Bleda (Priscus: Βλήδας; Procopius: Βλέδας; c. 390-445) was a Hun. As nephews to Rugila, Bleda and his younger brother Attila succeeded him to the throne. His reign lasted for eleven years until his death. While it has been speculated throughout history that Attila murdered him on a hunting trip, no one knows how he died. One of the few things known about Bleda is that, after the great Hun campaign of 441, he acquired a Moorish dwarf named Zerco. Bleda was highly amused by Zerco, and went so far as to make a suit of armor for the dwarf so that Zerco could accompany him on campaign. Priscus (left) with the Roman embassy at the court of Attila, holding his ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ (History, which the painter has incorrectly spelled ΙΣΤΩΡΙΑ). ... Procopius of Caesarea (in Greek Προκόπιος, c. ... Events In response to the murder of his general Butheric, Theodosius I orders a massacre of the inhabitants of Thessalonica. ... Events Attila murders his brother and co-king Bleda. ... Many historians consider the Huns (meaning person in Mongolian language) the first Mongolian and Turkic people mentioned in European history. ... It has been suggested that Ruga be merged into this article or section. ... Attila redirects here. ... The thrones for The Queen of Canada, and the Duke of Edinburgh (back) in the Canadian Senate, Ottawa are usually occupied by the Governor General and his/her spouse at the annual State Opening of Parliament. ... For the terrain type see Moor Moors is used in this article to describe the medieval Muslim inhabitants of al-Andalus and the Maghreb, whose culture is often called Moorish. For other meanings look at Moors (Meaning) or Blackamoors. ... This article is about the mythical creature. ...

Bleda and Attila's rule

By 432 the Huns were united under Rugila. His death in 434 left his nephews Attila and Bleda an Empire, attacking the merchants at the market on the north bank of the Danube that had been established by the treaty. Attila and Bleda threatened further war, claiming that the Romans had failed to fulfill their treaty obligations and that the bishop of Margus had crossed the Danube to ransack and desecrate the royal Hun graves on the Danube's north bank. They crossed the Danube and laid waste to Illyrian cities and forts on the river, among them, according to Priscus, Viminacium, which was a city of the Moesians in Illyria. Their advance began at Margus, for when the Romans discussed handing over the offending bishop, he slipped away secretly to the Huns and betrayed the city to them. Viminacium was the capital of the Roman province of Moesia. ... Moesia (Greek: , Moisia; Bulgarian: Мизия, Miziya; Serbian: Мезија, Mezija) is an ancient province situated in the areas of modern Serbia and Bulgaria. ... Location of Illyria Illyria (Albanian Iliria Land of the Free; Ancient Greek ; Latin Illyria [1] (see also Illyricum) was in Classical antiquity a region in the western part of todays Balkan Peninsula, founded by the tribes and clans of Illyrians, an ancient people who spoke the Illyrian languages. ...

Theodosius had stripped the river's defenses in response to the Vandal Gaiseric's capture of Carthage in 439 and the Sassanid Yazdegerd II's invasion of Armenia in 441. This left Attila and Bleda a clear path through Illyria into the Balkans, which they invaded in 441. The Hunnish army, having sacked Margus and Viminacium, took Singidunum (modern Belgrade) and Sirmium before halting. A lull followed in 442 and during this time Theodosius recalled his troops from North Africa and ordered a large new issue of coins to finance operations against the Huns. Having made these preparations, he thought it safe to refuse the Hunnish kings' demands. Geiseric (circa 389 – January 25, 477), also spelled as Gaiseric or Genseric, was the King of the Vandals and Alans (428–477) and was one of the key players in the troubles of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. ... For other uses, see Carthage (disambiguation). ... Sassanid Empire at its greatest extent The Sassanid dynasty (also Sassanian) was the name given to the kings of Persia during the era of the second Persian Empire, from 224 until 651, when the last Sassanid shah, Yazdegerd III, lost a 14-year struggle to drive out the Umayyad Caliphate... Yazdegerd II, (made by God, Izdegerdes), king of Persia was the son of Bahram V Gor and reigned from 438 to 457. ... Balkan redirects here. ... For other uses, see Belgrade (disambiguation). ... Ruins of Sirmium Julian solidus, ca. ...  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa. ...

Attila and Bleda responded by renewing their campaign in 443. Striking along the Danube, they overran the military centers of Ratiaria and successfully besieged Naissus (modern Niš) with battering rams and rolling towers (military sophistication that was new to the Hun repertory), then pushing along the Nisava they took Serdica (Sofia), Philippopolis (Plovdiv) and Arcadiopolis (Luleburgaz). They encountered and destroyed the Roman force outside Constantinople and were only halted by their lack of siege equipment capable of breaching the city's massive walls. Theodosius admitted defeat and sent the court official Anatolius to negotiate peace terms, which were harsher than the previous treaty: the Emperor agreed to hand over 6,000 Roman pounds (ca. 1,963 kg) of gold as punishment for having disobeyed the terms of the treaty during the invasion; the yearly tribute was tripled, rising to 2,100 Roman pounds (ca. 687 kg) in gold; and the ransom for each Roman prisoner rose to twelve solidi. Niš (Ниш, the Roman Naissus; see below) is a city in Serbia and Montenegro (formerly Yugoslavia), 43. ... Replica battering ram at Ch teau des Baux, France A battering ram is a weapon used from ancient times. ... The gorge of NiÅ¡ava in the east of Serbia NiÅ¡ava (Нишава in Cyrillic) is a river in Serbia and Bulgaria and a right tributary of South Morava. ... National Theatre, Sofia Alexander Nevski Cathedral The city of Sofia (Bulgarian: София), at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, has a population of 1,208,930 (2003), and is the capital of the Republic of Bulgaria. ... Plovdiv (Bulgarian: ) is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia, with a population of 343,662. ... Lüleburgaz is a city in the Kırklareli Province in Turkey. ...

Their demands met for a time, the Hun kings withdrew into the interior of their empire. According to Jordanes (following Priscus), sometime during the peace following the Huns' withdrawal from Byzantium (probably around 445), Bleda died (killed by his brother, according to the classical sources), and Attila took the throne for himself.