Attila, frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in March 453. He was also the leader of a tribal empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, and Alans among others, in Central and Eastern Europe.
The Burgundians were a large East Germanic tribe or group of tribes that lived in the time of the Roman Empire in the region of Germania that is now part of Poland.
The 430s decade ran from January 1, 430, to December 31, 439.
The 450s decade ran from January 1, 450, to December 31, 459.
Year 436 (CDXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Isodorus and Senator. The denomination 436 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
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The 440s decade ran from January 1, 440, to December 31, 449.
Valentinian III was Western Roman Emperor from 425 to 455. His reign was marked by the ongoing collapse of the Western Empire.
Flavius Aetius, dux et patricius, commonly called simply Aetius or Aëtius, was a Roman general of the closing period of the Western Roman Empire. He was an able military commander and the most influential man in the Western Roman Empire for two decades (433–454). He managed policy in regard to the attacks of barbarian federates settled throughout the Western Roman Empire. Notably, he mustered a large Roman and allied (foederati) army to stop the Huns in the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, ending the devastating Hunnic invasion of Attila in 451, though another devastating invasion of the huns occurred in the year after that.
The Rugii, also Rugians, Rygir, Ulmerugi, or Holmrygir were an East Germanic tribe who migrated from southwest Norway to Pomerania around 100 AD, and from there to the Danube River valley. They were allies of Attila until his death in 453, and settled in what is now Austria after the defeat of the Huns at Nedao in 453.
Foederati were peoples and cities bound by a treaty, known as foedus, with Rome. In Republican times the term identified the socii, whereas during the Imperial period it was used to describe foreign states, client kingdoms, or barbarian tribes to which the Roman Empire provided benefits in exchange for military assistance. The term was also used, especially under the Roman Empire, for groups of "barbarian" mercenaries of various sizes, who were typically allowed to settle within the Roman Empire.
The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, also called the Battle of the Campus Mauriacus, Battle of Châlons, Battle of Troyes or the Battle of Maurica, took place on June 20, 451 AD, between a coalition led by the Roman general Flavius Aetius and the Visigothic king Theodoric I against the Huns and their vassals commanded by their king Attila. It was one of the last major military operations of the Western Roman Empire, although Germanic foederati composed the majority of the coalition army. Whether the battle was strategically conclusive is disputed: the Romans possibly stopped the Huns' attempt to establish vassals in Roman Gaul. However, the Huns successfully looted and pillaged much of Gaul and crippled the military capacity of the Romans and Visigoths. The Hunnic Empire was later dismantled by a coalition of their Germanic vassals at the Battle of Nedao in 454.
The Gepids were an East Germanic tribe. They were closely related to, or a subdivision of, the Goths.
The Sack of Aquileia occurred in 452, and was carried out by the Huns under the leadership of Attila.
Gondioc, also called Gundioc and Gundowech, was a King of the Burgundians, succeeding his putative father Gunther in 436.
Attila is a 1954 Italian-French co-production, directed by Pietro Francisci and produced by Dino De Laurentiis and Carlo Ponti. Based on the life of Attila the Hun, it stars Anthony Quinn as Attila and Sophia Loren as Honoria, with Henri Vidal, Irene Papas, Ettore Manni and Christian Marquand. Scott Marlowe (1932–2001) made his screen debut in the film. Along with The Pride and the Passion and Houseboat, it was one of Loren's biggest box-office successes during the 1950s.
Sangiban was a fifth-century Alan king at the time of Attila's invasion of Gaul (451). He was the successor of Goar as king of the Alan foederati settled in the region around Aurelianum. According to Jordanes, Sangiban had promised Attila before the Battle of Châlons to open the city gates and deliver Aurelianum to the Huns. Suspecting this, the Romans and Visigoths put Sangiban in the center of the line opposing the Huns, where they could prevent him from defecting. Thus the Alans bore the main brunt of the Hunnic assault, while the Goths were able to flank the Huns and ultimately drive them back.
Theodoric I was the King of the Visigoths from 418 to 451. Theodoric is famous for his part in defeating Attila at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains in 451, where he was killed on June 20.
The Kingdom of the Burgundians or First Kingdom of Burgundy was established by Germanic Burgundians in the Rhineland and then in Savoy in the 5th century.
The history of the Huns spans the time from before their first secure recorded appearance in Europe around 370 AD to after the disintegration of their empire around 469. The Huns likely entered Europe shortly before 370 from Central Asia: they first conquered the Goths and the Alans, pushing a number of tribes to seek refuge within the Roman Empire. In the following years, the Huns conquered most of the Germanic and Scythian barbarian tribes outside of the borders of the Roman Empire. They also launched invasions of both the Asian provinces of Rome and the Sasanian Empire in 375. Under Uldin the first Hunnic ruler named in contemporary sources, the Huns launched a first unsuccessful large-scale raid into the Eastern Roman Empire in Europe in 408. From the 420s, the Huns were led by the brothers Octar and Ruga, who both cooperated with and threatened the Romans. Upon Ruga's death in 435, his nephews Bleda and Attila became the new rulers of the Huns, and launched a successful raid into the Eastern Roman Empire before making peace and securing an annual tribute and trading raids under the Treaty of Margus. Attila appears to have killed his brother and became sole ruler of the Huns in 445. He would go on to rule for the next eight years, launching a devastating raid on the Eastern Roman Empire in 447, followed by an invasion of Gaul in 451. Attila is traditionally held to have been defeated in Gaul at the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields, however some scholars hold the battle to have been a draw or Hunnic victory. The following year, the Huns invaded Italy and encountered no serious resistance before turning back.
