CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-disabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <title>Attila - Wikiquote</title> <script>(function(){var className="client-js vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-disabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available";var cookie=document.cookie.match(/(?:^|; )enwikiquotemwclientpreferences=([^;]+)/);if(cookie){cookie[1].split('%2C').forEach(function(pref){className=className.replace(new RegExp('(^| )'+pref.replace(/-clientpref-\w+$|[^\w-]+/g,'')+'-clientpref-\\w+( |$)'),'$1'+pref+'$2');});}document.documentElement.className=className;}());RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":false,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat": "dmy","wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"6546cd5b-e850-4c81-a28d-734d6cbbb2e4","wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":false,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"Attila","wgTitle":"Attila","wgCurRevisionId":3387592,"wgRevisionId":3387592,"wgArticleId":186083,"wgIsArticle":true,"wgIsRedirect":false,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["Heads of state","Military leaders","5th century births","5th century deaths"],"wgPageViewLanguage":"en","wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"Attila","wgRelevantArticleId":186083,"wgIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgNoticeProject":"wikiquote","wgCiteReferencePreviewsActive":true,"wgMediaViewerOnClick":true,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":true,"wgVisualEditor":{ "pageLanguageCode":"en","pageLanguageDir":"ltr","pageVariantFallbacks":"en"},"wgMFDisplayWikibaseDescriptions":{"search":true,"watchlist":true,"tagline":true,"nearby":true},"wgWMESchemaEditAttemptStepOversample":false,"wgWMEPageLength":30000,"wgEditSubmitButtonLabelPublish":true,"wgULSPosition":"interlanguage","wgULSisCompactLinksEnabled":false,"wgVector2022LanguageInHeader":true,"wgULSisLanguageSelectorEmpty":false,"wgWikibaseItemId":"Q36724","wgCheckUserClientHintsHeadersJsApi":["brands","architecture","bitness","fullVersionList","mobile","model","platform","platformVersion"],"wgSiteNoticeId":"2.3"};RLSTATE={"ext.globalCssJs.user.styles":"ready","site.styles":"ready","user.styles":"ready","ext.globalCssJs.user":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","skins.vector.search.codex.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles":"ready","skins.vector.icons":"ready","ext.wikimediamessages.styles":"ready","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript":"ready","ext.uls.interlanguage":"ready" ,"wikibase.client.init":"ready","ext.wikimediaBadges":"ready","ext.dismissableSiteNotice.styles":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["mediawiki.page.media","site","mediawiki.page.ready","skins.vector.js","ext.centralNotice.geoIP","ext.centralNotice.startUp","ext.urlShortener.toolbar","ext.centralauth.centralautologin","mmv.bootstrap","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.init","ext.visualEditor.targetLoader","ext.echo.centralauth","ext.eventLogging","ext.wikimediaEvents","ext.navigationTiming","ext.uls.interface","wikibase.client.vector-2022","ext.checkUser.clientHints","wikibase.sidebar.tracking","ext.dismissableSiteNotice"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.impl(function(){return["user.options@12s5i",function($,jQuery,require,module){mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); }];});});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.dismissableSiteNotice.styles%7Cext.uls.interlanguage%7Cext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript%7Cext.wikimediaBadges%7Cext.wikimediamessages.styles%7Cskins.vector.icons%2Cstyles%7Cskins.vector.search.codex.styles%7Cwikibase.client.init&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector-2022"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.44.0-wmf.5"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin-when-cross-origin"> <meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:standard"> <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Eugene_Ferdinand_Victor_Delacroix_Attila_fragment.jpg"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="1200"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="1507"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Eugene_Ferdinand_Victor_Delacroix_Attila_fragment.jpg/800px-Eugene_Ferdinand_Victor_Delacroix_Attila_fragment.jpg"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="800"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="1005"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Eugene_Ferdinand_Victor_Delacroix_Attila_fragment.jpg/640px-Eugene_Ferdinand_Victor_Delacroix_Attila_fragment.jpg"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="640"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="804"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=1120"> <meta property="og:title" content="Attila - Wikiquote"> <meta property="og:type" content="website"> <link rel="preconnect" href="//upload.wikimedia.org"> <link rel="alternate" media="only screen and (max-width: 640px)" href="//en.m.wikiquote.org/wiki/Attila"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit" href="/w/index.php?title=Attila&action=edit"> <link rel="icon" href="/static/favicon/wikiquote.ico"> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/rest.php/v1/search" title="Wikiquote (en)"> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="//en.wikiquote.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"> <link rel="canonical" href="https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Attila"> <link rel="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="Wikiquote Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//meta.wikimedia.org" /> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//login.wikimedia.org"> </head> <body class="skin--responsive skin-vector skin-vector-search-vue mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-Attila rootpage-Attila skin-vector-2022 action-view"><a class="mw-jump-link" href="#bodyContent">Jump to content</a> <div class="vector-header-container"> <header class="vector-header mw-header"> <div class="vector-header-start"> <nav class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-main-menu-dropdown vector-button-flush-left vector-button-flush-right" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Main menu" > <label id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-label" for="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-menu mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-menu"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Main menu</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-main-menu" class="vector-main-menu vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-main-menu-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="main-menu-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-main-menu" data-pinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Main menu</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-navigation" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-navigation" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Navigation </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-mainpage-description" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z"><span>Main page</span></a></li><li id="n-portal" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikiquote:Community_Portal" title="About the project, what you can do, where to find things"><span>Community portal</span></a></li><li id="n-Village-pump" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikiquote:Village_pump"><span>Village pump</span></a></li><li id="n-recentchanges" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChanges" title="A list of recent changes in the wiki [r]" accesskey="r"><span>Recent changes</span></a></li><li id="n-randompage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:Random" title="Load a random page [x]" accesskey="x"><span>Random page</span></a></li><li id="n-help" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Contents" title="The place to find out"><span>Help</span></a></li><li id="n-Contact-Wikiquote" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikiquote:Contact_us"><span>Contact Wikiquote</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-Wikiquote_links" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-Wikiquote_links" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Wikiquote links </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-People" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/List_of_people_by_name"><span>People</span></a></li><li