"God's Whip" Attila

Last time in "Where did the Huns finally go?" Attila is mentioned in the article. Today we will come to learn more about these Huns who once made Europeans tremble.

In the eyes of Western Europeans, he is regarded as a symbol of cruelty and predation, and is the most terrible enemy; but in the eyes of the Sakya people in Northern Europe, he is the greatest emperor. His empire stretched from the Aral Sea in the east, the Atlantic coast in the west, the Danube in the south, and the Baltic Sea in the north. His life only lived for 47 years, but at that time the most powerful Eastern and Western Roman Empires surrendered under his iron cavalry; he invaded the Balkans twice, expedition to Gaul (now France), and vowed to swallow the entire Apennine Peninsula. ...He is Attila (c. 406-453) known as the "God's Whip".

During the Attila era, the Huns empire reached its peak: from the Aral Sea in the east to the Atlantic coast in the west; from the Danube in the south to the Baltic Sea in the north. In the vast area of ​​Eurasia, countless dependent states were established. Although each had its own king and tribal chief, they all claimed tribute to Attila and sent troops to participate in the war. After Attila's death, his empire collapsed. In short, Attila is definitely a legendary figure in European history.

So, what kind of person is Attila?

The Roman envoy Priscus, who had once visited Attila, described it like this:

“Since crossing the Danube, the Huns’ guards have been following us. Under their leadership, we walked about 13 kilometers to Attila’s base camp. After the delivery of 5 deserters, we were allowed to meet with Ah. Lift up.

Many barbarian moose gathered around Attila's tent. We immediately recognized Attila sitting on the wooden bench after entering the tent. Because everyone else is standing, only he is sitting.

We were standing far away from the rough throne, only Maximinus stepped forward, greeted Attila, conveyed the emperor’s wish for Attila and the Huns to be more prosperous, and handed over the emperor’s autograph. letter. The barbarians also wished the emperor and the Romans prosperity.

Attila was surrounded by several senior officials and military commanders in the tent. Frankly speaking, I was shocked by the simplicity of Attila himself. Unlike him, all the high-ranking officials and generals wore gorgeous and colorful costumes with fine textures and rich colors, embroidered with large swaths of flowers and birds, which must have been snatched from the Chinese and Persians.

In the tent of the tribal chief who placed a large area of ​​land from the Rhine to the Danube under his own rule, there was no valuable furniture or ornaments of artistic value. There were no beds in the tent, only the possibly valuable furs were thrown on the ground, and there were a few rough wooden chairs. Attila put the bow and axe beside her boudoir, besides, there were no other weapons.

Attila is short, but strong. His face was dark yellow, he had almost no beard, and his face was almost strangely flat. He squinted his eyes, and his sunken black eyes stared at us like a rare object.

It seems that they are eating, sleeping, and seeing people in this tent. Although there is no dining table, there are tableware, all made of gold and silver, and they are undoubtedly grabbed.

Attila is a person who keeps moving. Although we keep a certain distance from him, we still have to ride with him everywhere. After crossing several rivers, he finally arrived at the town he designated as the capital. Rather than calling it a town, it's better to say it's just a village. Attila's wooden house was surrounded by a wooden fence that could not play a defensive role at all. The slightly smaller house of Onege Sims, the second in command of the Huns, was built near Attila's house, surrounded by wooden fences.

As soon as Attila entered the village, a group of girls greeted her with singing. Several people wore white veils, while others followed behind with their veils. At this time, Onege Sims’s wife led a large group of female slaves and offered food and wine to Attila. This is the highest respect of the Huns.

Attila pinched the food from the silver plate offered by his servants and ate, and drank the wine in the glass offered by the women. He rode on a horse during the whole process. "

Next, let's take a closer look at those things about Attila.

Brother kills the king

In the 4th and 5th centuries AD, the Eurasian continent was full of flames. The two ancient civilizations of the East and the West at the ends of the Silk Road, the Chinese Empire and the Roman Empire were all caught in a series of divisions and endless wars. At this moment, a barbarian that the Romans never knew appeared on the banks of the Don River in a terrifying way. I don't know where it is from the earth, it is like a blizzard on a mountain. When you encounter them, everything will be looted." This group of people was called the "Huns". It was not until the 18th century that someone entrenched them with them for a long time. In the Mongolian steppes, the "Huns" who once posed a huge threat to the Chinese empire were linked together and believed that they were descendants of the Huns who moved westward after their defeat in the war. Although this is still controversial, there is one thing no one can deny that the "Huns" is as powerful as the "Huns."

