hun

Hun or Huns refers to a group of nomadic peoples who inhabited parts of Central Asia and Eastern Europe from roughly the 4th to the 6th centuries. Rather than a single ethnicity, the term describes a loose, multi-tribal confederation that emerged on the Eurasian steppe. The origins and linguistic affiliations of the Huns are uncertain, and their language is not well attested; they are generally seen as a mobile culture that relied on horse-based warfare.

By the 5th century the Huns formed a major power in Europe, pressing against the Roman Empire and displacing other tribes. Under Attila the Hun, who dominated their state in the mid-5th century, they conducted large-scale campaigns in Gaul and Italy and compelled both Eastern and Western Roman authorities to negotiate. Their success rested on rapid cavalry movements, shock tactics, and their ability to unite various subject peoples under a common cause.

After Attila's death in 453 CE, internal rivalries and Roman resistance gradually weakened the Huns. By the mid-6th century their political influence had collapsed, and many former Huns and allied groups dispersed into other steppe communities such as the Avars and various regional polities.

In modern usage, "Hun" can refer to the ancient Huns or, less neutrally, as a label historically used for Hungarians. The latter use is controversial and often considered offensive or outdated in contemporary contexts. Historians distinguish carefully between the Huns of late antiquity and the modern nation of Hungary.