We China people are no strangers to the Huns. They are a northern nomadic people living in the Mongolian Plateau, also known as the Hu people in history. They have been traced since the recorded chronicles. In the Yin and Shang Dynasties, they were once called ghost prescriptions, dog Rong and so on. The ancients in China thought that they were descendants of the Chinese people like us, descendants of the Xia people who were driven to the north by the Yin people. According to "Historical Records Biography of Xiongnu", it is said that "Xiongnu is also a descendant of Xia Hou, its ancestor". "Shan Hai Jing Da Huang Bei Jing" says that: Quan Rong and Xia clan are the same ancestors, both from the Yellow Emperor. From the Spring and Autumn Period to the Eastern Han Dynasty, and even to the period of Wuhu and Sixteen Countries, the Huns continued to harass the south. In the 24th year of Guangwu Jianwu in the Eastern Han Dynasty (BC48), a small number of Huns, about 5,111 households, split off and joined the Han Dynasty. They were called Southern Huns. Most of the Huns left behind, that is, the Northern Huns, were defeated by the Eastern Han Empire in AC89. In order to maintain the integrity of their nation, these Xiongnu people who moved westward struggled for more than 211 years on the prairie around the Caspian Sea in order to find a new home. In the second half of the 4th century (AD 361), their power suddenly broke out. Under the leadership of a king named Balambir, the Huns entered the territory of the Arans, a powerful kingdom between the Volga River and the Don River, belonging to the Turkic nomadic people. Huns defeated Alan's allied forces along the Don River, killed King Alan, and took Alan's army as their ally through treaty bondage and threat of force. The Huns then began to continue westward, and their next target was ostrogoths. From then on, the most brilliant scene of this nation began.
When the Huns entered Europe, they had left their traditional homes for more than 211 years. Before that, except for China's history books, there were few records about them, especially their experience of migrating from northern China to the west. Generally speaking, we can know that the northern Xiongnu passed through Kangju, Dawan, Shanshan and other western countries on the way to the west. These countries were conquered and enslaved by the Huns in the past, so they did not welcome their transit, but took revenge when they were down and out. Therefore, the Huns had to continue to move westward to find a new home for survival, during which they stayed in Central Asia for about 211 years. When they left for the last time, the Huns left the old and the weak in the local area and chose the lean to continue the Western Expedition.
After the Huns defeated the Alans, they were temporarily placed in the Don River grassland. To the west of the Xiongnu League, there are two Germanic tribal alliances: one is the Ostrogoth League from the west of Dnieper River to the east of Dnieper River, and the other is the Visigoth League from the west of Dnieper River to Carpathian Mountain. In the southwest of the Visigoth League, it is the territory of the Roman Empire. After the Roman Empire conquered Gaul, it was mainly adjacent to Germanic people in the north. At first, the Romans expanded and plundered the Germanic areas. After the third century, the empire declined day by day, the frontier defense was lax, and various Germanic barbarian tribes continued to erode and infiltrate. The situation at that time was somewhat similar to China's "five random China" in the same period. These Germanic barbarian tribes later launched an all-out attack on the Roman Empire and eventually became the conquerors of the Empire.
In the Roman Empire, Germanic people were called barbarians because of their cultural backwardness. At that time, Germanic people lived in the forest. They basically made a living by hunting, dressed in animal skins, ate animal meat, lived in huts, and had no words or manners. They never took a bath, and they smelled terrible. Civilized people were afraid to avoid them when they saw them. At that time, the Romans cursed, "Don't let me meet a Teutonic." Teutonic people are tall, fair-skinned, with blond hair and extremely strong bodies. Children are raised in the open like animals, and women often do heavy manual labor. The Teutonic tribal organization is a primitive military tribal alliance, and the leader is also the highest military officer. Teutonic tribes have been at war for many years, and all men are soldiers. Their horses are short and mainly used for riding rather than fighting. Once confronted with the enemy, they jump off their horses and fight with the enemy with a dagger. At this time, their horses will stand still very obediently. Compared with Huns, the living conditions of Germanic people are much better. They have forests and land suitable for farming, while the Huns have long lived in the northern prairie with bad weather conditions.
