The Disturbing Life of Attila The Hun

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In the popular imagination, Attila the Hun is among the most barbaric leaders ever. His warriors have the reputation of being ruthless, cruel, and bloodthirsty, as the Huns are believed to have been savages lacking any semblance of civilized culture.
The Huns raped and pillaged with abandon whenever the opportunity arose, and their raids into lands poorly protected by military outposts in the crumbling Roman Empire became legendary. The Huns under the command of Attila are thought to have been largely responsible for the collapse of the Roman Empire and the commencement of the Dark Ages in Europe.

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[didiermontagnier]

Attila was the greatest product of his time. There is nothing evil about him. How many millions of Gauls and Celts did Cesar murdered and mained in his Gallic campaign?

[jaymelyncardoza]

What made Attila evil was his enemies feared him.

[altowatts]

Attila The Hun wasn't as "evil" as Leopold The II.

[PHATDAWGEATS]

Why is Attila the Hun remembered as evil? And Alexander the Great is so revered? They were both two of the greatest generals and leaders the world has ever known. Attila the Great conquered half of Asia and half of Europe and during his conquests, the most powerful nation at the time, the Romans paid him in gold and such just so Attila wouldn’t attack them 🌎✌️

[Sidragrosm]

I do realize this was a very basic narration of Attila's life, but..? HOW? How can you even discuss Attila w/out mention of his childhood friend (and later dreaded rival) Flavius Aetius? It was from him that Attila learned much of Roman Culture (and vice versa, in Aetuis' case!).
He (Aetius) was the general that fought Attila to a draw at Catalunia, after all...

[alexdetrojan]

Attila has nothing on Marc Zuckerberg when it comes to evil...

[Justahappysoul]

Attila wasn't evil, he was smart ❤️

[superfly]

He emerged once again under the name Temujin in 1158

[adaliwolf]

To the Gauls, Goths, Franks, Visigoths and others, he was known any an even more frightening name, a Latin word Flagellum Dei, meaning the scourge of God.Rumours has it his sword was given to him by Mars, the god of war himself.

[president]

Atilla is only evil in the press of the peoples he defeated. If you want to get a real picture of him, it's worth reading, for example, the records of Priscos Rhaetor's diplomatic mission.
It is a fact, however, that during his western campaign he did not destroy Paris, Troy, Orleans, Argentina (the unhealthily overcrowded and overbuilt city in which he opened wide streets and therefore is now called Strassbourg).
He was the only conqueror who did not sack/loot/razed Rome, even though he could have.
He founded the city of Udine, and the origin of the city of Venice can also be linked to him, as the refugees from Aquileia founded this beautiful city in the marshland of the Adriatic Sea.
His army was the most capable in the world at the time, containing numerous Germanic, Slavic and, of course, mounted archer nations.
His campaigns should be taught in military academies, because even at the technical level of today's world, it is an incredible challenge to move an army of one million for half a year over hundreds of kilometers of changing topography and river crossings in hostile terrain.
The organization of such a campaign in the 5th century required brilliant logistics, supply management, armament preparations, strategic and tactical preparation, intelligence organization, securing the hinterland and diplomatic preparations.
The descendants of the dynasty he founded (De Genere Turul) gave rise to the royal and noble families of the later Hungarian Kingdom (Hungaria Acrhiregnum, Regnum Marianum), of whom the Catholic Church canonized 27 Saints and Blesseds.

[kcbarbo]

One quibble: Byzantine is an adjective. The city was Byzantium or Constantinople.

[yaahlabanyamyan]

I've learned over time throughout " history " that whoever the Europeans/Caucaziods label as " EVIL " are actually highly respectable and valiant people.

[wisdomneeded]

He was also a major progressive leader especially compared to others of his era. He spoke softly and carried a big stick one could say.

[dr.umarjohnson]

What makes him the most evil man in history???? How about king leopold of belgium????

[jenningswinfrey]

A warrior, not a villian...funny how certain people or cultures in history are called great conquers and others are deemed as barbarians or savages

[benv]

When people think of Attila the Hun, there is mixed reaction whether he was totally bad or not, but mention Hitler's name and there is no doubt you will get the same reaction anywhere in the world

[usuhbi]

Genghis Khan's ancestor. Too bad Genghis didn't learn from his ancestors on how to pass the torch when he is dying. His children also ran the Mongol empire into the ground like idiots by fighting against each other with their armies like dumbasses and lost all of their soldiers, allowing the Russians and the Chinese to take advantage and take power from 2 sides

[matthewmann]

Yeah all the riding, driving, hunting, fishing, netting, whaling, hawking, gathering, battling, and war must of really been a natural occurrence yeah

[blackhibiscus]

Attila wasn’t necessarily evil but a a survivor of his time. To kill was at the core of political power of that era.

[Clearlight]

There is a story of the meeting between Attilla and Pope Leo, who was known as Leo the Great and was said to be a very holy man, that during their meeting a vision of St Peter holding a drawn sword appeared above the Pope's head and Attilla, seeing this extraordinary appearance, was persuaded to withdraw his army.