id="n-Literary-works" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/List_of_literary_works"><span>Literary works</span></a></li><li id="n-Proverbs" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Category:Proverbs"><span>Proverbs</span></a></li><li id="n-Films" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/List_of_films"><span>Films</span></a></li><li id="n-TV-shows" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/List_of_television_shows"><span>TV shows</span></a></li><li id="n-Themes" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Category:Themes"><span>Themes</span></a></li><li id="n-Categories" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Category:Categories"><span>Categories</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <a href="/wiki/Main_Page" class="mw-logo"> <img class="mw-logo-icon" src="/static/images/icons/wikiquote.svg" alt="" aria-hidden="true" height="50" width="50"> <span class="mw-logo-container skin-invert"> <img class="mw-logo-wordmark" alt="Wikiquote" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikiquote-wordmark-fr.svg" style="width: 4.8125em; height: 2.5em;"> </span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-header-end"> <div id="p-search" role="search" class="vector-search-box-vue vector-search-box-collapses vector-search-box-show-thumbnail vector-search-box-auto-expand-width vector-search-box"> <a href="/wiki/Special:Search" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only search-toggle" title="Search Wikiquote [f]" accesskey="f"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-search mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-search"></span> <span>Search</span> </a> <div class="vector-typeahead-search-container"> <div class="cdx-typeahead-search cdx-typeahead-search--show-thumbnail cdx-typeahead-search--auto-expand-width"> <form action="/w/index.php" id="searchform" class="cdx-search-input cdx-search-input--has-end-button"> <div id="simpleSearch" class="cdx-search-input__input-wrapper" data-search-loc="header-moved"> <div class="cdx-text-input cdx-text-input--has-start-icon"> <input class="cdx-text-input__input" type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search Wikiquote" aria-label="Search Wikiquote" autocapitalize="sentences" title="Search Wikiquote [f]" accesskey="f" id="searchInput" > <span class="cdx-text-input__icon cdx-text-input__start-icon"></span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> </div> <button class="cdx-button cdx-search-input__end-button">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-user-links vector-user-links-wide" aria-label="Personal tools"> <div class="vector-user-links-main"> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-preferences" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-userpage" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown " title="Change the appearance of the page's font size, width, and color" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Appearance" > <label id="vector-appearance-dropdown-label" for="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-appearance mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-appearance"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Appearance</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-notifications" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-overflow" class="vector-menu mw-portlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="//donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikiquote.org&uselang=en" class=""><span>Donate</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-createaccount-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Attila" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory" class=""><span>Create account</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-login-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Attila" title="You are encouraged to log in; however, it is not mandatory [o]" accesskey="o" class=""><span>Log in</span></a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div id="vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-user-menu vector-button-flush-right vector-user-menu-logged-out" title="More options" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Personal tools" > <label id="vector-user-links-dropdown-label" for="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-ellipsis mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-ellipsis"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Personal tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-personal" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-personal user-links-collapsible-item" title="User menu" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="//donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikiquote.org&uselang=en"><span>Donate</span></a></li><li id="pt-createaccount" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Attila" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-userAdd mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-userAdd"></span> <span>Create account</span></a></li><li id="pt-login" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Attila" title="You are encouraged to log in; however, it is not mandatory [o]" accesskey="o"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-logIn mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-logIn"></span> <span>Log in</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-user-menu-anon-editor" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-user-menu-anon-editor" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Pages for logged out editors <a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" aria-label="Learn more about editing"><span>learn more</span></a> </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-anoncontribs" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyContributions" title="A list of edits made from this IP address [y]" accesskey="y"><span>Contributions</span></a></li><li id="pt-anontalk" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyTalk" title="Discussion about edits from this IP address [n]" accesskey="n"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </header> </div> <div class="mw-page-container"> <div class="mw-page-container-inner"> <div class="vector-sitenotice-container"> <div id="siteNotice"><div id="mw-dismissablenotice-anonplace"></div><script>(function(){var node=document.getElementById("mw-dismissablenotice-anonplace");if(node){node.outerHTML="\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-dismissable-notice\"\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-dismissable-notice-close\"\u003E[\u003Ca tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\"\u003Ehide\u003C/a\u003E]\u003C/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"mw-dismissable-notice-body\"\u003E\u003C!-- CentralNotice --\u003E\u003Cdiv id=\"localNotice\" data-nosnippet=\"\"\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\"anonnotice\" lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"position:absolute; z-index:100; right:100px; top:-0px;\" class=\"metadata\" id=\"donate\"\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align:right; font-size:80%\"\u003E\u003Ci\u003EYour \u003Cb\u003E\u003Ca href=\"https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fundraising\" class=\"extiw\" title=\"wikimedia:Fundraising\"\u003Econtinued donations\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/b\u003E keep Wikiquote running!