Synopses & Reviews
Conjuring up images of savagery and ferocity, Attila the Hun has become a byword for barbarianism. But, as the Romans of the fifth century knew, Attila did more than just terrorize villages on the edge of an empire.
Drawing on original texts, this riveting narrative follows Attila and the Huns from the steppes of Kazakhstan to the opulent city of Constantinople and the Great Hungarian Plain, uncovering an unlikely marriage proposal, a long-standing relationship with a treacherously ambitious Roman general, and a thwarted Roman assassination plot. Attila the Hun and the Fall of Romereframes the warrior king as a political strategist, capturing the story of how a small, but dedicated, opponent dealt a seemingly invincible empire defeats from which it would never recover.
Review
"[A] first-rate history [that] provides a singularly fresh look at a factitious period in the life of Ancient Rome." Publishers Weekly
Review
"Vivid [and] engrossing." Booklist
Review
"Accessible history that enlightens as well as informs." Richmond Times
Synopsis
History remembers Attila, the leader of the Huns, as the Romans perceived him: a savage barbarian brutally inflicting terror on whoever crossed his path. Following Attila and the Huns from the steppes of Kazakhstan to the court of Constantinople, Christopher Kelly portrays Attila in a compelling new light, uncovering an unlikely marriage proposal, a long-standing relationship with a treacherous Roman general, and a thwarted assassination plot. We see Attila as both a master warrior and an astute strategist whose rule was threatening but whose sudden loss of power was even more so. is an original exploration of the clash between empire and barbarity in the ancient world, full of contemporary resonance.
Synopsis
"A thoughtful and sophisticated account of a notoriously complicated and controversial period."--R. I. Moore,
About the Author
Christopher Kelly, a professor of ancient history and a Fellow of Corpus Christi College at the University of Cambridge, where he received his PhD in classics. He lives in Cambridge, England, and Chicago, Illinois.