“Hunnic Language of the Attila Clan” — Omeljan Pritsak (1982)

“Hunnic Language of the Attila Clan” — Omeljan Pritsak

Harvard Ukranian Studies, 1982

In this paper, published almost forty years ago, Ukrainian historian, linguist and medievalist Omeljan Pritsak (Омеля́н Йо́сипович Пріца́к; 1919–2006) made an extensive and meticulous etymological analysis (49 pages) of the onomastic material based on the 33 names of the members of the Hunnic royal clan and statesmen between ad 375 and 555. It turns out that 31 of these names are definitely related to words in various Turkic languages. The other two are Mamas, a Greek Christian name, and Laudaricus, probably Gothic. The following is a short summary of his remarkable and commendable investigation. The table produced here is in much more legible and presentable form compared with the original. Some end notes are added to clarify certain contents, too.

 

I. Names of members of the dynasty 

1. Balamur

2. Basiġ

3. Kürsig

4. Öldin

5. Donat

6. Qara Tön

7. Munǯuq

8. Öktär

9. Hr-Ȫgä

10. Ōy Bars

11. Es Qām

12. Blidä

13. Attila

14. Ata Qām

15. Mamas

16. Laudaricus

17. Ēlläg

18. Deŋirčig

19. Hērnäk

20. Еmnəčür

21. Ölčindür

22. Gesəm

23. Munǯu

24. Elmingir

25. Elminčür

 

II. Names of leading Hunnic statesmen and officers ca. 448–449

 

26. Adam

27. Berik

28. Edäkün

29. Čerkün

30. Eslä

31. Krekän

32. Ünegǟsi

33. Sköttä

 

The works of Greek writers (especially Priscus, d. ca. 472) and Latin writers (especially Jordanes, ad 551, based on the work of Cassiodorus, fl. ca. 530) contain the names of some twenty-five persons among Attila’s immediate kin and eight names of their close associates—together thirty-three names over a period of some one hundred and eighty years (ca. 375–555). One can assume that all these persons spoke the same idiom. It is reasonable, then, to use this onomastic material to determine the language of the ruling clan of the so-called European Huns.

 

Special literature dealing with the language of the Huns includes:

 

Gerhard Doerfer, “Zur Sprache des Hunnen,” CAJ (Wiesbaden) 17 (1973): 1–50; Lajos (Louis) Ligeti, “Dengizikh és Bécs állítólagos kun megfelelôi,” Magyar Nyelv (Budapest), 58 (1962): 142–52 = L. L., A Magyar nyelv török kapcsolatai és ami körülötlük van, vol. 2 (Budapest, 1979), pp. 155-61; Otto Maenchen-Helfen, “Zu Moór's Thesen über die Hunnen,” Beiträge zur Namenforschung (Heidelberg), 14 (1963): 273–78; idem, “Iranian names of the Huns,” in W. B. Henning Memorial Volume (London, 1970), pp. 272–75; idem, The World of the Huns (Berkeley, 1973), especially chap. 9: “Language,” pp. 376–443; Elemer Moór, “Zur Herkunft der Hunnen mit besonderer Berücksichtigung ihres Namenmaterials,” Beiträge zur Namenforschung 14 (1963): 63–104; idem, “Noch einmal zum Hunnenproblem,” Beiträge zur Namenforschung 16 (1965): 14–22; Gyula (Julius) Németh, “A hunok nyelve,” in Attila és hunjai (Budapest, 1940), pp. 217–26, 315–16 = [Turkish translation by János Eckmann], “Hunların dili,” Türk Dili Belleten, ser. 3, nos. 12–13 (Ankara, 1949), pp. 106-114; Pavel Poucha, “Mongolische Miscellen. IV. Zum Hunnenproblem,” CAJ 1 (1955): 287–71; Omeljan Pritsak, “Kultur und Sprache der Hunnen,” in Festschrift für Dmytro Cyzevs'kyj (Berlin, 1954), pp. 238–49 = О. P., Studies, no. VII; idem, “Ein hunnisches Wort,” Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft (Wiesbaden), 104 (1954): 124–35 = O. P., Studies, no. IX; idem, “Der Titel Attila,” Festschrift für Max Vasmer (Berlin, 1956), pp. 404–419, = О. Р., Studies, no. VIII; Gottfried Schramm, “Eine hunnisch-germanische Namensbeziehung?,” Jahrbuch für fränkische Landesforschung 20 (1960): 129–155. (Note the list of abbreviations, pp. 474–76.)

