1 00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:19,902 Laurie was lying on the floor of Grandpa's study one rainy afternoon, doing her homework. 2 00:00:19,903 --> 00:00:24,779 She saw a crumpled piece of paper near the trash can and smoothed it out. 3 00:00:24,780 --> 00:00:33,801 "Hey, Grandpa, what's this? Did you draw it?" she asked, looking at a drawing of a vicious-looking man on a horse. 4 00:00:33,802 --> 00:00:38,118 "That is the work of a talented student, not me. 5 00:00:38,119 --> 00:00:47,303 He found it more entertaining to draw Attila the Hun than to listen to my lecture on Hun artifacts," Grandpa said. 6 00:00:47,304 --> 00:00:55,450 "Attila the Hun? I've heard of him! Wasn't he a horrible villain?" Laurie asked. 7 00:00:55,451 --> 00:01:01,242 "Well, it depends on who you ask," Grandpa said, joining Laurie on the floor. 8 00:01:01,243 --> 00:01:09,128 "The Huns were a group of nomadic horsemen who lived on the steppes of western central Asia. 9 00:01:09,129 --> 00:01:17,249 Most of what we know about them was written down by men of the Roman Empire—the empire the Huns invaded. 10 00:01:17,250 --> 00:01:25,151 Since the Huns had no written history of their own, it is difficult for historians to explain their past. 11 00:01:25,152 --> 00:01:30,643 But we know they lived in big tents made of wooden frames covered in wool. 12 00:01:30,644 --> 00:01:38,571 And they moved around when the seasons changed to find new grazing land for their large herds of cattle, sheep, and horses, 13 00:01:38,572 --> 00:01:41,310 which they depended on for food. 14 00:01:41,311 --> 00:01:46,009 And we know that they had a big impact on the Roman Empire." 15 00:01:46,010 --> 00:01:53,293 Laurie heard a rumble of thunder and looked outside. The sky had grown dark. 16 00:01:53,294 --> 00:01:58,073 "Meanwhile the Romans lived in busy cities. 17 00:01:58,074 --> 00:02:04,105 They were developing governments, conquering neighboring lands, and organizing taxes. 18 00:02:04,106 --> 00:02:08,369 Imagine what they must have thought when they encountered the Huns! 19 00:02:08,370 --> 00:02:12,218 They couldn't understand their language or way of life. 20 00:02:12,219 --> 00:02:21,305 So they called these very different people barbarians, which is actually what they called anyone who was not from Rome." 21 00:02:21,306 --> 00:02:27,640 "When I eat with my hands, Mom says, 'Stop acting like a barbarian!'" Laurie said. 22 00:02:27,641 --> 00:02:31,572 "She just doesn't understand my way of eating!" 23 00:02:31,573 --> 00:02:39,303 "Exactly!" Grandpa laughed. "But don't tell your mother I said that. 24 00:02:39,304 --> 00:02:45,723 Anyway, back to the Huns. They were the greatest horsemen in the world at the time. 25 00:02:45,724 --> 00:02:52,728 Old tales say that Hun children were taught to ride horses soon after they learned to walk. 26 00:02:52,729 --> 00:02:57,670 By the time they were adults, they were fast, skilled riders. 27 00:02:57,671 --> 00:03:02,714 They had to be, because horses were their main means of transportation. 28 00:03:02,715 --> 00:03:13,170 Hun warriors also fought on horseback. They would race into villages, firing arrows, looking larger than life, and terrifying the villagers. 29 00:03:13,171 --> 00:03:22,389 It is said that Hun warriors cut and scarred their faces in order to make themselves look more frightening!" 30 00:03:22,390 --> 00:03:29,316 Laurie jumped as a bright flash of lightning lit the sky, followed by a clap of thunder. 31 00:03:29,317 --> 00:03:39,490 "Around the fourth century, the Huns began moving west—like a dark storm cloud—raining terror on everything in their path. 32 00:03:39,491 --> 00:03:48,853 Maybe they needed more land for their herds or maybe they were driven away by the strong walls China had built to keep them off Chinese territory. 33 00:03:48,854 --> 00:03:56,771 The important thing is that when the Huns moved west, they forced other barbarians off their land. 34 00:03:56,772 --> 00:04:02,781 So then these other barbarian tribes had to move farther west. 35 00:04:02,782 --> 00:04:09,135 They moved into the Roman Empire, upsetting cities there. 