Rehorsing the Huns

Historians such as Denis Sinor, Rudi Paul Lindner, and Peter Heather have questioned the traditional view that the fifth-century Huns remained true nomads. They argue that a shortage of grazing land in Pannonia led the Huns to abandon their traditional pastoral economy. As a result, the Huns depended on extracting tribute from the Romans for their survival. This article re-examines the evidence for this interpretation. It reasserts the conventional picture of the Huns as a nomadic people.