re geography of Priscus,
this capital appears to have been seated between the Danube, the Teyss,
and the Carpathian hills, in the plains of Upper Hungary, and most
probably in the neighborhood of Jezberin, Agria, or Tokay. In its origin
it could be no more than an accidental camp, which, by the long and
frequent residence of Attila, had insensibly swelled into a huge
village, for the reception of his court, of the troops who followed his
person, and of the various multitude of idle or industrious slaves and
retainers. The baths, constructed by Onegesius, were the only edifice of
stone; the materials had been transported from Pannonia; and since the
adjacent country was destitute even of large timber, it may be presumed,
that the meaner habitations of the royal village consisted of straw, or
mud, or of canvass. The wooden houses of the more illustrious Huns were
built and adorned with rude magnificence, according to the rank,
the fortune, or the taste of the proprietors. They seem to have been
distributed with some degree of order and symmetry; and each spot became
more honorable as it approached the person of the sovereign. The palace
of Attila, which surpassed all other houses in his dominions, was built
entirely of wood, and covered an ample space of ground. The outward
enclosure was a lofty wall, or palisade, of smooth square timber,
intersected with high towers, but intended rather for ornament than
defence. This wall, which seems to have encircled the declivity of a
hill, comprehended a great variety of wooden edifices, adapted to the
uses of royalty. A separate house was assigned to each of the numerous
wives of Attila; and, instead of the rigid and illiberal confinement
imposed by Asiatic jealousy they politely admitted the Roman ambassadors
to their presence, their table, and even to the freedom of an innocent
embrace. When Maximin offered his presents to Cerca, the principal
queen, he admired the singular architecture on her mansion, the height
of the round columns, the size and beauty of the wood, which was
curiously shaped or turned or polished or carved; and his attentive eye
was able to discover some taste in the ornaments and some regularity in
the proportions. After passing through the guards, who watched before
the gate, the ambassadors were introduced into the private apartment of
Cerca. The wife of Attila received their visit sitting, or rather lying,
on a soft couch; the floor was covered with a carpet;