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===Attila and the fall of the Western Empire===
The fall of the Western Empire is usually dated 476 ADS, when a Scirian Warlord Odoacer deposed the last Roman Emperor. This was a full generation after the invasion of Italy by Attila. However, the Hunnic king played a very important role in the decline and final fall of the Western Roman Empire .<ref> Heather, p. 378</ref>. The financial demands of the Huns resulted in a series of fiscal crises for the Emperor. This has implications for the western Empire which was in serious economic decline unlike the eastern section of the Empire. This and the scale of the devastation caused by the raids of Attila resulted in a growing economic crisis by 450 AD. It has been argued that the economic impact of the Huns campaigns was a major factor in the fall of Rome. This was because no longer could the Roman Emperor buy off the many barbarian tribes that had occupied sections of the Empire. The Goths and the other tribes instead of receiving payments began to demand land in exchange for their continued obedience to the Emperor and above all to desist from attacking the remnants of the once mighty Roman army. Then the Roman army could no longer afford to hire mercenaries who were mostly Germans to defend the state. In fact, mutinous mercenaries were a fact of life in the dying days of the Roman Empire. Odoacer seized Italy after he led one such mutiny.<ref> Gibbon, p. 489</ref> The economic crisis that was in part attributable to Attila and his strategies was crucial in undermining the ability of the Roman state to defend itself and to secure its outlying provinces.<ref> Kim. p. 214</ref>
===Conclusion===
Attila the Hun was one of the most important figures in the dying days of the Western Roman Empire. He was one of a series of barbarian leaders, who inflicted so much damage on the fabric of the western Roman Empire. The social and economic impact of his armies’ attacks, that appear to have been on an unprecedented scale seriously weakened both the eastern and the western empires. The western part of the Empire was weaker and not able to cope with Attila, his raids and financial exactions. The western Romans had neither the military or the economic means to defend themselves against the Huns. Attila deliberately targeted the west because he knows that it was weaker. He did not conquer it but he did leave it in an economic and social crisis and this so undermined the state in the west that its fall was inevitable.
