No description exists of the Hunnic religion of the time of Attila, but practices such as divination are attested, and the existence of shamans likely. They are believed to have used bronze cauldrons and to have performed artificial cranial deformation. Very little is known about Hunnic culture and very few archaeological remains have been conclusively associated with the Huns. Their relationships with other entities such as the Iranian Huns and the Indian Huna people have also been disputed. Since Guignes' time, considerable scholarly effort has been devoted to investigating such a connection. In the 18th century, French scholar Joseph de Guignes became the first to propose a link between the Huns and the Xiongnu people, who were northern neighbours of China from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Variants of the Hun name are recorded in the Caucasus until the early 8th century. Descendants of the Huns, or successors with similar names, are recorded by neighbouring populations to the south, east, and west as having occupied parts of Eastern Europe and Central Asia from about the 4th to 6th centuries. After Attila's death in 453, the Huns ceased to be a major threat to Rome and lost much of their empire following the Battle of Nedao (454?). In 451, the Huns invaded the Western Roman province of Gaul, where they fought a combined army of Romans and Visigoths at the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields, and in 452 they invaded Italy. The Huns, especially under their King Attila, made frequent and devastating raids into the Eastern Roman Empire. By 370 AD, the Huns had arrived on the Volga, and by 430 the Huns had established a vast, if short-lived, dominion in Europe, conquering the Goths and many other Germanic peoples living outside of Roman borders, and causing many others to flee into Roman territory. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part of Scythia at the time the Huns' arrival is associated with the migration westward of an Iranian people, the Alans. While its ally to the east has implemented sound fiscal strategies to ensure stability and longevity, the Western Roman Empire begins the Grand Campaign haemorrhaging funds and close to breaking point.The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. Times of crisis create opportunities which, if seized upon, will see the Empire re-forged and re-vitalised. Nonetheless, it is still possible for the Western Empire to rise again.

Roman Emperors have become increasingly fragile - many are manipulated by generals or deposed by their meddling Eastern counterparts.

There is neither the manpower nor the gold needed for an effective army, leaving it unable to deal with the many displaced barbarians pouring across RomeвЂ™s borders ahead of the Hunnic horde. Since the EmpireвЂ™s division the flaws besetting the West have rapidly become apparent. Its Emperor dances to the tune of a half-Vandal general, its powerless Senators idle on vast, poorly-managed estates.

Total war attila ancient empires