~The Huns~

The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from the east of Volga, migrated in Europe around 370 AD, and then built an enormous empire in Europe. The Huns (as described by enemies) were not attractive morally or in appearance. They were described as a savaged race. This is the only description left of them because there are no remains tracing back to the Huns, coming from themselves. They kept herds of cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, and their other sources of food consisted of wild game and wild plant roots. For clothes they had round caps, trousers, or leggings made from goat skin, and either linen or rodent skin tunics. During battle, they utilized the bow and javelin. The arrowheads and javelin tips were made from bones, and they also used iron swords while in combat. The Hun sword was a long, straight, double edged sword, and was hung from a belt, which kept the weapon vertical. With the arrival of the Huns, a separate tradition of composite bows arrived in Europe. Each bow was stiffened by two laths, as in longstanding Levantine tradition, and the grip by three. Therefore, each bow possessed seven grip and ear laths, compared with none of the Scythian and Sarmatian bows, and four ear laths on the Middle Eastern Yrzi bow. Huns were reported of using scarification. This typically meant slashing the faces of their male infants with swords to discourage beard growth. Another custom of the Huns was to strap their children's noses flat from an early age, in order to widen their faces, as to increase terror in their appearance. They thought this would "scare off" their enemies. Certain Huns skeletons have shown evidence of artificially deformed skulls that are a result of ritual head binding at a young age. Traditionally, historians have associated the Huns who appeared on the borders of Europe in the 4th century with the Xiongnu who migrated out of the Mongolia region in the 1st century AD. The Huns may have propelled the Great Migration, a contributing factor in the collapse of the western Roman Empire. They formed a unified empire under Attila the Hun, who died in 453; their empire broke up the next year. Their descendants, or successors with similar names, are recorded by neighboring populations to the south, east, and west, as having occupied parts of eastern Europe and Central Asia roughly from the 4th century to the 6th century. Variants of the Hun name are recorded in the Caucasus until the early 8th century.