diff --git a/arango/connection.py b/arango/connection.py
index 8de2643..199d7d2 100644
--- a/arango/connection.py
+++ b/arango/connection.py
@@ -47,7 +47,6 @@ def __init__(
         request_compression: Optional[RequestCompression] = None,
         response_compression: Optional[str] = None,
     ) -> None:
-        self._hosts = hosts
         self._url_prefixes = [f"{host}/_db/{db_name}" for host in hosts]
         self._host_resolver = host_resolver
         self._sessions = sessions
@@ -58,6 +57,7 @@ def __init__(
         self._username: Optional[str] = None
         self._request_compression = request_compression
         self._response_compression = response_compression
+        self._hosts = hosts
 
     @property
     def db_name(self) -> str: