His name has gone down in history as synonymous with plunder and barbarity. Remembered as the paradigm of cruelty and rapine, Attila, king of the Huns and scourge of God, was one of the greatest enemies of the Western Roman Empire—he nearly took Rome—and of the Eastern—he besieged Constantinople. His glory coincided with the decline of this vast domain. And hastened its fall. But who was this impressive warrior? The leader who brought from the East the end of the known world? In Attila, the first volume of the eponymous series, William Napier—hailed as one of the finest contemporary writers of historical fiction—recreates the trajectory of this leader. A man who united under a single banner a vast clan of disorderly tribes. And dared, on horseback and with arrows, to establish a new world order. The last and most powerful ruler of his people, he expanded the borders of his empire: from central Europe to the Black Sea, from the Danube to the Baltic. In this volume, Napier takes us to the early fifth century. Rome is on the brink of collapse. The great empire that ruled the Western world for twelve glorious centuries finds itself dangerously vulnerable. The vast barbarian tribes of Vandals and Visigoths are gathering on its borders. The worst rumors concern the Huns. And now they have a new leader, Attila. There is only one man capable of opposing him: Aetius, the great Roman general, also known as "the last of the Romans." In Attila, two worlds collide, and with them, two men who embody their values and essence. Attila sees more in his people than the power of pillage. And he dreams of achieving great things. Aetius embodies the best and worst of a dying Rome. His motivation is unwavering: the Romans must remain the center of the civilized world. Two different perspectives on destiny, championed by the two most powerful men of their time.
