Hunlar

CKM 2019-19 / Aziz Yardımlı


 

 

SİTELER


Hunlar





Empire of Attila
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Map Description

Map Description (L)

Map Description
Historical map of Attila's Empire in 450 AD

- Empire of Attila the Hun
- West Roman Empire
- East Roman Empire

Illustrating: Scots, Picts, Jutes, Angles, Saxons, Franks, Thuringians, Burgundians, Lombards,
East Goths, Huns, West Goths, Alans, Sueves, Vandals, Mauretanians

Credits
Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection. From the Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd.

Related Maps
Map of the Germanic Migrations

 








  • Etnik karakter etik karakter değildir.
  • Etnik karakter grup karakteridir, özgür değildir, grup bağlılığı ile belirlenir.
  • Etnik grup bireyselliği tanımaz, çünkü grup dışı kalan birey sağ kalamaz.
  • Etik karakter hakkı evrenselliği içinde tanır, moral olarak özgürdür, ve istençlidir.
  • Etik karakter evrenseldir, tikel etnik sınırı tanımaz.
  • Salt ortak bir dil ve birlikte yaşama alışkanlığı ile belirlenen “etnik grup” etik belirlenimden yoksundur.
  • Etnik grup istençsizdir, özgürlük bilincinden yoksundur.
  • Etnik grup ekonomik ‘toplum’ ve politik ‘ulus’ ile, giderek bir kültürel türlülük karakteri sergileyen ‘halk’ ile de aynı şey değildir.
 
  • Etnik kimlik politik istençten yoksundur ve ‘etnik politika’ popülizme özgüdür (popülizm özgür istenç ile karşıtlık içinde dürtüler ve eğilimler üzerine politika yapma programıdır).
  • Devletler ve dinler etnik karakteri tanımaz. (Demokrasi etnik kimliği tanımaz; Yahudilik etnik bir din olmakla din kavramına aykırıdır; politik olarak da aynı şey geçerlidir).
  • Etnik grup özgür yurttaşın politik istenci olan ulus-devlet ile karşıtlık içindedir.
  • Ulus-devlet toplumsal türdeşlik ister ve etnik türlülüğü ortadan kaldırır.
 

İngilizler Anglo-Saxon ve Norman etnik kimlikleri benzeştirdiler ya da özümsediler

Benzer olarak — Fransızlaştırma, Amerikanlaştırma, Türkleştirme; ve Avrupa Birliği’nin tekil ulus-devletleri türdeşleştirmesi.

 
  • Değişimsiz despotik ön-modern dönem ile karşıtlık içinde, modern dönem özgürlük içinde değişim ve gelişim dönemidir.
  • Modern dönem evrensel istenç dönemidir.
  • Uluslar özgürlük bilincinin doğması ile birlikte modern dönemde doğar.
  • Modern dönem değişim ve gelişim yoluyla yenileşme süreklisidir.
  • İstenci pıhtılaştıran kültürün tutuculuğu ile karşıtlık içinde, özgürlük kültürü sürekli değişim kültürünü getirir.
  • Ön-modern etnik kültürler ile karşıtlık içinde, modern dönem ulusların dönemidir.
  • Ulus-devletler evrensel etik karakterlerinden ötürü kendileri türdeştir.
  • Ulus-devletler arasındaki ayrım etnik kültürel türlülüğe bağlıdır.

  • Yurttaşlık istenci evrensel hak eşitliği, duyunç özgürlüğü ve yasa egemenliği ister.
  • Etnik kimlik evrensel yurttaşlık istencini tanımaz.
  • Din de devlet gibi evrensel eşitlik ve duyunç özgürlüğü üzerine dayanır.
  • Küme dürtüsü tarafından belirlenen etnik kimlik evrensel dinsel duyguyu tanımaz.

  • Dil ve davranış birliği terimlerinde minimal bir türdeşlik olarak bu tarih-öncesi arı etnik kümelenme aşamasında homo sapiens henüz moral ve etik belirlenimler geliştirmemiştir ve henüz evrensel insanlık duygusundan bütünüyle yoksundur.
  • Kabile imparatorlukları kitlesel terörü birincil sindirme aracı olarak kullanırlar.
  • Tüm uygarlıktan yoksun olarak, barbar kendini uygarlık düşmanlığında tanımlar ve bütününde kültürü nihilize edicidir.
  • Etnik grup bağlayıcılığında bireyselliğe izin vermez.
  • Etnik dil sürekli değişim içindedir.
  • Etnik grup genetik doğaya ilgisizdir.
  • Etnik karakter kendi tikelliği içinde uçucudur ve kalıcı hiçbir belirlenimi yoktur.
  • Etnik karakter ilinekseldir, tarih-öncesidir, zaman içinde tanımlanmasını sağlayacak belirlenimleri yoktur, ve adlandırılması olumsaldır.
  • ‘Etnik kimlik’ anlatımı bir oxymorondur, çünkü ἔθνος ‘küme’ demektir ve ‘küme kimliği’ terimi bütünüyle soyuttur.

 

  • Hunlar Moğolistan’ın Ordos bölgesinde ortaya çıktılar.
  • Çin kayıtlarına göre, Xiongnu etnik grubu ile ilişkili idiler.
  • Hunların barbarlığı öylesine acımasız idi ki Avrupa’nın başka barbar halkları bile onlardan korkuyordu (Dünya Savaşları sırasında Almanlara ‘Hunlar’ demek moda oldu).
  • Hunlar 4’üncü yüzyılda batıya doğru göçe başladılar ve 360’ta İskitler ile komşu oldular (Samartia).
  • İskitya’da yerleştikten sonra Ostrogotlar ve başka barbarlar ile çatıştılar.
  • Tuna’ya ulaşınca Karpat havzasında (Pannonia) yerleştiler (Macaristan).
  • Hunların göçü batıdaki Barbar Göçlerini başlattı ve Batı Roma’nın yıkılışında etkili oldu.
  • Hunlar bir krallık kurmadılar, kentler kurmadılar, ne de herhangi bir teknoloji ya da sanat geliştirdiler (395 yıllarında yazan Ammianus Marcellinus’a göre, bir kralları yoktu ve her grubun kendi önderi vardı).
  LINK (Aşağıda: Ammianus Marcellinus, The Movement Of The Huns And Goths Into The Roman Empire.

  🕑 Timeline

🕑 Hun Timeline

Hun Timeline (L)

c.360

Vund

Hunnic leader before the entry into Scythia.

c.360 - 378

Balamber / Balamir

Possibly fictitious to cover the beginnings of European invasion.