\u003C/i\u003E\n\u003C/div\u003E\u003C/div\u003E\n\u003C/div\u003E\u003C/div\u003E\u003C/div\u003E\u003C/div\u003E";}}());</script></div> </div> <div class="vector-column-start"> <div class="vector-main-menu-container"> <div id="mw-navigation"> <nav id="mw-panel" class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav id="mw-panel-toc" aria-label="Contents" data-event-name="ui.sidebar-toc" class="mw-table-of-contents-container vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-toc-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-toc" class="vector-toc vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-toc-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="toc-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-toc" > <h2 class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Contents</h2> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.unpin">hide</button> </div> <ul class="vector-toc-contents" id="mw-panel-toc-list"> <li id="toc-mw-content-text" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a href="#" class="vector-toc-link"> <div class="vector-toc-text">Beginning</div> </a> </li> <li id="toc-Quotes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Quotes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1</span> <span>Quotes</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Quotes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Quotes_about_Attila" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Quotes_about_Attila"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Quotes about Attila</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Quotes_about_Attila-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_Links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_Links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>External Links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_Links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Attila</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 9 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-9" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">9 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-az mw-list-item"><a href="https://az.wikiquote.org/wiki/Atilla" title="Atilla – Azerbaijani" lang="az" hreflang="az" data-title="Atilla" data-language-autonym="Azərbaycanca" data-language-local-name="Azerbaijani" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Azərbaycanca</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikiquote.org/wiki/Attila" title="Attila – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Attila" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikiquote.org/wiki/Atila" title="Atila – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Atila" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hy mw-list-item"><a href="https://hy.wikiquote.org/wiki/%D4%B1%D5%A9%D5%AB%D5%AC%D5%A1" title="Աթիլա – Armenian" lang="hy" hreflang="hy" data-title="Աթիլա" data-language-autonym="Հայերեն" data-language-local-name="Armenian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Հայերեն</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikiquote.org/wiki/Attila" title="Attila – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Attila" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-la mw-list-item"><a href="https://la.wikiquote.org/wiki/Attila" title="Attila – Latin" lang="la" hreflang="la" data-title="Attila" data-language-autonym="Latina" data-language-local-name="Latin" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Latina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikiquote.org/wiki/Attyla" title="Attyla – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Attyla" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sr mw-list-item"><a href="https://sr.wikiquote.org/wiki/%D0%90%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B0" title="Атила – Serbian" lang="sr" hreflang="sr" data-title="Атила" data-language-autonym="Српски / srpski" data-language-local-name="Serbian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Српски / srpski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikiquote.org/wiki/Attila" title="Attila – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Attila" data-language-autonym="Türkçe" data-language-local-name="Turkish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Türkçe</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q36724#sitelinks-wikiquote" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div class="vector-page-toolbar-container"> <div id="left-navigation"> <nav aria-label="Namespaces"> <div id="p-associated-pages" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-associated-pages" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Attila" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c"><span>Page</span></a></li><li id="ca-talk" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Talk:Attila" rel="discussion" title="Discussion about the content page [t]" accesskey="t"><span>Discussion</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown emptyPortlet" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Change language variant" > <label id="vector-variants-dropdown-label" for="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">English</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-variants" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-variants emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="right-navigation" class="vector-collapsible"> <nav aria-label="Views"> <div id="p-views" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-views" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-view" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Attila"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-edit" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Attila&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-history" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Attila&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-tools-dropdown" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Tools" > <label id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-label" for="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-page-tools" class="vector-page-tools vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-page-tools-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="page-tools-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-page-tools" data-pinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Tools</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-cactions" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-cactions emptyPortlet vector-has-collapsible-items" title="More options" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Actions </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-more-view" class="selected vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Attila"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-edit" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Attila&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-history" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Attila&action=history"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-tb" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-tb" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> General </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-whatlinkshere" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/Attila" title="A list of all wiki pages that link here [j]" accesskey="j"><span>What links here</span></a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/Attila" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k"><span>Related changes</span></a></li><li id="t-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:UploadWizard" title="Upload files [u]" accesskey="u"><span>Upload file</span></a></li><li id="t-specialpages" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:SpecialPages" title="A list of all special pages [q]" accesskey="q"><span>Special pages</span></a></li><li id="t-permalink" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Attila&oldid=3387592" title="Permanent link to this revision of this page"><span>Permanent link</span></a></li><li id="t-info" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Attila&action=info" title="More information about this page"><span>Page information</span></a></li><li id="t-cite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=Attila&id=3387592&wpFormIdentifier=titleform" title="Information on how to cite this page"><span>Cite this page</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UrlShortener&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikiquote.org%2Fwiki%2FAttila"><span>Get shortened URL</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener-qrcode" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:QrCode&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikiquote.org%2Fwiki%2FAttila"><span>Download QR code</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-coll-print_export" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-coll-print_export" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Print/export </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="coll-create_a_book" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:Book&bookcmd=book_creator&referer=Attila"><span>Create a book</span></a></li><li id="coll-download-as-rl" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:DownloadAsPdf&page=Attila&action=show-download-screen"><span>Download as PDF</span></a></li><li id="t-print" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Attila&printable=yes" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p"><span>Printable