In 406 AD, the Huns welcomed their greatest leader-Attila.

As for Attila's childhood, even historians currently know very little about it, and only hypothesize that he was already a good soldier and leader in his childhood. At the age of 12, Attila was taken as a hostage to the court of the Western Roman Empire. In exchange, the Western Roman Empire also sent Attila's future friend and rival Aetius to the court of the Huns. In the Roman court, Attila received a good education. In the meantime, he worked hard to understand the internal affairs and foreign policies of the Romans. These studies and accumulations laid a solid foundation for him to realize his ambitions in the future.

At the age of 27, Attila and his brother Breda inherited the throne from his uncle Lua together. As soon as the brothers succeeded to the throne, the Eastern Romans suffered. They forced the Eastern Roman Empire to sign a contract, promising to give their uncle double the annuity during his reign. However, the era of two kings co-ruling only lasted less than 4 years, and the 30-year-old Attila ruthlessly killed his brother and took sole control of the Hungarian empire, opening the "Attila Era."

Compared to his grandparents, fathers, and elder brothers, Attila is obviously more ambitious and talented. Not only did he use the advanced position he learned in Rome to govern his own kingdom, but he was also a thirsty king. Under his throne, there were ministers of many nations, including Germans, Greeks, and even Romans. Under his leadership, the empire quickly became stronger. At this time, nothing in Europe can stop Attila's ambitions.

Westward Roma

At the age of 35, Attila was ambitious in 441 AD. After hitting a blood bag in front of the mighty Persian Empire, he quickly targeted the Eastern Roman Empire on the pretext that the Eastern Roman Empire did not pay the annuity on time, harassed the cities on the north bank of Danube, and then crossed the Danube. , Swept the Balkan Peninsula. One of them, a city more than 100 miles south of the Danube, was completely destroyed by the Huns so that when the Roman envoy who went to see Attila passed by here a few years later, there were still many bones on the shore and the corpses inside the city were stinking.

In January 447 AD, a strong earthquake occurred in the provinces of Constantinople and Thrace, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, lasting four months. Attila took the opportunity to aggressively attack East Rome. According to historical records, the place where Attila’s army passed by "killed countless, blood flowed into rivers. They looted churches and monasteries, killed monks and nuns everywhere... They completely destroyed Thrace, making it impossible to restore the old appearance of the past. NS". During the entire battle, more than 70 cities and fortresses were destroyed by Attila's army. Finally, Attila led a large army to the city of Constantinople and surrounded the city. The Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II had to beg to surrender. The price was that in addition to repaying the annuity owed before, the amount of the annuity was increased to 2,100 pounds of gold per year, which is 7 times the previous amount, and a large area of ​​territory south of the Danube was ceded. . Since then, East Rome’s finances have almost collapsed.

Attila's wild victory over the Eastern Roman Empire shocked the whole of Europe, and his empire reached unprecedented strength. From then on, this short stature, broad shoulders, stubby neck, and huge head of the Hungarian leader and his invincible army became a nightmare for the Romans and Germans of all tribes. They gave Atti with fear and awe. Pull a resounding title-"God's Whip".

In 450 AD, the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II died. As soon as his son Masian took over the throne, he ordered people to build a strong defense line in the Balkans to prevent the Huns from invading, and at the same time categorically suspended the payment of annuities to Attila. Of course, the behavior of Eastern Rome made Attila unhappy, but he clearly saw that in the past few years, Eastern Rome had been exploited by him almost, and the attack on Eastern Rome was not worth the loss. So he decisively turned the horse's head to the west, to transfer the anger against Eastern Rome to Western Rome. Compared with Eastern Rome, Western Rome has weaker forces, and wealth is not looted like the Eastern Rome.

Disaster leads to western Rome

Unlike Eastern Rome, before that, the Hungarian Empire had not had any wars with Western Rome, but had close contact with each other. This is due in part to the friendship between Attila and Aetius. After Attila came to power, Aetius even borrowed the Hungarian army three times to conquer the Visigoths, Burgundians and other Germanic barbarians. But in 450 years, in order to satisfy his ambition, Attila categorically cut off this friendship.

