Attila the Hun, ruler of the Hunnic Empire in the mid-fifth century, posed an existential threat to both halves of the Roman world, advancing to the gates of Rome itself before being turned away by Pope Leo I. His failure to breach Constantinople's Theodosian Walls became a lasting measure of their impregnability, as even he — widely called the Scourge of God — withdrew rather than assault them. Beyond his military campaigns, his influence extended into Roman politics through former subordinates such as Orestes, whose son Romulus Augustulus became the last Western Roman emperor.
Also known as: Attila · Scourge of God
What each episode says
Episode 5 (1 mention)
Mentioned in Brownworth's epilogue as the looming threat that made the Eastern Empire's survival seem in doubt after Julian's death and the subsequent weakening of the empire.
“With Attila the Hun on the horizon, the Roman empire seemed on the verge of extinction.”
Episode 6 (2 mentions)
Three years before the Vandal sack of Rome, Attila the Hun had stood at the gates of the city but was successfully turned away by Pope Leo I. He is also mentioned as the former employer of Orestes, the father of Romulus Augustulus.
“Three years earlier it had been Attila the Hun at the gates, and Leo had successfully”
“The barbarian, who in his youth had been a personal secretary of Attila the Hun, overthrew”
Episode 16 (1 mention)
Brownworth invokes Attila the Hun as the supreme test of Constantinople's land walls — even he, the Scourge of God himself, had turned away when he saw them. This historical benchmark is used to underscore just how formidable the Theodosian Walls were before the Turkish cannon reduced them.
“Even the scourge of God himself, Attila the Hun, had turned away when he had seen them.”
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