From 434 till his death in March 453, Attila, often known as Attila the Hun, ruled the Huns. He was the ruler of a Central and Eastern European tribal empire that included Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Bulgars, among many others. He is also regarded as one of the largest and most powerful kings.

During his reign, he was one of the most feared foes of the Western and Eastern Roman Empires. He attacked the Balkans twice and crossed the Danube, but he was unable to capture Constantinople. Following his disastrous expedition in Persia in 441, Attila invaded the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, whose success encouraged him to conquer the West. He also tried to conquer Roman Gaul (modern-day France), crossing the Rhine in 451 and marching to Aurelianum (Orléans) before being defeated in the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains.

He then conquered Italy, destroying the northern provinces but failing to capture Rome. He intended to fight the Romans again, but he died in 453. Following Attila's death, Ardaric of the Gepids, a close advisor, launched a Germanic insurrection against Hunnic authority, which resulted in the Hunnic Empire's rapid demise. Attila would go down in Germanic heroic history as a legendary figure.