Attila the Hun
Although he reigned no more than 20 years as king of the Huns, the image of Attila in history and in the popular imagination is based upon two aggressive military campaigns in the last two years of his life which threatened to dramatically redirect the development of Western Europe.
Attila and his brother succeeded their uncle as leaders of the Huns in 434, with Attila in the junior position until his brother’s death 12 years later. History has it that Attila killed him or hired someone to do the job. Attila embarked immediately upon a series of wars extending the Hun rule from the Rhine, across the north of the Black Sea as far as the Caspian Sea. From that base he soon began a long series of negotiations with the capital of the Roman Empire at Constantinople in the East and Ravenna in the West.
Finally, Attila forged an alliance with the Franks and Vandals and in the spring of 451 he unleashed a long-threatened attack into the heart of Western Europe. After pillaging a broad swath of cities in his path, he was close to obtaining the surrender of Orleans when the combined Roman and Visigoth armies arrived and forced Attila’s retreat to the northeast.
Near Troyes the opposing forces joined battle at Chalons in one of the decisive battles of European history. Though the margin of victory was slim, the Western army prevailed, precipitating Attila’s withdrawal back across the Rhine and avoiding a decisive shift in the course of political and economic development in Western Europe. Attila’s adventures in the West had not ended, however. In the following year he launched a devastating campaign into Italy.
Little is known of Attila’s early life. Only that most people associate him as being a cruel leade...
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...er his wedding day he was found dead, drowned in his drunken ness. The empire of the Huns dissipated nearly as fast as its famous leader. In 454 the Germanic tribes revolted against the Huns, and the sons of Attila, who had quarreled among themselves, could not deal with the crisis. In a sense, the Huns were defeated.
To his disadvantage Attila probably felt that he was invincible. He not only distrusted his sons to become successor he failed to even choose a one.
One of the quotes that I thought fit Attila the Hun was this, “No republic will ever be perfect if she has not by law provided for everything, having a remedy for every emergency, and fixed rules for applying it. And therefore I will say that those republics which in time of danger cannot resort to a dictatorship, or some similar authority, will generally be ruined when grave occasions occur.”
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny;when the government fears the people,there is liberty” -Thomas Jefferson. The reason why I chose this quote is that the Northern Korean and South Korean civilians were afraid of the government so there was tyranny. Tyranny is cruel and oppressive government or rule.
'And each makes laws to its own advantage. Democracy makes democratic laws, tyranny makes tyrannical laws, and so on with the others. And they declare what they have made - what is to their own advantage - to be just for their subjects, and they punish anyone who goes against this as lawless and unjust. This, then, is what I say justice is, the same in all cities, the advantage of the established rule. Since the established rule is surely stronger, anyone who reasons correctly will conclude that the just is the same everywhere, namely, the advantage of the stronger.'" Plato, Republic, Book 1, 338
Many societal ills in a given culture can be attributed to the pride that develops in leaders and the aggressive effect this nature has on the need for personal gain. In his work The Republic, Plato spends a great deal of time outlining his vision of a society in which man's arrogant and competitive nature is unable to root itself into the government of the city, thus creating a completely just and good society. Nevertheless, even Plato realized that because of the inevitable influence of man's lust for power, no society could retain a perfectly just government forever. As man's greed overcomes the integrity of the "healthy city", oppression will take root. The inherent arrogance grows until the leader becomes an embodiment of injustice, what Plato calls in The Republic a tyrant. The rule of a tyrant can directly affect the lives and well-bring of every man under the unjust leader, as is demonstrated by Agamemnon in The Iliad. Homer's masterpiece is a perfect example of how egotism and a need for power over another can compromise the well being of an entire army. Agamemnon's reactions to the events and people who surround him in The Iliad prove that he possesses many of the characteristics of the tyrannical leader Plato describes in The Republic.
A longstanding debate in human history is what to do with power and what is the best way to rule. Who should have power, how should one rule, and what its purpose should government serve have always been questions at the fore in civilization, and more than once have sparked controversy and conflict. The essential elements of rule have placed the human need for order and structure against the human desire for freedom, and compromising between the two has never been easy. It is a question that is still considered and argued to this day. However, the argument has not rested solely with military powers or politicians, but philosophers as well. Two prominent voices in this debate are Plato and Machiavelli, both of whom had very different ideas of government's role in the lives of its people. For Plato, the essential service of government is to allow its citizens to live in their proper places and to do the things that they are best at. In short, Plato's government reinforces the need for order while giving the illusion of freedom. On the other hand, Machiavelli proposes that government's primary concern is to remain intact, thereby preserving stability for the people who live under it. The feature that both philosophers share is that they attempt to compromise between stability and freedom, and in the process admit that neither can be totally had.
Justinian was born on May 11, 483 AD in northern Illyricum (Hillard 1). His parents, who were farmers, gave him the name Flavius Peterus Sabbatus, but he changed his name when he was older to be more similar to his uncle, Justin, who adopted Justinian as his own son (Trafton 1). Justin took on the responsibility of Justinian’s education and took him to study in Constantinople as a teenager. Justinian began to work with his uncle, who was the Count of the Excubitors and a well-known man in politics (Treadgold 58). The Excubitors were the emperor’s guards and Justin’s job as the count included leading those soldiers. After Anastasius, the emperor at the time, died without announcing a successor, Justin was chosen by Anastasius’ courtiers to be the next ruler. Justin was close to 70 years old and uneducated, so he enlisted his nephew, who was then 36 years old, to assist him in his reign (Treadgold 58). When his uncle became emperor in 518 AD, Justinian became one of Justin’s advisors. As Justin grew older, he began to give Justinian’s opinions more weight in his own decisions.
