Much has been made of the Hun movement into Europe. There were basically two thrusts, one in 370's and another early 400's. They have gone down in history as the reason for the eventual collapse of the Roman Empire and the start of the so called 'Dark Ages'. They are seen by most as a ruthless conquering horde but was this really the case?
There can be no doubt that they did indeed instigate a migration of peoples into areas of the Roman Empire, however, their defeat and subjugation of the Goths arguably slowed down the decline in Roman authority.
There had been a steady southern flow of migrating Germanic tribes from the Baltic area and they would innevitably have come into conflict with the Romans, perhaps sooner rather than later. A timely arrival of a new and terrifying force from the East added a new dimension and one which the Romans took great advantage of.
If we study the Huns in a little more depth we find that far from being a mighty force on the move, they were in fact less numerous, small bands of nomadic herdsmen, carving out an existence on the harsh steppes. The steppe does seem to have the abilty to produce very tough warriors and in this respect the Huns were no different. Their society was such that predation of sedentary nations was a necessity if they were to be anything other than mere herdsmen. They had nothing to trade.
The Goths and Gepids became subjects who provided for their new masters and the Huns carried out their raids upon the Romans. A vast amount of tribute was paid to passify them but when we consider that gold was required in order to purchase, who was getting the best deal? The Romans made great use of Hun mercenary troops to crush any attacks on their borders and the Huns could not afford to defeat the Romans because without them, they would lose the means to their own existence.
There is evidence also that some Hun tribes were happier with their 'Romanised' lifestyle and chose not to join the confederacy that Attila created. The whole period of time is fascinating and it sometimes sounds like a huge board game that has been upturned and the pieces put back in no apparent order. Gothic and Vandal generals in Roman armies, Huns in Roman armies Goths,Gepids and even Romans in Hun armies. Ally today enemy tomorrow, it all sounds so confusing but for a time, at least, the Huns certainly seemed to do as much for the plight of the Roman Empire as they did for that of their own
........Orda
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