nomadic confederation · Central Asia and the Steppe
Hunnic Empire
Origins
The Huns appeared north of the Black Sea around 370, defeating the Alans and then the Greuthungi Goths of Ermanaric, which drove the Tervingi across the Danube into Roman territory. Their origins further east are uncertain, though many scholars connect them with the Xiongnu. By the 420s they had moved their centre to the Hungarian plain.
Rule and society
Hun power rested on mounted archers and on a confederation of subject peoples, including Goths, Gepids, Alans and the Akatziri. Kings such as Rua, and then the brothers Bleda and Attila, extracted huge annual payments in gold from Constantinople through treaties such as that of Margus in 435. Priscus, who visited Attila's court in 449, describes wooden palaces, Gothic and Latin speakers, and an elite enriched by tribute and plunder.
Decline and legacy
After Attila's defeat at the Catalaunian Plains in 451, his raid on Italy in 452 and his death in 453, the subject peoples revolted under the Gepid king Ardaric and won at the Nedao in 454. Attila's son Dengizich was killed in 469, and the remaining Huns merged into later steppe peoples.
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (8)
- Alans was conquered by Hunnic Empire370 CE
- Iazyges was conquered by Hunnic Empire375 CE
- Bosporan Kingdom paid tribute to Hunnic Empire375 CE – 453 CE
- Sarmatians was conquered by Hunnic Empire375 CE
- Roxolani was conquered by Hunnic Empire375 CE
- Greuthungi was conquered by Hunnic Empire375 CE – 376 CE
- Akatziri was a vassal of Hunnic Empire448 CE – 454 CE
- Kingdom of the Gepids split from Hunnic Empire454 CE
More states of Central Asia and the Steppe →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Hunnic Empire. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/hunnic-empire
- MLA
- “Hunnic Empire.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/hunnic-empire. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Hunnic Empire.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/hunnic-empire.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Hunnic Empire’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/hunnic-empire (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