version</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-wikibase-otherprojects" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-wikibase-otherprojects" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> In other projects </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-commons mw-list-item"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Attila_the_Hun" hreflang="en"><span>Wikimedia Commons</span></a></li><li class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikipedia mw-list-item"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attila" hreflang="en"><span>Wikipedia</span></a></li><li class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikisource mw-list-item"><a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Portal:Attila" hreflang="en"><span>Wikisource</span></a></li><li id="t-wikibase" class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikibase-dataitem mw-list-item"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q36724" title="Link to connected data repository item [g]" accesskey="g"><span>Wikidata item</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-column-end"> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-appearance" class="vector-appearance vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-appearance-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="appearance-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.unpin">hide</button> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikiquote</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><p><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attila" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Attila">Attila</a></b> (c. 406 – 453), frequently referred to as <b>Attila the Hun</b>, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in March 453. Attila was a leader of the <a href="/wiki/Hunnic_Empire" title="Hunnic Empire">Hunnic Empire</a>, a tribal confederation consisting of Huns, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostrogoths" class="extiw" title="w:Ostrogoths">Ostrogoths</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans" class="extiw" title="w:Alans">Alans</a> among others, on the territory of <a href="/wiki/Central_and_Eastern_Europe" class="mw-redirect" title="Central and Eastern Europe">Central and Eastern Europe</a>. During his reign, he was one of the most feared enemies of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Roman_Empire" class="extiw" title="w:Western Roman Empire">Western</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Roman_Empire" class="extiw" title="w:Eastern Roman Empire">Eastern</a> Roman Empires. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Quotes">Quotes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Attila&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Quotes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>For what fortress, what city, in the wide extent of the <a href="/wiki/Roman_Empire" title="Roman Empire">Roman empire</a>, can hope to exist, secure and impregnable, if it is our pleasure that it should be erased from the earth? <ul><li>As quoted by <a href="/wiki/Edward_Gibbon" title="Edward Gibbon">Edward Gibbon</a> (1781), <i><a href="/wiki/The_History_of_the_Decline_and_Fall_of_the_Roman_Empire" title="The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire">The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire</a></i>, Vol. III, chapter 34</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Here you stand, after <a href="/wiki/Conquest" title="Conquest">conquering</a> mighty <a href="/wiki/Nations" title="Nations">nations</a> and <a href="/wiki/World_domination" title="World domination">subduing the world</a>. I therefore think it foolish for me to goad you with words, as though you were men who had not been proved in action. Let a new leader or an untried army resort to that. It is not right for me to say anything common, nor ought you to listen. For what is war but your usual custom? Or what is sweeter for a brave man than to seek revenge with his own hand? It is a right of nature to glut the soul with vengeance. Let us then attack the foe eagerly; for they are ever the bolder who make the attack. Despise this union of discordant races! To defend oneself by alliance is proof of cowardice. See, even before our attack they are smitten with terror. They seek the heights, they seize the hills and, repenting too late, clamor for protection against battle in the open fields. You know how slight a matter the Roman attack is. While they are still gathering in order and forming in one line with locked shields, they are checked, I will not say by the first wound, but even by the dust of battle. Then on to the fray with stout hearts, as is your wont. Despise their battle line. Attack the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alani" class="extiw" title="w:Alani">Alani</a>, smite the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visigoths" class="extiw" title="w:Visigoths">Visigoths</a>! Seek swift victory in that spot where the battle rages. For when the sinews are cut the limbs soon relax, nor can a body stand when you have taken away the bones. Let your courage rise and your own fury burst forth! Now show your cunning, Huns, now your deeds of arms! Let the wounded exact in return the death of his foe; let the unwounded revel in slaughter of the enemy. No spear shall harm those who are sure to live; and those who are sure to die Fate overtakes even in peace. And finally, why should Fortune have made the Huns victorious over so many nations, unless it were to prepare them for the joy of this conflict. Who was it revealed to our sires the path through the Maeotian swamp, for so many ages a closed secret? Who, moreover, made armed men yield to you, when you were as yet unarmed? Even a mass of federated nations could not endure the sight of the Huns. I am not deceived in the issue;--here is the field so many victories have promised us. I shall hurl the first spear at the foe. If any can stand at rest while Attila fights, he is a dead man. <ul><li>As quoted by Jordanes, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://people.ucalgary.ca/~vandersp/Courses/texts/jordgeti.html#attila"><i>The Origin and Deeds of the Goths</i></a>, translated by Charles C. Mierow</li></ul></li></ul> <div style="clear: both"></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Quotes_about_Attila">Quotes about Attila</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Attila&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Quotes about Attila"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Eugene_Ferdinand_Victor_Delacroix_Attila_fragment.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Eugene_Ferdinand_Victor_Delacroix_Attila_fragment.jpg/220px-Eugene_Ferdinand_Victor_Delacroix_Attila_fragment.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="276" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Eugene_Ferdinand_Victor_Delacroix_Attila_fragment.jpg/330px-Eugene_Ferdinand_Victor_Delacroix_Attila_fragment.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Eugene_Ferdinand_Victor_Delacroix_Attila_fragment.jpg/440px-Eugene_Ferdinand_Victor_Delacroix_Attila_fragment.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1000" data-file-height="1256" /></a><figcaption>He was a man born into the world to shake the nations, the scourge of all lands, who in some way terrified all mankind by the dreadful rumors noised abroad concerning him. ~ Jordanes</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Attila_mellszobor,_Ny%C3%ADradony.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Attila_mellszobor%2C_Ny%C3%ADradony.jpg/220px-Attila_mellszobor%2C_Ny%C3%ADradony.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="334" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Attila_mellszobor%2C_Ny%C3%ADradony.jpg/330px-Attila_mellszobor%2C_Ny%C3%ADradony.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Attila_mellszobor%2C_Ny%C3%ADradony.jpg/440px-Attila_mellszobor%2C_Ny%C3%ADradony.jpg 2x" data-file-width="465" data-file-height="706" /></a><figcaption>Attila reminds me of a drug lord, a Pablo Escobar; they're interested only in naked power, money. They create nothing, they build nothing. If anyone gets in your way, kill them. ~ David Mallott</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Francesco_Solimena_-_The_Meeting_of_Pope_Leo_and_Attila_-_WGA21629.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Francesco_Solimena_-_The_Meeting_of_Pope_Leo_and_Attila_-_WGA21629.jpg/220px-Francesco_Solimena_-_The_Meeting_of_Pope_Leo_and_Attila_-_WGA21629.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="126" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Francesco_Solimena_-_The_Meeting_of_Pope_Leo_and_Attila_-_WGA21629.jpg/330px-Francesco_Solimena_-_The_Meeting_of_Pope_Leo_and_Attila_-_WGA21629.