and disappeared from history.