At this time, a beautiful princess gave Attila an excellent reason to send troops. Honoria, the sister of the Western Roman emperor Valentinian III, was romantic, passionate and wild. She fell in love with a low-level official in the palace and had an affair with him. After the affair was revealed, Honoria was imprisoned in Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. Out of hatred and revenge, the princess actually resorted to a trick that was almost annihilating the country - and at the same time sent a courtship letter with the same content to his brother’s rivals, the Visigoth king Theodoric and Attila. .

After receiving the letter, Theodoric led an army to sack the Eastern Roman Empire, but retreated without mentioning the marriage contract. In order to prevent Attila from coming, the Eastern Roman emperor Masian bought the guards around Attila and let him wait for an opportunity to assassinate, but Attila saw through this strategy. East Rome fell into panic again. Unexpectedly, what they were waiting for was not the news of Attila’s invasion, but a generous gift and Attila’s message to Masian: "You and I were both nobles, but your behavior made you lose your life. The qualification of this title, but I retained the glory with my merits. So we can distinguish between the superior and the inferior." At this time, Marxian can no longer be as tough as he was against Attila at the beginning of his succession. His father paid a large amount of gold just as humiliatingly for peace.

Attila did not take action against Eastern Rome. It was not that he had shown any kindness, but that he had greater ambitions. What he wanted was the entire Western Rome. Soon, on the grounds of receiving a letter from Princess Honoria, he asked to marry the princess and asked half of the land of the Western Roman Empire as a dowry. For this kind of unreasonable request, the Western Roman Empire naturally rejected it. So Attila used this as an excuse to invade Western Rome.

Defeated Gaul

The first target of Attila's army was the Gaul region of Western Rome. He led a large army across the Rhine, conquering the city and plundering the land all the way to the bottom of Orleans. Orleans was the most important city in Gaul at the time. Once it was captured, it would be able to control Gaul’s military center. But at this moment, Attila encountered reinforcements led by Aetius. After Attila's army invaded Gaul, Aetius realized that Western Rome alone could not resist the Huns. So he used his diplomatic skills to persuade Theodoric King of Visigoths and the leaders of Burgundians and Alans, and even King Falak, to form a coalition to resist Attila. A big battle is inevitable. The war took place near Chalons on the Marne River in Champagne, France, and was known as the "Battle of Chalons" in history . This is a famous war in medieval European history and one of the most famous wars in world military history. The number of troops and casualties on both sides was unprecedented. However, this time, Attila suffered the most tragic failure of his life, and had to temporarily abandon the occupation of Gaul and the grand plan of extending the empire's territory to the east coast of the Atlantic Ocean.

This war is a bit like the Battle of Chibi in the strategic situation: the Roman side is like Liu Bei’s Han orthodoxy, the Visigothic kingdom is like Sun Quan’s separatist Jiangdong, the Franks are the disintegrated Jingzhou Liu Cong and Liu Qi, and Attila is of course. Cao Cao (it can even be said that the Eastern Roman Empire is like Ma Teng and Han Sui behind Cao Cao). The key to the success of resisting the Huns lies in whether the two "Sun" and "Liu" can establish a united front.

The Visigoth king Theodoric, who fought with Aetius for more than 20 years, was full of vigilance towards the Romans. Although Aetius was poignant, he explained to him the truth of "cold lips and teeth." It's hard to move him for a while. Besides, Attila also sent people to Toulouse at this time, saying that his target was only the Romans, and persuaded Theodoric to cooperate with him and deal with Rome together. Theodoric was overwhelmed by both sides and had to stay on hold for a while.

If Attila insists on attacking the mind first, perhaps the whole war situation will be very different. But Attila's intention was only to buy time for the first attack. In the spring of 451, when Theodoric was still erratic, Attila had already crossed the Rhine and headed west. The Huns were divided into three parts. The right wing attacked Arras from what is now Belgium, the left wing went through Metz on the Moselle, and the central force was siege of Orleans through Paris. Burning, looting and looting along the way, wherever they went were ruins, and Roman cities such as Reims, Metz, and Arras were destroyed. Paris was still a small continent in the Seine at the time, and finally survived. Western historians often use this to accuse the Huns of brutality, but the Germanic tribes of their ancestors are mostly involved in the rape and pillage, which they naturally ignore.

