AD 453

Death of Attila

Attila dies after his wedding feast, and his sons contest the succession

Attendants waited through much of the morning before breaking down the door; inside they found no wound and a veiled bride weeping beside the body.

453, but probably not March

Attila died in 453 after a feast celebrating his marriage to a woman named Ildico. No exact day and no securely identified location survive.

A recent chronological study by Péter Kovács concludes that news of the death was not yet known in Rome by mid-March, so the traditional “c. March” dating is too early, or at least too precise.

Ildico’s name looks Germanic, but the sources do not establish that she was Gothic, a princess, or from any particular royal family.

No wound on the body

In the conventional account attributed to Priscus and preserved by Jordanes, attendants broke into Attila’s room late the following morning and found him dead from an effusion of blood, with no wound visible, while Ildico wept beneath her veil.

That version says Attila lay on his back heavy with wine and sleep, and that blood which would ordinarily have run from his nose went down his throat instead.

It is a transmitted narrative rather than a verified diagnosis: Priscus’s near-contemporary text survives only through Jordanes, writing roughly a century later.

A strava, then a fight over the inheritance

Jordanes reports that Hunnic mourners cut their hair and faces, displayed Attila’s body in a silken tent and rode in circles reciting a funeral song.

A feast called a strava followed the lamentation, and Attila was buried secretly at night in coffins associated with iron, silver and gold. The burial place has never been identified, and the details come from a literary account rather than archaeology.

After the rites, Attila’s sons competed for supremacy and demanded that subject kings and their peoples be divided among them by lot.

Sources

Researched 23 Aug 2026 5 sources not yet audited Date disputed

How this was checked

Researched from the web into a fact sheet and rewritten from that sheet. This article has not yet had an independent model audit. How the pipeline works →

Date disputed. Sources disagree about when this happened.

What the sources leave uncertain

Only the year 453 is secure. A 2023 chronological study concludes that news of Attila's death was not known in Rome by mid-March, so the traditional 'c. March' dating is too early or at least too precise.
Priscus's near-contemporary narrative is lost in its original form and survives through Jordanes, writing roughly a century later.
The reported nosebleed or hemorrhage cannot be medically verified. A later chronicler alleged murder by a wife, but that account was recorded decades later and conflicts with the woundless body in the Priscus–Jordanes tradition.
Ildico's name appears Germanic, but the sources consulted do not establish that she was Gothic, a princess or from any particular royal family.