 

The Hunnic material to be analyzed here belongs to four periods: 

 

(1) ca. ad 375 — the time of the first name, that of the epic Hunnic ruler who allegedly entered the East European Ostrogothic realm then, as recorded by Jordanes from the Hunnic epic tradition;

 

(2) ca. 390–420 — the time of names 2 to 6, which are historical, although the relationship of their bearers to Attila (and to each other) remains unknown;

 

(3) ca. 420–480 — the names in this subdivision, including 7–21 and 26–33, are taken from the surest historical and genealogical information;

 

(4) ca. 536–555 — the fully historical names, 22–25, are of actors in the Hunnic epilogue.

 

The Hunnic names that have come down to us are transmitted mostly in the works of fourteen contemporary (5^th–6^th century) Greek and Latin writers. Six Greek and two Roman writers lived in the 5^th century, whereas three Greek and three Roman writers were from the 6^th century. Also, four works (two Greek and two Roman) were written between the 7^th and 9^th century by authors who had at their disposal rich sources since then lost. We have no serious reason to question the accuracy of their data.

 

The majority of the Hunnic names (20 of the 33) were recorded by the intelligent politician and historian Priscus of Panium in Thrace (d. after 472), who spent some time at Attila’s court (448–449) as the Byzantine ambassador to the Hunnic realm. In fact, thirteen, or more than one third, of the names are known to us only from Priscus’s notations: Ἄδάμει^dat, Ἄτακάμ, Βασίχ, Βέριχος, Ἔδέκων, Ἔσκάμ, Ζέρκων, Ἤσλαν^acc, Κουρσίχ, Κρέκαν, Μάμα^gen, Σκόττας, ᾯηβάρσιον^acc.

 

An earlier Byzantine ambassador to the Huns, Olympiodorus of Thebae in Egypt, visited the Hunnic rulers in 412. In his historical writings, he mentions two names unknown in other sources : Δονάτος and Χαράτων. The history of Justinian I’s reign by Agathias (fl. 556) mentions two more otherwise unrecorded names: Ἔλμίγγειρος and Ἔλμινζούρ.

 

A later but nonetheless reliable chronicler, Theophanes Byzantius (752–818), who incorporated materials from many lost sources in his work, also saved one Hunnic name: Γιέσμου^gen.

 

Three church historians of the first half of the 5^th century transmitted several names: Socrates of Constantinople (d. 440), Sozomen of Ghazzah in Palestine (d. ca. 450), and Theodoret of Antioch (d. 451). Of the Greek authors, only Sozomen and the secular historian Zosimus (who wrote after 498) mentioned the name Οὔλδιν ~ Οὔλδης, and Socrates notes the name Οὔπταρος.

The “Chronicon paschale,” compiled by an unknown cleric during the reign of Heraclius I (610–641) sometime shortly after 628, contains variants of two names: Βλίδας and Δινζίριχος.

Editions of the Byzantine Greek sources are the following:

 

Agathias, Historiarum libri quinqué, ed. Ludwig Dindorf, HGM 2 (Leipzig, 1871), pp. 132–432; Chronicon paschale, ed. L. Dindorf (Bonn, 1832); Joannes Malalas, Chronographia, ed. L. Dindorf (Bonn, 1831); Olympiodorus, ed. René Henry, “Codices” 1–84, in Photius, Bibliothèque (Paris, 1959); Priscus, in EL, ed. Carolus de Boor, vol. 1 (Berlin, 1903); Procopius, History of the Wars, ed. H. B. Dewing, 6 vols. (Cambridge, Mass., 1914–35); Socrates, Historia ecclesiastica, ed. J. P. Migne, PG, vol. 67 (Paris, 1864), cols. 28–842; Sozomen, Historia ecclesiastica, ed. J. P. Migne, PG, vol. 67 (1864), cols. 843–1630; Theodoret, Historia ecclesiastica, ed. Felix Scheidweiler (Berlin, 1954); Theophanes, Chronographia, ed. C. de Boor (Leipzig, 1883); Zosimus, Historia nova, ed. Ludwig Mendelssohn (Leipzig, 1887).

