When you imagine Attila the Hun, you might envision a dirty, barbarous monster, thundering across Asia and Europe as he undertook a single-minded quest to conquer. Whoever got in the way was smashed to pieces by this brutal, brutish man. He somehow brought Christian Rome to its knees, despite being an uneducated warmonger. At least, that's what Rome wanted you to think.
Very little of this is true, it turns out. In fact, as ThoughtCo reports, Attila was born with significant privilege and educational opportunities. Before he was even born, Attila's uncle Rua had united the loose association of Hun clans by killing all the other Hun leaders, placing his family squarely at the top of the resulting power structure.
After this, according to History, Rua and his own brother, Octar, co-ruled from around 420 C.E. in the 430s. Their nephews, Bleda and Attila, were expected to take over once they came of age. This meant that the young boys were instructed in archery, swordsmanship, animal husbandry, military tactics, and diplomacy. They also would have known how to speak Greek and Latin, though it's uncertain if Attila would have known how to read and write in these foreign languages. Either way, Attila could not have risen to prominence within his own society without the right education and a quick, calculating mind.
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