Why Did Attila Come To Power

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Attila the Hun was a fierce warrior and tough emperor. Although many people know him from shouting, ”Punala!” while trying to have his army rip Ben Stiller in four, he is better known for the beginning the downfall of The Western Roman Empire. Many also never knew that he started his rule working jointly with his brother. When I first started learning about Attila I had three questions: How did Attila come to power? What did Attila do to gain full power? And How did Attila cause the beginning of the downfall of Western Roman Empire? So I decided to answer them myself.
Attila came to power through his bloodline. While Attila’s birthplace and date are unknown we do know about his family. He and his brother Bleda were born to Mundzuk. Mundzuk
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One of his most well known accomplishments was started the destruction of the Eastern Empire of Rome. he did this by invading Rome while they were weak. Although they had a treaty Attila still attacked. He claimed that Rome didn’t hand over all the Hun refugees, therefore they broke the treaty first. In this way he attacked Rome at the Danube river, where they had previously removed all of their troops due to the treaty. Attila amassed his army and launched another attack in the province of Illyricum. Then the Emperor, Theodosius II announced the treaty broken and sent his army to attack Attila. Attila responded with a full invasion destroying and pillaging all of the Roman cities until they were twenty miles from the capital Constantinople. After this he proceeded to constantly attack different areas of the Roman empire including Moesia, Gallia Belgica, and Gaul. During these attacks Attila hadn't been stopped until he met Flavius Aetius, who knew Hun strategies. However Attila continued his offensive throughout Italy. Then suddenly his army stopped at the Po River. His reasoning is unknown. The army could have run out of supplies, caught the plague, or advised Attila to not move forward and withdraw. They also could have made peace with the Romans. Whatever actually happened did cause Attila to head back to Hungary. Even though Attila didn't conquer Rome his offensive still created the start of the spiral that caused it's

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