Attila's army suppressed the territory and besieged the military town of Orleans, which actually pushed Theodoric to the Roman side. At no time, Avitus sent another veteran, Avitus, who had an old relationship with Theodoric, to Toulouse to lobby and move westward on how the Visigoths were defeated by the Huns. Today, how the Hungarians perversely perverted all kinds of reasons have been pained, and finally made Theodoric determined: to fight the Huns to the death, wash the snow for a century of national humiliation, and defend the people of the country. The Visigoths hurriedly united with the Roman army of Aetius and formed a coalition to march towards Orleans, which was being besieged by the Huns. On June 14, reinforcements arrived under the city of Orleans. The morale of the coalition forces attacked the rear of the Hungarian army, and the residents of the city also stepped up to the head of the city and threw stones down. The Huns frustrated and frustrated for more than a month in the city of Orleans. The old army was already exhausted. At this time, it was hit by both sides and had to withdraw by night. The coalition forces followed closely, and the two armies, one after the other, gradually moved away from Orleans and headed east.

Attila intends to move to the open plain that is conducive to the Hungarian army and then annihilates the following coalition forces in one fell swoop, so he retreats in the direction of the Seine and Aube. On the west bank of the Seine, Attila left a guard force of 15,000 people. The main force crossed the Seine and was stationed on the Calalaunian Plains on the east of the river. On the night of June 19, the Roman-Gothic coalition attacked late at night and wiped out the Huns’ defenders. The coalition forces immediately crossed the river, and miraculously appeared behind Attila the next day, putting on a decisive battle posture.

Attila did not expect the efficiency of the coalition forces to be so high. After repeated setbacks, they became passive and had to enter the battle before they were ready. The camp of the Huns is a huge chariot city (laager), just like the camp of the Goths in the Battle of Adriatic Fort, many carts are arranged in a huge circle, and crossbowmen and infantry are deployed in the chariot. Inside and outside the city, a defense system that is easy to defend and difficult to attack was formed, and the coalition forces did not dare to attack rashly. Attila played a game of the mind, he deliberately slowly dispatched troops, and it was almost two o'clock in the afternoon that the formation was completed. Because he intends to attack quickly with the elite cavalry he is good at, break through the enemy's defense line, and defeat the enemy's main force in a short time. If the initial battle is unfavorable, the battle will not be delayed too long, and it will be dark after a few hours. At that time, he can still withdraw into the Checheng calmly, and there is still room for a counterattack. Whether this assumption is reasonable or not is still impossible to judge due to the lack of relevant information. But Attila has already retreated before starting the war, and it is undoubtedly that the decline has been exposed.

On June 20, 451, at about two o'clock in the afternoon, the battle officially began.

As mentioned earlier, the "Battle of Chalons" got its name because people used to think that the battle was fought near Chalons in Champagne. But in fact, the great plain where the battle took place was far from Sharon. According to the records of ancient historians, the two armies on this plain at that time totaled almost one million people, which was an unprecedented battle in the ancient world. Even if this record is too exaggerated, the sum of the forces used by both sides is at least over 100,000, and the scale of the battle is quite astonishing. But what is surprising is that although it was a war between the Huns and the Romans in name, the composition of the armies of the two sides was similar. The Huns and the Romans only accounted for a small part, and most of them were mercenaries of various European barbarians: Ah On the Tiara side, on the left are the Ostrogoths and Slavs under the command of Walamir, and on the right are the Gepids, Lombardy's, and Hruul under the command of Ardaric. People (Heruls, all of the above are Germanic tribes). The Chinese army is the most elite of the Huns and Alans. On the side of Aetius, the Roman infantry and Franks under his personal command were on the left, the Visigoths led by Theodoric on the right, and the Alans under the command of Sangiban in the middle. This is not so much a defense of civilization against barbarism, as it is a fight between two groups of barbarians.

In fact, the reason why Attila uses so many foreign mercenaries is that the Huns have gradually enjoyed a "civilized" life by plundering the surrounding races for decades. Increasingly unable to meet the needs of the Xiongnu rulers in foreign wars. By the time of Attila, the Huns could easily defeat the deteriorating Roman army, but they had little advantage over other barbarians in fighting power.

