Roman Empire. In 433, Attila succeeded his uncle, Roas
the Hun, who had been exacting tribute from the Ro-
mans as a payoff for not harassing the Roman forces. In
447, Attila refused the Roman tribute and moved his
forces through southern Europe, conquering the area be-
tween the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
In 442, Attila advanced on Constantinople, but his
army was halted and defeated in Thrace by Aspar, the
general for the Roman emperor Theodosius II. Attila
then turned south and ravaged Greece with such ferocity
that Theodosius was forced to seek terms, offering greater
tribute than before—2,100 pounds of gold. Nevertheless,
Attilla’s forces went on a killing spree, sacking villages
and churches until blood ran in the streets. The savagery
earned Attila the sobriquet of “The Scourge of God.”
In 451, Attila turned to Gaul (now modern France),
where the Hunnish tribe met the forces of the Romans
under aetius and the Visigoths under Theodoric and
Thorismond. Attila was allied with Genseric, the king
of the Vandals, and the two great forces met at Châlons.
More than 300,000 men were probably killed at this
engagement. Though the Visigothic leader Theodoric
was killed, Attila and the Hunnish troops withdrew over
the Rhine, unable to defeat the Roman forces. Edward
Creasy, in his famed work on the most decisive battles
in human history, lists Châlons as one of the 15 most
important; most historians agree.
Frustrated in his hope of conquering Gaul, Attila
turned south toward Italy, besieging and destroying sev-
eral major cities, including Aquileia, Padua, and Milan.
However, in Mantua a delegation from Rome, which
included Pope Leo I, persuaded Attila not to attack that
city. Attila withdrew, but in 453 he changed his mind
and again moved to invade Italy. It was during this pe-
riod that he suffered a brain hemorrhage and died, per-
haps saving western civilization; his burial site remains
unknown. After his death, the Huns could not achieve
the power and prestige they had had under Attila.
Although the best-known of the Hunnish military
leaders, Atilla remains an obscure figure. Sources on his
life include the Historia Miscella of Jordanes Priscus,
and written accounts by Gregory of Tours. Edward Gib-
bon, in The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, writes of
Attila:
His features, according to the observation of a
Gothic historian, bore the stamp of his national
origin... a large head, a swarthy complexion,small, deep-seated eyes, a flat nose, a few hairs
in the place of a beard, broad shoulders, and a
short square body, of a nervous strength, though
of a disproportioned form. The haughty step and
demeanour of the king of the Huns expressed the
consciousness of his superiority above the rest of
mankind; and he had a custom of fiercely roll-
ing his eyes, as if he wished to enjoy the terror
which he inspired.... He delighted in war; but,
after he had ascended the throne in a mature age,
his head, rather than his hand, achieved the con-
quest of the North; and the fame of an adventur-
ous soldier was usefully exchanged for that of a
prudent and successful general.References: Herbert, William, Attila, King of the Huns
(London: H. G. Bohn, 1838); Howarth, Patrick, Attila,
King of the Huns: Man and Myth (London: Constable,
1994); Thompson, E. A., A History of Attila and the
Huns (Oxford, U.K.: Clarendon Press, 1948); Creasy,
Edward Shepherd, “The Battle of Chalons,” in Decisive
Battles of the World (London: The Colonial Press, 1899),
141–156.Augereau, Pierre-François-Charles, duc de
Castiglione (Pierre-François-Charles Augerau)
(1757–1816) French general, marshal of France
Pierre-François-Charles Augereau was one of naPo-
leon’s great military commanders, but his name is little
known today. The son of a domestic servant, Augereau
(also spelled Augerau) was born in Paris in 1757. He
joined the Prussian army in 1774 at the age of 17, rising
to the rank of colonel in 1793; prior to the French Revo-
lution, he joined the Neapolitan army and settled in Na-
ples. When the revolution began in 1789, he returned to
his native land and joined the French army with the rank
of private. By 1793 he had become a major general.
In April 1796, Augereau commanded French sol-
diers in seizing the castle of Cosseria and the camp at
Ceva, and the following month he led troops to victory
at Lodi (10 May 1796). He then served under Napoleon’s
command and was put in charge of the assault on Casti-
glione (3 August 1796). Although not credited with any
major work, he was a key participant at the battle of Ar-
cola (15–17 November 1796) between the French under
Napoleon and the Austrians under Marshal Alvinzi, who
had defeated Augereau and André Messéna at CaldieroAugeReAu, pieRRe-FRAnçoiS-chARleS, Duc De cAStiglione