 

First among the Latin authors is Jordanes, a pro-Roman Ostrogoth who in 551 (probably in Ravenna) wrote his “Getica,” or history of the Goths (and Huns). In composing the work, he made use of a very important (now lost) Gothic history by the Roman senator Cassiodorus (ca. 490–585), as well as of Gothic and Hunnic popular traditions.

 

Jordanes includes thirteen Hunnic names in his work. Six of them also appear in the work of Priscus (Attila = Ἀττίλας, Bleda = Βλήδας, Dintzic = Δεγγιζίχ, Hernac = Ήρνάχ, Mundzuco^abl = Μουνδίουχον^acc, Roas = Ῥόῦα^gen), one in the work of Sozomen and Zosimus (Huldin = Οὔλδιν ~ Οὔλδης), and two in the work of Socrates (Octar = Οὔπταρος, Roas = Ῥούγας). Jordanes himself preserved four Hunnic names for posterity: Balamur, Ellac, Emnetzur, and Vltzindur.

 

Several names already known from the Greek and other Latin sources occur in the historical apology for Christianity by the Spaniard Paulus Orosius (fl. 414–417), as well as in the “Gallic Chronicle of 452,” the “Gallic Chronicle of 511,” and, especially, in the Chronicle by Marcellinus Comes (534). The last work gives five Hunnic names: Attila, Bleda, Denzic- = Δινζίχνρ-, Huldin, and Mundo.

Two Hunnic names survived in Latin works: Laudaricus in the “Gallic Chronicle of 511” (mentioned above), and Hunigasio^abl in the (older) “Vita Sancti Lupi” (probably compiled in the 5^th с.; the saint [ca. 3834–79] was bishop of Troyes in France).

Editions of the Latin sources are the following:

 

“Anonymus Ravennas,” ed. O. Cuntz, Itineraria Romana (Leipzig, 1929), see also the edition of Schnetz (listed on p. 475); “Gallic Chronicle of 452,” ed. Theodor Mommsen, “Chronica Gallica a. CCCCLII,” Chronica Minora 1 (= MGH AA, 9) (Berlin, 1892); “Gallic Chronicle of 511,” ed. T. Mommsen, “Chronica Gallica a. DXI,” Chronica Minora 1 (= MGH AA, 9) (Berlin, 1892); Jordanes, Getica, ed. Elena C. Skržinskaja, Jordan o proisxoidenii i dejanijax getov, Getica (Moscow, 1960); Jordanes, Romana, ed. Th. Mommsen (= MGH AA, 5, 1) (Berlin, 1882); Marcellinus Comes, Chronicon, ed. Th. Mommsen, Chronica Minora 2 (= MGH AA, 11) (Berlin, 1894); Orosius, Historiorum adversum paganos libri VII, ed. Karl Zangemeister (Vienna, 1882); “Vita Sancti Lupi,” Bollandi, Acta Sanctorum, Julii, Tomus VII, ed. Joannes Baptista Sullerius et al. (Venice, 1769); Surius, Historiae sen vitae sanctorum, ed. Laurentius Gastaldi (Turin, 1877), vol. VII: Julius.

