The name of the leader of the Huns Attila is on a par with the names of the great conquerors of the past - Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, Tamerlane. His military victories were so impressive that even the ancient Romans, who looked down on all the barbarians outside the Roman Empire with contempt, treated this commander with great respect. But after his death, nothing was left of him - not his huge empire, not even a burial place.
DOMINATION OF THE BARBARIANS
The Huns came to Europe from the Far East. In the III century BC. e. in Mongolia and Transbaikalia there was a powerful Hunnic kingdom - a union of 24 tribes. For several centuries they wandered between the Aral Sea, the Volga and the Don, and then waved to the west, where, having defeated the army of the king of the Ostrogoths, they seized the lands from the Caucasus to the Carpathians. The Visigoths preferred to retreat across the Danube themselves, without waiting for the attack of the barbarians. This is how the Great Migration of Peoples, pressed by the Huns, began.
At the beginning of the 5th century, the king of the Huns Rugila settled in Pannonia, on the territory of modern Hungary. In 437, Rugila died, passing the reins of government over the vast estates to the sons of Mundzuk's brother - Attila and Bleda. In 445, Attila killed Bleda because he wanted to succumb to the Germans, to adopt their customs, laws and faith. According to legend, the place where Attila buried his brother was named Buda.
From that time on, the leader of the Huns ruled alone. In just two decades, he managed to unite all the tribes of the Huns, who had previously acted separately, conquered many states and created a gigantic empire. They wrote about him: “This man was born into the world to shock the peoples and instill fear in all countries, he terrified everyone with the rumor circulating about him. He spoke proudly, looking around him to appear fearsome in all the movements of his tall body. Loving war, Attila was moderate in food, firm in advice, indulgent to requests and supportive of those whom he took under his protection. He was small in stature, a wide chest and a large head, narrow eyes, a sparse beard with gray hair, a concave nose, and a swarthy body. " A real "scourge of God", as he called himself!
He dealt his first crushing blow to Byzantium. Hordes in the thousands took prisoners into slavery, burned houses, plundered and raped. Constantinople fell. Byzantium asked for peace. Under the contract, she was forced to pay a huge tribute of six thousand pounds of gold. The Byzantine emperors were bound hand and foot, and without the consent of the Huns they could not solve a single political issue. The next victim of Attila was Roman Gaul: in 451 he captured and destroyed the cities of Metz, Trier, Cologne, Reims, Troyes. Then he attacked Northern Italy, where he conquered and destroyed the province of Venice and the cities of Aquileia, Mediolanum (Milan), Titinum (Pavia). He was going to go further - to Bologna, and then to Rome.
The Eternal City was seriously concerned about Attila's plans. It was impossible to defeat him. Then Rome decided to conclude "eternal peace" with the "destroyer of Europe". An embassy headed by Pope Leo himself went to his residence. After a conversation with the pontiff, Attila gathered an army and retreated across the Danube. Why did he suddenly abandon his daring plans and interrupt in the middle of a successful Italian campaign? There are several reasons. Firstly, troops from Byzantium rushed to the aid of the Romans: a new king sat on the throne of Constantinople, challenging Attila. Secondly, his soldiers were already burdened with rich booty. Third, the plague began to mow down his army. Attila weighed all the pros and cons and decided that the Pope's request would help him save face, and the Romans pledged to pay a generous tribute.
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The Huns returned to Pannonia. Rome breathed freely. And suddenly, like a bolt from the blue, the news spread through the world: Attila died.
