Hungaria: The Nation of Atilla

I want to explore the idea of the Hunnic Empire not only lasting much longer after the death of Atilla but also leaving a larger imprint of the European map with an actual Nation of the Huns.

The POD would take into account two things about Atilla, considering he was such an influential figure.

1. He does not die as per OTL and is able to form a successful system of succession for at least a few generations.

2. The Huns do not take over the Roman Empire. The Huns will take the historical narrative of simply wanting to dominate the European Steppe and into Germania. Rather than absorb and rule over the Roman Empres they will just stick to invading to get their annual tribute and ransoms.

Primarily this effect may just come out in positive for the West Romans, for without the power vacuum of the Huns starting when it did they just may be able to credibly make a comeback.
 
The Hunnic "state" faced the same existential problem that the Romans did except on a more extreme level: namely, expansion wasn't just a desirable goal, but was crucial to their survival, as they weren't great at cultivation and their horde's practice of living off the land meant that they needed to seize food and supplies as they went. If they settled just outside the borders of Rome, where's all the food and money coming from?
 
The Hunnic "state" faced the same existential problem that the Romans did except on a more extreme level: namely, expansion wasn't just a desirable goal, but was crucial to their survival, as they weren't great at cultivation and their horde's practice of living off the land meant that they needed to seize food and supplies as they went. If they settled just outside the borders of Rome, where's all the food and money coming from?

They occupied a large area of the Russian Steppe from the Caspian Sea westward into Germany. The Hunnic State itself is often misrepresented as a monolithic culture of nomads but in fact it had to have had subject sedentary communities to feed itself not to mention inspire trade.

After all in his last campaign against the East Romans Atilla seized fairly all of the Balkans but he gave it up in exchange for ransom and tribute. What would a nomadic Steppe warrior do with gold? He would use it as a source of prestige among his subjects, to buy their loyalties but most likely to buy goods and services from merchants from elsewhere.
 
What kept the Huns and other nomadic peoples from lasting was their lack of production. They bought weapons from the civilized states, often with the caveat of only using them against other enemies of those civilized folk. Look what Byzantine did for so long! When the Huns, Avars, etc would start producing their own weapons they could be "somebody". What could you use for the Huns as a production center or people?
 
What kept the Huns and other nomadic peoples from lasting was their lack of production. They bought weapons from the civilized states, often with the caveat of only using them against other enemies of those civilized folk. Look what Byzantine did for so long! When the Huns, Avars, etc would start producing their own weapons they could be "somebody". What could you use for the Huns as a production center or people?

I looked more into the 'organization' of the Hunnic Empire and for the most part the biggest weakness for their longevity was 2 reasons:

1. A lack of binding bureaucracy.
2. That a majority of the tribes apart of the Hunnic Empire were kept within it by force, hence why after Atilla's death the whole thing exploded when his successors could not keep their subjects in line.

So, to have a longer lasting Hunnic state these are going to be the two biggest changes that have to be made. The first obstacle would be Atilla's ATL death, it could be say ten or twenty years down the road but his successor has to actually prepare for it. My thoughts are that Ellac cuts off the heads of a possible rebellion at a time frame when his father's health weakens considerably. That way not only does he destroy a possibly disloyal contingent but shows his strength as a ruler. It would still most likely see a small civil war but in the end Ellac would come out on top and be able to continue the Hunnic Empire. Along with hefty bribes.

Thats the short term, for the long term Ellac is going to have to begin introducing reforms into the Hunnic Empire. Most likely taking after the Roman example of creating a bureaucracy and allowing for greater cross between the Huns and their subject tribes. The last bit would actually be easy as the tribes that existed within the Hunnic Empire were very malleable in terms of identity, one generation Goths, the next Huns, and back to Goths again. The double edged sword to this is that it would lead the Huns to lose their identity and likely begin a process of Germanization.
 
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