Attila’s battle plan was to break through the enemy’s army by the superior cavalry, to separate the Roman-Gothic army from left to right, and then to divide and destroy it; Aetius knew the tactics of the Huns and had already anticipated this move. His countermeasure is to strengthen the strength of the two wings and wait for the Hungarian army to break through from the middle and attack from the left and the right. In the plans of the two sides, the Alan people played the opposite role: they were traditional allies of the Huns for 70 to 80 years, so the Huns placed them in the Chinese army and played an important breakthrough role. However, the loyalty of the Alan people on the coalition side is a big problem. Sangjiban was transferred from Orleans. It was said that he wanted to act as a spy for the Hungarian army during the siege. This army is a problem wherever it is placed, so Aetius simply put it in the middle army and let the vulnerable Aran people lure the enemy deep.

After the battle began, the prince Torismund of Theodoric first led a Gothic cavalry from the right back to the rear of the Hungarian army, occupied a high ground, and attempted to attack the Hungarian "Checheng" from a height. But he was stopped by the superior Huns. At the same time, Attila has begun a massive offensive. The roaring Hungarian cavalry rushed towards the coalition army. The tactics of the rain of arrows and the impact of the iron cavalry soon tore the central front of the coalition forces. The Alan people who had no intention of fighting fled around. The Huns' army was like a sharp blade, deeply embedded in the coalition army and repeatedly cut. At the same time, the left and right wings of the Hungarian army also began to charge. The left-wing Ostrogoths rushed to the Visigoths and entangled them firmly. The Visigoths were crucified in place and could not go to the left to attack the Huns in time. Attila attacked the center of the Roman army more violently. Once he could break through to the end, he could surround the Visigoth army from the side and annihilate it; and once he could eliminate the Visigothic elite cavalry, the Roman and Frankish infantry on the right was sure Not his opponent, Attila can secure victory.

But Attila's impact is being restrained by the left wing of the coalition forces personally commanded by Aetius. The left-wing army is now quickly spinning around and hitting heavily from the side of the Hungarian army. This part of the army is dominated by infantry, but the Roman army can still use the courage of the ancient army to stop the violent impact of the Hungarian army with layers of shields, and force the Hungarian army to retreat with dense javelins. Attila was trapped inside the enemy and was unable to break through in time. At the same time, after the Hungarian army, Torresmund's cavalry unit also launched a bloody battle with the Hungarian cavalry, and the battle entered a white-hot stage.

Soon, on the right flank of the Allied forces, the Visigoths took a firm foothold, repelled the Eastern Goths' attack, and under the leadership of Theodoric launched a counterattack, squeezing the Huns toward the center. And Etius finally got on the line with Torresmond. Torresmond abandoned his plan to attack Checheng, bypassing Checheng, and rushed directly behind Attila's Chinese army; Etius attacked Attila's right flank from the front. Attila's army advanced too fast, pulling apart from the left and right wings, and the two sides were completely exposed, and they had to allow the enemy to attack from both sides. In this way, the Roman-Gothic coalition forces can carry out a double-sided siege. Attila's pro-Hungarian Chinese army fought hard and fell into the trap of the coalition forces and could not extricate themselves.

At this moment, something unexpected happened: maybe it was dusk and the light was dim. The Visigoth King Theodoric took the lead and charged ahead. As a result, he was stabbed by the Ostrogoths and fell off his horse, in a mess. When he was trampled to death by his cavalry, the Goths fell into panic and confusion. The one holding Attila's tongs broke off. Attila took advantage of the opportunity to escape from the remnant army and went straight to the city of Return. . At this time night had fallen.

There was no star and moon this night, and it was pitch black. The composition of the two armies is similar, and it is difficult to distinguish in the middle of the night. On the one hand, they retreat, and on the other they pursue. Scattered conflicts and misunderstandings often occur, and the remaining fighting lasted overnight.

At sunrise the next day, the ending was clear: Attila's Hungarian army was trapped in Checheng and was unable to break through, forming a turtle in the urn. Although Checheng is still very strong and difficult to break through, as long as the coalition forces defend but not attack, the Hungarian army can get down hungry in a few days. Attila's best luck was to break through and withdraw. In this way, the Roman-Gothic coalition under the leadership of Aetius finally won the battle of Sharon.

The calm-headed Aetius did not immerse himself in the joy of victory for a long time. He quickly realized that if Attila died in Gaul, the power of the Huns would fall apart. The Goths who had won the first battle would have grown up from now on and would no longer be able to control them. The Western Roman Empire was the first to bear the brunt and it would surely suffer. The top priority is not to try to expand the results, but to minimize the results. It is best to let Attila go to continue to contain the Goths and other barbarians.