		Greek Source			Latin Source
	Date in Hunnic History	Author/Title	Provenance	Hunnic Name	Author/Title	Provenance	Hunnic Name
Members of the Dynasty
1	375				Jordanes	551	Balamur
2	395	Priscus	d. ca. 472	Βασίχ
3	395	Priscus	d. ca. 472	Κουρσίχ
4	ca. 395–410	Sozomen	ca. 450	Οὔλδης, Οὔλδιν	Orosius	fl. 414–417	Uldin
		Zosimus	after 498	Οὔλδιν	Marcellinus Comes	534	Huldin
					Jordanes, “Romana”	551	Huldin
5	ca. 410–412	Olympiodorus	425	Δονάτος
6	ca. 412–420	Olympiodorus	425	Χαράτων
7	ca. 420–430	Priscus	d. ca. 472	Μουνδίουχουacc	Jordanes	551	Mundzucoabl
		Theophanes	810–814	Μουνδίουgen
8	d. 430	Socrates	d. 440	Οὔπταρος	Jordanes	551	Octar
9	ca. 430–433	Socrates	d. 440	Ῥούγας	“Gallic Chron. 452”	ca. 452	Rugila
		Priscus	d. ca. 472	Ῥόῦαgen, Ῥόῦαυacc	“Gallic Chron. 511”	6th century	Ruga
		Theodoret	d. ca. 451	Ῥωίλας	Jordanes	551	Roas
10	d. 449	Priscus	d. ca. 472	ᾯηβάρσιονacc
11	448–449	Priscus	d. ca. 472	Ἔσκάμ
12	433–444	Priscus	d. ca. 472	Βλήδας	“Gallic Chron. 452”	452	Bleda
		Marcellinus Comes	534	Βλίδας	Marcellinus Comes	534	Bleda
		“Chronicon paschale”	after 628	Βλίδας	Jordanes	551	Bleda
13	433–453	Priscus	d. ca. 472	Ἀττίλας	“Gallic Chron. 452”	452	Attila
		Procopius	545–551	Ἀττίλας	“Gallic Chron. 511”	6th century	Attila
		Malalas	d. 578	Ἀττίλας	Marcellinus Comes	534	Attila
					Jordanes	551	Attila
					“Anon Ravennas”	ca. 700	Attyla
14	d. 433	Priscus	d. ca. 472	Ἄτακάμ
15	d. 433	Priscus	d. ca. 472	Μάμαgen
16	d. 451				“Gallic Chron. 511”	6th century	Laudaricus
17	d. 455				Jordanes	551	Ellac
18	d. 469	Priscus	d. ca. 472	Δεγγιζίχ	Marcellinus Comes	534	Denzicisgen
		Marcellinus Comes	534	Δινζιχίρος
		“Chronicon paschale”	after 628	Δινζίριχος, Δινζίχ	Jordanes	551	Dintzic
19	fl. after 469	Priscus	d. ca. 472	Ήρνάχ*	Jordanes	551	Hernac
20	fl. after 469				Jordanes	551	Emnetzur
21	fl. after 469				Jordanes	551	Vltzindur
22	5th–6th century	Theophanes	810–814	Γιέσμουgen
23	d. 536	Procopius	545–551	Μοῦνδος	Marcellinus Comes	534	Mundo
		Malalas	d. 578	Μοῦνδος	Jordanes	551	Mundo
		Theophanes	810–814	Μοῦνδος
24	fl. 556	Agathias	ca. 536–582	Ἔλμίγγειρος
25	fl. 556	Agathias	ca. 536–582	Ἔλμινζούρ
Hunnic Statesmen and Officers ca. 448–449
26	ca. 448–449	Priscus	d. ca. 472	Ἄδάμειdat
27	ca. 448–449	Priscus	d. ca. 472	Βέριχος
28	ca. 448–449	Priscus	d. ca. 472	Ἔδέκων
29	ca. 448–449	Priscus	d. ca. 472	Ζέρκων
30	ca. 434–449	Priscus	d. ca. 472	Ἤσλανacc
31	ca. 448–449	Priscus	d. ca. 472	Κρέκαν
32	ca. 448–449	Priscus	d. ca. 472	Ὀνηγήσιος	Saint Lupus** d. 479		Hunigasioabl
33	ca. 448–449	Priscus	d. ca. 472	Σκόττας

* cf. “The List of the Bulgar Kings” ca. 8^th century: Ирникъ in Omeljan Pritsak, Die bulgarische Fürstenliste und die Sprache der Protobulgaren (Wiesbaden, 1955).

** “Vita sancti Lupi” (d. 479). cf. “S. Lupi Trecensis episcopi,” Surius, Historiae seu vitae sanctorum, ed. Laurentius Gastaldi, vol. VII: Julius (Turin, 1877), p. 556, 1. 25.

Superscripts:
abl. = ablative.
acc. = accusative.
dat. = dative.
gen. = genitive.