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Francesco_Solimena_-_The_Meeting_of_Pope_Leo_and_Attila_-_WGA21629.jpg/440px-Francesco_Solimena_-_The_Meeting_of_Pope_Leo_and_Attila_-_WGA21629.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1300" data-file-height="745" /></a><figcaption>Attila was less savage than the Romans, who cast thousands of Christians to wild animals for mere entertainment. In comparison, he was less cruel than Ivan the Terrible, Cortes or Pizarro. In his sparing of Rome, he showed more mercy than did Genserich, Belizar, the Norsemen, the Germans and the Spanish mercenaries, who all pillaged it without regard. ~ Wess Roberts</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:AttilatheHun.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/AttilatheHun.jpg/220px-AttilatheHun.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="285" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/AttilatheHun.jpg/330px-AttilatheHun.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/AttilatheHun.jpg 2x" data-file-width="386" data-file-height="500" /></a><figcaption>I know nothing of the mother of Attila, but I rather suspect that she spoilt the little darling, who subsequently found the world irritating because it sometimes resisted his whims. ~ <a href="/wiki/Bertrand_Russell" title="Bertrand Russell">Bertrand Russell</a></figcaption></figure> <ul><li>If Attila the Hun were alive today, he'd be a <a href="/wiki/Drama" class="mw-redirect" title="Drama">drama</a> <a href="/wiki/Criticism" title="Criticism">critic</a>. <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Edward_Albee" title="Edward Albee">Edward Albee</a>, as quoted in <i>Theater Week</i> (1988); also in <i>The Book of Poisonous Quotes</i> (1993) edited by Colin Jarman, p. 100</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Attila is a brilliant tactician; he comes to the walls of <a href="/wiki/Constantinople" class="mw-redirect" title="Constantinople">Constantinople</a>, he threatens, he gets his bribe, he goes away, he can come back, so he's like that mafia boss that keeps on coming, keeps on extorting. In the end, he's a part of your life, he's a part of your culture, and you can't get rid of him. <ul><li>Darius Arya, as quoted in <i>Ancients Behaving Badly: Attila the Hun</i>. History Channel, 13 November, 2009. Documentary.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>In the title which he assumed, we shall see the skill with which he availed himself of the <a href="/wiki/Mythology" title="Mythology">legends</a> and <a href="/wiki/Creed" title="Creed">creeds</a> of other nations as well as of his own. He designated himself 'Attila, Descendant of the Great Nimrod. Nurtured in Engaddi. By the grace of <a href="/wiki/God" title="God">God</a>, King of the Huns, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goths" class="extiw" title="w:Goths">Goths</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Denmark" title="Denmark">Danes</a>, and the Medes. The Dread of the World.' <ul><li>Edward Shepherd Creasy (1969), "Chapter VI. The Battle of Chalons, A.D. 451", <i>Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World from Marathon to Waterloo</i> (Harper ed.). Heritage Press/BiblioLife, p. 149, ASIN B000LF91OK</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>He called himself <i>flagellum Dei</i>, the scourge of God, and even today, 1,500 years after his blood-drenched death, his name remains a byword for brutality. Ancient artists placed great stress on his inhumanity, depicting him with goatish beard and devil’s horns. Then as now, he seemed the epitome of an <a href="/wiki/Asia" title="Asia">Asian</a> steppe nomad: ugly, squat and fearsome, lethal with a bow, interested chiefly in looting and in rape. <ul><li>Mike Dash, "Nice Things to Say About Attila the Hun", <i>Smithsonian</i> (February 3, 2012)</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>What <a href="/wiki/Devil" title="Devil">devil</a> or what witch was ever so great as Attila, whose <a href="/wiki/Blood" title="Blood">blood</a> is in these veins? <ul><li>Count Dracula, as quoted in <a href="/wiki/Bram_Stoker" title="Bram Stoker">Bram Stoker</a> (1897), <i>Dracula</i></li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>The haughty step and demeanour of the king of the Huns expressed the consciousness of his superiority above the rest of mankind; and he had a custom of fiercely rolling his eyes, as if he wished to enjoy the terror which he inspired. Yet this savage hero was not inaccessible to pity; his suppliant enemies might confide in the assurance of peace or pardon; and Attila was considered by his subjects as a just and indulgent master. He delighted in war; but, after he had ascended the throne in a mature age, his head, rather than his hand, achieved the conquest of the North; and the fame of an adventurous soldier was usefully exchanged for that of a prudent and successful general. <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Edward_Gibbon" title="Edward Gibbon">Edward Gibbon</a> (1781), <i><a href="/wiki/The_History_of_the_Decline_and_Fall_of_the_Roman_Empire" title="The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire">The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire</a></i>, Vol. III, chapter 34</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>The crowd of vulgar <a href="/wiki/King" title="King">kings</a>, the leaders of so many martial tribes, who served under the standard of Attila, were ranged in the submissive order of guards and domestics round the person of their master. They watched his nod; they trembled at his frown; and at the first signal of his will, they executed, without murmur or hesitation, his stern and absolute commands. In time of peace, the dependent princes, with their national troops, attended the royal camp in regular succession; but when Attila collected his military force he was able to bring into the field an army of five, or, according to another account, of seven hundred thousand barbarians. <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Edward_Gibbon" title="Edward Gibbon">Edward Gibbon</a> (1781), <i><a href="/wiki/The_History_of_the_Decline_and_Fall_of_the_Roman_Empire" title="The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire">The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire</a></i>, Vol. III, chapter 34</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>His is one of the few names from <a href="/wiki/Antiquity" title="Antiquity">antiquity</a> that still prompt instant recognition, putting him alongside the likes of <a href="/wiki/Alexander_the_Great" title="Alexander the Great">Alexander</a>, <a href="/wiki/Julius_Caesar" title="Julius Caesar">Caesar</a>, <a href="/wiki/Cleopatra_VII" class="mw-redirect" title="Cleopatra VII">Cleopatra</a> and <a href="/wiki/Nero" title="Nero">Nero</a>. Attila has become <i>the</i> <a href="/wiki/Barbarian" title="Barbarian">barbarian</a> of the ancient world. <ul><li>Adrian Goldsworthy (2009), <i>The Fall Of The West: The Death Of The Roman Superpower</i>, Hachette UK</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Attila's not interested in taking <a href="/wiki/Cities" title="Cities">cities</a>; he just wants to break down the gate, get in and trash the city, then get out as fast as he can, and the more people that get killed in the process, the better it is for his reputation. <ul><li>Mike Ibeji, as quoted in <i>Ancients Behaving Badly: Attila the Hun</i>. History Channel, 13 November, 2009. Documentary.