Attila the HunHow a nosebleed helped Christianity expand in W. Europe

Map of Western and Eastern Empire

As you know: Diocletian Divided the Roman Empire

Constantine moved the capital to Byzantium and renamed it Constantinople

This weakened the Western part of the empire

The Western Empire was made weaker by “barbarian” invasions from outside the empireYes. The Eastern Empire was invaded some but the West received the brunt of the attacks

Basically every tribe was running from the Huns and were attacking along the way

Attila the Hun

Attila the HunThe Huns were from Central Asia and settled in HungaryThey made their living by raiding and destroying citiesTo Keep Attila and the Huns out of the Eastern Empire, the emperor paid him in gold to not attack.

So the Huns turned towards the Western Empire.

By 452 AD Attila was making inroads into the Western Empire

Rome was so weak and broke, they could not afford to send an army to stop him.

So Roman General sent Pope Leo to meet with Attila and get him to turn away.

Attila meets Pope LeoThis painting by Renaissance artist Rafael depicts a portrayal of the meeting between Pope Leo and Attila the Hun

The Pope told people later that angels and saints were watching over the meeting and convinced Attila to turn away.

Attila withdraws his forces after the meeting intending to come back the following year:He withdrew his army for two reasons:

1) sickness had struck his army2) the Pope gave him a large chest filled with gold to go away

[notice that isn’t mentioned in the painting ]

However Attila is unable to attack the following year:He dies from a nosebleed on his wedding night His empire falls apart without his leadership

So how does a nosebleed make Christianity stronger?

Note how little Christianity had spread into Europe by 300 ADThe dark blue areas show where Christianity had spread by 300

Even by 450 AD it had not spread much and the power of the Pope was not respected outside the cities of Rome and Ravenna.

Notice how much Christianity had spread by the 600s?Many people thought the world was going to end in the year 500 AD

The Roman Catholic Church becomes very powerfulThe Roman Catholic Church gained a lot of followers due to the death of Attila the Hun

This in turn allowed the Catholic church to spread its influence throughout Europe

The Roman Catholic Church and its policies dominate the politics and society of Europe for many years

What if Attila hadn’t died from his nosebleed and had been able to return to W. Europe?He would have probably destroyed the Western Empire years before its collapse since there was no army that could stop him

He also would have destroyed the Catholic seat of Christianity leaving the Greek Orthodox Church as the dominant Christian force in Europe

That would have changed the history of the Middle Ages in Europe since the Roman Catholic church dominated the politics of Western Europe-- for example: there would have been no Pope to crown Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor in 800 AD

Sometimes tiny events in history have big implications for the future

Works cited:

• "Attila De Hun." - Wikipedia. Web. 03 Mar. 2015. • "Christianity in the 3rd Century." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 03

Mar. 2015. • "Church History 101: A Map of the Roman Empire Split into "Latin West" and

"Greek East"" St Eutychus. 05 Nov. 2010. Web. 03 Mar. 2015. • "Migration Period." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 03 Mar. 2015. • "Unique Facts About Europe: Attila the Hun." Unique Facts About Europe:

Attila the Hun. Web. 02 Mar. 2015. • "Real Attila." Real Attila. History Channel. 2010. Television