Page 60 - All About History - Issue 58-17

What If...

ATTILATHE HUNHAD SURVIVEDHISWEDDING NIGHT?

found the new wife weeping and the king dead, drowned in
his own blood. This is the image that Priscus wanted to
create — that of a bloodthirsty tyrant who got his just desserts
by divine judgement.
Whether he really died that way or not, who knows. He was
actually at an advanced age, probably in his 50s at the time,
the normal age of death at the time, so there’s no reason to
suspect that he was poisoned. Right there after he died, there
was a huge civil war because his sons couldn’t agree what
would go to whom. There was a huge civil war between the
Eastern and Western half [of the Hunnic Empire] and then, of
course, the state imploded as a consequence. The Eastern half
survived but the Western side completely fragmented.
If Attila hadn’t died that night, what do you think
wouldhavehappened? Attila planned to attack the Eastern Roman
Empire to force them to pay tributes again
My guess would be that he would have invaded the Eastern
Roman Empire. They did not have a sizeable army with which
to attack the Huns, so it’s unlikely they could have defended “HecouldhaveconqueredEurope,
the Balkans from another Hunnic incursion. But Attila
wouldn’t have been able to take Constantinople because he butIdon’tthinkhewouldhave”
had no navy — a prerequisite to take that impregnable fortress
—soheprobablywouldhave rampaged through the Balkans How would Europe have been different after that?
yet again and the Eastern Romans would have ended up We would never have had a Frankish Europe. When the
paying some kind of tribute to pay him off as usual. Hunnic Empire imploded and the Western Roman Empire
followed suit, there was an incredible power vacuum in
Wouldthishavemeant the Roman Empire would have Western Europe. This allowed the Franks to unify what
fallen earlier that 476 CE? is essentially Western Europe and that evolves into the
The Western Roman Empire would never have disintegrated Holy Roman Empire.
in the way it did after his death. That’s a bit of a perplexing If neither the Western Roman or Hunnic Empires dissolved,
statement but the reason that it collapsed in 476 CE is because then wewouldhave hadastatecalledHunniasomewherein
therewasawholebunchof Germanic tribes and Hunnic Europe and the Franks would have been confined to Belgium
troops that were originally under the rule of the Huns that left and the Netherlands. France would be in Belgium rather than
theHunnicstateandmarched into Italy. They were the ones what is now France.
who put an end to Roman imperium in the West.
If Attila had not died, and had been able to control those WouldAttilahavetriedtoconquertheRomanEmpire?
tribes,thenofcoursetheWestern Romans would have paid No,Iseriouslydoubtthat.Firstofall,theHunnicEmpirewas
a bit of tribute, but their rule in Italy would have remained alreadymassive.Ithad extendedtosuchadegree that itwas
intact. We might have actually seen a continuation of the difficult to control under a single ruler. That’s what Attila
Western Roman Empire for a lot longer than what actually effectivelyattempted—hecreatedadictatorshipand triedto
happened in history. runthingsbyhimselfandthatcausedallkindsofproblems.

Howwoulditbedifferent? O DeathofAttila O The Huns
After marrying an
divided
The empire is split
East German woman,
Ildico,Attiladiesonhis between Attila’s
O Betrayal of brother wedding night, possibly three sons but civil
Attila likely murders after choking on a severe war soon breaks
Bleda and becomes nosebleed. 453 CE out. 454 CE
the single ruler of
the Huns, shifting
their centre of
Realtimeline power west. 445 CE Realtimeline

Alternatetimeline
O Attila comes O A new target
to power Attila begins
Following the death of plotting a new
Rugila, Attila and his attack on the
brother Bleda become Eastern Roman O Attila rides on O Balkans defeated
rulers of the Huns in Empire to force Attila marries Ildico Attila easily defeats
the West and East them to pay tribute but their wedding the Eastern Roman
respectively. 434 CE to him. 452 CE night passes Empire, sacking
without incident. the Balkans. But he
Thenextday,he leaves immediately,
rides for Eastern after receiving
Rome. 453 CE tributes. 454 CE

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