372

The Huns cross the River Volga which empties into the Caspian Sea, dragging with them many other groups of horse-borne nomads, including the ancestors of the Kutrigurs and Utigurs. They burst into Scythia and stir up a wave of rumours and horror stories which sweep through Europe, and reach the ears of the Romans by 376. They clash with a group of Indo-Iranian steppe people called the Alani, defeating them. The Alani have little choice but to become Hunnic allies.

372 - 432

 
The approach of the Huns into central Europe spread terror and fear, and not without good reason as their unfamiliar battle tactics defeated opponent after opponent
 

The Huns and Alani arrive in the territory north of the Danube and take control of the steppeland which lies above the Black Sea. The region is nominally under the control of the Ostrogoths, and is peopled by Gepids, Heruli, Illirs (called Pannons by the Romans, they later give their name to Illyria - the region at the top of the Adriatic Sea), Scirii, Slavs, and Avars, plus some Saxons who had settled in Dacia (later Transylvania) and quite probably the southernmost groups of Venedi. The Germanic Rugian kingdom in Austria is also made a client state and the Quadi are effectively destroyed. The Huns eventually unify and only then begin to threaten the Western Roman empire. They start by clashing with the mighty Ostrogoths, overrunning them, and in 376 they also defeat the Visigoths.

378 - 390

Baltazár / Alypbi

Son.

390 - 410

Uldiz / Uldin

Aided Stilicho to defeat a barbarian army in 406.

407

The Alani leave the Western Huns of Uldiz behind when they cross the Rhine along with the Suevi and Vandali, both of which have been forced to migrate westwards by the Hunnic invasion. The death of Uldiz leads to the Hunnic confederation splitting into three main groups which are not fully reunited until Attila's reign.

c.410 - 412

Donatus

Khan of the Eastern Huns of the Black Sea.

c.412 - 415

Charaton / Karaton / Karatun / Aksungur

Charaton and Aksungur may be western and eastern rulers.

c.415?

Continuing their southwards migration, the Langobards enter 'Vurgundaib'. This is believed to be the original lands of theBurgundians, and can be located in the northern Carpathians. Once there, they are attacked in their encampment by 'Bulgars', probably as recruits of the Huns. They are defeated, their king is killed, and they are subjugated. However, it seems that they quickly rise up under the leadership of the king's son and inflict an unusual defeat on the Huns. How long it takes for this to happen after their subjugation is unclear.

c.415 - 422

Bendeguz / Muncuk

c.422 - 432

Octar / Uptar

Brother. Reunited some elements of the Huns.

c.422

Octar's name is an interesting example of Hunnic names being recorded in non-Hunnic forms. O Maenchen-Helfen says: 'Before the East Romans had any contact with the Huns, they heard about them from the Goths. They must have heard many names as they were pronounced by Goths and other non-Huns, [including the Gaulish tribes in the Balkans. Even after it had been recorded as Octar by Jordanes], Octar's name underwent some alteration in the course of transmission. The transition from "-ct-" to "-pt-" is characteristic of Balkans Latin, [and it] was probably there that Octar became Optar-Uptar'. Which suggests that Gaulish tribes in the Balkans were following the usual Celtic habit of swapping 'k' to 'p' even this late.

c.432 - 434

Rua / Rugila

Brother. United the Huns under a single kingship.

434 - 453

Attila

Son of Bendeguz. Died in bed.

434 - 445

Bleda / Buda

Brother. Joint ruler. Killed by Attila.

434 - 453

Although highly successful in his initial command of the Huns, Attila never takes his people into the Roman empire to settle among the rich villa estates: the aim of all barbarians. Instead he leads major incursions into Roman, Byzantine and Goth territory. There are also incursions into southern Lithuania around this time, suggesting the Huns or their allies also raid northwards.

451

To preserve their new domains, the Visigoths fight on the side of Rome to halt the advance of the Huns at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, in the former territory of the Catalauni. Atilia is aided by his own allies, which include the Gepids,Ostrogoths, Rugii, and Scirii. Although both sides fight to a standstill, it is Attila who withdraws and it is seen as his first major defeat, ending his reputation for invincibility.

452

By this time, the Hun headquarters are situated on the west bank of the Danube at Sicambria (Roman Aquincum, and modern Buda). Attila meets Pope Leo I and is persuaded not to attack and destroy Rome, and also to give up slaughtering Christians. Even so, his approach into Italy causes panic, and refugees from Aquileia and other cities which had been burned down by Attila before his meeting with the Pope escape into the lagoon marshes and form a settlement which becomes Venice.

453

 
Despite his great success over the barbarian tribes of eastern and central Europe, Attila's stalemate against an allied Roman-led army in 451 was a blow to his prestige, and his death soon afterwards caused his empire to crumble
 

Upon the death of Attila, his sons fight each other for control, and the Huns begin to dissolve as a cohesive entity. Many elements of the empire start drifting away, some returning to their homelands. A sudden appearance of Roman solidi to the south of the Baltic Sea suggests that various Germanic groups return to their former homelands here, merging into the melting pot of leftovers known as the Vidivarii.

 

453 - 454

Ellac / Ilek

Son of Attila. Killed in battle.

454

Ellac is defeated and killed at the Battle of Nedao by an alliance between Ardaric, king of the Gepids, and former Hunnic subjects. The defeat ends any presumption by the Huns to be the major power in the region. The Pannonian basin is occupied by the Gepids, while the Rugii head for Bohemia and northern Austria.

454 - 456

Dengisich / Dengizik / Dintzic / Tingiz

Brother. After 456, ruled Kutrigurs & Altyn Ola. Killed.

456 - 457

The Ostrogoths defeat and rout Attila's sons in their fight for independence. The central core of Huns apparently divides into the Kutrigurs and Utigurs (the 'Bulgarian Huns'). Dengisich may be king (khan) of the former, while Ernakh could be king the latter. The two also apparently control the Altyn Ola horde during their lifetimes. An alternative is that the Kutrigurs and Utigurs are named after, and are led by, two of Ernakh's sons.

The Ostrogoths reassert power over the region following their military victory, and most Huns drift back to Scythia. They probably take elements of various subject groups including the Venedi with them, one of the latter of which seemingly reappears in 668, while others remain behind, including further Venedi, probably the bulk of them. One group of Huns and their subjects settles permanently in Dacia (the Szekelys). They find that the plains of Pannonia (essentially western Hungary, northern Croatia, Slovenia, and eastern Austria) to the west of Dacia, secured by the Carpathians, is a perfect place in which to maintain their nomadic lifestyle, with its wide open grazing lands.

Another group which migrates post-Attila is that of the so-called 'Gothi minores', according to Jordanes. They still lead a secluded existence in their mountain refuge a century after arriving there, close to Nicopolis ad Istrum (Thrace - its ruins are located at the village of Nikyup, in modern northern Bulgaria).

fl 457

Tuldila

A Hun in the Roman army of Majorian.

