Eslas

Last updated

Eslas (fl. 450) was a Hun negotiator, supervisor, diplomat and orator. He was sent by Attila on a diplomatic mission to Constantinople.

Overview

Eslas was one of the most experienced Hunnish ambassadors. [1] Fifteen years before he was sent to Constantinople by Attila, he had negotiated with Theodosius on account of Hun king Rugila. [1]

He became a minder of Vigilas, with whom he was sent to Constantinople by Attila, where Vigilas was to ask for the handing over of any remaining refugees. [1] [2]

The delegation with which historian Priscus reached Attila had been sent upon request of the latter to Theodosius. This action was in turn prompted by Edekon, who had revealed to Attila a Roman plot to assassinate him. The Byzantine Emperor, following the counsel of the eunuch Chrysaphius, had bribed Edekon, one of Attila's close men, and convinced him to participate in a plot to murder the king. Edekon had seemingly accepted, but then showed his loyalty to Atilla by informing him of the plot. After Maximinus' mission, in which Priscus was involved, another ambassador, Bigilas, was sent to the Huns with the gold (fifty pounds) intended to be used to bribe Attila's bodyguards, which he was to deliver to Edekon. Attila, aware of this thanks to Edekon, made Bigilas confess and took his gold, but, instead of impaling him, asked him for another fifty pounds of gold, informing him that if he failed to pay, his son would be executed.

Further, Attila decided to punish the emperor by sending Eslas and Orestes to his court to publicly humiliate him. As Priscus recounts:

"[Attila] instructed Orestes to go to the Emperor wearing around his neck the purse in which Bigilas placed the gold that was to be given to Edeco. He was to display it to the Emperor and the eunuch [Chrysaphius] and to ask if they recognized it." [1]

Attila also instructed Eslas to tell the emperor that he had degraded his line. Once they reached Constantinople, Eslas told the emperor a parable, probably composed by Attila himself: [3]

"Theodosius is the son of a well-born father. Attila too from his father Mundzuk has inherited the condition of noble birth, which he has preserved. Not so Theodosius, who fell from the estate of an ingenuus and became Attila's slave, when he submitted to pay him tribute. He has now conspired against the life of a better man than himself, and one whom Fortune has made his master. This is a foul deed, worthy only of a caitiff slave, and his only way of clearing himself from the guilt which he has thus contracted is to surrender the Eunuch to punishment." [3]

The meaning of this statement is that both men were born noble, but Theodosius had fallen from his dignified station by submitting to pay tribute to Attila, becoming his "slave"; and that therefore he acted ill by devising secret snares against his master like a wicked domestic against his superior, whom fortune had given him for his master. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attila</span> 5th-century ruler of the Hunnic Empire

Attila, frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in March 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Bulgars, among others, in Central and Eastern Europe.

The 450s decade ran from January 1, 450, to December 31, 459.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">450</span> Calendar year

Year 450 (CDL) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar, the 450th Year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD designations, the 450th year of the 1st millennium, the 50th year of the half of 5th century, and the 1st year of the 450s decade. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valentinianus and Avienus. The denomination 450 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

The 440s decade ran from January 1, 440, to December 31, 449.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcian</span> Eastern Roman emperor from 450 to 457 A.D.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theodosius II</span> Eastern Roman emperor from 402 to 450

Theodosius II was Roman emperor from 402 to 450. He was proclaimed augustus as an infant and ruled as the eastern Empire's sole emperor after the death of his father, Arcadius, in 408. His reign was marked by the promulgation of the Theodosian law code and the construction of the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople. He also presided over the outbreak of two great Christological controversies, Nestorianism and Eutychianism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valentinian III</span> Roman emperor from 425 to 455

Valentinian III was Roman emperor in the West from 425 to 455. Made emperor in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by powerful generals vying for power amid civil wars and the invasions of Late antiquity's Migration Period, including the campaigns of Attila the Hun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bleda</span> Chieftain of the Huns (co-rulership)

Bleda was a Hunnic ruler, the brother of Attila the Hun.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Onegesius</span>

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.

Rugila or Ruga, was a ruler who was a major factor in the Huns' early victories over the Roman Empire. He served as an important forerunner with his brother Octar, with whom he initially ruled in dual kingship, possibly a geographical division where Rugila ruled over Eastern Huns while Octar over Western Huns, during the 5th century AD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellac</span> King of the Huns (co-rulership)

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 shortly, and died at the Battle of Nedao in 454 AD. Ellac was succeeded by brothers Dengizich and Ernak.

Chrysaphius was a eunuch in the Eastern Roman court who became the chief minister of Theodosius II. Having a great influence on the rule of the empire during his ascendancy, he pursued a policy of appeasement towards the Huns, which cost the empire far more gold than any military campaign, while amassing a vast fortune in bribes himself. He is depicted as a sinister figure in all the ancient accounts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maximinus (diplomat)</span>

Maximinus was a 5th-century East Roman official, serving as ambassador to Attila the Hun and as a senior minister at Constantinople.

Nomus was a politician and an ambassador of the Eastern Roman Empire.

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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Byzantine Empire under the Theodosian dynasty</span>

The Eastern Roman Empire was ruled by the Theodosian dynasty from 379, the accession of Theodosius I, to 457, the death of Marcian. The rule of the Theodosian dynasty saw the final East-West division of the Roman Empire, between Arcadius and Honorius in 395. Whilst divisions of the Roman Empire had occurred before, the Empire would never again be fully reunited. The reign of the sons of Theodosius I contributed heavily to the crisis that under the fifth century eventually resulted in the complete collapse of western Roman court.

The history of the Later Roman Empire covers the history of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the rule of Diocletian in 284 AD and the establishment of the Tetrarchy in 293 AD by Diocletian to the death of Heraclius in 641 AD.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Kelly, Christopher (2011). Attila The Hun Barbarian Terror and the Fall of the Roman Empire. Random House. p. 134. ISBN   9781446419328 . Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  2. ↑ Man, John (2010). Attila The Hun. Transworld. p. 391. ISBN   9781409045366 . Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  3. 1 2 Hodgkin, Thomas (1892). Italy and Her Invaders Volume 2. Clarendon Press. p. 94.
  4. ↑ Herbert, William (1838). Attila King of the Huns. H.G. Bohn. p. 415. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.