Avars―Timeline ― Walter Pohl (2018)

The Avars were a heterogeneous confederation, mainly made up of Turkic-Oghuric people who migrated to the Pontic Steppe (an area corresponding to north of Black Sea and Caspian Sea) from Central Asia after 552 ce. They settled in the Huns’ former territory in Europe, eventually succeeding in establishing the Avar Khaganate (= Empire) that encompassed a territory corresponding to modern-day Austria, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria and some parts of Turkey, and lasted until 796 ce when they were conquered by the Franks under Charlemagne.

p. 385:

After 796, we can no longer assume a unified Avar Empire.

p. 397:

A mixed group of steppe warriors and their families in flight adopts a prestigious name, victoriously moves across thousands of miles and founds an empire, and can thus consolidate itself as a people. When, after a quarter millennium, its identity and institutions lose their motivating force, this people disappears, apparently without leaving a trace. This is the history of the Avars in a nutshell.

The first mention of the Avars in Roman history comes from Priscus the Rhetor in 463 ce—when Attila’s Hunnic Empire was in the process of disintegrating—in connection with Turkic Saragurs, Onogurs and Ogurs that were attacked by the Turkic Sabirs, who had been attacked in turn by the Avars.

The next mention appeared during the 6^th century when Menander Protector discussed the Avars and wrote about Göktürk embassies to Constantinople in 565 and 568 ce, Turks having been angered by the Byzantines for having made an alliance with the Avars.

The following timeline is from a book by Walter Pohl on Avars. It was first published in German in 1988 and titled Die Awaren: Ein Steppenvolk im Mitteleuropa, 567–822 n. Chr. (3^rd edition in 2015). The author himself translated it into English with major revisions and updates. It was published in 2018 by Cornell University under the title The Avars: A Steppe Empire in Central Europe, 567–822.

This timeline is the most comprehensive one can find in any language on this subject.

