According to a new study, Hunnic peoples migrated west across Eurasia, switched between farming and herding, and became violent raiders in response to the bad weather in the frontier provinces of the Roman empire.
Hungary has just experienced its driest summer since the beginning of meteorological measurement. The Roman empire may have been devastated by similar conditions in the 5th century.
The Hunnic peoples of the eastern Roman empire were forced to adopt new strategies to buffer against severe economic challenges due to the extreme dry spell of the 450sCE.
A new tree ring-based hydroclimate reconstruction as well as archaeological and historical evidence led to the conclusions of the authors.
The fall of the Roman empire was caused by the Hunnic incursions into eastern and central Europe in the 4th and 5th centuriesCE. The impact of the Huns on the Roman provinces was not known.
Prof Bntgen and his colleagues reconstructed the climate data from tree rings. Hungary had dry summers in the 4th and 5th century. According to Hakenbeck and Bntgen, there would have been a reduction in crop yields and pasture for animals beyond the floodplains of the Danube and Tisza if there had been a dry spell from 400 to 450CE.
Bntgen said that tree ring data gave them an opportunity to link the climate to human activity on a year by year basis. There were periods of dry weather and an increase in raiding activity in the area.
The Hunnic peoples may have responded to climate stress by mixing agricultural and pastoral diet.
Settlements may have been forced to move if resource scarcity became too extreme. Insurance strategies could have been important during a downturn.
The study says that some Hunnic people changed their social and political organization to become violent raiders.
From herders to raiders, from herders to raiders, from herders to raiders, from herders to raiders, from herders to raiders.
The Roman frontier was attacked after Attila took power. The Huns wanted a strip of Roman territory along the Danube. The Huns invaded Gaul and Italy within a year of each other.
The Huns have been portrayed as violent barbarians because of their thirst for gold. The historical sources documenting these events were written by elite Romans who had little experience with the people and events they described.
Roman and Hun diplomacy was complex according to historical sources. The Hun elites gained access to a lot of gold initially. The system of collaboration broke down in the 4th century and led to raids of Roman lands and increased demands for gold.
Climate-caused economic disruption may have required Attila and others of high rank to extract gold from the Roman provinces. The herders who used to ride horses have become raiders.
The Huns were described as a group with a military organization that was difficult to counter by the Roman armies.
According to the study, the Huns attacked the provinces of Thrace and Illyricum because they wanted food and livestock, not gold. According to the authors, Attila demanded a strip of land 'five days' journey wide' along the Danube because it could have offered better pasture in a time of dry weather.
Climate can cause people to make decisions that affect their economy and political organization. It is not straightforwardly rational to make such decisions.
The history shows that people respond to climate stress in unpredictable ways and that short-term solutions can have negative consequences.
The Huns had only appeared in central Europe a few decades ago. The death of Attila occurred in 453CE.
During the Hunnic incursions into central-eastern Europe in the 4th and 5th c., there was a shortage of water. The Journal of Roman Archaeology was published in the year 2000. There is a DOI of 10.1017/S1047752000332.
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