</li></ul></li> <li>At any time since the end of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punic_Wars" class="extiw" title="w:Punic Wars">Punic Wars</a>, losing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carthage" class="extiw" title="w:Carthage">Carthage</a> and suffering the emergence of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_the_Vandals" class="extiw" title="w:Kingdom of the Vandals">a new and destabilizing kingdom</a> in north Africa would have been a grave problem for the Roman west. In the middle of the fifth century it was even more so, because at exactly the same time, the emperors in Ravenna were forced to deal with the emergence of a rival state on a vulnerable frontier. This was the short-lived but disruptive kingdom of Attila the Hun. A genuinely larger-than-life character whose name remains notorious today, Attila took command of the Huns in the mid-430s, shortly before Carthage fell to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandals" class="extiw" title="w:Vandals">Vandals</a>. And in the two decades of his reign he dragged the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Roman_Empire" class="extiw" title="w:Western Roman Empire">western Roman Empire</a> further along its path to ruin. <ul><li>Dan Jones, <i>Powers and Thrones: A New History of the Middle Ages</i> (2021), pp. 68-69</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>His army is said to have numbered five hundred thousand men. He was a man born into the world to shake the nations, the scourge of all lands, who in some way terrified all mankind by the dreadful rumors noised abroad concerning him. He was haughty in his walk, rolling his eyes hither and thither, so that the power of his proud spirit appeared in the movement of his body. He was indeed a lover of war, yet restrained in action, mighty in counsel, gracious to suppliants and lenient to those who were once received into his protection. He was short of stature, with a broad chest and a large head; his eyes were small, his beard thin and sprinkled with gray; and he had a flat nose and a swarthy complexion, showing the evidences of his origin. And though his temper was such that he always had great self-confidence, yet his assurance was increased by finding the sword of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_(mythology)" class="extiw" title="w:Mars (mythology)">Mars</a>, always esteemed sacred among the kings of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scythians" class="extiw" title="w:Scythians">Scythians</a>. <ul><li>Jordanes, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://people.ucalgary.ca/~vandersp/Courses/texts/jordgeti.html#attila"><i>The Origin and Deeds of the Goths</i></a>, translated by Charles C. Mierow</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>On the following day, when a great part of the morning was spent, the royal attendants suspected some ill and, after a great uproar, broke in the doors. There they found the death of Attila accomplished by an effusion of blood, without any wound, and the girl with downcast face weeping beneath her veil. Then, as is the custom of that race, they plucked out the hair of their heads and made their faces hideous with deep wounds, that the renowned warrior might be mourned, not by effeminate wailings and tears, but by the blood of men. Moreover a wondrous thing took place in connection with Attila's death. For in a dream some god stood at the side of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcian" class="extiw" title="w:Marcian">Marcian</a>, Emperor of the East, while he was disquieted about his fierce foe, and showed him the bow of Attila broken in that same night, as if to intimate that the race of Huns owed much to that weapon. This account the historian Priscus says he accepts upon truthful evidence. For so terrible was Attila thought to be to great empires that the gods announced his death to rulers as a special boon.<br />His body was placed in the midst of a plain and lay in state in a silken tent as a sight for men's admiration. The best horsemen of the entire tribe of the Huns rode around in circles, after the manner of circus games, in the place to which he had been brought and told of his deeds in a funeral dirge in the following manner: "The chief of the Huns, King Attila, born of his sire Mundiuch, lord of bravest tribes, sole possessor of the Scythian and German realms—powers unknown before—captured cities and terrified both empires of the Roman world and, appeased by their prayers, took annual tribute to save the rest from plunder. And when he had accomplished all this by the favor of fortune, he fell, not by wound of the foe, nor by treachery of friends, but in the midst of his nation at peace, happy in his joy and without sense of pain. Who can rate this as death, when none believes it calls for vengeance?"<br />When they had mourned him with such lamentations, a strava, as they call it, was celebrated over his tomb with great revelling. They gave way in turn to the extremes of feeling and displayed funereal grief alternating with joy. Then in the secrecy of night they buried his body in the earth. They bound his coffins, the first with gold, the second with silver and the third with the strength of iron, showing by such means that these three things suited the mightiest of kings; iron because he subdued the nations, gold and silver because he received the honors of both empires. They also added the arms of foemen won in the fight, trappings of rare worth, sparkling with various gems, and ornaments of all sorts whereby princely state is maintained. And that so great riches might be kept from human curiosity, they slew those appointed to the work—a dreadful pay for their labor; and thus sudden death was the lot of those who buried him as well as of him who was buried. <ul><li>Jordanes, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://people.ucalgary.ca/~vandersp/Courses/texts/jordgeti.html#attila"><i>The Origin and Deeds of the Goths</i></a>, translated by Charles C. Mierow</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>The slaughter of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burgundians" class="extiw" title="w:Burgundians">Burgundians</a> by Attila reinforces in my mind this view that he's working for <a href="/wiki/Money" title="Money">money</a>. There's no greater goal. It's destruction for destruction's sake, out of pure spite and hatred. <ul><li>David Mallott, as quoted in <i>Ancients Behaving Badly: Attila the Hun</i>. History Channel, 13 November, 2009. Documentary.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>The method that Attila uses to kill his enemies demonstrates a particularly brutal and sadistic cruelty. <ul><li>David Mallott, as quoted in <i>Ancients Behaving Badly: Attila the Hun</i>. History Channel, 13 November, 2009. Documentary.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>His <a href="/wiki/Violence" title="Violence">violence</a>, his conquering doesn't seem directed to any specific end. He wants to go out and destroy almost for <a href="/wiki/Destruction" title="Destruction">destruction</a>'s sake itself. He's a cruel, remorseless killer. Attila is at the top of a scale of <a href="/wiki/Psychopathy" title="Psychopathy">psychopathic</a> behavior... Compared to the other <a href="/wiki/Antiquity" title="Antiquity">ancient</a> <a href="/wiki/Tyranny" title="Tyranny">tyrants</a>, Attila is very low on a scale of <a href="/wiki/Creativity" title="Creativity">creativity</a>. He doesn't solve problems, he doesn't build anything, he doesn't leave anything behind. When in doubt, kill... Attila reminds me of a drug lord, a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Escobar" class="extiw" title="w:Pablo Escobar">Pablo Escobar</a>; they're interested only in naked power, money. They create nothing, they build nothing. If anyone gets in your way, kill them. <ul><li>David Mallott, as quoted in <i>Ancients Behaving Badly: Attila the Hun</i>. History Channel, 13 November, 2009. Documentary.</li></ul></li> <li>Attila, king of the Huns from 434 to 453, was an outstanding general and formidable warrior with a voracious appetite for <a href="/wiki/Gold" title="Gold">gold</a>, <a href="/wiki/Land" title="Land">land</a> and <a href="/wiki/Power" title="Power">power</a>. Defeated only once, he was the most powerful of the barbarian rulers who fed off the last vestiges of the crumbling <a href="/wiki/Roman_Empire" title="Roman Empire">Roman Empire</a>. According to legend, he carried the ‘Sword of Mars’, bestowed on him by the gods as a sign he would rule the world. <ul><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Sebag_Montefiore" class="extiw" title="w:Simon Sebag Montefiore">Simon Sebag Montefiore</a>, <i>Monster's: History's Most Evil Men and Women</i> (2009), p. 44</li></ul></li> <li>To his people, Attila was an idol, helping to consolidate a mighty and prosperous empire. The 6th century Gothic <a href="/wiki/Historian" title="Historian">historian</a> Jordanes later described him as a ‘lover of war, yet restrained in action, mighty in counsel, gracious to suppliants and lenient to those who were once received into his protection’. Yet to the Romans he was the ‘Scourge of God’, ‘the ravager of the provinces of <a href="/wiki/Europe" title="Europe">Europe</a>’, personally responsible for wanton <a href="/wiki/Cruelty" title="Cruelty">cruelty</a> and <a href="/wiki/Violence" title="Violence">violence</a>, and in <a href="/wiki/Dante_Alighieri" title="Dante Alighieri">Dante</a>’s <i><a href="/wiki/Divine_Comedy" title="Divine Comedy">Divine Comedy</a></i>, he appeared in the seventh circle of <a href="/wiki/Hell" title="Hell">Hell</a>. <ul><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Sebag_Montefiore" class="extiw" title="w:Simon Sebag Montefiore">Simon Sebag Montefiore</a>, <i>Monster's: History's Most Evil Men and Women</i> (2009), p. 47</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Attila the Hun is a dubious character upon whom to base a metaphor on <a href="/wiki/Leadership" title="Leadership">leadership</a>. He's been portrayed throughout history as a barbaric, ugly little tyrant whose hordes, in total disregard of accepted principles of conservation, ruthlessly destroyed the beautiful and tranquil countryside, then went on to plunder and pillage numerous cities and villages inhabited by more civilized citizens of European nations.