Grasping Reality on TypePad, by Brad DeLong

"Upon Ruga’s death, his nephews Bleda and Attila succeeded him. Bleda, the elder, ruled the eastern territories and Attila the western. Emperor Theodosius II of the Eastern Roman Empire then negotiated new peace terms with the Huns, promising that 'there should be safe markets with equal rights for Romans and Huns' and agreeing to pay the Hun rulers 700 Roman pounds of gold a year. The treaty was good for both sides. “When they had made peace with the Romans, Attila, Bleda and their forces marched through Scythia [the Western Steppe] subduing the tribes there.” When Theodosius II stopped regular payment of tribute to the Huns, Attila and Bleda launched a campaign against the Romans in 440 and 441. Crossing the Danube, they crushed the imperial forces, captured cities, and defeated a Roman army below the walls of Constantinople, which Theodosius had made the capital. The emperor finally sued for peace again and agreed to Attila’s demands, including cession of more territory, payment of the tribute in arrears, and the tripling of the former annual tribute amount to 2,100 Roman pounds of gold—which was actually still a pittance by Roman standards. Five years later, the Romans had given Attila cause to attack them again. In 447 he rode south, defeating the Roman army sent against him…"

--Christopher I. Beckwith, Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze…