Attila (died 453) was a chieftain who brought the Huns to their greatest strength and who posed a grave threat to the Roman Empire.

The Huns first appear in European records at the end of the 4th century A.D., when they descended from the Steppes and attacked the Germanic tribes on the northeastern edge of the Roman Empire, either subjecting them or driving them into the empire. By the 430s the scattered nomadic bands had been united into a powerful force which attacked both Germans and Romans alike.

Rua, the man responsible for much of this unity, died in 434 and left the kingdom to his nephews Attila and Bleda. For 10 years they ruled jointly and threatened the Eastern Roman Empire on several occasions. In 435 a "peace" was signed with the Romans, which among other things guaranteed the Huns an annual payment of 700 pounds of gold. In 441 the Huns...