Attila the Hun

Attila inherited joint leadership of a Hunnic power that had become indispensable to Roman diplomacy and warfare. Hughes examines the origins and organisation of the Huns, the tribute system imposed on the Eastern Empire and the Balkan campaigns that forced Constantinople into repeated negotiations. Because most surviving accounts were written by outsiders, the book distinguishes what can be recovered from Roman observers from later legend about Attila’s court and ambitions.

The narrative follows Attila’s turn toward the Western Empire, including the disputed claim involving Honoria, the invasion of Gaul and the battle on the Catalaunian Plains. His subsequent advance into Italy, withdrawal and sudden death in 453 are assessed against logistics, disease, diplomacy and the political calculations of Aëtius and the imperial courts. The final chapters explain how the Hunnic confederation fragmented after Attila and how his reputation became larger than the surviving evidence.