ca. 463	First mention of central Asian Avars in Byzantine sources (Priscus) in connection with westward migration of Sabirs, Ogurs, Saragurs, and Onogurs
527–565	Emperor Justinian I
552–555	The Turks under Bumin destroy the central Asian empire of the Rouran
Dec. 558/Jan. 559	First Avar embassy under Kandikh in Constantinople; Avars north of the Caucasus
559	Invasion by Kutrigurs under Zabergan stopped outside Constantinople by Belisarius
ca. 558–562	Western Turks under Istemi in alliance with the Persians subdue Hephthalite Empire
559–561	Avars advance north of the Black Sea and defeat Sabirs, Utigurs, and Antes
ca. 560–582/83	Baian, khagan of the Avars
560/61–572	Alboin, king of the Lombards
562/63	First Turkish embassy in Constantinople warns against alliance with the Avars
562	Sigibert I, king of the Franks, repels an Avar attack near the Elbe
563	Avars at the Lower Danube; negotiations about a settlement on Roman territory fail
565–578	Emperor Justin II
Nov. 565	The Avar envoy Targitius arrives shortly after Justin II’s coronation; the emperor refuses to pay further subsidies
566	A second Avar expedition against the Franks under Sigibert I is victorious; he buys off the Avars with foodstuffs and concludes an alliance with them
566	The Gepids defeat the Lombards with Byzantine support, but do not hand over Sirmium to the Byzantines as promised
Winter 566/67	A Lombard embassy concludes an alliance against the Gepids with Khagan Baian, but only under great concessions
567	Decisive victory of the Lombards under Alboin against the Gepids, whose king Cunimund dies in battle; the Avars occupy the land of the Gepids and besiege the Gepid capital Sirmium, which Byzantine troops under Bonus have occupied
567–574	Fruitless negotiations between the Avars and Byzantium for a new treaty
April 568	Lombards and affiliated groups under King Alboin begin to leave Pannonia for Italy; the Avars occupy the land of the Lombards
Late 568	Turkish embassy under the Sogdian Maniakh in Constantinople
569–571	Byzantine embassy under Zemarchus travels to the Turk khagan Sizabulos/Istemi
ca. 570	Victory of Tiberius over the Avars
572	Beginning of the twenty-year war of Byzantium against the Persians; Avar pressure increases
574	Victory of the Avars over Tiberius; Emperor Justin II withdraws from politics, and in December appoints Tiberius Caesar
Winter 574/75	A new treaty of the Avars with Byzantium fixes the annual subsidies at 80,000 solidi
576–577	Byzantine embassy under Valentinus meets the new Turkish khagan Turxanthus, who reproaches them because of the treaty with the Avars; Turks and subdued Utigurs take the Byzantine city Bosporus/Kerch
578	First culmination of Slavic raids in Thrace; Avars attack the Slavic settlement area north of the Danube with Byzantine support after the Slavic prince Dauritas has killed Avar envoys
578–582	Emperor Tiberius II
579–582	Avars besiege Sirmium; the city capitulates after three years
582	The peace treaty between Baian and Tiberius leaves the subsidies at 80,000 solidi plus arrears
582–602	Emperor Maurice
ca. 583–ca. 602/10	One of Baian’s sons is khagan
ca. 582/83	Inner conflicts in the Turkish Empire
ca. 583	The Varchonite tribes Tarniakh, Kotzagir, and Zabender flee from the Turks and join the Avars
583/84	New wave of Slavic raids in the Balkan provinces; Greece is increasingly targeted
Fall 584	After the Byzantines have refused to raise the subsidies, the Avars capture Singidunum, Viminacium, and Augusta and march as far as Anchialus; failed mission of Comentiolus to the khagan
Spring 585	A second Byzantine embassy under Elpidius concludes a treaty with the Avars that raises the subsidies to 100,000 solidi
Fall 586	On the instigation of the fugitive Avar high priest Bookolabras, Maurice interns the Avar ambassador Targitius; the khagan renews his attacks and plunders Aquis, Bononia, Ratiaria, Apiaria, Durostorum, Zaldapa, Pannasa, Tropaeum Traiani, and Marcianopolis
Sept. 586	Avar-led Slavic siege of Thessalonica fails
587	War in Thrace, fighting at Tomis and at Sabulente Canalis; Avar attacks on Mesembria and unsuccessful sieges of Beroe, Diocletianopolis, and Philippopolis; successful intervention of John Mystacon at Adrianople
587/88	Avars and Slavs take Patras and other Greek cities and begin to settle in Greece
591–616	Lombard king Agilulf
591	Peace treaty between Byzantium and the new Persian king Chosroes
592	Slavs attack Singidunum; Avar war, fighting at the Procliana Pass; siege of Drizipera; Avar victory at Heraclea; General Priscus besieged in Tzurullon; renewal of the treaty
592	Bavarian campaign under Tassilo I against Slavs
593	Campaign of Priscus against Slavs north of the lower Danube; victories over the groups under Ardagast and Musucius
594	Slavic raids against Zaldapa, Aquis, and Scopi; Petrus leads a campaign against Slavs, victory over the Peiragast group, and defeat at the Helibacius
595	Campaign of Priscus against the Avars, confrontation at Singidunum; Avar raid on inland Dalmatia
595	Bavarian attack on Slavs; counterattack by the khagan, Bavarian army routed
596–597	Eighteen months of peace along the Danube
596	Avars attack Thuringia; the Frankish queen Brunhild buys them off
Fall 597	Avar campaign along the Danube; Avar army hibernates near Tomi
598	Fighting in Thrace, Comentiolus defeated at Iatrus; Avars capture Drizipera; their army decimated by the plague; Roman envoy Harmaton negotiates a rise of subsidies to 120,000 solidi
599	Offensive of Priscus on Avar territory: victories opposite Viminacium, and over the khagan’s army at the Tisza
ca. 600	Avar peace treaties with Lombards and Franks
601/2	Avars, Slavs, and Lombards raid Byzantine Istria
601	Avar army under Apsikh and Roman army under Petrus face each other at the Iron Gate
602	Avars under Apsikh defeat the Antes; Roman units under Guduin attack Slavs north of the lower Danube, but rebel against the order to hibernate in Slavic lands
Nov. 602	Rebels under Phocas overthrow and kill Emperor Maurice
602–610	Emperor Phocas; new war against the Persians
Aug. 603	A Slavic contingent sent by the Avars helps the Lombard king Agilulf to take Cremona
ca. 604	Avar-Byzantine treaty; subsidies probably rise to 140,000 solidi
ca. 602/10–626/30	Another son of Baian reigns as khagan
