Attila: The Barbarian King Who Challenged Rome

By John Man

Book Overview

A stunning biography of history's most infamous warlord, Attila the Hun.

The name Attila the Hun has long been a byword for barbarism, savagery, and violence. Yet behind the household name lies a complex, brilliant leader whose actions held the fate of Europe and the Roman Empire in his hands for two crucial decades in the fifth century.

Uniting nomadic tribes into a single, devastatingly effective force, Attila launched major campaigns that brought the decaying empires of both Rome and Constantinople to their knees. He was coarse, arrogant, and ruthless, yet wily enough to win the loyalty of millions and manipulate his enemies through clever intelligence and diplomacy from his base in the grasslands of Hungary.

In this riveting biography, masterful historian John Man draws on his extensive travels through Attila's heartland and deep experience with Central Asian nomadic traditions to reveal the wily politician, tribal chief, and military genius behind the myth--a man whose grand ambitions jolted Rome toward its final fall.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312539398
• ISBN13: 9780312539399
• Release Date: February 2009
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

pictures? what pictures?

As someone said, a solid biography.Quite good on the aftermath of the Huns. But did anyone notice that this book has a list of illustrations but no actual illustrations?

History of the Huns

In this volume, Man explores both the biography of Attila- 'the scourge of G-D', who carved out a massive Hunnish Empire strching from the Caspian Sea to the Rhine, with it's headquarters in what is today's Hungary. At the same time. he threatened the very foundations of the Roman Empire. The book traces the origins of the Huns, from the area around what is today Mongolia, and their migration across Siberia and modern Russia into Europe. Man attempts to sort myth and legend from fact, and also deals with the differing imagery of Attila, from bloodthirsty monster, in Western Europe, to a national hero in Hungary. He covers much of the literature and myhtology of Attila, and explains why the Germans during the First World War, were reffered to by the British as 'Huns'. The peoples of Hungary and Bulgaria claim descent from the Huns, but the author does not deal in real depth with the question of Hunnic descent. Man explains the decline of the Roman Empire, and explores the wars and interactions of the Huns with the Roman Empire, and such peoples as the Franks, Burgundians, Allemani, Alans, Visigoths and Ostrogoths.

More about the Huns and their times than Attila

With little information available, Man gives as informative a book as might be expected. Maybe 1/3 of it is about Attila, including what is known of his family, his headquarters, his entertainments and of course his battles. While the history of Huns and the rise and fall of Attila are the themes of the book, the author presents this period of the Roman Empire in a very readable way. Last year I had read the Peter Heather book on Rome and the barbarians, and for description of Rome in this period, these two books complement each other nicely. Rome, overly large and waning in ability to defend itself, hires Huns, pays ransom $ to Huns, bribes Huns and fights Huns. There are diplomats, an assassination attempt, competition and integration of other peoples and tribes and turning points. There are marriages, hostages and proposals. There scorched earth seizures and battles. Man has interesting friends who share his passion for Hun history. The run museums from Mongolia to Hungary, dig up artifacts and study mounted bow hunting. He introduces us to them in diversionary parts of the narrative. The best part for me, aside from the description of the Hun compound, was the summation at the end. Unlike Ghengis Khan, Attila had no long term vision and built no adminstrative structure. Nothing much really followed him. Man has some interesting phrases for experssing the ephemeral nature of it all. Attila created a bunch of "speed bumps" in the building of Europe and that his life was "a perfect balance of pluses and minuses, signifying nothing." A chapter called "Aftermath" citing the numerous poems, paintings and songs that celebrate his image, however misinformed, has the best epiteph of all. Due to these cultural creations from the middle ages to Kipling and Wagner, his name resounds as an "archetype of a certain sort of power." Its really apt... "a certain sort of power."

No Great Revelations, Just Solid Biography

In this biography of the infamous Hun leader, little time is given to conjecture or speculative history. Just a solid, simple, traditional, and well-written biogrpahy is here. The author is an experienced communicator making the flow very pleasant. The history student interested more in the military aspects such as battle descriptions will wish for more maps of the individual battles and perhaps more detailed descriptions. But, for general history coverage and an enjoyable biographical sketch of a rather inigmatic character, this one would be hard to beat. A solid biography and great addition to the ancient history libary.

A Compelling Read

Is it me, or are modern days authors making historical books that much more readable. Most of the historical books I have read recently are far removed from the dusty old volumes that lay mouldering in the bookcase or on the shelves of the library. Mainly, I believe because the contents inside the book are as dry and dusty as the outside and of little value to anyone other than a scholar. This book is written with a light touch, making it refreshingly readable without straying from the facts. If more books were written in this way, history would become a rare treat, rather than something that is there mainly for the academic. Although most schoolboys know the name Attila, a man who was known for his barbarism, and some may even be able to tell you that he was instrumental in holding the fate of the Roman Empire in his hands. Very little else is known about the man himself and the warriors he led. In the early 5th century AD Attila and his warriors earned an undying reputation for savagery, the like of which had never been seen. His empire briefly rivalled that of Rome, reaching from the Rhine to the Black Sea, the Baltic to the Balkans. This book is a compelling read about the man, known throughout history as a barbarian, who was arrogant and ruthless, but on the other side of the coin a man with a brilliant mind and the charisma to win the loyalty of millions. I enjoyed it tremendously.