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Ancient History

Operation Nemesis and Other Historic Paybacks

Armenian Genocide - 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide

Attila the Hun. Encyclopedia Britannica

3. The Scourge of God

Before Hitler, and before Genghis Khan, history’s most hated ruler was probably Attila the Hun (406 – 453), who ruled a multi-tribal empire that spanned Eastern and Central Europe. Born in the Hungarian Steppe into the Hun royal family, he inherited the crown jointly with his brother Bleda in 434.

Huns cutting loose. History

During his reign, 434 – 453, Attila earned the moniker “The Scourge of God”, as he savaged the civilized world. He invaded Persia, terrorized the Eastern and Western Roman Empires, plundered the Balkans, extorted vast sums of gold from Constantinople, invaded Gaul and was beaten back, recoiled, then struck into Italy the following year, before meeting his gratifyingly karmic end.

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A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.

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