History UsefulNotes / AttilaTheHun

[[folder:Comic Strips]]
* An occasional rival to ''ComicStrip/HagarTheHorrible''.

* Attila appears in rather mythologized form in the ''{{Literature/Nibelungenlied}}'' and the ''Literature/VolsungaSaga'' under the name of Etzel or Atli.
* Attila appears in Dante's ''Literature/TheDivineComedy'' in the seventh circle of Hell.
* Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus once did a parody of a typical American sitcom called ''The Attila the Hun Show'', with Creator/JohnCleese as the eponymous conqueror in the starring role.
* ''The White Stag'': A highly fictionalized OriginStory for the Huns.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TimeSquad'' Attila is a sniveling, neurotic and strangely AmbiguouslyJewish wannabe leader. Time Squad comes in to turn him into a leader that his men can respect and follow orders.
* He appears as one of the many wax figures brought to life in ''Film/NightAtTheMuseum''.
* In the episode "Kif Gets Knocked Up a Notch" of ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', Attila was one of several simulations of evil characters accidentally brought to life (others included UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper and [[Literature/SherlockHolmes Professor Moriarty]])

* A Trinidadian calypso singer from the first half of the 20th century called himself Atilla the Hun. He is notable for being the first calypso musician to be elected into the City Council of Port of Spain and the Legislative Council of Trinidad and Tobago.
* Music/BillyJoel started his career as part of a PsychedelicRock band called Attila. Their only album ''Music/{{Attila}}'' (1970) is often called "[[BileFascination one of the worst albums ever created.]]"
* There is also a 2005 {{Metalcore}} band from Atlanta, Georgia called ''Attila''.

* Attila and his hordes occasionally show up on ''{{Series/Kaamelott}}'', where he is an easily fooled short Asian man and his hordes consist of a single bodyguard... yet is apparently a legitimate Scourge of God.
* A [[GenderFlip Gender Flipped]] version of him appears as a Saber in ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder''[[note]]the first new Saber shown, the dark-skinned one with the rainbow sword[[/note]]. This depiction is also a very favorable one, as her In-Universe CharacterAlignment is ChaoticGood, and she's one of the more just Servants.

* ''Attila'': A miniseries starring Creator/GerardButler.

* The ''Total War'' series has [[VideoGame/TotalWarAttila an installment dedicated to him and his era.]]

%% Put this content in the article below.
%%* He listened to the appeals of Pope Leo and refused to sack the already weak city of Rome. He was also known for his [[SacredHospitality hospitality]].
%%* BloodFromTheMouth: He was found dead choking on his own blood. Exactly what killed him is up for debate; most sources cite internal bleeding in the throat/sinuses, while one source claims an assassination.

%%* DeathByIrony: The bloody king Attila drowned in his own blood on his wedding night, possibly from drinking too much alcohol.

%%* MainstreamObscurity: A notorious conqueror, plunderer and pillager everybody has heard about, yet nobody is able to tell much more than a few lines about. There isn't even a universally accepted image of him. Many people will often confuse him with UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan, about whom we know a whole lot more.

%%* TheNapoleon: He was apparently rather short and possibly suffered some form of dwarfism. Although, considering that most sources on his appearance tend to be generally quite negative about him, it could be inferred that such unflattering depictions may be a result of demonisation. In the sources where he ''is'' depicted favourably (mainly continental Germanic legends where he is said to be a noble and generous king) he's more of a background character and his appearance isn't elaborated upon.

%%* SacredHospitality: One of his more redeeming qualities.

'''Attila''' was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in 453. He was leader of [[TheEmpire the Hunnic Empire]], which stretched from the Ural River to the Rhine River and from the Danube River to the Baltic Sea. During his reign he was one of the most feared enemies of the Western and Eastern Roman Empires, earning him the title, "TheScourgeOfGod". He also attempted to conquer Roman Gaul (modern France), crossing the Rhine in 451 and marching as far as Aurelianum (Orléans) before being defeated at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (aka the Battle of Chalons). Subsequently he invaded Italy, devastating the northern provinces, but was unable to take Rome. He planned for further campaigns against the Romans but died in 453.

