The cause of the fall of the Roman Empire was established with the help of tree rings

A team of scientists from the University of Cambridge has presented a new theory to explain the Hunnic invasion of Rome. IN

study published in the Journal of Romanarcheology, it is argued that severe droughts of the 430–450s AD disrupted the usual way of life in the Danube border provinces of the eastern Roman Empire. Climate change has led to new strategies for people to deal with economic challenges.

The researchers collected information on annualclimate changes over the past 2000 years based on the analysis of reconstructed annual tree rings. The study shows that the territory in which modern Hungary is located experienced many episodes of unusual drought in the 4th and 5th centuries AD. Climate fluctuations, in particular periods of drought from 420 to 450 AD, reduced crops and grazing for animals outside the Danube and Tisza floodplains, the researchers say.

A) Reconstructed Palmer Drought Severity Index (scPDSI) for June–August since 75 BC. to 2018 AD
B) Close-up of the index for 350-500 ad. The red lines mark documented raids by the Huns.
Image: Susanne E. Hakenbeck, Ulf Büntgen

Scientists note that if the current dating of historical events is correct, the most destructive Hun raids of 447, 451 and 452 AD. coincided with an extremely dry summer in the Carpathian Basin.

The climate-induced economic crisis coulddemand that Attila and other dignitaries extract gold from the Roman provinces in order to maintain military units and maintain loyalty among the elites. It seems that the former shepherds, who were engaged in horseback riding, became raiders.

Susanna Hackenbeck, Professor of Archeology at the University of Cambridge

Hun invasions of eastern and central Europein the 4th and 5th centuries AD is considered the first event that caused the "Great Migration" of the "barbarian tribes", which led to the fall of the Roman Empire, the researchers note. But for a long time it remained unclear where the Huns came from and what their influence was on the late Roman provinces. An analysis of climatic features provides one of the possible explanations for these historical events.

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