The Sons of Attila the Hun

The Ancients

History Hit

History

4.7 • 3.5K Ratings

🗓️ 16 October 2025

⏱️ 51 minutes

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Summary

The year is 453 AD. The most feared warlord in Europe - Attila the Hun - lies dead on his wedding night. But what happened next plunged his vast empire into bloody chaos.

In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Hyun Jin Kim to uncover the dramatic story of Attila’s heirs and the fall of the Huns. From bitter rivalries between Attila’s sons to the Gothic kings who rose to challenge them, discover how the mighty Hunnic Empire collapsed almost overnight — a saga of ambition, betrayal, and the violent unravelling of one of history’s most feared powers.

Attila the Hun: Scourge of God

The White Huns

Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Tim Arstall, the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds

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Transcript

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0:00.0	The Grand Sumo Tournament comes to the Royal Albert Hall.
0:05.0	Over 40 elite sumo wrestlers from Japan will battle for the coveted title of Grand Champion over five days.
0:14.0	Witness the battle of power and endurance between these great athletes.
0:19.0	From the 15th to the 19th of October. For tickets and more information,
0:25.9	head to royal alberthall.com. Hey guys, I hope you're doing well. I'd expect that most, if not all of you,
0:36.8	will have heard of the name
0:37.7	Attila the Hunt. But what about what followed his death, the demise of this Titanic
0:43.7	figure? That is what we're covering today. The story of the Sons of Atilla, the Fall of the
0:49.7	Hunts. Now, I love this topic because I'm pretty obsessed with the stories of what happened after the deaths of Titanic figures, warlords from ancient history, the death of Alexander the Great, for instance.
1:00.9	And usually the answer is chaos and turmoil. And the story of what happened after Attila's death is no different.
1:07.9	It was fascinating to learn about this, often overshadowed, but extraordinary
1:11.3	part of the story of the Huns. I really do hope you enjoy. Our guest is the brilliant
1:17.4	returning Professor Hyunjin Kim from the University of Melbourne. Let's go. In 453 AD, one of the titanic figures of late antiquity died of a nosebleed, while having sex with his newest wife on their wedding night. Or so, the story goes.
1:46.2	That man was the so-called scourge of God, the bane of Rome, Attila, ruler of the Hunnic
1:52.7	Empire. It was Attila, or Attila, who oversaw the zenith of the Huns expansion into Europe
1:59.4	as far as the Baltic Sea.
2:01.6	He left an empire that was formidable, but also was fragile, the recipe for chaos on an imperial scale.
2:11.6	This is the often overlooked story of what happened to the Huns after Attila's death, when his son struggled
2:19.3	to retain control and powerful Gothic chieftains challenged their rule.
2:24.3	This is the story of the fall of the Huns, of the sons of Attila, with our guest, Professor
2:30.3	Xun Jin Kim.
2:32.3	Hyn Jin Kim.
	...

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