It is a right of nature to glut the soul with vengeance. I shall hurl the first spear at the foe. If any man can stand at rest while Attila fights, he is a dead man.
Of the barbarian hordes preying on the dying Roman Empire, the most feared are the Huns and their ferocious king, Attila. Dissatisfied with paltry Roman tributes, the mighty warlord mobilizes his horsemen on a campaign to ravage and loot the heart of the Empire itself! Can nothing stop the brutal Attila?
”
—In-game campaign description
“
Barbarian hordes feast on the dying Roman empire. The most dangerous of these invaders are the Huns and their ferocious king, Attila. After pouring out of the Caspian steppes, looting and burning all the while, the Huns become so powerful that the Roman Empire is forced to pay a tribute to Attila. But the king of the Huns is still not satisfied, and he mobilizes his horsemen to invade Gaul and eventually Rome itself! Can nothing stop the brutal Attila?
”
—In-game campaign description before the Definitive Edition
The Attila the Hun campaign consists of 6 scenarios. The player plays as the Huns, and the player color is yellow. In the Definitive Edition, the campaign is also available in co-op mode.
Unlike other campaigns, the story is told not by a witness of the events but by a second-hand narrator, an unnamed Frankishmonk from a monastery near Chalons, who is relaying them as told to him by his superior, an old priest named Armand. The cutscenes reveal that, as a young man, Armand fought on the Roman side at the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields (451 A.D.), but that he defected to the Huns after being captured by Attila, and fought by his side on the following invasion of Italy.
Despite being a cavalry unit, before the Definitive Edition, Attila was assigned to Armor class: Infantry, and thus took no bonus damage from anti-cavalry units such as Pikemen and Camel Riders. He could also garrison inside rams, while other cavalry units cannot. In the Definitive Edition, after certain updates, Attila is now in Armor class: Cavalry and cannot be garrisoned inside rams.
In the Definitive Edition, Attila has a new, unique sprite similar to a Tarkan but armed with a curved sword instead of a torch. The curved sword is historically inaccurate; Huns wielded straight, double-edged swords.
This campaign takes place entirely before the traditional start of the Middle Ages at the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 A.D. It was both the only non-anthology campaign set before 1000 A.D., and the earliest chronologically until it was beaten by the Alaric campaign in Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten.
The possibility of an Attila campaign was a determining factor in Ensemble Studios's decision to introduce the Huns as the new Central European civilization in The Conquerors, instead of their likeliest alternative, the Magyars.
Attila's two proposed years of birth coincide with key dates in the timeline leading to the Fall of Rome: 395 A.D. was the year when the Roman Empire was split into the Western Roman Empire and Eastern Roman Empire, and 406 A.D. was when the Vandals, Alans, and Suebi crossed the frozen Rhine to invade the Western Empire.
The campaign was made at the same time as the TV miniseries Atilla was being produced starring Gerard Butler as Attila the Hun.
Gallery[]
Multiple views of the hero unit.
Reconstructed portrait of Attila based on Roman sources