Attila The Hun Essay example

Some Romans were happy about being conquered by the Huns because they thought the Roman Empire’s government was corrupt. In the Document E Priscus excerpt, it states, “The conditions of Roman subjects in time of peace is worse than war… taxes are very servere...the gonvernors... were ruining the state.” Some Roman citizens thought the justice system was unfair. While poor people who commited crimes were punished normally, rich criminals got off scot-free. The taxes were always too much.

The Huns were more hostile than most tribes from this time period. From early childhood they learn to adapt to freezing temperatures, hunger, and thirst. The Roman Empire became so large that there were not enough soldiers to protect every single area of it. The weak spots were easily attacked by tribes like the Huns. Since the empire’s land was so easy to invade, barbarians began to take over some parts. Some Roman citizens liked or didn’t mind being under the barbarians’ ruling. The Roman Empire needed a military that was able to keep their land away from people who wanted to conquer it, so that they could continue to expand their empire and conquer other

By the fifth century, the “powerhouse of the Mediterranean” was struggling to protect itself with its decreased population, apathetic military, and leaders with debauched morals. Outside of the Roman Empire, Germanic tribes took notice of the internal chaos and began invading the empire’s borders. Many of the tribes were cruel and combative, such as the Huns. The Huns “exceed any definition of savagery” and were “fired with an overwhelming desire for seizing the property of others, these swift-moving and ungovernable people make their destructive way amid the pillage and slaughter of those who live around them.” (Document D, excerpts about an Asian tribe called the Huns from Roman History by Ammianus Marcellinus). Roman soldiers would have had a challenge ahead of them if they had to deal with the Huns at the height of the Roman military, let alone having to fight them when their numbers were depleted and motivation running low. The Huns played a large part in minimizing what little hope Rome had of reviving itself into the Mediterranean-dominating empire it once was. Many other tribes followed the Huns example and invaded Rome at its borders. Document C, a map created from various sources,

This made it difficult for the Roman soldiers to fight since they were so used to battling on the floor. The Huns were compact, sturdy, and odd; the Romans viewed them to be wild since they had two completely different cultures. The fact that the empire was defenseless made their fall much

Attila knew how to exploit the weaknesses of the Romans. He would strike fear into the hearts of his enemies by slaughtering entire towns and civilizations. Attila would then propose treaties that made the Romans pay tribute to him out of fear that he would attack. The way Attila leveraged fear gave him even more power. In 439 A.D. the treaty of Margus was signed. This treaty said that the Eastern Roman Empire had to return Hun captives and pay a yearly tribute to the Huns in gold. The Romans soon broke the treaty and the Huns attacked them, devastating many large cities such as Singidunum and Viminacium. After this war, more treaties were signed which gave even larger amounts of gold to the Hun empire. The plethora of wealth and political power Attila the Hun possessed gave him the upper hand in almost every battle he took on. The Huns peaked in power and wealth while Attila was

The map called Foreign Invasions of the Roman Empire from Document C shows 3 invaders, the Huns, the Vandals, and Ostrogoths. This shows that the military was being lazy and not doing what is best for them because they were not prepared to fight or defeat anyone. They did not try their hardest and were not prepared with a plan, a strong military or smart and happy

The Mongols were seen as savage people who were good for nothing but destruction, many referred to them as "barbarians". A condescending

At minimum there were two emperors per year ruling over Rome (Doc A). With there being more than one emperor per year it caused a big problem considering that they may have different views on the same problem. There wasn’t really much Rome could do to stop these assassinations anyways, so they couldn’t do much to control their government. This problem Rome couldn’t stop meant they were left vulnerable and the Barbarians took advantage. Once they were conquered, former Romans declared that they preferred their new lifestyle with the Huns with a consistent rule unlike old Rome (Doc