In 375 AD, the Huns, led by their old king Barambal, began to attack the territory of the Eastern Goths on a large scale, which opened the prelude to the national migration that lasted for more than 211 years in the history of Middle Europe. Ostrogoths has never seen fighting on horseback, never seen such a swift and violent offensive. Under the overwhelming attack of the Huns, the East Gothic King committed suicide because he could not keep his home, and his subjects fled like water to the west until they reached the Danube. In order to find a new living space, these frightened Germanic Man Zi attacked the Visigoth tribes they passed along the way, uprooted them and drove them farther west. While fleeing, the visigoths also attacked the neighboring Germanic tribes, which made the fear spread to Vandals, Suvihui, Burgundy, Alamanni, Franks and Saxons. It's like a chain reaction. The Huns' attack has driven almost all the Germanic tribes.
In these Germanic expeditions, the Huns rarely participated in a prominent role. After the first heavy blow to Europe, they stayed along the Danube River and established a Xiongnu Empire in Central Europe with the Great Hungarian Plain (then called Pannonia) as the center. During this period, ostrogoths was forced to join the Huns' alliance, which strengthened his strength. They also fought against the Romans with the visigoths. In 395, they crossed the Danube and had fun in the battle against the Romans. They were also involved in the 411-year battle to capture Rome. But for fifty years, they basically occupied their position as allies of the Romans. In return, from 421, the Eastern Roman Empire provided them with a certain salary every year. In 432, when Diodor I was in power, the power of the Huns increased significantly, so that Attila Roas, also known as Rugilas, forced East Rome to pay a large sum of contributions every year, which in essence became a tribute. This embarrassing relationship lasted until the Huns repeatedly threatened to directly intervene in the internal affairs of the empire.
the decisive rise of the Huns' power was after Attila (416-453) ascended the throne and became the king of the Huns' empire. In 433 AD, Attila, 27, and his brother Bleda inherited the throne of the empire from their uncle Roas. In 436, Attila mercilessly murdered his brother and came to the empire alone. Compared with his predecessors, Attila is more ambitious, more aggressive and extremely intelligent. Attila is an extremely prominent role in history. Attila's Xiongnu Empire is the last chapter of Xiongnu history, and it is also the most brilliant chapter. He humiliated the Romans, made the Germans lose heart, and had such a powerful power that he and his Xiongnu fighters were called "Scourge of God".
There are some derogatory records about Attila in western history books, but they are still vivid and concrete. Attila fought bravely when he was young, but after he ascended the throne, he relied more on his mind than his martial arts to complete the conquest of the north. He has great ambition and superb political and diplomatic skills, and he is cunning and cruel. As Attila of Attila, his gait and manners show a kind of conceit that his strength can be proud of all mankind. According to legend, he once claimed to have the sword of the god of war, so when his subordinates meet him, they must retreat at the same time if they look directly at him, otherwise they will burn their eyes. He has a habit of rolling his eyes fiercely, as if he enjoys appreciating the fear of people who are frightened by him. Attila advocates simplicity in life, but tolerates the luxury of his subordinates. His subjects are in great awe of him, and when he goes out to inspect, everyone who sees him will cheer him to show his obedience; In and out of the palace, there will be a canopy to greet him, and there will be a hymn specially written for him at every banquet. He even had a personal secretary given by the Romans. Attila's appearance seems to be flattering. According to records, he was short and fat, with broad shoulders, a huge head on his short and thick neck, thick black hair and sparse beard, a flat nose, and sharp black eyes. Although this description seems a little disrespectful, there is no doubt that it must be the image of an oriental. This shows that after more than 311 years of westward migration, the Huns have not lost their original physical characteristics by other ethnic hybrids.
We don't know much about the social life of Huns in Attila's time, but we can still see scales and claws from some legends. Once there was an official of the Eastern Rome and his entourage who went to the Xiongnu Empire. They were lucky enough to meet Attila and other Xiongnu generals, and even attended a feast hosted by Attila. From his long-winded account of this experience, we can learn some folk customs, diplomacy and politics at that time.
These Roman officials encountered heavy rains and floods on their way, but they were able to escape thanks to the help of the Huns in the nearby village. Huns welcomed them into the village to warm themselves, served them with delicious food and arranged for them to have a rest. Not only that, as part of their goodwill, Huns also sent beautiful girls to accompany their guests to rest. It can be seen that the Huns, as a culturally backward nation at that time, had savage customs and simple and kind folk customs. In terms of material life such as clothing, food and shelter, Huns are generally rich. They have fresh food and wine and beautiful hairstyles; Nobles are luxuriantly dressed and even have huge bathrooms. But they only have villages, not cities. Attila's palace is just a wooden structure, surrounded by wooden stakes and decorated with minarets at the top.
