The Hun of Central Asia society military 1

The Hun of Central Asia: society, military 1. 2. 3. 4. Origin of the Hun The Hun Society Achievement of the Huns Attila’ s Empire

Literature • Roberts, Wess. Victory Secrets of Atilla, the Hun. New York, 1993. • Simons, Gerald. Barbarian Europe. New York, 1971 • Maenchen-Helfen, Otto J. The World of the Huns. Los Angeles, 1973 • Grousset Rene The Empire of the Steppes a history of Central Asia. Paris. 1970 • Жумагулов К. ТЗавоевание Аттилой Северной Италии» (2000), «Ғұндардың Галлия (Франция) жеріндегі шайқасы» (2001), «Гуннский союз племен в Центральной Азии и Великое переселение народов на Евразийском континенте» (2002).

Vocabulare • • stirrup – стремя loop –петля, хомут вevastatе – опустошать Armoured -бронированный Predatory – хищнический Dignitary –сановник Scourge – кара, бедствие

Who Were the Huns? : • The Huns were a group of nomadic herdsmen, warlike people from the steppes of North Central Asia, north of China (Mongolia) who terrorized and destroyed much of Asia and Europe from the 3 rd through 5 th centuries.

Origin of the Hun • Origins of the Huns remain a mystery and different name. Contemporary literary sources do not provide a clear understanding of Hun origins. • The Huns seem to "suddenly appear", first mentioned during an attack on the Alans, who are generally connected to the River Don (Tanais). Scholarship from the early 20 th century literature connected the sudden and apparently devastating Hun appearance as a predatory migration from the more easterly parts of the Steppe, i. e. Central Asia

• Debate about the Asian origin of the Huns has been ongoing since the 18 th century when Joseph de Guignes first suggested that the Huns should be identified as the Hsiung-nu of Chinese sources. • Name Huns and barbarian by Romans

Hordes Attack Asia and Europe: • The Chinese successfully defended themselves against the Huns in the 3 rd century (the Huns were then led by Maotun, the first great leader and unite of the Huns). The Chinese started building their Great Wall to defend themselves against the Huns. The people of India, Persia (what is now Iran) were invaded by separate hordes of Hunnish warriors attacking on horseback.

• In Europe, groups of Huns defeated the Goths (Germans) of eastern Europe, the Slavs, the Franks (French), the Roman Empire, and many others. The Huns settled in the area that is now called Hungary.

Language • The literary sources preserve only a few names and three words of the language of the Huns, which have been studied for more than a century and a half. These words (medos, kamos, strava) do not seem to be Turkic, but probably a satem Indo-European language similar to Slavic and Dacian. ( Pritsak 1982, "The Hunnic Language of the Attila Clan. “). He concluded, "It was not a Turkic language, but one between Turkic and Mongolian, probably closer to the former than the latter.

• The language had strong ties to Old Bulgarian and to modern Chuvash, but also had some important connections, especially lexical and morphological, to Ottoman and Yakut. . . The Turkic situation has no validity for Hunnic, which belonged to a separate Altaic group. " On the basis of the existing name records, a number of scholars suggest that the Huns spoke a Turkic language.

The Hun Society • The Hun were led by a chief called the shan-yi. According to the Chinese historian Ssu-ma Chien, the shan-yi transcribed into Chinese is Ch’eng-li-Kut’u Shan-yi, wich the Chinese translate as “Majesty son of Heaven”. In this words may be detected Turko-Mongols roots: Ch’eng-li- is the transcription of the Turkic and Mongol word Tangri, Heaven.

• Under the shan-yi served two great dignitaries, the kings T’u-ch’i: that is to say wish kings of right and left. Next, moving down the scale of the Hunnic hierarchy, came the ku-t’u ”kings” of left and right, the army commanders , the great governors, then the chiefs of a thousand men, of a hundred , and of ten men. Huns organized as like an army. The same phenomenon is to be seen among the descendants of Turks of 6 century, as well as in the case of the Mongols of Jenghiz khan.

The appearance of Huns • According to the Chinese historians, Huns were “short, with a stocky body and a very large round head, broad face prominent cheek –bones, wide nostrils. The head usually shaved, except for a tuft on top”. These characteristics we find among Turkic and Mongols successors.

Culture • The Huns kept herds of cattle, horses, goats and sheep. • Their other sources of food consisted of wild game and the roots of wild plants. For clothes they had round caps, trousers or leggings made from goat skin, and either linen or rodent skin tunics

Achievement of the Huns • The use of the stirrup gave the Huns a technological advantage over other warriors of the time. Stirrups are loops hung from a saddle that support a horse rider's feet; these let the Huns brace themselves on their horses while wielding swords or shooting arrows. • The Huns' contribution to the tactical mix was the well-armoured, mobile horse archer. Hun warriors fought exclusively as cavalry, and their warriors relied on the mobility of their horses and the penetration power of their composite bows.

List of Kings • Balamber (240 AD-? ) Uldin (390 -411 AD) Donatus (? -412 AD) Charato (411 AD-? ) Octar (? - 431 AD) - Shared power with Rua (? ) Rua (? - 434 AD) - Sole ruler in 432 Bleda (434 - 445 AD) Dual kingship with Attila (434 -453 AD) Ellac (453 -455 AD) Dengizik (? -469 AD)

Attila’ s Empire • Upon Rugulas' death in 433, Attila (406 -453) and his older brother Bleda (nephews of Rugulas) became coleaders of the Huns. After killing his own brother in A. D. 445, Attila took control of the Huns. Attila the Hun was the most successful king of the Huns; Attila was often called the "Scourge of God. " • Under Attila's rule, the Huns united and extended their territory greatly, reaching ever deeper into Europe. After a defeat at Chalons (in what is now northern France) in A. D. 451, the Huns invaded Italy (in 452), destroying much of northern Italy.

The End of the Huns • Attila died during his sleep on the night of his last wedding -- Attila had many wives. He died from a serious nosebleed (a nasal hemorrhage), but some people say that he was poisoned. After Attila's death, Attila's sons fought over who would rule the Huns. The resulting chaos was exploited by the Ostrogoths and other Germanic tribes, who used the opportunity to revolt against the Huns. The Hunnish empire soon broke apart.

Timeline 370 AD - Hun expansion into Eastern Europe. Defeats Alans and Ostrogoths along the way. 395 AD - Mass raid into Armenia 400 AD - Attila is born 434 AD - Death of Rua and succession of Attila and Bleda 440 AD - Treaty of Margus with the Eastern Roman Empire 441 AD - Attila invades the Eastern Roman Empire

• 443 AD - Second campaign against the Eastern Roman Empire. First Peace of Anatolius is signed. 436? -39? AD - Eastward expansion of the Huns 445? AD - Bleda dies. Attila assumes total control over the Huns. 447 AD - Third Campaign against the Eastern Romans. Second Peace of Anatolius is signed. 449 AD - Roman attempt to assassinate Attila Fails. Thrid Peace of Anatolius is signed. 450 AD - Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius dies, succeeded by Marcian withdraws from the treaties with the Huns made during Theodosius's reign and terminates the annual tributes to the Huns set by the Peace of Anatolius.