The fall of the Xiongnu Empire lead to the migration of many tribes – especially Turkic ones – away from the Altai-Transbaikal area in eastern Central Asia into the west and southwest. These tribes arrived in places like modern-day Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Kazakhstan and created new kingdoms. From the Kydarites to the Alchons and the Hepthalites („White Huns”), these Hunnic states ruled over much of Central Asia in the migratory period from 200-560 CE, before the rise of the Göktürks, and some even went as far as India. Other post-Xiongnu states emerged along the frontier between China and the Eastern Eurasian Steppe, including the Tuoba Dynasty.
However, yet another – perhaps smaller – group migrated along the northern routes of the Eurasian Steppe Belt and arrived in the Ponto-Caspian region which connects Europe and Asia by the middle of the 4th century. Simply called „Huns”, they invaded the European continent in 375 CE, slowly but steadily. Their attacks on neighboring tribes like the Goths (Germanic) and Alans (Iranic) further accelerated the migrations across all of Europe and led to the climax of the so-called „Barbarian Invasions”. The Huns themselves arrived in Central Europe and founded a power center in modern-day Hungary.
Then, nearly a century after their arrival, a young and ambitious Hun called Attila took power. After killing off his brother Bleda, he ended the Hunnic system of dual kingship and – as sole leader of many tribes – started large-scale invasions of Western and Southern Europe. The Huns logically came into direct military conflict with the Western Roman Empire.
But contrary to popular belief, Huns and Romans used to be partners for a long time, cooperating against many Germanic tribes in Western and Central Europe. And unlike Western literature has suggested for several centuries, the Huns were never interested in conquering and permanently occupying places like Gaul or even Rome. Yet, Attila directly invaded the Italian peninsula, and had even planned to besiege Constantinople shortly before his death.
But why? How can the actions of the Huns be explained? Where did they come from in the first place? What language did they spoke? Did they live in yurts (tents) like their nomadic ancestors or became sedentary by building houses and creating larger settlements? And how did the fall of the Huns affect the history of Europe?
In this new documentary by Khan’s Den, we are going to explore these and many other questions that have been either answered half-heartily by many scholars and historians or ignored altogether. We are also going to explain the culture of the Huns, their possible relations to Turks, Mongols and Germanic peoples, and their way of life along the western-most edge of the Eurasian Steppe Belt. Finally, we want to bring new perspectives to the history of the Huns, making way for new fresh debates about the legacy of Attila and his contemporaries. This is the Rise and Fall of the Hunnic Empire.
WEBSITE: https://bit.ly/KhansDen
GÖKTÜRK MOVIE 01: https://bit.ly/GokturkMovie1
GÖKTÜRK MOVIE 02: https://bit.ly/GokturkMovie2
GÖKTÜRK MOVIE 03: https://bit.ly/GokturkMovie3
PATREON: http://bit.ly/3BR6M3T
PODCAST: https://bit.ly/KhansDenPodcast
BOOK 1: https://amzn.to/3fwqmKR
BOOK 2: [Coming Soon]
Chapters:
00:00-02:33: Intro: The Huns are Coming
02:34-09:40 Chapter 1: Central Asian Hunnic States
09:41-23:05 Chapter 2: Arrival Of The Huns in Europe
23:06-28:39 Chapter 3: A Lost Turkic-Germanic Connection?
28:40-35:51 Chapter 4: Attila, Aetius And The Battle for Europe
35:52-40:32 Chapter 5: Attila’s Successors And The Legacy of the Huns