The savage and unruly Huns who live and thrive in harsh conditions in the wild wreak havoc while conquering civilized Rome because they don’t know right from wrong or have any moral consciousness (Document E). The Roman’s eyes are opened and they realize that non-Romans or barbarians had the capability to hold the same amount of power that was once achieved by Rome. This created instability and uncertainty within the social climate of Rome due to their loss of power and confidence in their empire. The Germanic tribes moved across the entirety of the Western empire, which meant that it was conquered and trampled on by outsiders. (Document D)

If Rome had a proper emperor maybe Rome’s army would stand a chance against the Huns or any other enemies of

Agamemnon is the first book in the Orestiean Trilogy written by the famous Greek tragedy writer, Aeschylus. Agamemnon is a story of justice and revenge. The story takes place in a city called Argos. It starts with Agamemnon, the king of Argos, away at the Trojan War. The city is eagerly awaiting the news of their king’s welfare and the outcome of the war. Watchmen are posted in the city, watching for the beacon that would report the capture of Troy and Agamemnon’s return. Beacons are set up from Troy to Argos; when one beacon is lit, the next one will be lit, until the last. The play starts when a palace watchman discovers the beacon and tells Agamemnon’s wife, Clytemnestra, the good news.

Based on what I’ve read I don’t believe that there is an honest yes or no answer to the question, “Can these nomads be called barbarians?” According to Salvian, a Christian priest, he says, “.. almost all barbarians, at least those who are of one race and kin, love each other, while the Romans persecute each other.” However, many of these reads go into detail about the nomadic people never sparing the people of which they conquered or went to war with, and killing them all off one by one. As for the change over time; there was one. After the fall of Rome when the nomadic people took over around 476 CE they kept the same Roman customs, but began introducing nomadic ways of life that, over time, turned out to not be barbaric at all. Over the course of many years you will see the Romans perspective of the nomads and their culture began to change over the course of many years, and after the Fall of Rome.

    Though Rome was a great empire that conquered countless territories, it was not immune to the numerous attacks from barbarians such as the Huns, the Visigoths, the Vandals, and others. The barbarians would raid and sack the capital and other cities in ancient Rome, leaving them without money or tradable items. The Vandals did so much damage to the cities that their name is associated with the crime of extensive damage to property. The Huns were another destructive group of barbarians that were led by Attila. They raided Rome in 451 AD, leaving an immense trail of destruction. Other barbarians attacked Rome at different times, each leaving Rome weaker and helpless. Each attack destroyed their economy and left them desperate for a solution. The Ostrogoths finally caused the Western Empire to fall when Odoacer chased Romulus Augustus, the last of the Roman emperors, off the

These invasions resulted in multiple changes in the Empire that ultimately weakened it. As the various invading tribes moved into Roman territory, they destroyed the farmland and fields they passed through. This decreased agricultural production in the Empire (Spielvogel 186). Then, in the late fourth century, the Huns moved west out of Asia, forcing the German barbarian tribe of Visigoths, a sub-tribe of the Goths who had previously invaded Rome, to move south and west into Roman territories. They were allowed to remain on Roman land for a time, but when the Romans tried to force the tribe out, the Visigoths fought back, leading to a great military defeat for the Roman Army in 378 at Adrianople in Greece (Spielvogel 187). The Roman Empire was never able to recover the numbers

After decades of confrontation between Romans and Germanic tribes, who were more commonly known as barbarians, alliances began to form between the two groups. When the barbarians allied themselves with the Roman Empire, they were not considered Roman colonies or citizens, but instead known as ‘foederati’. They received the benefit of the Roman Empire’s support, sometimes with land, food, or money, in exchange for the barbarian’s military service in the Roman armies. One of the most well-known barbarian foederati groups were the Goths, however, their position as allies of the Empire was never permanent, nor were the relations ever completely peaceful. Despite the usually temporary nature of these alliances, both the Goths and the Romans benefited for several reasons. When the Goths were part of the Foederati they stopped hostilities between themselves and the Empire, gained mutual security from the threat posed by Hunnic aggression, and their people benefited from the introduction of Romanic society.