604	Slavic surprise attack on Thessalonica
609/10	Avar-Slav raids in Illyricum
Fall 610	Civil war in Byzantium; Phocas overthrown
610–641	Emperor Heraclius
ca. 611	Avar victory over the Lombard dux of Friuli, Gisulf II; capture of Forum Iulii/Cividale and deportation of the captives to Pannonia
ca. 611	Bavarians under Garibald defeated by Slavs at Aguntum; Brunhild’s enemies suspect her of plotting with the Avars
ca. 615	Avars and Slavs capture Naissus and Serdica
ca. 615	Siege of Thessalonica by Slavs under Chatzon
617 or 618	33-day siege of Thessalonica by Avars and Slavs under the command of the khagan
ca. 618	Avar expedition to Thrace
618/19	Avar-Byzantine treaty (180,000 solidi?)
June 623	Failed Avar ambush against Emperor Heraclius near Heraclea; raids inside the Long Walls
623	New treaty with subsidies of 200,000 solidi
623–638	Dagobert I, king of the Franks
623/24	Beginning of the successful rebellion of Slavs in Bohemia/Moravia under Samo
ca. 625–640	Salona abandoned because of Slavic pressure, population moves to Split
Summer 626	Great Avar siege of Constantinople with Persian support fails after ten days
Winter 627/28	The Persian war ends with Byzantine victory; Heraclius in Ctesiphon
630	Frankish embassy in Constantinople
630/31	Throne conflicts in the Avar Empire between an Avar and a Bulgar contender; flight of the defeated Bulgars to Bavaria, where a large part is massacred; survivors under Alciocus flee to the “March of the Vinedi” to Duke Walluc
ca. 631	Large-scale Frankish attack on Samo’s kingdom repelled at Wogastisburc; Lombard victory over Slavs in the Alps
630/35	Bulgar Empire north of the Black Sea under Khan Kuvrat expands against Avars and Turks
636–642	Arab/Islamic expansion to Palestine, Syria, and Egypt
642–668	Emperor Constans II
650s/660s	Death of Khan Kuvrat; dissolution of his empire and rise of the Khazar khaganate
ca. 660	Death of Samo and dissolution of his kingdom
662–671	Grimoald, king of the Lombards
662	The dethroned Lombard king Perctarit, an exile at the Avar court, has to continue his flight because of diplomatic pressures by King Grimoald
663	Emperor Constans II fights the Lombards in southern Italy
663	Duke Lupus of Friuli rebels against King Grimoald; on Grimoald’s invitation, the Avars invade Friuli, and Lupus falls in battle; the Avars leave only when Grimoald arrives with his army
ca. 663	Alzeco comes to Italy with his Bulgars and settles with Lombard consent in the duchy of Benevento
668–685	Emperor Constantine IV
July 677	A conflict with the Slavic prince Perbund leads to a Slavic siege of Thessalonica
678	An Arabic fleet is defeated at Constantinople
678/79	The last attested Avar embassy in Constantinople congratulates the emperor on his victory
680	Bulgars under Asparukh defeat the Byzantines near the Danube delta; Bulgar khanate established in Moesia
ca. 680	Kuver and his mixed group of Sermesianoi break free from Avar Pannonia and settle in the Keramesian Plain; failed plot of Mavros against Thessalonica
685–695, 705–711	Emperor Justinian II
712–744	Liutprand, king of the Lombards ca. 713/14 Destruction of Lorch by the Avars
742	The Carantanians under Boruth repel an Avar attack with the support of the Bavarian duke Odilo; beginning of Bavarian overlordship and Christian mission in Carantania
748–788	Tassilo III, duke of the Bavarians
768–814	Charlemagne, king of the Franks
774	Charlemagne defeats the Lombard king Desiderius and becomes king of the Lombards
782	Avar embassy meets Charlemagne at Lippspringe; an Avar army appears at the Enns
788	Tassilo III dethroned and confined
788	Frankish-Avar War; Avars defeated near the Italian and Bavarian borders
790	Avar embassy in Worms; no consensus on the boundary
Aug. 791	A Frankish-Lombard army takes an Avar fortification at the Italian border
Fall 791	Great Avar campaign led by Charlemagne, departing from Lorch in September and proceeding to the Rába without much resistance; horse pestilence, return via Savaria
791–end of 793	Charlemagne in Regensburg; preparations for an Avar war, works for Danube-Main canal
793–795	Saxon uprising
794/95	Inner conflict in the Avar Empire; death of the khagan and the iugurrus
795	Envoys of the tudun meet Charlemagne at Hliune at the Elbe and offer submission
Fall 795	A Frankish-Slav army under Woynimir advances to the “ring” of the khagans and sacks it
796	The tudun comes to Charlemagne, submits, and is baptized; an army under Pippin of Italy and Duke Eric of Friuli sacks the ring again; the khagan submits; a synod at the Danube deals with the conversion of the Avars
797	Campaign of Eric of Friuli in Pannonia; fights against Slavs
End of 797	Avar embassy meets Charlemagne at Herstelle
798	Bishop Arn of Salzburg is raised to archbishop with a view to the eastern missions
799–803	Great Avar uprising against the Franks
799	Eric of Friuli is killed by the residents of Tarsatica; Prefect Gerold I is murdered during a campaign against the Avars
802	The counts Chadaloh and Goteram fall in a fight against Avars near the castellum Guntionis
802/03–814	Bulgar khan Krum
803	The Franks finally put down the Avar revolt; the tudun comes to Charlemagne at Regensburg and submits
ca.804	Campaign of the Bulgar khan Krum against the Avars
Early 805	The Christian kapkhan Theodore visits Charlemagne in Aachen and asks for land because of Slavic attacks; he obtains the region between Carnuntum and Savaria, but dies soon
Sept. 805	The Avar khagan asks Charlemagne to reestablish his supreme rule; on September 21, he is baptized with the name Abraham in the Fischa river
805	The capitulary of Thionville institutes Lorch as a toll post toward Slavs and Avars
811	A Frankish army mediates in fights between Avars and Slavs in Pannonia; the canizauci, the tudun, and other Avar and Slavic princes are summoned to Aachen
811	Emperor Nicephorus invades Bulgaria and falls in battle; in the Bulgar army, Avars are also attested
814	Khan Krum plans to attack Constantinople; his army is said to have included Avar mercenaries; Krum dies before putting the plan into action
822	Last attested Avar embassy at the Frankish court
828	The administrative reform of the eastern territories of Bavaria removes the Avar tributary principality

