Who saw "Barbarians" on the History Channel?

[coriolis]

I did and I highly recommend that you catch the reruns if they have them.

The last couple of nights there were segments on the Goths, the Huns, the Vikings, and the Mongols. There was also a movie about Atilla the Hun and a segment on the Roman Emporers. It was very interesting and I highly recommend it. The intrigue! The legends! The facts!

A few tidbits: The Roman army included more men from other tribes than it did Romans. Rome made alliances with barbarian tribes and played them off of each other at their convenience. Atilla the hun lived as a guest of the Romans for 2 years before going on his rampage. The Roman General who ended up stopping Atilla lived with the Huns as a boy. After defeating the Huns with the help of the Goths in the decisive battle, he let them go because they coud be useful against the Goths later. Attilla the Hun attacked the western roman empire because a Roman noble woman wanted out of a marriage and offered her hand and the empire to him. After Rome fell, the Visigoths, which were the remmants of the barbarian Goths, actually preserved the Roman culture in what is now Spain.

[GalvestonDuck]

Thanks for the info, Ed! I didn't see it although I recall seeing the previews the other day. I'll keep an eye out for it.

[streetsoldier]

I not only watched "Barbarians", but the movie "Attila" and a three-hour segment on the rise and fall of Byzantium (Constantinople, now Istanbul).

I switched back and forth with watching the Democratic candidates, and for the life of me I couldn't distinguish one group from the others...

[isobar]

Tried to watch it, only caught bits and pieces. Fascinating bit of history. Thanks for the recap, Ed.