Kan Attila

In the fourth century, a group of Central Asian tribes were forced from their lands by the Chinese. They formed a military alliance and moved towards the Caucasus, conquering extensive territory between the Caspian and Black Seas. Some Bulgar tribes joined them. Under Balamir, the Hunnic state defeated the Ostrogoths and moved its centre of power to Pannonia, in present-day Hungary.

The Byzantine Empire preferred a peaceful agreement with the Huns, paying annual tribute for protection. In 405, however, it sought Hunnic help against the Ostrogoths. Khan Uldin's auxiliary army drove them from Crimea, where Kutrigurs settled in their place. After Khan Rua's death, Bleda and his brother Attila contested power. Attila concluded a treaty with Byzantium in 434, but Byzantine violations led to war.

In 450, the Huns conquered extensive parts of central Europe, reaching the Rhine. Attila attacked the Western Roman Empire but was repelled at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains. He died in 453, after which Hunnic power disintegrated. His successor, Khan Ellac, was killed, and Attila's sons fell in battle except Irnik, who inherited power and founded the state of Bulgaria.