472, HU 
of their enemies formed the coftly trappings of their 
horfes ; and they viewed with pity and contempt the 
pnfillanimous warriors, who patiently expected tlie infir¬ 
mities of age, and the tortures of lingering difeafe. On 
the banks of the Tanais, the military power of the Huns 
and the Alani encountered each other with equal valour, 
but with unequal fuccefs. The Huns prevailed in the 
bioody conteft; the king of the Alani was flain ; and the 
remains of the vanquilhed nation were difperfed by the 
ordinary alternative of flight or fubmiflion. A colony of 
exiles found a fecure refuge in the mountains of Cauca- 
fus, between the Euxine and the Cafpian; where they ftill 
preferve their name and their independence. Another 
colony advanced, with more intrepid courage, towards 
the fhores of the Baltic ; afl’ociated themfelves with the 
northern tribes of Germany, and fliared the fpoil of the 
Roman provinces of Gaul and Spain. But the greateft 
part of the nation of the Alani embraced the offers of an 
honourable and advantageous union; and the Huns, who 
efteemed the valour of their lefs fortunate enemies, pro¬ 
ceeded, with an increafe of numbers and confidence, in 
the year of Chrift 375, to iiwade the limits of the Gothic 
empire. Of this invafion a full and ample account is 
given under the article Goti-is, vol.viii. p. 711. to which 
we beg to refer the reader. 
After the dreadful collifion of thefe northern liords, 
the Goths and Vandals fled before the Huns; but the 
achievements of the Huns at length became inadequate to 
their power and profperity. Their victorious hords had 
fpread from the Volga to the Danube ; but the public 
force was exhaufted by the difcord of independent chief¬ 
tains ; their valour was idly confirmed in predatory ex- 
curfions ; and they often degraded their-national dignity 
by condefcending, for thejiopes of fpoil, to enlift under 
the banners of their fugitive enemies. But in the reign 
of Attila, the Huns again became the terror of the Ro¬ 
man empire, and the fcpurge of the world. The Hunga¬ 
rians, who are proud to ini'ert the name of Attila among 
their native kings, may affirm with truth, that the hords, 
which were fubjeft to his uncle Roas, or Rugilas, had early 
formed their encampments within the limits of modern 
Hungary, in a fertile country, which liberally fupplied 
the wants of fuch a nation of hunters and fhepherds. In 
this advantageous fituation, Rugilas, and his valiant bro¬ 
thers, who continually added to their power and reputa¬ 
tion, commanded the alternative of peace or war with the 
then two great empires of the world. His'alliance with 
the Romans of the weft was cemented by bis perfonal 
friendfhip for the great Aitius; who was always fecure of 
finding in the barbarian camp a hofpitable reception, and 
a powerful lupport. At his lolicitation, fixty thoufand 
Huns advanced to the confines of Italy ; and the policy of 
AEtius abandoned the pofteffion of Pannonia to his faithful 
confederates. The Romans of the eaft were not lefs ap- 
prehenfive'of the arms of Rugilas, which threatened the 
provinces, and even the capital. Some ecclefiaftical.hif- 
torians have deftroyed the barbarians with lightning and 
peltilence ; but Theodofius, emperor of the eaft, was re¬ 
duced to the more humble expedient of ftipulating an an¬ 
nual payment of three hundred and fifty pounds of gold, 
ar.d of difguifing this dilhonourable tribute by the title' 
of general , which the king of the Huns condefcended to 
accept. The public tranquillity Was frequently inter¬ 
rupted by the fierce impatience of the barbarians, and 
the perfidious intrigues of the Byzantine court. Four 
dependent nations, among whom we may diliinguifh the 
Bavarians, difclaimed the lbvereignty of the Hums ; and 
their revolt was encouraged by a Roman alliance ; till 
the juft claims, and formidable power, of Rugilas, were 
effeftually urged by the voice of Eflaw bis ambaffiador. 
Peace was the unanimous wifli of the fenate; their decree 
was ratified by the emperor ; and two ainbafladors were 
named, Plinthas, of » onfular rank, and the quaeftor Epi- 
genes, a wile and experienced ftatcfman. 
