A History of Central Eastern Europe

THE HUNNIC PEOPLE
The only reason to
discuss the Hunnic people is
because of a single person –
ATTILA THE HUN. Without him
the Hunnic tribe was a mere
blip on history’s radar scope.
They controlled the region of
today’s Hungary and beyond
for half-a-century, that’s it.
They left no imposing castles,
no written record of their
achievements; in fact, very
little exists from them. Except
for ATTILA THE HUN. Images of
this Barbarian leader
descending upon Eastern
Europe with his Mongolian
hoards mounted on horseback, destroying everything in their path have come down to us through
the centuries; but, how accurate is such a portrayal?
A combination of fact and fiction and legend tell us the Hunin people came from the
Gobi and Ordos Deserts, the mountains the separate the two and the Yellow River that almost
surrounds the Ordos. Some Hunin mixed with the Mongols resulting in the HsiongNu builders of
the Great Wall of China. This mixing was deliberate – the HsiongNu were immune to many
pathogenic microorganisms that the Chinese to the south were also immune to. But the Hunin did
not have or develop this immunity and this contributed to their westward move. The Hunin
populated the Carpathian Basin around the Duna (Danube) and the Tisza (Tisa) rivers around
379 C.E. where they became the Hunnic tribe. This huge and fertile steppe region had been
deserted a century earlier because of the plague.
ATTILA was born around 400 C.E. near the modern day city of Szeged, the “home of
Paprika,” in southern Hungary (see map on Index page). He was a descendant of RUGA, some
say nephew while others say grandson, who was to become the main ruler, styled king, of the
lands of the Hunnic tribes in
the Danubian plain which
was being called Pannonia by
410. ATTILA and his older
brother BLEDA (BUDA)
become joint-rulers upon the
death of their grandfather in
434, a situation that
continued until BLEDA’S
death ten years later. ATTILA
led the Hunnic tribes for just
nine years before dying in
453. But in that short period
his actions created a legend
that has magnified the man
and his amazing feats into the
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