<br />Void of any characterization as a brilliant leader, a genius civilizer or a compassionate and adept <a href="/wiki/King" title="King">king</a>, the sinister Attila is commonly used as a referent for entertaining <a href="/wiki/Satire" title="Satire">satire</a> and serves as a universally agreed upon example of those qualities and attributes dreadfully abhorred in leaders of any generation, organization or cause. <ul><li>Wess Roberts (1988), <i><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/LeadershipSecretsOfAttilaTheHunPdfBook">Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun</a></i>, Warner Books, p. xiii</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Seen in perspectives different from those who wrote his history — much of which must be to some degree apocryphal, if not biased by political preferences — Attila might today be characterized as an <a href="/wiki/Entrepreneurs" title="Entrepreneurs">entrepreneur</a>, <a href="/wiki/Diplomacy" title="Diplomacy">diplomat</a>, social reformer, <a href="/wiki/Statesmanship" title="Statesmanship">statesman</a>, civilizer, brilliant field marshal and host of some terrific parties. <ul><li>Wess Roberts (1988), <i><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/LeadershipSecretsOfAttilaTheHunPdfBook">Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun</a></i>, Warner Books, p. xv</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Attila resisted the <a href="/wiki/Propaganda" title="Propaganda">propaganda</a> spewed at him by his Roman mentors. He personally rejected everything about them. Though he tried to ignite the spirit of resistance among the other child hostages, his attempts failed. On at least two occasions, Attila tried to escape. Failing to gain freedom, he prowled the palace as if he were a caged animal. His hatred for the empire's policies and practices grew stronger day by day. <ul><li>Wess Roberts (1988), <i><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/LeadershipSecretsOfAttilaTheHunPdfBook">Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun</a></i>, Warner Books, p. 4</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>His rule as King of Huns was marked by swift yet considerate justice. He did not act in haste. He gave the Huns a national goal — to bring under their control the Germanic and Slavic nations, to conquer <a href="/wiki/Rome" title="Rome">Rome</a> and <a href="/wiki/Constantinople" class="mw-redirect" title="Constantinople">Constantinople</a>, to march against all of <a href="/wiki/Asia" title="Asia">Asia</a>, then on to <a href="/wiki/Africa" title="Africa">Africa</a>. Thus, the Huns would reign over all the lands to the north, south, east and west. Indeed, Attila would rule the world.<br />Attila's plan was ambitious, fired by boyhood dreams, shaped by those images formed in his youth. He aimed to realize it step by step. His method was tempered by patience and unrelenting tenacity born of Asiatic virtues and by the political insight mastered by one who listens and watches while he waits for the precise moment to act. <ul><li>Wess Roberts (1988), <i><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/LeadershipSecretsOfAttilaTheHunPdfBook">Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun</a></i>, Warner Books, pp. 6-7</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Attila is an example of the type of leader who is never satisfied — preferring to take the initiative, acting rather than doing nothing.<br />Attila was less savage than the Romans, who cast thousands of Christians to wild animals for mere entertainment. In comparison, he was less cruel than <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_the_Terrible" class="extiw" title="w:Ivan the Terrible">Ivan the Terrible</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hernan_Cortes" class="extiw" title="w:Hernan Cortes">Cortes</a> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Pizarro" class="extiw" title="w:Francisco Pizarro">Pizarro</a>. In his sparing of Rome, he showed more mercy than did Genserich, Belizar, the Norsemen, the Germans and the Spanish mercenaries, who all pillaged it without regard.<br />Attila's legacy is generally unfamiliar to us in the Western World. We are naive about his historical importance as a genius civilizer, his open-mindedness and richness of views, in all of which he far exceeded Alexander the Great or Caesar.<br />The controversy surrounding Attila will perhaps never be resolved, but his "leadership secrets" present insightful opportunity to learn, by way of metaphor, age old characteristics, values and principles that separate those who lead from those who follow. <ul><li>Wess Roberts (1988), <i><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/LeadershipSecretsOfAttilaTheHunPdfBook">Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun</a></i>, Warner Books, pp. 12-13</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Attila was well-schooled in the power of rumor. He knew that advantageous rumor in the hearts and minds of ten could result in thousands becoming his victims. Thus, through rumor, many obstacles to his "great conquest" could be removed.<br />He considered himself to be above the reproach of the masses; therefore, his reputation was important to him and him alone. He knew who he was, what he could achieve; his reputation was not as important to his feelings of self-worth as it was to influencing the outcome of battles and negotiations. Thus, Attila turned a nickname that in certain circles might have been considered unflattering into an advantage and, in doing so, gained riches for his treasury and tribute from untold thousands. <ul><li>Wess Roberts (1988), <i><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/LeadershipSecretsOfAttilaTheHunPdfBook">Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun</a></i>, Warner Books, p. 44</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Scorning the pompous garb of noble Romans, Attila attired himself in the simple, crude skins of animals, which was the custom of his people. Even his crown, as king, was one of a simple leather helmet adorned by only a single feather. It was headgear similar to that of his warriors. <ul><li>Wess Roberts (1988), <i><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/LeadershipSecretsOfAttilaTheHunPdfBook">Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun</a></i>, Warner Books, p. 50</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>By way of fulfilling the obligation of his title, Attila exhibited patience — not haste — and never showed a lack of prudent judgment; his plan had been formulated over years. It was a calculated scheme of sequenced events that resulted in Attila's short-lived but complete leadership over a nation of barbarians whom, for a time, the world held in fear. <ul><li>Wess Roberts (1988), <i><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/LeadershipSecretsOfAttilaTheHunPdfBook">Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun</a></i>, Warner Books, p. 60</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>I know nothing of the mother of Attila, but I rather suspect that she spoilt the little darling, who subsequently found the world irritating because it sometimes resisted his whims. <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bertrand_Russell" title="Bertrand Russell">Bertrand Russell</a> (1938), <i>Power: A New Social Analysis</i>, Ch. 2: Leaders and Followers</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Of course we do not know how the name sounded in the language of the Huns. Sometime, somewhere, somehow a proto-form like <i>*agtala-</i> changed to <i>*attila</i>. We cannot tell if the assimilation of "gt" to "tt", and/or if loss of a final consonant took place in Hunnic or if these changes were part of the adaptation process into <a href="/wiki/Latin" title="Latin">Latin</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_language" class="extiw" title="w:Gothic language">Gothic</a> and <a href="/wiki/Greek_language" title="Greek language">Greek</a>... Truly, our knowledge of the Hunnic language is almost zero. One can only guess a solution to this riddle of Attila's name. <ul><li>Magnús Snædal (2015). "Attila" (PDF). <i>Studia Etymologica Cracoviensia</i> 20 (3): 211–219.