ABSTRACT
There is no need to labour the point that the Huns all but lived on horseback, and in sheer horsemanship they far surpassed the best Roman and Gothic cavalry. In order to recognize the bases of that nomadic military superiority people must further distinguish the nomad from the simple herder. The herder is a pastoralist whose life revolves around the welfare of his flocks. He needs pasture, water and occasional markets. A string of horses was also an inexpensive addition to the nomad's equipment, for the horses could freely graze on the open steppe. Although the Huns may not have raided the Balkans during 395, they did raid Mesopotamia and Syria from the north during that year. One generation later, during the negotiations for the Peace of Margus, people find Bleda and Attila negotiating on horseback, while the Roman emissaries, "mindful of their dignity", followed suit.
