Attila's Throne is an ancient stone chair. It has, however, nothing to do with the king of the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...

, as it was put into place around 100 years after his death, it was most likely the podestà’s or the

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

’s chair. The chair is located on the quiet and sparsely populated island of Torcello at the northern end of the Venetian Lagoon in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Local Legends

Multiple local legends surround the throne's history and legacy. The most notable being one who sits on the throne will return to ''Torcello''. Another popular legend is that

Attila Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central Europe, C ...

himself used the throne, although this is disputed. The throne was most likely the seat of power for the

Magister militum (Latin for "master of soldiers"; : ) was a top-level military command used in the late Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, the e ...

, the governor of the island.

References

Individual thrones History of Veneto {{europe-hist-stub