Ancient Mesopotamia, Near East and Greater Iran: Did Attila ever fight Sassanid persia?

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Did Attila ever fight Sassanid persia?

Printed From: History Community ~ All Empires
Category: Regional History or Period History
Forum Name: Ancient Mesopotamia, Near East and Greater Iran
Forum Discription: Babylon, Egypt, Persia and other civilizations of the Near East from ancient times to 600s AD
URL: http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1416
Printed Date: 10-May-2024 at 08:20
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Topic: Did Attila ever fight Sassanid persia?

Posted By: Guests
Subject: Did Attila ever fight Sassanid persia?
Date Posted: 02-Dec-2004 at 15:54

did he? And whats the outcome if he did. Or is there any political relationships

Replies:

Posted By: YusakuJon3
Date Posted: 08-Dec-2004 at 19:52

He was never even near Sassanid Persia. The Huns at the time (mid-5th Century AD) were primarily concentrated in the vicinity of modern-day Hungary and were almost constantly in conflict with the Romans and neighboring German and Slavic kingdoms. Attilla paid almost exclusive attention to his ambitions concerning Rome.

However, an earlier faction of the Huns may have had contact with the Sassanids. These were called the 'White Huns', and they conquered the kingdom of Bactria centuries earlier en route to leaving their mark in northern India. The kingdom of Kushan (sp?) might have been a result of the Huns' settling down in the former Bactrian territories.

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Posted By: BigL
Date Posted: 20-May-2006 at 23:02

according to wikipedia he invaded armenia

Posted By: DayI
Date Posted: 21-May-2006 at 07:17

Originally posted by BigL

according to wikipedia he invaded armenia

I think it whasnt Attilla himself, a division of Hun army did enter armenia and current day Azerbaijan and some even entered anatolia, but they wherent big in numbers.

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Posted By: Constantine XI
Date Posted: 21-May-2006 at 07:20

No, Attila never left Europe so far as anyone knows. Not all Huns were under his command either, the Ephthalite Huns appear to have been an autonomous group. Those Huns did engage in warfare with the Sassanids.

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Posted By: YusakuJon3
Date Posted: 21-May-2006 at 08:28

The question about Atilla has already been answered. As for those Huns who did come into conflict with Sassanid Persia, I think they were also referred to as Nephtalite (sp?) and they indeed invaded Sassanid territory from the direction of the former Bactria. However, I believe that the Kushan dynasty then in control of the region of Bactria originally came from a different tribe (Hsiung-Nu?) often referred to as predecessors of the Huns.

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Posted By: Zagros
Date Posted: 21-May-2006 at 08:41

Attila's people came from the East, atop the Caspian - they scooped up Alans from the Caucasus into their cohorts - Huns were unable to penetrate Sassanid territory as it was well defended from the Caucasus, also Sassanids were familiar with the war tactics of the Huns, so they probably opted for the open and fruitful Roman Europe.

Hephtalites (aka White Huns): the question of whether they were actually a branch of THE Huns is cloudy as far as I know.

Posted By: Afghanan
Date Posted: 21-May-2006 at 09:36

Originally posted by YusakuJon3

The question about Atilla has already been answered. As for those Huns who did come into conflict with Sassanid Persia, I think they were also referred to as Nephtalite (sp?) and they indeed invaded Sassanid territory from the direction of the former Bactria. However, I believe that the Kushan dynasty then in control of the region of Bactria originally came from a different tribe (Hsiung-Nu?) often referred to as predecessors of the Huns.

The "White" Huns (Ephtalites) were a seperate group from Atilla's Huns.

The White Huns are thought to have originated in the Hindu-Kush/Pamirs and they did invade Bactria and took it from the Kushans, who were originally the Yueh-Chi (Tokharians). THe Hsiung Nu were the ones who displaced the Yue Chih originally and made them migrate in masse to outskirts of Bactria, where they eventually staged their invasion.

THe Origins of the White Huns varies from scholar to scholar. Grosset in his book "Empire of the Steppes" claims the White Huns were Mongoloid, while more modern research from Japanese and Russian scholars point to Indo-Scythic roots.

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Posted By: ArmenianSurvival
Date Posted: 21-May-2006 at 19:01

Originally posted by BigL

according to wikipedia he invaded armenia

Actually, contemporary Armenian historians have noted that the Armenian general Vartan Mamikonian tried to contact Atilla asking him to aid Armenia in its revolt against Sassanid Persia in 451. Unfortunately Atilla was too busy with the Romans to be of any help.

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Posted By: raygun
Date Posted: 21-May-2006 at 20:56

Did the Ephthalite Huns in anyway drain resources from the Sassanid's war against the Romans, and later the Arabs?

Were the conflict between them a one-off affair or was it a series of intrusions and withdrawals by the Huns?

cheers