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Book
Review |
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Babcock, Michael A. The Night
Attila Died: Solving the Murder of Attila the Hun (New York: Berkley Books, 2005). 324 pp, $23. 95.
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Most, if not all, historians view themselves as detectives of sorts. After
all, we comb through manuscripts and documents searching for clues to better
understand what happened in the past. However, while historians always have
research questions, rarely do they have a murder mystery to solve. In The
Night Attila Died, Michael A. Babcock
attempts to solve a mystery from antiquity—who killed Attila the Hun. |
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Babcock, a philologist at Liberty University, suggests that the time-honored
account of Attila's death written by Priscust is not accurate. Babcock argues
that rather than dying from a nosebleed on his wedding night, instead Attila
fell victim to an assassination plot hatched in Constantinople. At first glance,
it would be easy to dismiss this as simply another conspiracy story with a
catchy title to sell books. Yet Babcock's methodology in uncovering and presenting
this plot is impressive; and impressive it should be when challenging an account
accepted since the 'Scourge of God' died in 453. The author weaves a narrative
that is quite convincing and slowly builds his case point by point. |
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The book
consists of an introduction, eight chapters, the endnotes, and two indices—a
biographical and a topical index. The introduction reveals how the author
first became interested in Attila during his days as a philology graduate
student. The chapters themselves are an intriguing blend of research and historiography,
developed through Babcock's conversational writing style. Inserted between
the analysis of sources and narrative are his own personal reflections. These
range from moments in his classroom as a professor to his earlier days as
a graduate student. Thus Babcock's writing style gives the reader an intimate
atmosphere—one feels almost as if Babcock is in the room discussing it—and
also draws the reader deeper into the mystery.
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Nonetheless, The Night Attila Died remains
a serious academic discussion. It is not widely known,
but the Eastern Roman Empire failed in an earlier attempt to assassinate Attila.
Babcock explores the personalities involved in this plot as well as developing
the case for a second alleged assassination plot. In each chapter, Babcock
provides a few exhibits and systematically goes through each one to establish
its validity. It is tempting to reveal all of the pieces of evidence, but
that would be like giving away the end of a movie. However, revealing a few
pieces might tempt readers to peruse the book. The first is that the accepted
version of Attila's death comes from a single source, and in Babcock's view,
it suffers from "textual corruption." Another
exhibit is the seeming contradiction that Attila died from a nosebleed after
drinking excessively, but that in all other reports on life of Attila, he
was a model of temperance. |
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| Babcock constructs a convincing case drawing on a myriad
of sources and using a careful and systematic analysis of these texts. His
discussion covers Attila's entire career and clearly reveals the power of
the scribe—how the scriveners of the past influenced commonly held views on
events through the medium of the written word. Yet, Babcock's case is not
air-tight. While he raises several well-reasoned and insightful points, ultimately
he is undone by his own passion for philology. While arguing that none of
the sources indicate that Attila drank excessively, except for Priscus's,
Babcock does not take into account factors outside of the sources, such as
pastoral nomadic culture. |
| Attila, as a Hun, lived in a pastoral nomadic culture. Even if he no longer
practiced seasonal migration, the culture of the Huns was similar to virtually
all other steppe nomads that existed in the Eurasian steppes. One aspect of
this culture was the consumption of kumiss (fermented
mare's milk). While its alcoholic properties are not high, one can become
intoxicated. Furthermore, in virtually all accounts of festivities among the
steppe nomads, heavy drinking was almost an obligation. Jack Weatherford's
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World illustrates
this point quite well. In
addition, Babcock ignores a basic element of human interaction. During times
of celebration, such as Attila's fateful wedding night, it should not be surprising
that the groom and everyone else were exuberant in their merry-making. Who
has not seen normally reserved people loosening their demeanor at weddings,
parties, and similar occasions? Thus while Babcock argues a good case, the
original verdict has yet to be overturned. |
| Nonetheless, The Night Attila Died is a wonderful and enlightening read. The intended
audience is the educated public, but it would also work well as a classroom
supplement for world history classes or for historical methods courses. Instructors
will also find it extremely useful for their own background knowledge, as
Babcock paints a vibrant image of life in the declining Roman Empire. Graduate
students, particularly at the Master's level, will benefit from understanding
the nuances and problems of working with pre-modern sources. Furthermore,
it could lead to a discussion of a wide variety of issues, from interpreting
sources to the intricacies of diplomacy in the ancient world. Regardless of
who reads the book, they will find it intriguing and enjoyable. |
Timothy May
North Georgia College
and State University
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