454 - 456

Ernakh / Irnek / Hernach / Belkermak

Brother of Dengisich. Ruled the Altyn Ola & Utigurs.

Ernakh governs the surviving eastern territories, and is king of the Akatirs, a Turkic tribe within Roman territory (probably the Utigurs). It is claimed by Procopius that his two sons later share power and give their name to their subjugated people, who emerge in two groups named the Kutrigurs and Utigurs. The entire Pontic-Caspian steppe is now awash with steppe tribes that jostle for supremacy, either as remnants of the Hunnic empire or having been part of an ongoing process of further tribes being forced westwards by population pressures in what is now Mongolia and Central Asia. These include the Bulgars, Onoghurs, Sabirs, and Saraghurs.

 

Soon after the middle of the fifth century AD the Hunnic empire crashed into extinction ...
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Soon after the middle of the fifth century AD the Hunnic empire crashed into extinction, starting with the death of Attila in 453. His son and successor, Ellac, was killed in battle in 454, and the Huns were defeated by the Ostrogoths in 456, ending Hunnic unity.

Other Hunnic remnants remain in the western core of the former empire's territory, Dacia and Pannonia. These include Huns, Turks, Indo-Iranians, Germanics, Celts, and even Romans.

The region of Pannonia, and whatever Hunnic empire remnants it still contains by AD 898, is subjugated by the invading Magyars. Popular theory claims that it retains its Hunnic-inspired name, even when the Magyars later form the kingdom of Hungary (although this is largely disproved in the introduction for the Magyars). Other elements of the Hunnic peoples may resurface in the early Bulgarian state in the early eighth century, whatever the modern objections against such a possibility.

 







SİTE İÇİ ARAMA       

  Huns
📹 Barbarians / The Huns (LINK)

This video will go over the history of the European Huns.

The Rise and Fall of the Hunnic Empire / Every Year (LINK)

The Rise and Fall of the Hunnic Empire which in less then a century occupied large swaths of Europe and creating havoc upon millions.
The Germanic Invasions of the Roman Empire, 378-439 AD
🔎

 

Huns — 2 (W)


“They [Huns] are first mentioned in Roman sources by the historian Tacitus in 91 CE as living in the region around the Caspian Sea”

Under Attila (r. 434-453 CE) the Huns became the most powerful, and most feared, military force in Europe and brought death and devastation wherever they went. After Attila's death, however, his sons fought each other for supremacy, squandered their resources, and the empire which Attila had built fell apart by 469 CE.

   

Huns

Huns (W)

The Huns were a nomadic peoplewho lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe, between the 4th and 6th century 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; the Huns’ arrival is associated with the migration westward of a Scythian people, the Alans.

By 370 AD, the Huns had arrived on the Volga, and by 430 the Huns had established a vast, if short-lived, dominion in Europe, conquering the Goths and many other Germanic peoples living outside of Roman borders, and causing many others to flee into Roman territory.


“Attila,” Eugene Ferdinand Victor Delacroix (fragment) .


The Huns, especially under their King Attila made frequent and devastating raids into the Eastern Roman Empire.

In 451, the Huns invaded the Western Roman province of Gaul, where they fought a combined army of Romans and Visigoths at the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields, and in 452 they invaded Italy.

After Attila’s death in 453, the Huns ceased to be a major threat to Rome and lost much of their empire following the Battle of Nedao (464?).

Descendants of the Huns, or successors with similar names, are recorded by neighbouring populations to the south, east and west as having occupied parts of Eastern Europe and Central Asia from about the 4th to 6th centuries. Variants of the Hun name are recorded in the Caucasus until the early 8th century.

In the 18th century, the French scholar Joseph de Guignes became the first to propose a link between the Huns and the Xiongnu people [L], who were northern neighbours of China in the 3rd century BC. Since Guignes' time, considerable scholarly effort has been devoted to investigating such a connection. However, there is no scholarly consensus on a direct connection between the dominant element of the Xiongnu and that of the Huns.

Very little is known about Hunnic culture and very few archaeological remains have been conclusively associated with the Huns. They are believed to have used bronze cauldrons and to have performed artificial cranial deformation. No description exists of the Hunnic religion of the time of Attila, but practices such as divination are attested, and the existence of shamans likely. It is also known that the Huns had a language of their own, however only three words and personal names attest to it.

Economically, they are known to have practiced a form of nomadic pastoralism; as their contact with the Roman world grew, their economy became increasingly tied with Rome, through tribute, raiding, and trade. They do not seem to have had a unified government when they entered Europe, but rather to have developed a unified tribal leadership in the course of their wars with the Romans. The Huns ruled over a variety of peoples, who spoke various languages and some of whom maintained their own rulers. Their main military technique was mounted archery.

The Huns may have stimulated the Great Migration, a contributing factor in the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. The memory of the Huns also lived on in various Christian saints' lives, where the Huns play the roles of antagonists, as well as in Germanic heroic legend, where the Huns are variously antagonists or allies to the Germanic main figures. In Hungary, a legend developed based on medieval chronicles that the Hungarians, and the Székely ethnic group in particular, are descended from the Huns. However, mainstream scholarship dismisses a close connection between the Hungarians and Huns. Modern culture generally associates the Huns with extreme cruelty and barbarism.

 




Battle of the Catalaunian Plains

Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, 451 AD (W)

The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (or Fields), 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 was one of the last major military operations of the Western Roman Empire, although Germanic foederati composed the majority of the coalition army.

Whether the battle was strategically conclusive is disputed: the Romans possibly stopped the Huns' attempt to 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. The Hunnic Empire was later dismantled by a coalition of their Germanic vassals at the Battle of Nedao in 454.

 




 

📹 Battle of the Catalaunian Plains 451 — Aetius vs. Attila (VİDEO)

Battle of the Catalaunian Plains 451 — Aetius vs. Attila (LINK)

The battle of the Catalaunian Plains (also known as Battle of the Campus Mauriacus, Battle of Maurica, Battle of the Catalaunian Fields or Battle of Chalons) that was fought in 451 between the alliance led by the Western Roman General Flavius Aetius, king of the Visigoths Theodoric I and the king of Alans Sangiban against the Hun Alliance commanded by Attila, the king of Ostrogoths Valamir and the king of Gepids Ardaric.

With the addition of dozens of other tribes, the battle of the Catalaunian Plains can be rightly considered the first pan-European clash. It is equally complicated and controversial, as our info on the battle between the Last Roman Aetius and the Scourge of God Attila, is both limited and conflicting. In any case, this battle was decisive for the history of the Roman Empire and Europe and influenced events of the next centuries.

