Cambridge Ancient Hi.. - Index of

704 23. the balkans and greece 420,602
ii. the huns
The Huns, by origin nomads from central Asia, were the warrior élite of a
federation whose strength rose and fell with the assimilation and subsequent
revolt of a variety of tribal groups, Huns, Sarmatians, Goths and
other Germans. Their period of supremacy on the Danube lasted no
longer than a generation, from the 420s to the 450s, but this was sufficient
for them to have a profound effect on both halves of the empire. Before
the 420s Huns had been strong and ambitious but the Romans had been
able to cope, as is shown by the fate of Uldin: a leader of the Hun tribes
near the Danube, after fighting for the Romans in Thrace and Italy he
invaded the empire on his own account, and rejected peace terms on the
grounds that he could subjugate every region of the earth that was illumined
by the sun; however, his subordinate commanders were seduced by
Roman diplomacy, and he fled in defeat as his followers deserted. 9 The
significant development in the 420s was the consolidation of authority
within a single ruling family, that of Rua, who was succeeded by his
nephews Attila and Bleda, the sons of Mundiuch; after Bleda’s death in 445,
probably in a power struggle within the ruling family, Attila wielded sole
authority until his death in 453, after which dissension between his sons
quickly caused his federation to disintegrate as important constituents
asserted their independence. Within this generation, the dramatic rise of
Hunnic power is reflected in the annual payments from the eastern empire:
in the 430s Rua obtained an increase from 350 to 700 pounds of gold, there
may have been a further rise in 442, and in 447 the annual payment was set
at 2,100 pounds of gold, just over 150,000 solidi, and the Romans were
required to pay outstanding instalments assessed at 6,000 pounds of gold.
These payments were represented as the provision of supplies for a Roman
general, a rank that was accorded Attila to save face, 10 but they were not the
only peaceful gains for the Huns, since their envoys regularly received gifts.
With the involvement of Attila in the west and his subsequent death, the
eastern emperor Marcian terminated payments, and Attila’s sons could not
again enforce them.
Hunnic success depended upon the personal authority of their leader,
which was founded on success in battle, as is suggested in the stories about
the discovery and presentation to Attila of the sword of Mars, or the allegorical
substitution of Attila’s bow for the man. 11 It was consolidated by
control of patronage – for example, the distribution of Roman gifts which
Attila ensured were widely spread through deliberate variation in the composition
of embassies – and by honorific treatment at the royal court. The
9 Soz. HE ix.5.
10 Priscus frr. 2.35–8; 9.3.1–10; 11.2.627–31; Zuckerman (1994) 166 doubts the increase in 442.
11 Jord. Get. 35.183; Priscus fr. 12;Jord.Get. 49.254–5.
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