King of the Huns (434–53). From his base in Hungary he ravaged vast areas between the Rhine and the Caspian Sea between 445 and 450, inflicting great devastation on the Eastern Roman Empire. Attila then invaded the Western Empire but was defeated by the joint forces of the Roman army and the Visigoths at Châlons in 451. He and his army were the terror of Europe during his lifetime, and he earned the nickname ‘Scourge of God’.