 



📹 Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (Châlons) 20 June 451 — Western Roman Empire & Visigoths vs Huns (VİDEO)

Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (Châlons) 20 June 451 — Western Roman Empire & Visigoths vs Huns (No Subtitles) (LINK)

 

 






The Germanic Invasions of the Roman Empire, 378-439 AD.


Eurasian steppe belt.

The Hun invasion of Rome

The Hun invasion of Rome (L)


European Hunnic Empire (375-469).

The Huns

Within the lands now under the control of the various barbarian groups, the previous Roman administration apparently continued to function to some extent. Roman law continued to apply to the Roman populations, while the German tribesmen retained their own tribal customs. Some evidence suggests that the Roman landowners in these areas had to cede a third of their estates to the invaders – probably more than enough land for the newcomers, as they had come in comparatively small numbers.

The western Roman throne was occupied between 425 and 455 by a nonentity, Valentinian III. Real power lay with the commander-in-chief, who, after the late 420s, was a very capable general called Aetius. While he lived, he mostly succeeded in keeping the barbarians in check in Gaul and Spain.

The Hun invasion

In the late 430s the Huns, by now living in Eastern Europe, became restless. They aimed to take advantage of the confusion in the empire to expand their power. In 451, under their leader Attila, the Huns marched west, planning on conquering the western provinces of the Roman empire.

This was an event long expected – and much feared – by both Romans and Germans. In fact, at the hard-fought Battle of Chalons (451), Attila’s forces were defeated by a Roman-Visigothic army under Aetius’ command.

The Huns then briefly invaded northern Italy, quickly withdrawing again to the Balkans, though not before utterly destroying a major Roman city, Aquileia. Attila died soon afterwards, and as rival leaders quarrelled amongst themselves, the Huns’ power subsided. Within a short time, they had been absorbed by neighbouring peoples, and the fear of them became nothing but a memory.

 



Hephthalites

Hephthalites (White Huns) (W)


Hephalite Empire 500 AD.

The Hephthalites (or Ephthalites) were a people of Central Asia who were militarily important circa 450-560. They were based in Bactria and expanded east to the Tarim Basin, west to Sogdia and south through Afghanistan to northern India. They were a tribal confederation and included both nomadic and settled urban communities. They were part of the four major states known collectively as Xyon (Xionites) or Huna, being preceded by the Kidarites, and succeeded by the Alkhon and lastly the Nezak. All of these peoples have often been linked to the Huns who invaded Eastern Europe during the same period, and/or have been referred to as “Huns,” but there is no consensus among scholars about such a connection.

The Sveta Huna who invaded northern India are probably the Hephthalites, but the exact relation is not clear.

The stronghold of the Hephthalites was Tokharistan on the northern slopes of the Hindu Kush, in what is present-day northeastern Afghanistan. By 479, the Hephthalites had conquered Sogdia and driven the Kidarites westwards, and by 493 they had captured parts of present-day Dzungaria and the Tarim Basin in what is now Northwest China. They expanded into northwestern India as well.

The sources for Hephthalite history are poor and historians' opinions differ. There is no king-list and historians are not sure how they arose or what language they spoke.

They seem to have called themselves Ebodalo (ηβοδαλο, hence Hephthal), often abbreviated Eb (ηβ), a name they wrote in the Bactrian script on some of their coins. The origin of the name "Hephthalites" is unknown, possibly from either a Khotanese word *Hitala meaning "Strong" or from postulated Middle Persian *haft āl "the Seven".

 



Xiongnu

Xiongnu (W)

Xiongnu Empire
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The Xiongnu [ɕjʊ́ŋ.nǔ] (Chinese匈奴Wade–GilesHsiung-nu) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Chinese sources report that Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 209 BC, founded the Xiongnu Empire.

After their previous overlords, the Yuezhi, migrated into Central Asia during the 2nd century BC, the Xiongnu became a dominant power on the steppes of north-east Central Asia, centred on an area known later as Mongolia. The Xiongnu were also active in areas now part of SiberiaInner MongoliaGansu and Xinjiang. Their relations with adjacent Chinese dynasties to the south east were complex, with repeated periods of conflict and intrigue, alternating with exchanges of tribute, trade, and marriage treaties.

During the Sixteen Kingdoms era, they were also known as one of the Five Barbarians who took part in a uprising against Chinese rule known as the Uprising of the Five Barbarians.

Attempts to identify the Xiongnu with later groups of the western Eurasian Steppe remain controversial. Scythians and Sarmatians were concurrently to the west. The identity of the ethnic core of Xiongnu has been a subject of varied hypotheses, because only a few words, mainly titles and personal names, were preserved in the Chinese sources. The name Xiongnu may be cognate with that of the Huns or the Huna, although this is disputed.  Other linguistic links — all of them also controversial – proposed by scholars include Iranian, Mongolic, Turkic, Uralic, Yeniseian, Tibeto-Burman or multi-ethnic.

 



Alchon Huns

Alchon Huns (W)


Alchon territories and campaigns into Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, c. 500 CE

The Alchon Huns, also known as the Alchono, Alxon, Alkhon, Alkhan, Alakhana and Walxon, were a nomadic people who established states in Central Asia and South Asia during the 4th and 6th centuries CE. They were first mentioned as being located in Paropamisus, and later expanded south-east, into the Punjab and central India, as far as Eran and Kausambi. The Alchon invasion of the Indian subcontinent contributed to the fall of the Gupta Empire.

The invasion of India by the Huna peoples follows invasions of the subcontinent in the preceding centuries by the Yavana (Indo-Greeks), the Saka (Indo-Scythians), the Palava (Indo-Parthians), and the Kushana (Yuezhi). The Alchon Empire was the third of four major Huna states established in Central and South Asia. The Alchon were preceded by the Kidarites and the Hephthalites, and succeeded by the Nezak Huns. The names of the Alchon kings are known from their extensive coinage, Buddhist accounts, and a number of commemorative inscriptions throughout the Indian subcontinent.

 



Menges, Karl H.

Menges, Karl H.

Menges, Karl H.:
The Turkic languages and peoples; an introduction to Turkic studies / Karl II. Menges , — 2., rev , ed , — Wiesbaden Harrassowitz, 1994

The Huns are the Altajic group on which the earliest historical records exist. They go back to the 3rd century B.C.

It would seem that their consolidation, towards the end of the 3rd century, on the vast northern steppes of present-day Mongolia, as well as their warlike movements, caused unrest in China, and the downfall of the C‘in Dynasty — which had started the gigantic construction work of the Great Wall against the northern invaders — followed by a regrouping of Chinese forces and political strength under the Former Han Dynasty (208 BC-9 A.D). The struggle with the Huns characterizes the entire foreign policy of the Former Han Dynasty.