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Attila conceived himself to have a divine claim to the dominion of the earth: — the <a href="/wiki/Spanish_colonization_of_the_Americas" title="Spanish colonization of the Americas">Spaniards</a> subdued the <a href="/wiki/Indigenous_peoples" title="Indigenous peoples">Indians</a> under plea of converting them to <a href="/wiki/Christianity" title="Christianity">Christianity</a>; hanging thirteen refractory ones in honour of <a href="/wiki/Jesus_Christ" class="mw-redirect" title="Jesus Christ">Jesus Christ</a> and his <a href="/wiki/Apostles" title="Apostles">apostles</a>: and we <a href="/wiki/English_people" title="English people">English</a> justify our <a href="/wiki/British_Empire" title="British Empire">colonial aggressions</a> by saying that the Creator intends the <a href="/wiki/Anglo-Saxons" title="Anglo-Saxons">Anglo-Saxon</a> race to people the world! <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Herbert_Spencer" title="Herbert Spencer">Herbert Spencer</a> (1851), <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/spencer-social-statics"><i>Social Statics : or, The Conditions Essential to Happiness Specified, and the First of them Developed</i></a>. Pt. II, Ch. 16, <i>The Rights of Women</i></li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Just as a thousand years ago the Huns under their King Attila made a name for themselves, one that even today makes them seem mighty in history and legend, may the name <a href="/wiki/Germans" title="Germans">German</a> be affirmed by you in such a way in <a href="/wiki/China" title="China">China</a> that no <a href="/wiki/Chinese_people" title="Chinese people">Chinese</a> will ever again dare to look cross-eyed at a German. <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wilhelm_II_of_Germany" class="mw-redirect" title="Wilhelm II of Germany">Wilhelm II of Germany</a> (27 July 1900), <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_id=755&language=english">"Hun Speech": Kaiser Wilhelm II's Address to the German Expeditionary Force Prior to its Departure for China</a></li></ul></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_Links">External Links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Attila&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: External Links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="noprint" style="clear: right; border: solid #aaa 1px; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; font-size: 90%; background: #f9f9f9; width: 250px; padding: 4px; spacing: 0px; text-align: left; float: right;"> <div style="float: left;"><figure class="mw-halign-none" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Wikipedia-logo-v2.svg" class="mw-file-description" title="Wikipedia"><img alt="Wikipedia" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/Wikipedia-logo-v2.svg/50px-Wikipedia-logo-v2.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="46" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/Wikipedia-logo-v2.svg/75px-Wikipedia-logo-v2.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/Wikipedia-logo-v2.svg/100px-Wikipedia-logo-v2.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="103" data-file-height="94" /></a><figcaption>Wikipedia</figcaption></figure></div> <div style="margin-left: 60px;"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> has an article about: <div style="margin-left: 10px;"><i><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attila" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Attila">Attila</a></b></i></div> </div> </div>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1&useformat=desktop" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikiquote.org/w/index.php?title=Attila&oldid=3387592">https://en.wikiquote.org/w/index.php?title=Attila&oldid=3387592</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Heads_of_state" title="Category:Heads of state">Heads of state</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Military_leaders" title="Category:Military leaders">Military leaders</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:5th_century_births" title="Category:5th century births">5th century births</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:5th_century_deaths" title="Category:5th century deaths">5th century deaths</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </main> </div> <div class="mw-footer-container"> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" > <ul id="footer-info"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 27 October 2023, at 05:10.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Text is available under the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License</a>; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the <a class="external text" href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms_of_Use">Terms of Use</a> and <a class="external text" href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy">Privacy Policy.</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-places"> <li id="footer-places-privacy"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="footer-places-about"><a href="/wiki/Wikiquote:About">About Wikiquote</a></li> <li id="footer-places-disclaimers"><a href="/wiki/Wikiquote:General_disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-wm-codeofconduct"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct">Code of Conduct</a></li> <li id="footer-places-developers"><a href="https://developer.wikimedia.org">Developers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-statslink"><a href="https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikiquote.org">Statistics</a></li> <li id="footer-places-cookiestatement"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Cookie_statement">Cookie statement</a></li> <li id="footer-places-mobileview"><a href="//en.m.wikiquote.org/w/index.php?title=Attila&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile" class="noprint stopMobileRedirectToggle">Mobile view</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-icons" class="noprint"> <li id="footer-copyrightico"><a href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/static/images/footer/wikimedia-button.svg" width="84" height="29" alt="Wikimedia Foundation" loading="lazy"></a></li> <li id="footer-poweredbyico"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki.svg" alt="Powered by MediaWiki" width="88" height="31" loading="lazy"></a></li> </ul> </footer> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-settings" id="p-dock-bottom"> <ul></ul> </div><script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgHostname":"mw-web.codfw.main-5c59558b9d-glpkk","wgBackendResponseTime":145,"wgPageParseReport":{"limitreport":{"cputime":"0.037","walltime":"0.062","ppvisitednodes":{"value":147,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":926,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":86,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":5,"limit":100},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":0,"limit":500},"unstrip-depth":{"value":0,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":0,"limit":5000000},"entityaccesscount":{"value":0,"limit":400},"timingprofile":["100.00% 11.962 1 -total"," 51.97% 6.217 1 Template:Clear"," 46.86% 5.606 1 Template:Wikipedia"," 20.54% 2.457 1 Template:Sisterproject"]},"cachereport":{"origin":"mw-web.eqiad.main-5dc468848-7zb78","timestamp":"20241122182224","ttl":2592000,"transientcontent":false}}});});</script> <script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","name":"Attila","url":"https:\/\/en.wikiquote.org\/wiki\/Attila","sameAs":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q36724","mainEntity":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q36724","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Contributors to Wikimedia projects"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.wikimedia.org\/static\/images\/wmf-hor-googpub.png"}},"datePublished":"2016-03-23T23:52:18Z","dateModified":"2023-10-27T05:10:23Z","image":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/1\/14\/Eugene_Ferdinand_Victor_Delacroix_Attila_fragment.jpg","headline":"5th-century ruler of the Hunnic Empire"}</script> </body> </html>