Attila the Hun - Short Essay

“The murder of Déagol haunted Gollum, and he had made up a defense, repeating it to his ‘precious’ over and over” (The Fellowship of the Ring 62). This quote gives a look into the strongest moment of shock that impacted young Sméagol’s life forever. Gollum is a fictional character unlike any other in The Lord of the Rings series, as he is portrayed as having undiagnosed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. There are six recurring symptoms that must happen in conjunction with traumatic factors in order for someone to be diagnosed with PTSD, and unfortunately for Sméagol his actions and history sync perfectly into the diagnosis. Due to the fact that Gollum is a fictional character out of a book, it seems that the author, J.R.R. Tolkien, may have purposely given these attributes to Gollum to display PTSD. Though Tolkien may argue that his time in the war did not highly influence his books, subconsciously Tolkien, like many who were in the war, could have had undiagnosed PTSD or known someone who did. As a combat veteran, Tolkien and his friends were more likely to develop PTSD. This may have resulted in portraying these symptoms on to one specific character, Gollum. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder “is a disorder that develops in some people who have experienced a shocking, scary, or dangerous event” (NIMH), just as Gollum had and continues to be put through. He has had a rough past of loss and exile, as well as continuously trudges through horrific events and torture in which he must

Hawaii is now known as a tropical paradise, but it wasn’t always so simple. Thousands of years ago the islands were constantly fought over. Until one day, Kamehameha the Great conquered all of the islands becoming Hawaii’s first king. As Hawaii's first king, Kamehameha led his own path. Kamehameha was an effective leader because he was intelligent, was an effective communicator, and adapted to new ideas.

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 book introduces Huck as the first person narrator which is important because it establishes clearly that this book is written from the point of view of a young, less than civilized character. His character emerges as a very literal and logical thinker who only believes what he can see with his own eyes. In this section Huck’s life with the Widow Douglas and her attempts to raise him as a civilized child sets up the main theme of this book which is the struggle or quest for freedom. Huck’s struggle for freedom from civilized society is paralleled by Jim’s struggle to escape from slavery. Irony as a key literary

The Latin forces were away fighting near the Black Sea. When the Latins realized that Michael had taken control of Constantinople, they fled the area. This ended the period of Latin rule and restored the Byzantine Empire. he effect of the Latins on the Byzantine Empire, however, was devastating; it never fully recovered. Indeed, the plundering of Constantinople was so extensive that the resulting damage was only partially repaired even 50 years later. During the mid-500s, the bubonic plague attacks the Byzantine empire, weakening the empire’s military and economy.Justinian I dies in 565 CE. He leaves the Byzantine army scattered across the empire and the empire in serious financial trouble.The Slavs raid the Byzantine empire during the late 500s. In the late 500s and early 600s, the Lombards conquer Byzantine territory in northern Italy. The Avars attack Constantinople in 626 CE and are defeated. The Arabs attack Constantinople in 674 CE and 717 CE and are defeated both times.In 811 CE, the Bulgars crush the Byzantine army and kill the Byzantine empire.In 813 CE, the Bulgars lay siege on Constantinople but are defeated. During the 1100s, after the first Crusade, many Latins settle in the Byzantine Empire. Resentment between the Byzantines and Latins grows. During the 1100s, Venice gains control over many Byzantine trading routes. Resentment between the Byzantines and Latins grows. During the Fourth Crusade, crusaders (mostly Latins) and

The Vikings were a group of Scandinavian raiders that were around from about the 8th century to the 11th. They mainly attacked the British Islands , the Frankish empire, England, but they also plundered places such as the Iberian peninsula and northern Africa. Vikings did not always settle into the places that they found, for instance after exploring North America they left the place never to return again. Even so, after landing on Greenland they colonized themselves there, and ancestors of the Vikings still live there today. So now that you know a little about the history of the Vikings lets go into detail about the specifics of the Viking age. (Peter Sawyer, Oxford Ill. History of the Vikings p. 1-19)

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,

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

Huck Finn's relationship with slavery is very complex and often contradictory. He has been brought up to accept slavery. He can think of no worse crime than helping to free a slave. Despite this, he finds himself on the run with Jim, a runaway slave, and doing everything in his power to protect him. Huck Finn grew up around slavery. His father is a violent racist, who launches into tirades at the idea of free blacks roaming around the countryside. Miss Watson owns slaves, including Jim, so that no matter where he goes, the idea of blacks as slaves is reinforced. The story takes place during the 1840's, at a time when racial tensions were on the rise, as northern abolitionists tried to stir up trouble in the South. This prompted a

The main reasons were Invasions, Corruption, and Disaster and Disease. In document C and D, the map shows how easy it was for invaders to come and attack Rome. The way Ammianus describes the Huns; “Not well adapted to battle on foot”, “Completely ignorant of difference between right and wrong, proving the Huns were weak. They weren’t as strong causing them to be hurt and attacked much easier.

Because of the Roman treaty with the Huns at Margus, The Romans had to pay the Huns seven hundred pounds of gold annually to leave them alone. Attila’s actions between 435 and 439 are basically unknown, and were not major or overly important. It is said that he may have subdued barbarians to the north of east of his dominions, but no one can be sure. In 441, Rome had become delinquent on their payments to the Huns, so Attila and Bleda decided to attack the Roman Empire.

In Theodore Roosevelt’s “The Hun within Our Gates” (1917), the complete lack of adversity in political views is expressed. The idea that any citizen who is not in die hard favor of World War I is a traitor to the country is explained through Roosevelt’s own explanation. Along with this theme comes the representation of the total lack of diversity that was implemented in this time. Not necessarily in race, but in ideas. Men like Roosevelt thought that there was one way to view the country and if not that way than the ideas are wrong. Although some people still think that way today, there is a lot more acceptance of broader views and a larger variety of opinions. Can you imagine a politician publically expressing that if a citizen did not agree

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

The Romans believed Attila to be a normal dirty, grubby, uneducated barbarian. But Attila was far from the stereotypical “barbarian”. Attila was trained to an incredible above-professional level in archery, sword fighting and horse riding. he also

The research question for this paper is as follows: To what extent were Attila the Hun’s military tactics effective? The importance of this question stems from the fact that Attila the Hun is one of the greatest military leaders of all time and his military tactics helped to contribute to the fall of the Roman Empire. The Hun’s military practices, important battles between the Huns and other militaries and their outcomes, and Attila’ s importance to their success are issues that will be covered. The paper will focus on Attila’s time as ruler, which stretched from 435-453 CE. It will also be focusing on the area of the Hunnic Empire and both the Eastern and Western Roman Empires. The research will come from primary and secondary sources. It will answer the research question through the research of Attila the Hun’s military strategies and techniques and its effectiveness against opposing militaries.