At the the end of the Later Han Dynasty, 216 AD, the southern Hunnic state was dissolved; this time the Hunnic power was broken forever. By the time Hunnic power had begun gradually to decline, towards the end of the Older Han Dynasty, in the first century BC, certain Hunnic tribal groups had already moved westward as far as the plains of present-day southern Qazaqistan. There, in the lowlands of Eurasia, with their boundless pastures, they came into close, if not immediate, contact with the ruling populations of that vast area which extends as far west as the Carpathian Mountains. These were the Skythai, who were in retreat from the west, being themselves of European, possibly Northeast-Caucasian, origin, close to the present-day NorthwestCaucasians of the Cerkes-Qabarda complex, with a strong admixture and superstratum of Iranian origin. And now those same Iranians who had caused the eastward migration of the Skythai were here their immediate western neighbors. These Iranians are historically known as the Sarmatai (and Sauromatai) in present-day Ukraine, and beside the Massagetai and Thyssagetai the strong nomadic complex of the Alanoi and Aorsoi . It is upon these groups, especially the latter two, that Hunnie westward pressure was soon to be exerted.

 



 

📹 Barbarians Rising — Attila, King of the Huns (VİDEO)

Barbarians Rising — Attila, King of the Huns (No Subtitles) (LINK)

Attila leads the Hunnic army on a bloody rampage across the Roman Empire, sealing his legacy as one of historys most ruthless military commanders.

 








  Attila (406-453)

Attila

Attila (406-453) (W)

Attila (/ˈætɪlə, əˈtɪlə/; fl. c. 406-453), 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 a tribal empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, and Alans among others, in Central and Eastern Europe.

During his reign, he was one of the most feared enemies of the Western and Eastern Roman Empires. He crossed the Danube twice and plundered the Balkans, but was unable to take Constantinople.

His unsuccessful campaign in Persia was followed in 441 by an invasion of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, the success of which emboldened Attila to invade the West. He also attempted to conquer Roman Gaul (modern France), crossing the Rhine in 451 and marching as far as Aurelianum (Orléans) before being defeated at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains.

He subsequently invaded Italy, devastating the northern provinces, but was unable to take Rome. He planned for further campaigns against the Romans, but died in 453. After Attila's death, his close adviser, Ardaric of the Gepids, led a Germanic revolt against Hunnic rule, after which the Hunnic Empire quickly collapsed.


Etymology

Many scholars have argued that Attila derives from East Germanic origin; Attila is formed from the Gothic or Gepidic noun atta, “father,” by means of the diminutive suffix -ila, meaning “little father.” The Gothic etymology was first proposed by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in the early 19th century. Maenchen-Helfen notes that this derivation of the name "offers neither phonetic nor semantic difficulties", and Gerhard Doerfer notes that the name is simply correct Gothic. The name has sometimes been interpreted as a Germanization of a name of Hunnic origin.

Other scholars have argued for a Turkic origin of the name. Omeljan Pritsak considered Ἀττίλα (Attíla) a composite title-name which derived from Turkic *es (great, old), and *t il (sea, ocean), and the suffix /a/. The stressed back syllabic til assimilated the front member es, so it became *as. It is a nominative, in form of attíl- (< *etsíl < *es tíl) with the meaning "the oceanic, universal ruler". J.J. Mikkola connected it with Turkic āt (name, fame). As another Turkic possibility, H. Althof (1902) considered it was related to Turkish atli (horseman, cavalier), or Turkish at (horse) and dil (tongue). Maenchen-Helfen argues that Pritsak's derivation is "ingenious but for many reasons unacceptable", while dismissing Mikkola's as "too farfetched to be taken seriously". M. Snædal similarly notes that none of these proposals has achieved wide acceptance. Criticizing the proposals of finding Turkic or other etymologies for Attila, Doerfer notes that King George VI of England had a name of Greek origin, and Süleyman the Magnificent had a name of Arabic origin, yet that does not make them Greeks or Arabs: it is therefore plausible that Attila would have a name not of Hunnic origin. Historian Hyun Jin Kim, however, has argued that the Turkic etymology is "more probable".

M. Snædal, in a paper that rejects the Germanic derivation but notes the problems with the existing proposed Turkic etymologies, argues that Attila's name could have originated from Turkic-Mongolian at, adyy/agta (gelding, warhorse) and Turkish atli (horseman, cavalier), meaning "possessor of geldings, provider of warhorses".

 

 



 

Attila the Hun ...-453

Attila the Hun ...-453 (L)

   

Image left:
Detail from the painting Attila and his Hordes Overrun Italy and the Arts.

Painter: Eugene Delacroix, who created this artwork 1843-1847.

Attila, king of the Huns, was nicknamed the Scourge of God, in Latin: Flagellum Dei. As the nickname indicates, Attila was rather the assertive type.

Priscus of Panium described Attila as a short man with a large head, deep-set eyes, flat nose, and a thin beard.

Attila the King

Attila's uncle Rua, or Rugila, ruled the Huns until his death in 434. Attila then ruled from 434 to 453.

During his reign however, Attila had a co-ruler. His elder brother Bleda ruled with him from 434 until 445.

In 445 the partnership was dissolved when Attila murdered Bleda.

Attila's wife was Hereka.


Who in the world were the Huns?

Attila’s Empire

Attila and Bleda inherited an empire that already posed a threat to neighboring nations. Under Attila's rule it expanded even further. See map above.

 

The Roman Empire in Attila’s Days

While Attila roamed the earth, the Roman Empire was split into the East Roman Empire and the West Roman Empire.

The emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire was Theodosius II and the emperor of the Western Roman Empire was Valentinian III.

Ever since the Huns had defeated the Visigoths in 376, and had arrived knocking at the doors of the Eastern Roman Empire, the Romans paid the Huns good money to be left in peace.

In 435, Attila, Breda, and Theodosius II renewed the agreements and signed a further peace treaty, the Treaty of Margus. Margus is today's Passarowitz (think Treaty of Passarowitz), or also called Pozarevac. It is located in Serbia and also home town of late Slobodan Milosevic.

Back to Attila.

The Treaty of Margus stated that the Huns would not attack the Romans if the latter would pay double the money they had paid previously.

The Romans didn't pay up and the Huns attacked in 441. The Balkan was invaded and Belgrade was sacked. The attacks continued. In 443 Sofia was sacked and Attila camped in front of Constantinople's gates. Theodosius II was obliged to agree to yet another treaty in 443, which tripled his payments.

In 447, Attila raided the East Roman Empire again. This time he went all the way down to Thermopylae. The stipulations of the following peace treaty topped even the previous treaty. Theodosius II did the only decent thing he could think of doing and died in 450.

