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Attila, 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 and Eastern Europe.
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 part of Scythia at the time. By 370 AD, the Huns had arrived on the Volga, causing the westwards movement of Goths and Alans. By 430, they had established a vast, but short-lived, empire on the Danubian frontier of the Roman empire in Europe. Either under Hunnic hegemony, or fleeing from it, several central and eastern European peoples established kingdoms in the region, including not only Goths and Alans, but also Vandals, Gepids, Heruli, Suebians and Rugians.
Flavius Aetius was a Roman general and statesman of the closing period of the Western Roman Empire. He was a military commander and the most influential man in the Empire for two decades (433–454). He managed policy in regard to the attacks of barbarian federates settled throughout the West. Notably, he mustered a large Roman and allied (foederati) army in the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, ending an invasion of Gaul by Attila in 451, though the Hun and his subjugated allies still managed to invade Italy the following year, an incursion best remembered for the Sack of Aquileia and the intercession of Pope Leo I. In 454, he was assassinated by the emperor Valentinian III.
The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, also called the Battle of the Campus Mauriacus, Battle of Châlons, Battle of Troyes or the Battle of Maurica, took place on June 20, 451 AD, between a coalition, led by the Roman general Flavius Aetius and the Visigothic king Theodoric I, against the Huns and their vassals, commanded by their king, Attila. It proved to be one of the last major military operations of the Western Roman Empire, although Germanic foederati composed the majority of the coalition army. The exact strategic significance is disputed. Historians generally agree that the siege of Aurelianum was the decisive moment in the campaign and stopped the Huns' attempt to advance any further into Roman territory or establish vassals in Roman Gaul. However, the Huns successfully looted and pillaged much of Gaul and crippled the military capacity of the Romans and Visigoths. Attila died only two years later, in 453. After the Battle of Nedao in 454 AD, the coalition of the Huns and the incorporated Germanic vassals gradually disintegrated.
Bleda was a Hunnic ruler, the brother of Attila the Hun.
Onegesius was a powerful Hunnic logades (minister) who supposedly held power second only to Attila the Hun. According to Priscus he "seated on a chair to the right of the king" i.e. Attila.
Priscus of Panium was a 5th-century Eastern Roman diplomat and Greek historian and rhetorician.
Karadach or Kuridach was an important chieftain of the Akatziri tribe of the Hunnic confederation during the reign of Attila. According to Priscus he rose to prominence when he was courted by Roman diplomats in 448 AD as a potential ally against the Huns, but used the information to help his overlord foil a revolt among lesser chiefs of the Akatziri; thus Attila left his lands untouched while the remaining were taken.
The Akatziri, Akatzirs or Acatiri were a tribe that lived north of the Black Sea, though the Crimean city of Cherson seemed to be under their control in the sixth century. Jordanes called them a mighty people, not agriculturalists but cattle-breeders and hunters. Their ethnicity is undetermined: the 5th-century historian Priscus describes them as ethnic Scythians, but they are also referred to as Huns. Their name has also been connected to the Agathyrsi. However, according to E. A. Thompson, any conjectured connection between the Agathyrsi and the Akatziri should be rejected outright.
Ernak was the last known ruler of the Huns, and the third son of Attila. After Attila's death in AD 453, his Empire crumbled and its remains were ruled by his three sons, Ellac, Dengizich and Ernak. He succeeded his older brother Ellac in AD 454, and probably ruled simultaneously over Huns in dual kingship with his brother Dengizich, but in separate divisions in separate lands.
Ellac was the oldest son of Attila (434–453) and Kreka. After Attila's death in 453 AD, his empire crumbled, and its remains were ruled by his three sons, Ellac, Dengizich and Ernak. He ruled briefly and died at the Battle of Nedao in 454 AD. Ellac was succeeded by his brothers, Dengizich and Ernak.
Kreka or Hereka was the wife of Attila. She was described by Eastern Roman diplomat Priscus in his account of his stay at Attila's court in 448 or 449 AD. She and Attila had three sons: Ellac, Dengizich, and Ernak, who split among themselves what remained of Attila's empire after his death in 453.
Flavius Zeno was an influential general and politician of the Eastern Roman Empire, of Isaurian origin, who served as magister militum per Orientem, and became consul and patricius.
Basich or Basikh was a Hun military commander who co-led an invasion of Persia in 395 AD together with Kursich.
Berichus or Berik was a Hun nobleman, ambassador, and lord, said to have "ruled over many villages".
Eslas was a Hun negotiator, supervisor, diplomat and orator. He was sent by Attila on a diplomatic mission to Constantinople.
Oebarsius or Aybars was a Hun nobleman, brother of Mundzuk and uncle of Bleda and Attila.
Scottas or Skottas was a Hun nobleman, ambassador and advisor. He was the brother of Onegesius.
Eskam was a Hun living in 5th-century Pannonia, then under the Hunnic Empire. He was possibly a shaman. His daughter was one of the numerous wives of Attila the Hun.
References
- ↑ Kelly, Christopher (2011). Attila The Hun Barbarian Terror and the Fall of the Roman Empire. Random House. p. 275. ISBN 9781446419328 . Retrieved 26 October 2022.
- ↑ Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin; Martindale, J. R.; Morris, J.; Morris, John (1971). The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire: Volume 2, AD 395-527. Cambridge University Press. p. 7. ISBN 9780521201599 . Retrieved 26 October 2022.
- ↑ "Priscus Embassi to Attila" . Retrieved 26 October 2022.
- ↑ Priscus; Given, John (2014). The Fragmentary History of Priscus Attila, the Huns and the Roman Empire, AD 430-476. Evolution Publishing. p. 77. ISBN 9781935228141 . Retrieved 26 October 2022.
- ↑ Maenchen-Helfen, Otto J. (2022). Knight, Max (ed.). The World of the Huns Studies in Their History and Culture. University of California Press. p. 382. ISBN 9780520357204 . Retrieved 26 October 2022.