Due to the vast territory involved in many years' campaigns, the ethnic composition of Xiongnu tribes is very complex, and Xiongnu, Gothic and Latin, or a mixture of these languages, can all pass here. The official of the East Rome once met and talked with a Greek at the site of Atti Palace. The Greek was a prisoner, but later he was freed because of his bravery in fighting, married a Hun woman and became a guest of nobility. It is interesting that the Greek compares and evaluates the Xiongnu Empire and the Roman Empire. He said that he likes to live among these barbarians. When there is no war, life here is quite quiet and rich. On the other hand, Rome should be responsible for the disasters caused by many wars. The Romans put their own security above the interests of others, and when there was a war, the Roman generals were cowards and were not worthy to lead the army to war. In peacetime, Roman society was divided into many classes, and taxes were extremely heavy, which supported many people who got something for nothing. The rich are familiar with the law and have money, and they can always be protected by the law; The poor always break the law unconsciously, and the endless litigation costs a lot of money, and justice is bought with money. For these "fallacies", the Roman official's refutation is also interesting and thought-provoking. He said that in order to ensure the normal operation of the empire, the great men and wise men who established the empire had to divide the society into many classes, and everyone did his job, so taxation was necessary; As far as the law is concerned, the complexity of litigation is to ensure that justice is done.
in foreign affairs, there is obviously an unequal relationship. The purpose of the official of the Eastern Rome came to the Xiongnu Empire was to return several defectors from the Xiongnu Empire, and to consult with Attila on the interests of the two countries at the behest of the emperor. In the whole process, Attila was full of arrogance towards the Eastern Roman Empire, and the Eastern Roman side always promised a lot of gifts. They also met several envoys from west Rome here. These western Romans brought their emperor's entreaties to Attila, hoping that Attila would spare a Roman silverware merchant, who was the creditor of a Hun captive and had a lot of gold in his hands. Attila crucified the prisoner first, and then learned that he had gold in the hands of the silversmith, so he asked the western Roman emperor to hand over both the man and the stolen goods. The emperor asked the businessman to be spared and promised to pay the same amount of gold. Attila simply ignored this.
Attila is the greatest leader in Xiongnu history. He not only established the most powerful Xiongnu Empire, but also occupied an extremely prominent position in the political arena of western Europe at that time by relying on his own mind and the military strength of the empire. After he became king Yin Shi (about 435 years later), Attila forced East Rome to pay more money. Emperor Theseus II of Diodor was forced to double the previous year's tribute. However, due to various reasons, after 447 years, the new Attila began to turn to the west, taking West Rome as the main area to find new opportunities. More than ten years after he ascended the throne, Attila's Xiongnu Empire became the most powerful external force in the competition of various affairs in the Western Roman Empire. During his reign, the Huns have become a settled people, not the earlier herdsman. It is impossible for the Great Hungarian Plain to have enough space for them to graze horses like the prairie in the northern part of the Black Sea, so Attila had to develop infantry regiments to supplement the cavalry forces which were much smaller than before. In fact, in Attila's time, the Xiongnu army was almost the same as other barbarians in Europe at that time. The difference is that his military strength is extremely huge, and he can carry out large-scale military operations such as encirclement and siege, while other barbarian troops are far behind.
in the 1941s, Attila carried out a series of deadly attacks on the eastern Balkans. One of them is a city (441-442) on the Nischava River, more than 111 miles south of the Danube River, which was completely destroyed by the Huns, so that when Roman messengers went to see Attila several years later, there were still many bones on the shore and the corpses in the city were stinking. Since then, the cities in the Xugaul region are not immune to this bad luck.
After establishing a strong position in the Danube region adjacent to the East Rome, the Huns were blocked by the famous East Roman general Aspar in Thrace in 442. In 447, Attila invaded the Balkans on a larger scale. They reached Constantinople at the gates, forcing the Eastern Roman emperor Diodor Theseus II to beg for surrender. Attila not only collected all the unpaid tribute, but also got a new annual tribute worth 2111 pounds of gold, and was also given a considerable territory south of the Danube. This battle caused unprecedented damage to East Rome. Historians said that the Huns passed by "killing countless people and bleeding into rivers." They robbed churches and monasteries, and killed monks and nuns ..... They completely destroyed Thrace, making it impossible to restore its old appearance. " Attila's wild victory over Eastern Rome gave him enough leeway to realize his plan of raiding Western Europe.
By 445, the power of the Xiongnu Empire reached its peak, and its territory was roughly from the Caspian Sea in the east to the Baltic Sea in the west.
!