Theodosius II's successor, Marcian, categorically refused to pay anything at all and Attila, presently preoccupied by preparations to invade Gaul, made a little note in his calendar to have Marcian for breakfast at a more opportune time.

Attila and Honoria

Honoria was the sister of Emperor Valentinian III, ruler of the Western Roman Empire.

In the year 450, Honoria or somebody who had access to Honoria's jewel box, sent Honoria's ring to Attila. The attached message read roughly summed up, "My name is Honoria and I'm desperate. Please rescue me from a marriage that has been arranged for me."

Attila, ever so fond of foolish mistakes made by the enemy, officially declared Honoria his wife and ordered the Western Roman Emperor to cede half the empire as Honoria's dowry.

Valentinian III cursed the day his sister was born and refused to cede anything.

Attila made another note in his calendar.


Attila in Gaul and Italy

Attila invaded Gaul in 451, which the Western Roman Empire felt was awfully close to home. However, Attila's official reason for this invasion were "just the Visigoths." He claimed to have no beef with the Western Romans.

But who could be so sure these days, especially with Atilla's demand of half of the Western Roman Empire still in the air.

So the Visigoths, led by Theodoric I, and the Romans, led by Flavius Aetius, joined forces and defeated Attila at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains in 451.

This was Attila's only defeat and he didn't like it. He went on to invade northern Italy in 452. He sacked Padua, Verona, Bergamo, and Milan, and was fixing to pay Rome a visit. But food shortage, disease, and Pope Leo I changed his mind.


Attila’s Death

Attila checked his calendar and remembered Marcian, the Eastern Roman Emperor. Collecting his debts was next on the list but first things first.

There was the girl Ildico who was ready to get married and Attila arranged things accordingly. Attila died on his wedding night allegedly of a nasal hemorrhage. I know what you think but hey.

Supposedly the folks who buried Attila were killed right after the burial to ensure that nobody would ever find Attila's grave.

How Big Was Attila’s Army?

On his attack on Gaul, Attila commanded approximately 500,000 men.

 

Attila’s Legacy

After his death Attila's empire was divided among Attila's sons. But it went downhill with the Huns thenceforward.

In 455, the combined forces of several enemy tribes defeated the Huns at what is today approximately western Hungary.

The Huns' heyday was officially over.

 

Attila the Legend

The Nibelungenlied, or Song of the Nibelungs, is a German epic poem written around the year 1200. It features Etzel, king of the Huns, who is Attila.

Attila Facts and Trivia

Giuseppe Verdi was 33 years old when he composed the opera Attila in 1846. For more info on the opera Attila go here.

In 1954, two Attila movies came out at the same time, Attila and Sign of the Pagan.

 








  📕 Ammianus Marcellinus, The Movement Of The Huns And Goths Into The Roman Empire, Late 4th Century

📕 Ammianus Marcellinus, The Movement Of The Huns And Goths Into The Roman Empire, Late 4th Century

Ammianus Marcellinus, The Movement Of The Huns And Goths Into The Roman Empire, Late 4th Century (W)

Ammianus Marcellinus (c.325-c.391) was a Roman historian who wrote a history of the Roman world from 96 to 378. In this passage he describes the Huns and the passage of the Goths into the Empire around the year 376.


The people called Huns, barely mentioned in ancient records, live beyond the sea of Azof, on the border of the Frozen Ocean, and are a race savage beyond all parallel. At the very moment of birth the cheeks of their infant children are deeply marked by an iron, in order that the hair instead of growing at the proper season on their faces, may be hindered by the scars; accordingly the Huns grow up without beards, and without any beauty. They all have closely knit and strong limbs and plump necks; they are of great size, and low-legged, so that you might fancy them two-legged beasts, or the stout figures which are hewn out in a rude manner with an ax on the posts at the end of bridges.

They are certainly in the shape of men, however uncouth, and are so hardy that they neither require fire nor well flavored food, but live on the roots of such herbs as they get in the fields, or on the half-raw flesh of any animal, which they merely warm rapidly by placing it between their own thighs and the backs of their horses.

They never shelter themselves under roofed houses, but avoid them, as people ordinarily avoid sepulchers as things not fit for common use. Nor is there even to be found among them a cabin thatched with reeds; but they wander about, roaming over the mountains and the woods, and accustom themselves to bear frost and hunger and thirst from their very cradles. . . .

There is not a person in the whole nation who cannot remain on his horse day and night. On horseback they buy and sell, they take their meat and drink, and there they recline on the narrow neck of their steed, and yield to sleep so deep as to indulge in every variety of dream.

And when any deliberation is to take place on any weighty matter, they all hold their common council on horseback. They are not under kingly authority, but are contented with the irregular government of their chiefs, and under their lead they force their way through all obstacles. . . .

None of them plow, or even touch a plow handle, for they have no settled abode, but are homeless and lawless, perpetually wandering with their wagons, which they make their homes; in fact, they seem to be people always in flight. . . .

This active and indomitable race, being excited by an unrestrained desire of plundering the possessions of others, went on ravaging and slaughtering all the nations in their neighborhood till they reached the Alani. . . .

[After having harassed the territory of the Alani and having slain many of them and acquired much plunder, the Huns made a treaty of friendship and alliance with those who survived. The allies then attacked the German peoples to the west.] In the meantime a report spread far and wide through the nations of the Goths, that a race of men, hitherto unknown, had suddenly descended like a whirlwind from the lofty mountains, as if they had risen from some secret recess of the earth, and were ravaging and destroying everything which came in their way.

And then the greater part of the population resolved to flee and to seek a home remote from all knowledge of the new barbarians; and after long deliberation as to where to fix their abode, they resolved that a retreat into Thrace was the most suitable for these two reasons: first of all, because it is a district most fertile in grass; and secondly, because, owing to the great breadth of the Danube, it is wholly separated from the districts exposed to the impending attacks of the invaders.

Accordingly, under the command of their leader Alavivus, they occupied the banks of the Danube, and sent ambassadors to the emperor Valens, humbly entreating to be received by him as his subjects. They promised to live quietly, and to furnish a body of auxiliary troops if necessary.

While these events were taking place abroad, the terrifying rumor reached us that the tribes of the north were planning new and unprecedented attacks upon us; and that over the whole region which extends from the country of the Marcomanni and Quadi to Pontus, hosts of barbarians composed of various nations, which had suddenly been driven by force from their own countries, were now, with all their families, wandering about in different directions on the banks of the river Danube.

At first this intelligence was lightly treated by our people, because they were not in the habit of hearing of any wars in those remote districts till they were terminated either by victory or by treaty.

