Who was Attila the Hun?
Let’s see why he was called the Scourge of God
The Scourge of God, the terror of the Romans, Attila the Hun is a name that throughout the ages has become synonymous with ruthlessness and savagery.
He is often portrayed as a barbarian warlord who swept through Europe with an army of bloodthirsty warriors, leaving destruction and devastation in his wake. But who was Attila the Hun, really? And what drove him to become one of the most feared figures of late Antiquity?
The rise of Attila
Attila was born in the early 5th century AD, somewhere in the region that is now modern-day Hungary. His exact date of birth is unknown, but it is believed to have been around 406 AD, give or take a few years.
At the time of his birth, the Huns were nomadic people who had only arrived in the steppes of Eastern Europe a generation earlier. They were fierce and warlike people who had already established a reputation as formidable warriors and succeeded in subjugating the majority of the nomadic and Germanic people who lived north and east of the borders of the mighty Eastern Roman Empire.
Attila’s early life is shrouded in mystery, but it is known that he was the son of Mundzuk, a powerful Hunnic chieftain. He was also the nephew of Ruga, who had been the King of the Huns.