The death of Rugilas, in the year of Chrift 433, fuf- 
N S. 
pended the progrefs of the treaty. His two nephews, 
Attila a^id Bleda, who fucceeded to the throne of their 
uncle, confented to a perfonal interview with the ambaf- 
ladors of Conftantinople; but, as they proudly refufed to 
difmount, the bulinefs was tranfafted on horfeback, in a 
fpacious plain near the city of Margus, in Upper Maefia. 
The kings of the Huns aifumed the folid benefits, as well 
as the vain honours, of the negociation. They dictated 
the conditions of peace, and each condition was an infult to 
themajefty of theeaftern Roman empire. Befides the free¬ 
dom of a fafe and plentiful market on the banks of the Da¬ 
nube, they required that the annual contribution fhould 
be augmented from three hundred and fifty to feven 
hundred pounds of gold-; that a fine or ranfom of eight 
pieces of gold fhould be paid for every Roman captive 
who had elcaped from his barbarian mafter; that the em¬ 
peror fhould renounce all treaties and engagements with 
the enemies of the Huns ; and that ail the fugitives, who 
had taken-jefuge in the court or provinces of Theodo¬ 
fius, fhould be delivered to the juftice of their offended 
fovereign. This juftice was rigoroufly inflifted on fome 
unfortunate youths of a royal race. They were crucified 
on the territories of the empire, by the command of At¬ 
tila; and, as foon as the king of the Huns had imprefied 
the Romans with the terror of his name, he indulged them 
in a fhort and arbitrary refpite, Whilft he fubdued the re¬ 
bellious nations of Scythia and Germany. 
Attila, the fon of Mundzuk, deduced his regal defeent 
from the ancient Huns, who had formerly contended with 
the monarchs of China. His features ftrpngiy. bore the 
ftamp of his national origin; and he was polfelfed of great 
nervous ftength, though of a difpropertioned form. His 
religious arts not lefs were ikilfully'applied than his arms. 
It was. natural that the-Scythians fhould worlhip with pe¬ 
culiar devotion the god of war ; but, as they were incapa¬ 
ble of forming either an abftraft idea or a corporeal re'pre- 
fentation, they worfhippOd their tutelar deity under the 
fymbol of an iron cimeter. Ope of the fhepherds of the 
Huns perceived, "that a heifer who was grazing had 
wounded herfelf in the foot, and carefully followed the 
track of the blood, till he difeovered, among the long 
grafs, the point of an ancient fword, which he dug out of 
the ground, and prefented to Attila. That artful prince 
accepted, with pious gratitude, this celeftial favour; and, 
as the rightful pofleflor of th t fzuord, of Mars, he afferted 
his divine and indefeafible claim to the dominion of the 
earth. In the rites of Scythia, a lofty'pile of faggots, 
three hundred yards in length and in breadth, was railed 
in a fpacious plain ; and the fivorJ of Mars was placed 
ereft on the fumniit of this ruftic altar, which was annu¬ 
ally confecrated by the blood of ftieep, horfes, and of the 
liundreth captive. Whether human facrifices formed any 
part of the worlhip of Attila, or whether he propitiated 
the god of war with the viftims which he continually of¬ 
fered in the field of battle, the favourite of Mars foon ac¬ 
quired a Jacred character; which rendered his conquefts 
more eafy and more permanent; and the barbarian 
princes confefled, in the language of devotion or-flattery, 
that they could not prefume to gaze, with a fteady eye, 
on the divine majefty of the king of the Huns. His bro¬ 
ther Bleda, who reigned over a conliderable part of the 
nation, was compelled to refign his feeptre and his life. 
Yet even this cruel aft was attributed to a iupernaturai 
impulfe , and the vigour with which Attila wielded the 
fivord of Mars, convinced the world that it had been re- 
ferved alone for his invincible arm. But the extent of his 
empire affords the only permanent evidence of the num¬ 
ber and importance of his victories; and the Scythian 
monarch, however ignorant of the value of fcience and 
philofophy, might perhaps lament that his illiterate fub- 
jefts were deftitute of the art which could perpetuate the 
memory of his exploits 
The ambaffadors of the Huns now awakened the atten¬ 
tion of Theodofius, by reminding him, that they w ere his 
neighbours both in Europe and Alia; fince they touched 
3 . tllc 