But presently the belief in these occurrences grew stronger and was confirmed by the arrival of ambassadors, who, with prayers and earnest entreaties, begged that their people, thus driven from their homes and now encamped on the other side of the river, might be kindly received by us.

The affair now seemed a cause of joy rather than of fear, according to the skillful flatterers who were always extolling and exaggerating the good fortune of the emperor. They congratulated him that an embassy had come from the farthest corners of the earth, unexpectedly offering him a large body of recruits; and that, by combining the strength of his own people with these foreign forces, he would have an army absolutely invincible. They observed further that the payment for military reinforcements, which came in every year from the provinces, might now be saved and accumulated in his coffers and form a vast treasure of gold.

Full of this hope, he sent forth several officers to bring this ferocious people and their carts into our territory. And as such great pains were taken to gratify this nation which was destined to overthrow the Empire of Rome, that not one was left behind, not even of those who were stricken with mortal disease. Moreover, so soon as they had obtained permission of the emperor to cross the Danube and to cultivate some districts in Thrace, they poured across the stream day and night, without ceasing, embarking in troops on board ships and rafts and on canoes made of the hollow trunks of trees. . . .

In this way, through the turbulent zeal of violent people, the ruin of the Roman Empire was brought about. This, at all events, is neither obscure nor uncertain, that the unhappy officers who were intrusted with the charge of conducting the multitude of the barbarians across the river, though they repeatedly endeavored to calculate their numbers, at last abandoned the attempt as hopeless. The man who would wish to ascertain the number might as well (as the most illustrious of poets says) attempt to count the waves in the African sea, or the grains of sand tossed about by the zephyrs. . . .

At that period, moreover, the defenses of our provinces were much exposed, and the armies of barbarians spread over them like the lava of Mount Etna. The imminence of our danger manifestly called for generals already illustrious for their past achievements in war; but nevertheless, as if some unpropitious deity had made the selection, the men who were sought out for the chief military appointments were of tainted character. The chief among them were Lupicinus and Maximus, — the one being count of Thrace, the other a leader notoriously wicked, — both men of great ignorance and rashness.

And their treacherous covetousness was the cause of all our disasters. . . . For when the barbarians who had been conducted across the river were in great distress from want of provisions, those detested generals conceived the idea of a most disgraceful traffic; and having collected dogs from all quarters with the most insatiable rapacity, they exchanged them for an equal number of slaves, among whom were several sons of men of noble birth. . . .

So now, with rage flashing in their eyes, the barbarians pursued our men, who were in a state of torpor, the warmth of their veins having deserted them. Many were slain without knowing who smote them; some were overwhelmed by the mere weight of the crowd which pressed upon them; and some died of wounds inflicted by their own comrades. The barbarians spared neither those who yielded nor those who resisted. . . .

Just when it first became dark, the emperor, being among a crowd of common soldiers as it was believed, — for no one said either that he had seen him or been near him, — was mortally wounded with an arrow, and, very shortly after, died, though his body was never found. For as some of the enemy loitered for a long time about the field in order to plunder the dead, none of the defeated army or of the inhabitants ventured to go to them.

 
   
Ammianus includes some autobiographical references in his Book of Deeds (Rerum Gestarum Libri, or Res Gestae Libri). From these references, it has been deduced that he was born probably between 325 and 330 to an educated family of Greek descent, possibly in Antioch. This probability hinges on whether he was the recipient of a surviving letter to a Marcellinus from a contemporary, Libanius. The date of his death is unknown, but he must have lived until 391, as he mentions Aurelius Victor as the city prefect for that year.

 





Alaric’s Goth army storms the streets of Rome during a brutal sacking of the city that would last for three days. The worst offenders would be the mercenary Huns.



The Huns are part of numerous legends of the Germanic heroic age. The image above shows Geatish King Gizur challenging the Huns (by Peter Nicolai Arbo).

 






  Hungarians (Magyars)

The Arrival of the Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin in 895
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The seven Magyar chieftains arriving to the Carpathian Basin. Detail from Árpád Feszty's cyclorama titled the Arrival of the Hungarians.

Hungarians

Hungarians (W)


The map of Kara-Khanid Khanate as of 1006 AD when it reached its greatest extent.
 
   

Hungarians, also known as Magyars (Hungarian: magyarok), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary (Hungarian: Magyarország) and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history and language. Hungarians belong to the Uralic-speaking peoples.

There are an estimated 14.2–14.5 million ethnic Hungarians and their descendants worldwide, of whom 9.6 million live in today's Hungary (as of 2016). About 2.2 million Hungarians live in areas that were part of the Kingdom of Hungary before the Treaty of Trianon and are now parts of Hungary's seven neighbouring countries, especially Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Sloveniaand Austria.


Name

The Hungarians' own ethnonym to denote themselves in the Early Middle Ages is uncertain. The exonym “Hungarian” is thought to be derived from Oghur-Turkic On-Ogur (literally “Ten Arrows” or “Ten Tribes”). Another possible explanation comes from the Old Russian "Yugra" ("Югра"). It may refer to the Hungarians during a time when they dwelt east of the Ural Mountains along the natural borders of Europe and Asia before their conquest of the Carpathian Basin.

Prior to the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895/6 and while they lived on the steppes of Eastern Europe east of the Carpathian Mountains, written sources called the Magyars "Hungarians", specifically: "Ungri" by Georgius Monachus in 837, "Ungri" by Annales Bertiniani in 862, and "Ungari" by the Annales ex Annalibus Iuvavensibus in 881. The Magyars/Hungarians probably belonged to the Onogur tribal alliance, and it is possible that they became its ethnic majority. In the Early Middle Ages, the Hungarians had many names, including "Węgrzy" (Polish), "Ungherese" (Italian), "Ungar" (German), and "Hungarus". The “H-” prefix is a later addition of Medieval Latin.

The Hungarian people refer to themselves by the demonym “Magyar” rather than "Hungarian". "Magyar" is Finno-Ugric from the Old Hungarian "mogyër". "Magyar" possibly derived from the name of the most prominent Hungarian tribe, the "Megyer". The tribal name "Megyer" became "Magyar" in reference to the Hungarian people as a whole. “Magyar” may also derive from the Hunnic “Muageris” or “Mugel.”

The Greek cognate of “Tourkia” (Greek: Τουρκία) was used by the scholar and Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII “Porphyrogenitus” in his De Administrando Imperio of c. AD 950, though in his use, “Turks” always referred to Magyars. This was a misnomer, as while the Magyars had adopted some Turkic cultural traits, they are not a Turkic people.

