Attila the Hun has been known to the world for centuries as a bloodthirsty tyrant and little else. In this fascinating piece of historical detective work, Patrick Howarth throws a new and more sympathetic light on the popular legend. Attila ruled over the vast, but short-lived, Hun Empire of the fifth century, the time of the disintegration of the Roman Empire and the emergence of the great barbarians. In successive campaigns, from his military headquarters in Hungary, he brought his armies to the gates of Constantinople, through Germany and France to Orleans, and deep into italy. This scholarly and engaging work, using primary sources, as well as recent archaeological finds in Hungary and elsewhere, shows that Attila was much more than a great commander and reveals the little understood world of the Huns, a people of remarkable equestrian skills who came from the borders of China.