Berichus or Berik [1] (fl. 449) was a Hun nobleman, ambassador, and lord, said to have "ruled over many villages". [2] [3]
He was appointed by Attila as ruler over many towns. Priscus, in his account of his visit to the court of Attila, recounts that after his visit to the Huns, Berichus, looking for "gifts from Theodosius", left with them. Attila sent him with the Romans to Constantinople as an ambassador. [4] During the travel, he had an argument with the Romans, because the Roman ambassador Maximinus insulted the former ambassadors of barbarian origin Aspar and Areobindus. [5] [6]
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.
Marcian was Roman emperor of the East from 450 to 457. Very little of his life before becoming emperor is known, other than that he was a domesticus who served under the commanders Ardabur and his son Aspar for fifteen years. After the death of Emperor Theodosius II on 28 July 450, Marcian was made a candidate for the throne by Aspar, who held much influence because of his military power. After a month of negotiations Pulcheria, Theodosius' sister, agreed to marry Marcian. Zeno, a military leader whose influence was similar to Aspar's, may have been involved in these negotiations, as he was given the high-ranking court title of patrician upon Marcian's accession. Marcian was elected and inaugurated on 25 August 450.
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.
Orestes was a Roman general and politician of Pannonian ancestry. He joined the court of Attila the Hun in his native Pannonia, in which he reached a high position, becoming one of Attila's most trusted men. Orestes also held considerable influence in the late Western Roman Empire. His son Romulus Augustulus became Roman Emperor of the West.
Priscus of Panium was a 5th-century Eastern Roman diplomat and Greek historian and rhetorician.
The Battle of the Utus was fought in 447 between the army of the Eastern Roman Empire, and the Huns led by Attila at Utus, a river that is today the Vit in Bulgaria. It was the last of the bloody pitched battles between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Huns, as the former attempted to stave off the Hunnic invasion.
Dengizich, was a Hunnic ruler and son of Attila. After Attila's death in 453 AD, his empire crumbled and its remains were ruled by his three sons, Ellac, Dengizich and Ernak. Dengizich succeeded his older brother Ellac in AD 454, and probably ruled simultaneously over the Huns in dual kingship with his brother Ernak, but separate divisions in separate lands.
By the name Edeko are considered three contemporaneous historical figures, whom many scholars identify as one:
Flavius Areobindus was a general of the Eastern Roman Empire, second generation of Barbarian incorporation of Gothic origin, who became commander in chief of the East. He led battles and conquests on multiple fronts of the allegedly stable Eastern Roman Empire. In addition, due to his military efforts, he was awarded the consulate in 434 along with his co-consul, Aspar. He would hold his magister millitum position until his death in 449. He is the beginning of a distinguished line of nobles through his group’s admission into the Eastern Roman Empire.
Zerco or Zercon was a Moorish dwarf and the jester of the magistri militum Aspar and Aetius and of the Hunnic kings Bleda and Attila.
The history of the Huns spans the time from before their first secure recorded appearance in Europe around 370 AD to after the disintegration of their empire around 469. The Huns likely entered Western Asia shortly before 370, from Central Asia: they first conquered the Goths and the Alans, pushing a number of tribes to seek refuge within the Roman Empire. In the following years, the Huns conquered most of the Germanic and Scythian tribes outside of the borders of the Roman Empire. They also launched invasions of both the Asian provinces of Rome and the Sasanian Empire in 375. Under Uldin, the first Hunnic ruler named in contemporary sources, the Huns launched a first unsuccessful large-scale raid into the Eastern Roman Empire in Europe in 408. From the 420s, the Huns were led by the brothers Octar and Ruga, who both cooperated with and threatened the Romans. Upon Ruga's death in 435, his nephews Bleda and Attila became the new rulers of the Huns, and launched a successful raid into the Eastern Roman Empire before making peace and securing an annual tribute and trading raids under the Treaty of Margus. Attila appears to have killed his brother, and became sole ruler of the Huns in 445. He would go on to rule for the next eight years, launching a devastating raid on the Eastern Roman Empire in 447, followed by an invasion of Gaul in 451. Attila is traditionally held to have been defeated in Gaul at the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields, however some scholars hold the battle to have been a draw or Hunnic victory. The following year, the Huns invaded Italy and encountered no serious resistance before turning back.
Adamis was a Hun manager and steward. He was mentioned by Priscus in his 448/449 account of the Hunnish court.
Mamas was a Hun royal family member who was impaled by Attila in Thrace.
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.
Chelchal was a Hun commander serving as lieutenant general under the Byzantine Empire.
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.