So Aetius tried his best to let Attila escape. The Visigoth king Theodoric died in battle, and the prince Torresmond was in the army. He wanted to kill Attila to avenge his father, but Aetius reminded him: There are still a few brothers in the country. He fights for the throne, and the throne he just won may not be stable. It is better to return to the country as soon as possible to control the power. Torresmond suddenly realized that he led his army back to Turus. The Franks were even better fooling around. Aetius told them that the Goths had already withdrawn and that the Hungarian army would break through the encirclement. If they didn’t rush back to grab the territory, the Hungarian army would surely suffocate them when they withdrew to the Frankish land. What can I do then? The Franks were distraught and evacuated immediately. Aetius led the Roman army to leave, and the surrounding area of ​​Checheng became empty.

Attila had already piled a large pyre in Checheng with all kinds of gold and silver jewels on it, determined to set himself on fire once the enemy broke through Checheng, quite tragic as a dead-end hero. However, it was unexpected that the coalition forces would take the initiative to retreat. Attila thought that the other party had some conspiracy, so he hesitated for several days and did not dare to come out. Finally, it was confirmed that the other party had indeed withdrawn, and Attila was amnesty and escaped overnight with the remnants.

In fact, playing such a "Hua Rong Dao" may not be a good thing for Rome. The Battle of Sharon was the first and last defeat of Attila in his life, as well as the last victory of the Western Roman Empire. If Attila is compared to a fierce tiger, the defeat of Gaul at best only injured one of the tiger's paws, and did not dampen Attila's ambitions at all. After two years of rest, Attila led the army to come back. This time, his reason is still to fulfill his marriage contract with Princess Honoria. However, his goal is no longer Gaul, but to swallow the entire Apennines. Attila took his iron cavalry across the Alps, razing northern Italy to the ground with an unpredictable force. After the fear, the Romans described Attila's army and said: "Where Attila's horseshoe tramples, grass will never grow."

Western Roman emperor Valentinian III fled from the palace all the way back to the old city of Rome in order to avoid the edge, leaving only Aetius to defend himself in the north. In the end, the Huns stopped their offensive on the Po River in the northern Apennines. The Western Roman Empire sent a delegation composed of prominent figures such as Pope Leo I, Chief Senator Avinus, and Commander of the Guards, Trigeius. After some bargaining, Attila decided to accept the agreement and withdraw. It is said that he also converted to Christianity. The Roman Catholic power flourished, and the pope system in the Middle Ages came into being. .

There are still divergent opinions about the reasons for Attila's withdrawal. Some people say that the food and grass are inadequate, others say that the plague has stopped the army, and some people think that Attila is worried that the Eastern Roman Empire will retaliate behind it... But anyway, Attila finally stopped his pace of war. He returned to his palace on the north bank of the Danube.

Weird death on the wedding night

One year later, in 453 AD, Attila died in a strange and sudden death that year. There are probably two opinions about how Attila died.

It was March 15, 453 AD. This day was a day worth relaxing and commemorating for the Huns who had been fighting on the battlefield for a long time. On this day, Attila married a beautiful Germanic woman named Ildiko. However, it was also on this day that the future destruction of this powerful tribe was buried. The entire Huns held a grand wedding and carnival that day. They were ragged and yelled "Yoyou", drank spirits, and ate delicious food. They celebrated the emperor they admired in their own way. Partying with the soldiers and finally drunk Attila, who was drunk and dim, did not leave the banquet until the latter half of the night and returned to his new house tiredly.

According to the writings of the Westerner Priscus: When 47-year-old Attila suddenly fell to the ground after entering the bridal chamber, the nosebleeds flowed continuously. This ferocious emperor Hun died of suffocation from nosebleeds flowing into his nasal cavity. Blood vessel rupture caused by excessive drinking is one of the causes of death, that is, sudden death.

Another theory is that Attila was killed by his new wife. It was Attila's enemies who used the "beauty trick" to confuse him and assassinate it. Because there was only the bride in the bridal chamber, Attila, who was so drunk and unconscious, became the meat on her cutting board.