36 00:04:09,136 --> 00:04:12,523 Some tribes became part of the Roman Empire. 37 00:04:12,524 --> 00:04:18,824 Some lived right on the borders. And others just caused trouble. 38 00:04:18,825 --> 00:04:25,687 The Visigoths, one powerful tribe, were farmers who needed land to grow crops. 39 00:04:25,688 --> 00:04:31,583 After fighting Roman armies for some years, they settled within the empire. 40 00:04:31,584 --> 00:04:36,799 In exchange for land and peace, they defended the empire's borders. 41 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:43,664 But the Visigoths soon grew unhappy because the Romans didn't give them everything they had promised. 42 00:04:43,665 --> 00:04:53,838 In the fourth century, the fearless Visigoth leader named Alaric led his soldiers into cities in what is now Italy and Greece. 43 00:04:53,839 --> 00:05:02,797 The Visigoths invaded, stole what they wanted, and left. This is called sacking. 44 00:05:02,798 --> 00:05:08,004 In 410 AD the Visigoths sacked Rome. 45 00:05:08,005 --> 00:05:15,395 It was a huge shock to the Romans, and many feared it would be the end of the greatest empire in the world." 46 00:05:15,396 --> 00:05:18,192 "Was it?" asked Laurie. 47 00:05:18,193 --> 00:05:25,611 "No. The Roman Empire held on for a while longer, and the barbarian invasions continued. 48 00:05:25,612 --> 00:05:29,834 The next major attack was from the Huns." 49 00:05:29,835 --> 00:05:35,863 Grandpa took something out of his pocket and tossed it to Laurie. "Heads up!" 50 00:05:35,864 --> 00:05:39,510 She opened her palm and saw it was a coin. 51 00:05:39,511 --> 00:05:46,918 "In the fifth century, Attila the Hun—the man on that coin you're holding—rose to power. 52 00:05:46,919 --> 00:05:52,768 He gathered thousands of Hun warriors and led them into southeastern Europe. 53 00:05:52,769 --> 00:06:02,208 After he conquered those lands, he moved his armies into Roman territories in modern-day Poland, Hungary, and Germany. 54 00:06:02,209 --> 00:06:08,428 The Huns became wealthy by looting cities, but also by taking prisoners and selling them. 55 00:06:08,429 --> 00:06:11,598 And they made money from peace treaties. 56 00:06:11,599 --> 00:06:17,713 These treaties often required the Romans to pay large amounts of money to the Huns. 57 00:06:17,714 --> 00:06:22,875 One treaty demanded nine hundred kilograms of gold a year!" 58 00:06:22,876 --> 00:06:31,581 "So what happened? Did the Huns become the richest, most powerful people in the world?" Laurie asked. 59 00:06:31,582 --> 00:06:35,734 "They didn't, although it seemed possible at one point. 60 00:06:35,735 --> 00:06:46,148 Attila the Hun died in 453 AD. He died of something silly—a nosebleed, they say—on his wedding night. 61 00:06:46,149 --> 00:06:50,904 How sad for a warrior who had survived so many battles. 62 00:06:50,905 --> 00:06:57,197 Shortly after that a civil war broke out among the Huns, destroying their empire. 63 00:06:57,198 --> 00:07:04,087 But the damage they and the other barbarians had done to the Roman Empire had weakened it forever. 64 00:07:04,088 --> 00:07:11,168 It, too, soon collapsed. The different regions created new governments and boundaries. 65 00:07:11,169 --> 00:07:15,343 Slowly Europe as we know it began to take shape." 66 00:07:15,344 --> 00:07:20,372 Lightning flashed, thunder boomed, and suddenly the lights went out. 67 00:07:20,373 --> 00:07:28,678 "Ahh!" Laurie shrieked. Grandpa reached for a candle by the window and lit it. 68 00:07:28,679 --> 00:07:33,994 "Here I am, Laurie." He put his arm around his granddaughter. 69 00:07:33,995 --> 00:07:42,489 "And if a scar-faced barbarian comes crashing through that door, don't worry—I'll protect you!" 70 00:07:42,490 --> 00:07:45,373 He held the candle up like a torch. 71 00:07:45,374 --> 00:07:48,947 "Grandpa!" Laurie giggled. 72 00:07:48,948 --> 00:07:55,627 "Laurie? Grandpa? Are you guys okay up there?" Dad shouted from downstairs. 73 00:07:55,628 --> 00:08:06,061 "We're okay, Dad! Safe and sound," Laurie answered.