When Attila Is Dead

IT HAS happened many times in history. A nation, a people is seized by a sudden burst of destructive, barbaric energy. The old leaders fall, new ones emerge, the established order is turned upside down. Often this is coupled with strong expansionist tendencies: powerful armies are built up and new territories are conquered. In the beginning, these armies are nearly invincible—the Huns, the newly Islamic Arabs, the Mongols. The well-trained soldiers of the neighboring states cannot match the ferocious energy of these barbarians, who crush and loot everything that stands in their way.

The rise and fall of such barbaric empires is intimately connected with charismatic military and religious leaders who succeed in mobilizing all the energy of the nation into one great effort. Nearly always, after the death of this charismatic leader, the empire he has built up falls apart in one or another way. Sometimes so does even the empire-building nation itself. Where are the Huns, where are the Goths, where are the Manchus, where are the Macedonians? The Roman and Arabic empires, however, lasted much longer. Here, the military conquest was not as rapid as the conquest of the greater part of Eurasia by the troops of Genghis or Attila. The Romans and Arabs were much more numerous and able to assimilate other nations and build up an effective administration.

JK

About the Author

Jaan Kaplinski

Featured Tags

Manage following

Soviet Union

Communism

IT HAS happened many times in history. A nation, a people is seized by a sudden burst of destructive, barbaric energy. The old leaders fall, new ones emerge, the established order is turned upside down. Often this is coupled with strong expansionist tendencies: powerful armies are built up and new territories are conquered. In the beginning, these armies are nearly invincible—the Huns, the newly Islamic Arabs, the Mongols. The well-trained soldiers of the neighboring states cannot match the ferocious energy of these barbarians, who crush and loot everything that stands in their way.

The rise and fall of such barbaric empires is intimately connected with charismatic military and religious leaders who succeed in mobilizing all the energy of the nation into one great effort. Nearly always, after the death of this charismatic leader, the empire he has built up falls apart in one or another way. Sometimes so does even the empire-building nation itself. Where are the Huns, where are the Goths, where are the Manchus, where are the Macedonians? The Roman and Arabic empires, however, lasted much longer. Here, the military conquest was not as rapid as the conquest of the greater part of Eurasia by the troops of Genghis or Attila. The Romans and Arabs were much more numerous and able to assimilate other nations and build up an effective administration.