ATTILA, at'tl-la (in German, Etzel), the son of Mundzuk, a Hun of royal descent, who followed his uncle, Roas, in 434, and shared the supreme authority with his brother, Bleda. These two leaders of the barbarians, who had settled in Scythia and Hungary, threatened the Eastern empire, and twice compelled Theo dosius II to purchase an inglorious peace. The Huns themselves esteemed Attila their bravest warrior and most skilful general. Their re gard for his person soon amounted to super stitious reverence, and being now sole master of a warlike people, his unbounded ambition made him the terror of all nations; and he became, as he called himself, the scourge which God had chosen to chastise the human race. In a short time he extended his. dominion over all the people of Germany and Scythia, and the eastern and western emperors paid him tribute. The Vandals, the Ostrogoths, the Gepide and a part of the Franks united under his banners. Hearing a rumor of • the riches and power of Persia, he directed his march thither, but was defeated on the plains of Armenia, and drew back to satisfy his desire of plunder in the do minions of the Emperor of the East. He easily found a pretext for war, for all states which promised him a rich booty were his natural enemies, and all princes whom he hoped to conquer had broken alliances. The Emperor Theodosius collected an army to oppose his progress; but in three bloody battles fortune declared herself for the barbarians. Constanti nople was indebted to the strength of its walls, and to the ignorance of the enemy in the art of besieging, for its preservation. Thrace, Mace donia and Greece, all submitted to the savage robber, who destroyed 70 flourishing cities. Theodosius was at the mercy of the victor, and was obliged to purchase a peace. Attila now directed his eyes to •Gaul. With an immense army he passed the Rhine, the Moselle and the Seine, came to the Loire, and sat down under the walls of Orleans. The inhabitants of this city, encouraged by their bishop, Agnan (Anianus), repelled the first attack of the bar barians, and the united forces of the Romans, under their general, lEtius, and of the Visi goths, under their King, Theodoric, compelled Attila to raise the siege. He retreated to Champagne, and waited for the enemy in the plains of Chalons. The two armies soon ap proached each other. Attila, anxious for the event of the battle, consulted the soothsayers, who assured him of a defeat. He concealed his alarm, rode through the ranks of his warriors, reminded them of their deeds, spoke of his joy at the prospect of a battle, and at the thought that their valor was to be rewarded. Inflamed by his speech, and by the presence of their leader, the Huns were impatient for battle. At length the ranks of the Romans and Goths were broken through, and Attila was already sure of the victory, when the Gothic prince, Thorismond, the son of Thcodoric, poured down from the neighboring height upon the Huns. Attila, pressed on all sides, escaped with
difficulty to his camp. This was perhaps the bloodiest battle which had been fought in Eu rope until the great conflict of 1914; for ac cording to contemporary historians, 106,000 dead bodies covered the field of battle. Attila caused all his camp equipage and treasures to be brought together into a heap, in order to burn himself with them, in case he should be reduced to extremities. But the enemy were contented with collecting their forces during the night, and having paid the last honors to the dead body of King Theodoric (Dietrich), which they discovered with difficulty, they saluted his son, Thorismond, king upon the field of battle. Thus Attila escaped, but the Franks pursued him till he had passed the Rhine. He now demanded Honoria, the sister of Valen tinian III, in marriage, and conquered and destroyed Aquileia, Padua, Vicenza, Verona, Bergamo, and laid waste the plains of Lom bardy. The inhabitants fled to the Alps, to the Apennines and to the small islands in the shal lows (lagoons) of the Adriatic Sea, where they built Venice. The Emperor had no army to oppose him; the Roman people and senate had recourse to tears and supplications. Pope Leo I went with the Roman ambassadors to the en emy's camp and succeeded in obtaining a peace. Attila went back to Hungary. The Romans looked upon their preservation as a miracle, and the old chronicles relate that the threats of Saint Peter and Saint Paul had terrified Attila — a legend which the art of Raphael and Alghardi has immortalized. Not having ob tained Honoria for a wife, Attila would a second time have demanded her, sword in hand, if the beautiful Ildico had not been added to his numerous wives, with whom he solemnly united himself (453). On this occasion he gave himself up to all the extravagance of debauch ery; but on the other day after the marriage, the servants and warriors, impatient to salute their master, thronged into the tent; they found Ildico veiled, sitting by the cold corpse of her husband. During the night he had died of a hemorrhage. The news of his death spread sorrow and terror in the army. His body was enclosed in three coffins -- the first was of gold, the second of silver and the third of iron. The captives who had made the grave were strangled. The description that Jornandes has left us of this barbarian king reminds us of his Kalmuck-Tartar origin. He had a large head. a flat nose, broad shoulders, and a short and ill-formed body. Consult