"The Huns, Rome, and the Birth of Europe" book review
I've been reading different parts (I rarely read front to back) of The Huns, Rome, and the Birth of Europe by Hyun Jin Kim, which I got on interlibrary loan. In this book, Kim criticizes the usual Eurocentric perspective of the Huns where they are often described as "primitive savages" who contributed nothing to Europe but death and destruction. He says that the Huns had a very well-organized, sophisticated society and that it was Europe and the Germanic peoples in particular who learned from the Huns; the Huns had a huge impact on the development of early Medieval society, and Kim goes on to describe what they brought to Europe. Also, at that time, it was not so much Europe vs. Asia as it was the Mediterranean world (defined by the Roman Empire) vs. the Eurasian world (which stretched from the Rhine River all the way to Mongolia). Kim emphasizes the importance of Inner Asia in the development of both European and Chinese societies.
Some of what he says is controversial, but it's an interesting look.
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"You have a responsibility to consider all sides of a problem and a responsibility to make a judgment and a responsibility to care for all involved." --Ian Danskin
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