Huns

Huns (also known as Hunni). A nomadic pastoral people renowned for their military prowess who originated in northern China and then migrated to Central Asia. In the 2nd century AD they appeared in the steppes on the northern coast of the Black Sea. In the second half of the 4th century they began a massive migration into Central Europe, initiating the period of the great migrations of peoples into Europe from Asia. In 375 they defeated the Goths and the Alans and sacked most of the ancient states on the northern Black Sea coast. In the 5th century they moved to Pannonia (an area west of the Danube River, now Hungary and northern Yugoslavia), followed by some Goths, Alans, and Antes. There, under the leadership of Attila, the Huns reached the height of their power. Attila's domain stretched from the Volga to the Rhine and the northern shores of the Black Sea, known as Pontic Scythia. After Attila's death in 453, the Hun kingdom quickly disintegrated. Some of the tribes returned to the northern shores of the Sea of Azov, where they were known by various names until the 6th century.