Attila, "Flagellum Dei" The Scourge of God
In this essay I would like to discuss the influence of the Huns, and their King, Attila, plus other barbarian peoples of the period on the Eastern and Western Roman Empires. I will also discuss the changes that were brought about by the contact between the Barbarian and Roman cultures on the peoples of Europe in the fourth and fifth centuries. This is too large a topic to discuss in an essay like this, but by the example of Attila and the Huns, I hope to highlight problems and changes of this period. From the plain of central Hungary, the Huns controlled, through subject people and alliances, the area from the Urals to the Rhone in the 5th century. Only one of their kings is known outside of Hungary, Attila, whose name is passed down to the modern world as "The Scourge of God". To the modern world he is known as a bloodthirsty tyrant, but there is a first hand account of his appearance, his royal court and the culture of his people , which portrays him as a distinguished ruler, as well as, a aggressive king, which is complimentary if not admiring. The question must be asked, "Why Attila and not any other of the barbarian kings of the time?" It was Alaric of the Visigoths whose army captured Rome in AD 410, but i
The clash at Chalons was one of those rare monumental conflicts, pitting against one another, two of the towering figures of Late Antiquity, the fierce and passionate Attila and the noble Aetius, sometimes called "the last of the Romans." By 451 Aetius had been the foremost general in the Roman Empire for many years, and he was also the chief political adviser to the Emperor of the West, Valentinian. In 422 AD, Ruga, taking advantage of a withdrawal of Imperial forces to fight a war against the Persians, decided to launch a attack along the lower Danube. The Emperor Theodosius II came to an agreement with Ruga and an annual tribute of 350 pounds of gold was settled on for the Huns to keep the peace. The practice of taking hostage the sons of noble Romans was also employed by the Huns and was an effective way to insure that peace was kept between the Huns and Rome. One of these hostages was Aetius, who was to become a military commander of outstanding distinction in the Western Empire.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3250
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)
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