The Most Evil Men In History — Attila The Hun

An account of Attila the Hun's reign of terror across Europe in the fifth century. This ruthless king of a nomadic Asiatic race murdered his brother before embarking on a campaign of slaughter and pillage through 100 cities which took him to the gates of Constantinople, Troyes in Gaul and even Rome itself, threatening the civilised world of the Roman Empire and plunging huge swathes of the continent once more into the barbarity of the Dark Ages.

Attila, the Hun was born in 406 AD. At the age of 12, Attila was sent as a child hostage to the Roman Court and in return, the Romans sent Flavius Aetius to the Huns. Not much has been recorded about his childhood.

In 433 AD, Rugila, the king of the Huns died. He left the empire to his nephews, Attila and Breda (Attila's brother). The Huns had invaded the Eastern Roman Empire during the reign of Rugila. To avoid further invasion, annually, the Roman Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire paid the Huns certain amount of money.

In 435 AD, the Hun rulers Attila and Breda renewed the treaty with Theodosius II, the Roman Emperor. This treaty was known as Treaty of Margus. As per the treaty, the Romans had to pay double the previous amount.

In 441 AD, Attila invaded the Eastern Roman Empire because the Romans refused to pay the annual treaty amount. The Huns conquered the Balkans, Belgrade and Sofia. The army of Attila reached Constantinople and camped outside the gates of the city. The Roman Emperor renewed the peace treaty and agreed to pay thrice the original amount.

Attila was not happy sharing his empire with his brother. In 444 AD, Attila and his allies murdered Breda.

In 447 AD, Attila again raided the Eastern Roman Empire and conquered the Thermopylae. Theodosius II again signed the peace treaty and this time the Romans had to pay four times the original amount.

In 450 AD, Attila received a letter from Honoria, the half-sister of the Emperor, Valentinian III, of the Western Roman Empire. She wanted him to make her his bride to escape from marrying someone whom she disliked. Attila declared war against the Western Roman Empire. The Roman army combined with Visigoths (Germanic tribes of Gothic origin) defeated Attila at the Battle of Chalons. After this defeat, Attila never troubled the Romans; he was never able to rescue or marry the Roman princess Honoria.

In 453, he married a young barbarian princess, Ildico. The same night he suffered a heavy nose bleeding. This condition choked him to death. However, the cause of his death still remains a mystery.

A series on the most horrible people in history from the Discovery Channel.

This series of programmes consists of episodes which profile evil men throughout history who have used their power to torture, kill, maim and eradicate millions of people.

Attila The Hun. Attila was Khan of the Huns. He is remembered as the epitome of cruelty and rapacity.

Bad King John. He murdered his nephew, inspired the legend of Robin Hood and caused the creation of Magna Carta.

Caligula. The Roman emperor’s reign is a legendary frenzy of lunacy, murder, and perverse sexuality.

Francisco Pizarro. Francisco Pizarro was one of the European explorers who went to South America to colonize it and had natives murdered so he could plunder their gold and silver.

Hitler. Adolf Hitler tried to mold Germany and a large portion of the 20th century into his own twisted design. Luckily for posterity he failed but not before destroying the lives of millions of people.

Idi Amin. Idi Amin rose to become a brutal and utterly ruthless dictator who committed atrocities on his people.

Ivan the Terrible. Ivan IV of Russia, also know as Ivan the Terrible, was the Grand Duke of Muscovy from 1533 to 1547 and was the first ruler of Russia to assume the title of Tsar. He was also a devout theist.

Joseph Stalin. Perhaps 7 million or more people were shot with a total suppression of about 50 million under uncle Joe Stalin. One of the great tyrant’s of the 20th century and indeed any century.

Nero. He brought the entire Roman Empire to the brink of collapse with his legendary excesses and cruelty.

Pol Pot. Responsible for the Killing Fields and Year Zero Pol Pot waged a gruesome war on his own population.

Rasputin. He was an uneducated peasant who gained a reputation as a faith healer. His strange behavior and incredible influence over the imperial family made him notorious and his death made him a legend.

Torquemada. Torquemada tortured and burned thousands of innocent Spaniards and expelled Spains Jewish population. Thomas De Torquemada was head of the Spanish inquisition and was renowned for his cruelty.

Vlad the Impaler. Vlad is best known for the legends of the exceedingly cruel punishments he imposed during his reign and for serving as the primary inspiration for the vampire main character in popular Dracula novel.