!!Attila provides examples of the following tropes:

* AffablyEvil: If you see him as evil, that is. He listened to the appeals of Pope Leo and refused to sack the already weak city of Rome. He was also known for his [[SacredHospitality hospitality]].
* BloodFromTheMouth: He was found dead choking on his own blood. Exactly what killed him is up for debate; most sources cite internal bleeding in the throat/sinuses, while one source claims an assassination.
* CainAndAbel: He is believed to have killed his older brother Bleda, who, according to some sources, tried to kill him as well.
* DeathByIrony: The bloody king Attila drowned in his own blood on his wedding night, possibly from drinking too much alcohol.
* TheDreaded
* CoolSword: The Sword of Mars. Rumored to be made out of meteorite iron and was a grave marker of the previous owner. While it stood in the ground it was struck by lightning.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: One of his methods of execution, later infamously adopted by UsefulNotes/VladTheImpaler.
* MainstreamObscurity: A notorious conqueror, plunderer and pillager everybody has heard about, yet nobody is able to tell much more than a few lines about. There isn't even a universally accepted image of him. Many people will often confuse him with UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan, about whom we know a whole lot more.
* ModestRoyalty
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Literally! Whenever people heard that the Huns were coming they panicked and fled or surrendered. His first name also lives on in infamy as many villains in popular culture are named after him.
* TheNapoleon: He was apparently rather short and possibly suffered some form of dwarfism. Although, considering that most sources on his appearance tend to be generally quite negative about him, it could be inferred that such unflattering depictions may be a result of demonisation. In the sources where he ''is'' depicted favourably (mainly continental Germanic legends where he is said to be a noble and generous king) he's more of a background character and his appearance isn't elaborated upon.
* OutWithABang: Reportedly died on his wedding night - or, more likely, one of his wedding nights as he likely had a harem.
* SacredHospitality: One of his more redeeming qualities.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: As with many foreign names his name has been spelled both as ''A'''t'''i'''l'''a'', ''A'''tt'''i'''ll'''a'', ''A'''t'''i'''ll'''a'' and ''A'''tt'''i'''l'''a''.
* TheSpymaster: Many of his successes against the Roman Empire came from knowing their movements in advance.
* UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny: The greatest battle he partook in, also the one that he was stopped in, was this. He headed an alliance of the Huns and all the barbarian tribes north of the Danube and east of modern-day Germany. The Romans marched to stop him at the head of an alliance of Visigoths and Franks, followed by Saxons and Burgundians. Why was this significant? Other than the sheer RuleOfCool of nearly 200,000 warriors brawling it out, the victors of this battle made the Middle Ages (representing Visigoths = European Spain, Franks = France & Holy Roman Empire and Saxons = Vikings/Anglo-Saxons/Normans).

----

* Attila appears in Dante's ''Literature/DivineComedy'' in the seventh circle of Hell.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Depending on where you live, or what sources you listen to, Attila was either an [[HistoricalVillainUpgrade evil bloodthirsty warlord]] or a [[HistoricalHeroUpgrade great and noble king]]. In RealLife he was probably somewhere in-between.

* DeathByIrony / KarmicDeath: The bloody king Attila drowned in his own blood on his wedding night, possibly from drinking too much alcohol.

* IconicItem / CoolSword: The Sword of Mars. Rumored to be made out of meteorite iron and was a grave marker of the previous owner. While it stood in the ground it was struck by lightning.

* TheNapoleon: He was apparently rather short and possibly suffered some form of dwarfism.

There is no universally accepted image of Attila the Hun, though he is normally depicted as a large hairy barbarian similar in appearance to GenghisKhan, another horseback archer barbarian conqueror.

There is no universally accepted image of Attila the Hun, though he is normally depicted as a large hairy barbarian or similar in appearance to GenghisKhan, another horseback archer barbarian conqueror.

* In ''WesternAnimation/LosTrotaMusicos'', an adaptation of ''Literature/TheBremenTownMusicians'' the four animals were confronted by three robbers whose evil dog was named ''Attila''.

* In the famous essay "For the New Intellectual," AynRand used Attila as the symbol of all historical figures who think and act like TheBrute, without thinking about the long-term future, or any form of morality (particularly the reasons why dealing with people through brute force is a bad thing), or an understanding of things that uses the concepts of philosophy and science, etc.

* Serves as the namesake of ''VideoGame/TotalWarAttila'', and is essentially the FinalBoss in the campaign.

* TheNapoleon: He was apparently rather short.

* He apears as one of the many wax figures brought to life in ''Film/NightAtTheMuseum''.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' pilot episode ''The Simpsons Christmas Special'' the family tries to sing ''Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer'' but Bart keeps adding lines of his own to Homer's annoyment. After singing ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: you'll go in history'' Bart belts out: ''Like Attila the Hun!'', which is the final straw for Homer who starts strangling him.

* MainstreamObscurity: A notorious conqueror, plunderer and pillager everybody has heard about, yet nobody is able to tell much more than a few lines about. There isn't even a universally accepted image of him. Many people will often confuse him with UsefulNotes/GengisKhan, about whom we know a whole lot more.

* In the episode "Kif Gets Knocked Up a Notch" of ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', Attila was one of several simulations of evil characters accidentally brought to life (others included JackTheRipper and [[Literature/SherlockHolmes Professor Moriarty]])

* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: One of his methods of execution, later infamously adopted by Vlad the Impaler.