Popularly known as the “Scourge of God”, Attila the Hun completely dominated the battlefield with his fierce hordes of Hun warriors, devastating large parts of Asia and even Europe. Similarly, when it came to taking wives and concubines, the fierce conqueror was prolific. Unfortunately, his luck is said to have run out in 453 AD, when he tied the knot with a woman called Ildico.
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Attila’s marriage to Ildico is shrouded in mystery and speculation. According to some historical accounts, Attila married Ildico on the night of his death in 453 AD. It is said that he had been celebrating his marriage with a feast when he suddenly fell ill and died. Also, there were no visible wounds on the body of conqueror to reveal the exact cause of death. Some sources suggest that Attila may have been assassinated, possibly poisoned, by his own wife or by her family, although there is no concrete evidence to support this theory.
The widely accepted view is that Attila the Hun’s death was caused by a nosebleed, which caused him to choke on his own blood while he laid beside Ildico.
Other accounts suggest that Ildico was not Attila’s wife at all, but rather a concubine or a servant. Some historians believe that the story of Attila’s marriage to Ildico was invented or embellished by later writers, who sought to add a romantic or tragic element to Attila’s already legendary story.
Attila the Hun was such a fierce conqueror that in the entirety of his conquests, he only lost one battle – the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains which came at the hands of the combined armies of Rome and the Goths.
In the year that Attila the Hun died, it is said that the conqueror was readying his army to attack the Eastern Roman Empire (i.e. the Byzantine Empire).