Fearless, cruel, legendary warrior who conquered so many countries and destroyed dozens of cities, died, as is commonly believed, at the hands of a woman. The next wife (and the nomad had many of them) was to become the German princess Ildiko (she is also called Hildegard, Hildegunda). The ancient Roman historian Marcellinus wrote that she was one of his captives. According to legend, she took revenge on Attila for the death of her relatives. But this is just a legend, but how was it really? Was the ruler of the world stabbed to death by a young wife sent by enemies, was he poisoned, or died a natural death? You won't know it anymore. The next morning Attila was found dead in his own bed in a pool of blood. The Gothic historian Jordan, referring to a Byzantine diplomat and writer, calls Attila's death due to severe nosebleeds:“Weakened at the wedding from her (Ildiko's) great pleasure and weighed down by wine and sleep, he lay, swimming in the blood that usually flowed from his nostrils, but now it was delayed in its usual course and, pouring down the deadly path through the throat, strangled his". Either the middle-aged Attila overdid it with marital pleasures, or he was finished off by some long-suffering illness, or a really young beautiful wife poured poison into her hated husband's glass of wine … Who knows. This story is reflected in the Scandinavian epic "The Elder Edda", where the sister of the Burgundian king Gudrun killed her drunken husband, the Hunnic king, Attila. And in the "Song of the Nibelungs" Krimhilda took the life of her husband Erzel, taking revenge on her brothers for the murder of the groom Siegfried.but now it was delayed in its usual course and, pouring down the deadly path through the throat, strangled him. " Either the middle-aged Attila overdid it with marital pleasures, or he was finished off by some long-suffering illness, or a really young beautiful wife poured poison into her hated husband's glass of wine … Who knows. This story is reflected in the Scandinavian epic "The Elder Edda", where the sister of the Burgundian king Gudrun killed her drunken husband, the Hunnic king, Attila. And in the "Song of the Nibelungs" Krimhilda took the life of her husband Erzel, taking revenge on her brothers for the murder of the groom Siegfried.but now it was delayed in its usual course and, pouring down the deadly path through the throat, strangled him. " Either the middle-aged Attila overdid it with marital pleasures, or he was finished off by some long-suffering illness, or a really young beautiful wife poured poison into her hated husband's glass of wine … Who knows. This story is reflected in the Scandinavian epic "The Elder Edda", where the sister of the Burgundian king Gudrun killed her drunken husband, the Hunnic king, Attila. And in the "Song of the Nibelungs" Krimhilda took the life of her husband Erzel, taking revenge on her brothers for the murder of the groom Siegfried.or a really young beautiful wife poured poison into her hated husband's glass of wine … Who knows. This story is reflected in the Scandinavian epic "The Elder Edda", where the sister of the Burgundian king Gudrun killed her drunken husband, the Hunnic king, Attila. And in the "Song of the Nibelungs" Krimhilda took the life of her husband Erzel, taking revenge on her brothers for the murder of the groom Siegfried.or a really young beautiful wife poured poison into her hated husband's glass of wine … Who knows. This story is reflected in the Scandinavian epic "The Elder Edda", where the sister of the Burgundian king Gudrun killed her drunken husband, the Hunnic king, Attila. And in the "Song of the Nibelungs" Krimhilda took the life of her husband Erzel, taking revenge on her brothers for the murder of the groom Siegfried.
One way or another, Attila died. With his death, the rapid disappearance of the Huns from the world stage began. For the most part, they mixed - "dissolved" - with the indigenous peoples.
DARK MILLS SLEEP
In the land of Pannonia, many of Attila's predecessors found their last refuge - Rugila, Mundzuk, Bled. And now the turn of the last great leader has come. According to the testimony of the same Jordan, after his death, his body was buried in three coffins nested within each other: "the first of gold, the second of silver, the third of strong iron." The coffins were closed with locks and "sealed" with spells. According to the tradition of nomads, so that no mortal would disturb his ashes, the king's grave was dug at the bottom of a deep river. For this, the Huns built a huge dam and diverted the water to another channel for the time of the funeral. The young wife was buried nearby, as befits the Huns. Many valuable things were put in the grave of Attila, including his legendary sword, allegedly belonging to the god Mars himself. According to Jordan, “a shepherd noticed that one heifer from his flock was limping,but did not find the reason for her injury; preoccupied, he traced the bloody footprints until he approached the sword, on which she, while nibbling the grass, inadvertently stepped; the shepherd dug up the sword and immediately brought it to Attila. He rejoiced at the offering and, being arrogant without that, imagined that he was made the ruler of the whole world and that through the sword of Mars he was given power in wars.
When the funeral was over, the river was started up again. The slaves who participated in the funeral procession were killed so that no one would ever know where the great commander was buried. According to another version, a large mound was poured on Attila's grave, which is most characteristic of nomads.
Since then, all and sundry have tried to find the grave of the great military leader. They searched for her on the Tisza River, on the Volga, and even in the lakes in the Caucasus. The Hungarians are looking for the ancient burial with special zeal: they believe that the commander of the Huns was their distant ancestor. In 2014, in Budapest, while building the foundation of a new bridge over the Danube, workers discovered a rich 6th-century burial site. Archaeologists hastened to announce that they had found the grave of the leader of the Huns. “This burial is absolutely incredible! We found many horse skeletons, as well as various weapons and other artifacts, all traditionally associated with the Huns. These objects include a large sword made of meteorite iron, which certainly could have belonged to the legendary Attila,”the researchers informed the public. But since then, there have been no new sensational statements.
According to legend, the place where the emperor rests is guarded by otherworldly forces, and whoever opens his grave will bring terrible troubles to the human race. Maybe that's why her secret is still not revealed?
Vlad DRUGOV