Which of these two statements is true? In the view of literary and historical scholar Lu Weibing, Attila is very likely to be assassinated. There are three reasons: First, the time of the sudden death was too coincidental. Attila, who is extremely dependent on alcohol, is not a new thing. His drunkenness after victory is almost commonplace for writers, and his subordinates are accustomed to it, otherwise, he will never remain on his wedding night. Let him drink without dissuasion. Now that this is the case, why did Attila have an accident after drinking on the wedding night? This is very doubtful. It is precise because of the wedding night that the guards stay away from them, and the subordinates in the carnival are naturally unconscious. Then infer the scene at that time: Attila was drunk but was not looked after by a guard. This is undoubtedly the best time and opportunity for assassination;

The second is that the Pope of Rome has long been intent on the assassination. At the time, Attila's cavalry was unmatched, and the land of Europe was panicked. The enemies of Attila know that it is idiotic to want to quiet Attila, who is so violent, and that as long as this terrifying person is still alive, Rome and even Europe will never have peace. Under such circumstances, they naturally thought of assassination. In fact, the Pope of Eastern Rome sent people to assassinate Attila many times, but none of them succeeded. But they will not miss any chance of assassination, and offering beautiful women is one of the methods of assassination. And choosing to assassinate on the wedding night, no matter from which point of view, is the best opportunity. There was a popular legend in Constantinople at that time: On the lucky night when Attila died, the Roman emperor saw Attila's bow broken in his sleep. It shows how terrifying and lingering Attila was in the mind of the Roman emperor, and how he wanted to get rid of it quickly. I am afraid that such a coincidental dream is inherent in the mind;

Third, such a quiet way of death makes people feel strange. This is also puzzling from the reaction of the bride. According to Western historical records, Attila’s attendant described the situation at the time: “The surprisingly quiet aroused our fear and suspicion. After trying to wake him up by yelling out of nowhere, we had to break in. , Rushed into his bedroom. We saw the trembling bride with a dagger in her hand and covered her face with a veil sitting on the bedside crying. Attila had died for a long time.” From this, we at least knew that the bride was at the time. Knowing that Attila is dead, otherwise she would not "sitting on the bed and crying." However, since she knew that her husband was dead but only shivered there, even if she was shocked after Attila "has been dying for a long time," she should have some instinctive reaction, but she sat there for a long time, isn't it? Wouldn't you call someone to help? This is one; both, where did the dagger in the bride's hand come from? Why does she have a dagger on her body? This is undoubtedly a dubious prop.

Why didn't the Huns investigate Attila's cause of death?

The mystery left by Attila’s sudden death is also related to the fact that his subordinates did not investigate and investigate. If they were to explore the scene and record their confessions, they would always find some clues. However, after they were frightened, they were unbelievably calm. : They cut off a bunch of their own hair, pierced their cheeks with a knife, and let "blood and tears flow together", in order to express their condolences to their greatest leader. Afterward, these Huns began to drink and have fun at the grave where Attila was buried in accordance with their own traditions. The reason for this, Lu Weibing's analysis is that the Huns at that time advocated Shamanism, which recognized the concept of soul. In their view, human death is an extraordinary and real shamanic journey in a state of consciousness conversion. They are more willing to believe that the leader they admire is a new "transformation" rather than a real death, so they are not so concerned about Attila's death.

In short, a generation of heroes, Attila, passed away in an almost grotesque way. After hearing the news of his death, his soldiers cut off a bunch of their hair and used swords to cut wounds on their faces. They believe that "the greatest warrior should not be mourned with the wailing and tears of women, but with the blood of warriors." After Attila died, he was placed in a three-layer coffin made of gold, silver, and iron, and was buried along with the trophies and the prisoners who were responsible for digging the tomb. What remained behind him was a huge empire from the Aral Sea in the east, the east coast of the Atlantic Ocean in the west, the Danube in the south, and the Baltic Sea in the north. The size of this empire and the number of races surpassed that of any previous empire.

But soon after Attila's death, his ambitious sons began endless vendettas and fights, and the empire collapsed immediately. From the time the Huns first appeared on the north bank of the Don River, to the fall of the empire, it was only more than 80 years, like a meteor flashed by, but its once light made humans unforgettable. As the most outstanding leader of the Huns, Attila has evolved into a different legend. This Hun tribe quickly fell apart after experiencing a flash in prosperity. The latter tribes were scattered everywhere and eventually disappeared without a trace, leaving many unsolved mysteries to the world.