... found that one of his leaders was starting to question his actions and Attila decided that he should be executed. The leaders beautiful daughter pleaded for Attila spare her father but Attila had him killed. Attila found this girl to be very beautiful and decided to take her as his bride. There was a wedding that, as the story goes, was so grand that tales of the wedding were spread all over the world. At the end of the wedding night Attila took his new wife nuptial chamber and he never came out again. The next day they found him in a pool of blood. It is not certain how he died but some say his new wife avenged her father but others say that he had too much to drink, passed out and choked on the blood he had from a nose bleed. Many have said that Attila was the greatest leader in the world and if h had lived that he might have actually taken over the world.
This was the beginning of Justinian’s famous rule, which lasted from 527 A.D. through 565 A.D. (The Reign of Justinian). The reign of Justinian was significant in many ways. First of all, it marked the final end of the Roman Empire. It was the establishment of the New Byzantine empire. It was also the beginning of Western Europe’s unique position within the civilization of the old world.
In history, governments have endeavored to rule their subjects. Major forms of authority consist primarily of monarchy, absolute monarchy, oligarchy, democracy, tyranny, theocracy, and republic. By examining the main faults of each government, the republic is clearly the superior form.
Historians say that his general personality was irritable, blustering, and truculent. He was said to be a persistent negotiator, and not at al pitiless. While Priscus was at the banquet in 448, he observed a few other details about Attila. All of Attila’s chief lieutenants were served dainties on silver platters, but he was served only meat on wooden plates.
Some scholars believe Herod the Great was “one of the most notorious” figures in history to rule as a king. On the other hand, Herod’s life reveals a political leader who should be considered as “brilliant politician,” who successfully dealt with Roman Empire during his whole career. Herod’s success was molded with hardships he experienced throughout his life. As a young man, Herod was accustomed to “hardships,” which helped mold his ironclad character. As a soldier, Herod was “an excellent horseman” as well as an expert with both “lance” and “arrow.” Herod’s determination to excel would mold him as a future leader. As a young man, Herod already “won a reputation” as being a successful military leader. Regardless, one Jewish historian remarked that Herod “was destined” to become an “evil genius” who would rule “the Judean nation”
Even before the war started, Hannibal knew what he was going to do. Since Carthage had no navy, there was no hope of going directly from Carthage to Italy over the Mediterranean Sea. Hannibal thought up a dangerous but ingenious plan. In order to get to Italy over land, Hannibal and his army would have to travel from Carthage-controlled Spain across the Alps and into the heart of the enemy. Hannibal left in the cold winter of 218 B.C. with 50,000 infantry, 9,000 cavalry, and 37 war elephants. While crossing the Alps, “Hannibal’s force suffered greatly from the elements and the hostility of the local tribesmen” (Beshara, 3). By the time they reached Italy, after only fourteen days, over 9,000 men had perished along with most of the elephants, but this number was soon replenished after 14,000 northern Gaul rebels joined Hannibal’s army. This group of 60,000 men proved superior to the Roman forces, and after at least three recorded major victories, the Roman senate was exasperated. An army of 80,000 Roman soldiers was sent to stop Hannibal’s army of now 50,000 once and for all. In July of 216 B.C., the Romans engaged the Carthaginians in “the neighborhood of Cannae on the Italian east coast” (Lendering, 2). Greatly outnumbered, Hannibal realized that he would have to win by strategy, and that is exactly what he did. As the two lines met, Hannibal’s cavalry gained the flanks and, moving up the sides, attacked the rear of the Roman line.
Syagrius fled to the kingdom of Aralic. In another show of his power, Clovis scarred Aralic into giving Syagrius up or he would be marched on as well. Out of fear, Sygrius was given up to Clovis and secretly killed. This was the beginning of the power and respect that was to come for Clovis.
Oftentimes, he would take the front line and risk his life to death. He himself would load the cannon which was supposed to be the commander’s job. At the end of the battle, he would rise up covered with filth and gun powder. With this act, his followers felt a great sense of awe which made them feel like he was one of them.
Hu is a man who followed the Far Eastern tradition, always dedicated to his family with whom he lived. At the time he had the opportunity to work for Foucquet he decided to put aside his religious thoughts and convert to a completely different ideology with which he could open more possibilities abroad. He started in China as a translator, until he went with his mentor to Europe.
A fierce group of warriors that had a fervor to overthrow the relentless Roman Empire, would stop at nothing to end the Romans reign of terror over their people. Consisting of Asian and European backgrounds, the Huns were not the people you wanted to see walking down your neighborhood. The insane battle techniques that they had would make you drop to your knees and beg them not to harm you. If you were ever killed by a Hun, your head would be hanging off of him like a trophy. If you were as unlucky as stepping under a ladder while a black cat is crossing you, then you must have felt like the Romans as the Huns stopped by.