History

Pre-4th century AD

During the 4th millennium BC, the Uralic-speaking peoples who were living in the central and southern regions of the Urals split up. Some dispersed towards the west and northwest and came into contact with Iranian speakerswho were spreading northwards. From at least 2000 BC onwards, the Ugrian speakers became distinguished from the rest of the Uralic community, of which the ancestors of the Magyars, being located farther south, were the most numerous. Judging by evidence from burial mounds and settlement sites, they interacted with the Indo-Iranian Andronovo culture.

4th century to c. 830

In the 4th and 5th centuries AD, the Hungarians moved from the west of the Ural Mountains to the area between the southern Ural Mountains and the Volga River known as Bashkiria (Bashkortostan) and Perm Krai. In the early 8th century, some of the Hungarians moved to the Don River to an area between the Volga, Don and the Seversky Donets rivers. Meanwhile, the descendants of those Hungarians who stayed in Bashkiria remained there as late as 1241.

The Hungarians around the Don River were subordinates of the Khazar khaganate. Their neighbours were the archaeological Saltov Culture, i.e. Bulgars (Proto-Bulgarians, Onogurs) and the Alans, from whom they learned gardening, elements of cattle breeding and of agriculture. Tradition holds that the Hungarians were organized in a confederacy of seven tribes. The names of the seven tribes were: Jenő, Kér, Keszi, Kürt-Gyarmat, Megyer, Nyék, and Tarján.

Entering the Carpathian Basin (c. 895)

In 895/896, under the leadership of Árpád, some Hungarians crossed the Carpathians and entered the Carpathian Basin. The tribe called Magyar was the leading tribe of the Hungarian alliance that conquered the centre of the basin. At the same time (c. 895), due to their involvement in the 894-896 Bulgaro-Byzantine war, Hungarians in Etelköz were attacked by Bulgaria and then by their old enemies the Pechenegs. The Bulgarians won the decisive battle of Southern Buh. It is uncertain whether or not those conflicts were the cause of the Hungarian departure from Etelköz.

From the upper Tisza region of the Carpathian Basin, the Hungarians intensified their looting raids across continental Europe. In 900, they moved from the upper Tisza river to Transdanubia (Pannonia), which later became the core of the arising Hungarian state. At the time of the Hungarian migration, the land was inhabited only by a sparse population of Slavs, numbering about 200,000,[ who were either assimilated or enslaved by the Hungarians.

Archaeological findings (e.g. in the Polish city of Przemyśl) suggest that many Hungarians remained to the north of the Carpathians after 895/896. There is also a consistent Hungarian population in Transylvania, the Székelys, who comprise 40% of the Hungarians in Romania.[41][42] The Székely people's origin, and in particular the time of their settlement in Transylvania, is a matter of historical controversy.

 




📹 Hungarian explained — such long words, such an isolated language (VİDEO)

📹 Hungarian explained — such long words, such an isolated language (LINK)

Why is Hungarian so isolated in Europe, surrounded by unrelated languages that don't share its long words? An animated linguistic take on the history and grammar behind Hungarian's uniqueness.

This video tells two stories that intertwine. First, how Hungarian got to be such a lonely language island among Indo-European languages. Second, how Hungarian uses a long-word-building strategy that's "foreign" in a European context: agglutination with vowel harmony. At the end, the two come together as linguists trace its words back to a common ancestor called Uralic. The Uralic family explains Hungarian's uniqueness, but also its distant relations to Finnish and Estonian within Europe and its closer shared prehistory with Uralic languages in Russia that suggest a long, long, LONG migration from Siberia!

I cut an observation from the video that I wish to add here. "Agglutination" is abnormal in Europe, but that could have more to do with a quirk of Indo-European than Uralic. "Agglutinative" languages aren't rare around the world, and even other families like Turkic have vowel harmony. Compare that European-style "fusional" types. I am not Hungarian — check and correct. That said, I poured into this every last ounce of the time I spent practicing the language.

 




Battle of Mohi

Battle of Mohi 1241 (W)


Decisive Golden Horde victory in the Battle of Mohi.

The Battle of Mohi (today Muhi), also known as Battle of the Sajó River or Battle of the Tisza River (11 April 1241), was the main battle between the Mongol Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary during the Mongol invasion of Europe.

It took place at Muhi, southwest of the Sajó River. After the invasion, Hungary lay in ruins. Nearly half of the inhabited places had been destroyed by the invading armies. Around 15-25 percent of the population was lost, mostly in lowland areas, especially in the Great Hungarian Plain, the southern reaches of the Hungarian plain in the area now called the Banat and in southern Transylvania.


The Mongol invasion of Europe

The Mongols attacked Eastern Europe with five distinct armies. Two of them attacked through Poland in order to protect the flank from Bela's Polish cousins, winning several victories. Most notably, they defeated the army of Duke Henry II the Pious of Silesia at Legnica. A southern army attacked Transylvania, defeated the voivod and crushed the Transylvanian armies. The main army led by Khan Batu and Subutai attacked Hungary through the fortified Verecke Pass and annihilated the army led by Denis Tomaj, the count palatine on 12 March 1241, while the final army under Batu's brother Shiban marched in an arc north of the main force.

Prior to the invasion, King Bela had personally supervised the construction of dense natural barriers along Hungary's eastern border intending to slow the Mongol advance and obstruct their movement. However, the Mongols possessed specialized units who cleared the paths with great rapidity, removing the obstacles in just 3 days. Combined with the extreme speed of the Mongol advance, called "lightning" by a European observer, the Hungarians lacked time to properly group their forces.


Role of gunpowder and firearms

Several modern historians have speculated that Chinese firearms and gunpowder weapons were deployed by the Mongols at the Battle of Mohi. According to William H. McNeill, Chinese gunpowder weapons may have been used in Hungary at that time. Other sources mention weapons like "flaming arrows" and "naphtha bombs". Professor Kenneth Warren Chase credits the Mongols with introducing gunpowder and its associated weaponry into Europe.

 



 

📹 Mongol invasion of Europe — Battle of Mohi (VİDEO)

Mongol invasion of Europe — Battle of Mohi (LINK)

Mongol Empire, lead by Khan Ogedei invades Europe. The Forces of Easter Europe rallies to fight at the Battle of Mohi / Sajo.

The estimates of the battle range from Hungary having 15,000-20,000 and Mongols having 20,000-25,000. Although some sources I've read claims there were ~80,000 for each side.

The Russian principalities have fallen to the Mongol Empire, and now the eastern kings of Europe attempt to hastily organize a defense as the Horde marches in their land, looting and pillaging the countryside. The last major defense, lead by King Bela IV, settles next to the Sajo river to recuperate, not aware that the entire Mongol invasion force sits on the other side.

 








  Map of Migrations in Antiquity

Map of migrations in Antiquity

Map of Migrations in Antiquity (LINK)
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