06-01-2009, 07:05 PM
I was just about to start a thread on this very book when I saw this one... 
Thanks for posting this review, Narukami.
This new book seems to be the latest in a trend among academia and Hollywood to de-emphasize
Attila the Hun's brutalities and very real savagery. His destruction of long established cities largely
contributed to the decline of urbanization in Europe which continued into the post-Roman period.
But some authors seem to willing to attribute the Hun's ruthlessness as being typical for the time. The
main point they'd rather emphasize is that Attila wasn't a stupid, run-of-the-mill raider. Ok, fine.
Being a savage doesn't imply stupidity or unsophistication. But Attila's legacy is that of a destroyer of lives
and, more lastingly, cities. I can think of few enemies of Rome who wrought that level of destruction.
The Carthaginians ? No. Germanic tribes, celtic tribes, Greeks ? No, no, and no. Persians, Arabs ?
Yes, on occasion for both - the most notable being Antioch, Alexandria, and Carthage all destroyed.
But at least the Persians and the Arabs (later) built cities, were literate, and capable of mercy.
A better alternative is probably Attila : The Barbarian King Who Challenged Rome which seems more
conventional and truer to history.
~Theo
Thanks for posting this review, Narukami.
This new book seems to be the latest in a trend among academia and Hollywood to de-emphasize
Attila the Hun's brutalities and very real savagery. His destruction of long established cities largely
contributed to the decline of urbanization in Europe which continued into the post-Roman period.
But some authors seem to willing to attribute the Hun's ruthlessness as being typical for the time. The
main point they'd rather emphasize is that Attila wasn't a stupid, run-of-the-mill raider. Ok, fine.
Being a savage doesn't imply stupidity or unsophistication. But Attila's legacy is that of a destroyer of lives
and, more lastingly, cities. I can think of few enemies of Rome who wrought that level of destruction.
The Carthaginians ? No. Germanic tribes, celtic tribes, Greeks ? No, no, and no. Persians, Arabs ?
Yes, on occasion for both - the most notable being Antioch, Alexandria, and Carthage all destroyed.
But at least the Persians and the Arabs (later) built cities, were literate, and capable of mercy.
A better alternative is probably Attila : The Barbarian King Who Challenged Rome which seems more
conventional and truer to history.
~Theo
Jaime
