The Huns

340 Pages·2004·14.91 MB·English

by  Edward A. Thompson

The Huns
The Peoples of Europe
General Editors
James Campbell and Barry Cunliffe
This series is about the European tribes and peoples from their origins in prehistory to
the present day. Drawing upon a wide range of archaeological and historical evidence,
each volume presents a fresh and absorbing account of a group's culture, society and
usually turbulent history.
Already published
The Etruscans The Goths
Graeme Barker and Thomas Rasmussen Peter Heather
The Normans The Franks*
Marjorie Chibnall Edward James
The Norsemen in the Viking Age The Russians
Eric Christiansen Robin Milner-Gulland
The Lombards The Mongols
Neil Christie David Morgan
The Serbs The Armenians
Sima Cirkoznc A. E. Redgate
The Basques* The Britons
Roger Collins Christopher A. Snyder
The English The Huns
Geoffrey Elton E. A. Thompson
The Gypsies The Early Germans
Second edition Malcolm Todd
Angus Fraser
The Illyrians
The Bretons John Wilkes
Patrick Galliou andMichael jones
Denotes title now out of print
The Huns
E. A. Thompson
Revised and with an afterword by
Peter Heather
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Publishing
© 1948,1996,1999 by the estate of the late E. A. Thompson
Afterword © 1996,1999 by Peter Heather
First edition published as A History of Attila and the Huns
by Oxford University Press, 1948
BLACKWELL PUBLISHING
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
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Designs, and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher.
First published 1996 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd
First published in paperback 1999
Reprinted 2000, 2001 (twice), 2003, 2004
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Thompson, E. A.
The Huns / E. A. Thompson
p. cm. - (The peoples of Europe)
Rev. ed. of: A history of Attila and the Huns, 1948.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-631-15899-5 (acid-free paper) - ISBN 0-631-21443-7 (pbk: acid-free
paper)
1. Huns. 2. Attila, d. 453. I. Thompson, E. A. History of Attila and the Huns.
II. Title. III. Series.
D141.T5 1996
936-dc20
A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
Set in 12 on 13V2 pt Sabon
by Words & Graphics Ltd, Leicester
Printed and bound in the United Kingdom
by MPG Books Ltd, Bodmin, Cornwall
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Blackwell Publishing, visit our website:
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Contents
Maps viii
Introduction 1
1 Sources 6
1 Impossibility of using archaeological evidence at present 6
2 Ammianus Marcellinus 9
3 Olympiodorus of Thebes 11
4 Priscus of Panium 12
5 Later authorities 16
2 The History of the Huns before Attila 19
1 Roman theories of the origin of the Huns 19
2 The Huns’ Absence from Classical Literature
before the fourth century 24
3 The destruction of the Ostrogothic kingdom 26
4 Hun attacks on the Roman Empire from 378 to 434 29
5 Huns in the service of the Romans in the same period 36
6 Attitude of the Romans to the Huns before Attila 40
3 Hun Society before Attila 46
1 The material civilization of the Huns in the fourth
century 47
Contents
2 Their social organization 48
3 Their numbers 51
4 Their military strength 56
5 The development of kingship 62
6 The transformation of Hun society 67
The Victories of Attila 69
1 Aetius and the Huns in Gaul 69
2 The death of Rua 79
3 The Treaty of Margus and the extent of the
Hun empire 81
4 Invasion of the Eastern Empire, 441-3, and the first
Treaty of Anatolius 86
5 The troubles of the East Romans and the death
of Bleda 95
6 The invasion of 447 98
Peace on the Danube Frontier 104
1 The subjection of the Acatziri 104
2 The second Treaty of Anatolius 108
3 The embassy of Maximinus and the plot to
murder Attila 112
4 The third and final Treaty of Anatolius 132
The Defeats of Attila 137
1 Attila, Aetius, and the West 137
2 The antecedents of the invasion of Gaul 143
3 The repulse from Gaul 148
4 Hun failure in Italy 156
5 The death of Attila 163
6 The end of the Huns 167
7 New nomadic influx into eastern Europe 175
Hun Society under Attila 177
1 Growth of wealth among the Huns 177
2 The exploitation of the subject peoples 179
3 Women in Hun society 185
4 The position of Attila 187
5 Trade 189
Contents vii
6 The causes of the collapse of the Hun empire 195
8 Roman Foreign Policy and the Huns 203
1 Priscus’ social views 205
2 Contemporary criticisms of Theodosius’ ministers 207
3 Senatorial opposition to the payment of subsidies
to the Huns 211
4 Military difficulty of attacking the nomads 218
5 Theodosius’ policy in the historical tradition 222
9 Conclusion 225
1 The limited greatness of Attila 226
2 Roman support for the Huns 231
3 The Huns and European history 235
Afterword by Peter Heather 238
Appendix A The Songs of the Huns 265
B The Causes of the War of 441 267
C Valips 269
D The Campaign of 441-3 271
E Chronological Note on the Years 449-50 273
F The Site of Attila’s Headquarters 276
G The Alleged Gothic Names of the Huns 278
Notes 280
Further Reading by Peter Heather 312
Bibliography 315
Index 321
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