The Handy Military History Answer Book. Samuel Willard Crompton
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his youth.
Could Attila have captured Rome, and if so, would that have been the summit of his ambition?
Very likely, Attila would have been disappointed because Rome, in 450, was not what it had been a century or two before. Then, too, he had lost the chance of being the “first” man to sack Rome: that distinction went to Alaric, who led his Goths there in 410. But even when we put in these qualifiers, we know that Attila wished to conquer Rome. In 451, he led a large army of Huns due west, to central France, in what may be viewed as preparation for his assault on Rome. His plans were detected, however, and Aeitius brought a Roman-Germanic-Frankish army to challenge the Huns.
The Battle of Charlons-sur-Marne, fought in the summer of 451, may be one of the most decisive of the entire Middle Ages. It was not a spectacular victory for the Romans and their allies, but they fought the Huns to a draw, and Attila withdrew from the area. Given that the entire Western Roman Empire could have collapsed, the battle is regarded as a decisive victory even though it was fought from a defensive position.
Did Attila try again?
Yes. He returned in 453 C.E., crossed the Alps, and marched across northern Italy with frightening ease. Not until he was within one hundred miles of Rome was there any significant resistance, and it came—in this instance—not from military men but the papacy. Pope Gregory the Great left Rome with a tiny bodyguard, and upon arriving at the Huns’ camp asked to see Attila. The two men spent several hours in Attila’s tent, and soon after the Pope departed, the Huns began to break camp. Clearly, the Pope had said something of great importance.
No one knows what words were spoken, but we suspect that the Pope threatened Attila, saying that the Christian God was more powerful than the pagan ones and that the Huns would all contract a disease if they remained in Italy. There was a virulent pestilence at the time, and Attila may have feared it more than anything else, but according to Catholic tradition, the Pope saved Rome.
What happened to Attila and the Huns?
Attila died a year later, on the evening of his wedding to a Bulgarian princess. Soon after his death, the Huns began breaking up, evidence of the fact that their clannish and tribal ties were not as powerful as one thought. A generation later, it was hard to find anyone that called himself a Hun.
Was that the end of the barbarian migrations?
By no means. The Vandals had just gotten started on a remarkable odyssey that would take them to North Africa, and the Franks, Lombards, and Burgundians were still on the move. All of these tribes were headed toward settling down, but there was still some wildness within them.
Each of these tribes, and quite a few others in Western Europe, were on the verge of the greatest challenge they had ever met. Time and again, they had defeated their enemies in battle, but they had never come against a force as powerful as the Christian missionaries. Over the next one hundred years—between 450 and 550 C.E.—many of the barbarian peoples became Christians, thanks to the efforts of some truly dedicated and heroic monks and priests.
What was the high point for the Byzantines?
The Byzantines—who called themselves Romans—hit their high point sometime in the sixth century C.E. This was partly due to a rigid social and political system that allowed the military leaders to establish stronger armies than any seen in the previous three centuries.
The Emperor Justinian and his wife, the Empress Theodora, presided over the Byzantine Empire at the time of its greatest strength. Not only did they beautify Constantinople, building the famous Hagia Sophia, but they commissioned General Belisarius to reconquer large parts of the Western Roman Empire. During the 530s and 540s, Belisarius conquered parts of North Africa, all of Sicily, and parts of Italy. He did not attempt to reestablish a Roman presence in Rome, however; he, like everyone else, believed the city was too far gone. The fruit of Belisarius’ campaigns can, therefore, be seen in the magnificent Byzantine churches in northern Italy, especially the city of Ravenna.
Did the Byzantines hang on to what they had won?
Not for long. The pressure from the barbarian groups, who, by this time, can be considered semicivilized, was too strong. By 600 C.E., the Byzantines had lost nearly everything they had gained in the central and western Mediterranean. Part of the reason is that they were distracted by a newly resurgent Persian Empire.
Once a Greek Orthodox church and later a mosque and museum, the Hagia Sophia in present-day Istanbul, Turkey, was built at the height of the Byzantine Empire as part of Emperor Justinian’s efforts to beautify Constantinople.
How many times did the peoples of Iran and Iraq change their names?
So many times that one can spend hours trying to puzzle them out. Originally, the people in present-day Iran were known as Persians, but during the third century C.E., following a dynastic change, they came to be known as the Parthians. Later they became known as the Sassanids, another dynasty, and still later they reverted back to being Persians. During all these centuries and dynasties, one thing remained fairly constant: the Persians, Parthians, Sassanids, and others were aggressive and eager to combat the Byzantines.
Which Byzantine emperor pushed the Persians right to the brink?
The Emperor Heraclius (reigned about 600) fought the Persians relentlessly, driving them from Asia Minor and large parts of the Middle East. During his reign, the Byzantines gained definitive control of the city of Jerusalem and claimed to be defenders of the faith (this was, of course, disputed by the popes in the West). But just as he neared complete victory, Heraclius realized that his empire was overextended. He began a withdrawal that seemed like an excellent strategic move. Heraclius and his successors did not envision the new danger that was about to appear, however.
How important is the life of the Prophet Mohammed?
To those who believe he was the final prophet, Mohammed is the single most important person of human history. But even those who do not recognize Mohammed acknowledge him as one of the great change agents of the first millennium, whose impact lasted well into the third. Mohammed started a new monotheistic religion, with the faithful expressing their belief with a brief but poignant saying: “There is no God but God, and Mohammed is his Messenger.”
One can dispute aspects and parts of the Prophet’s teachings, but when it comes to war, there can be no mistake. Mohammed stands out among all the great religious figures as the one leader who believed force was sometimes necessary to accomplish the will of heaven. To be sure, some of his beliefs have been exaggerated or distorted by his followers, but the popular image of Mohammed holding the Koran in one hand and a curved sword in the other is not inaccurate.
To this point in military history—about 630—the Arabian Peninsula had not figured largely in the events or campaigns of any of the major powers. The Arabs, who numbered perhaps one million, were a people standing on the outskirts of history. No one—Byzantine, Persian, or Roman—expected them to make the sudden, swift appearance that occured in the 640s.
When did the Arabs leave their peninsula?
The Prophet Mohammed died in 632, and Arab military moves began within a handful of years following his death. No one person—civilian or military—lays claim as the leader of the Arab explosion; this is perhaps because Muslim writers wish to give all the credit to the Prophet. He had certainly established the path by creating a new religion, but even he would have been astonished at the speed and success of the Arab conquests.
Within ten years of the Prophet’s death, the Arabs had conquered Jerusalem and were on their way to taking Damascus and Cairo. Baghdad and the Libyan Desert were conquered next, followed by Arab movements into Spain and Central Asia. There were times, quite likely,