Huns

In this episode, we focus on the Huns, the feared nomadic confederation whose arrival from Central Asia transformed the course of late antiquity and sent shockwaves across both Europe and the Roman world. We follow their mysterious origins, including possible links to the Xiongnu, and trace their sudden appearance in Europe around 370 AD, where their speed, warfare, and mobility quickly made them a dominant force. The episode centers on the rise of Hunnic power under Attila, whose campaigns against the Eastern and Western Roman Empires reshaped the political landscape of the fifth century, while also exploring the Huns beyond the battlefield through their pastoral way of life, social hierarchy, and striking cultural practices such as artificial cranial deformation. Finally, we examine how their empire rapidly unraveled after Attila’s death, how their people were absorbed into later groups like the Bulgars, and why their legacy remains so important to understanding the Great Migration and the fall of the Western Roman Empire.