“The Thirty Tribes of the Turks” — Mihály Dobrovits (2004)

THE THIRTY TRIBES OF THE TURKS

 

Acta  Orientalia  Academiae  Scientiarum  Hung., 2004

MIHÁLY DOBROVITS

 

Department of World History, University of Miskolc, H-3515 Miskolc, Egyetemváros, Hungary.

The present study first investigates the Turkic and Chinese terminology for nomadic tribes and tribal confederacies, then proceeds to analyse the famous passage to be found on the Chinese epitaph  of Princess Xienli Pijia (Bilgä), in which we are informed that the father of the Princess, Gudulu  (= Qutluγ) Mechuo was the Türk Khagan of the Thirty Tribes. Contrary to an older attempt of  K. Czeglédy at interpreting the numerical composition of the Türk confederacy, the author elucidates the question in another way. To his opinion the term Nine Surnames (jiu xing) stands for the toquz oγuz, to which the eleven tribes of the Eastern Turks must be added. These two groups make up twenty tribes, and adding to this amount the ten tribes of the Western Turks (on oq) we get the Thirty Tribes of the complete Türk confederacy.

Key words: Türks, nomadic tribes, confederacies, Inner Asia.

In the Turkic and Chinese sources a wide range of terms describing the Turkic tribal society can be found. In the Turkic terminology the most important expression for ‘tribe’ was bod, singular form of the collective noun bodun ‘tribal confederation, people’ (cf. T. I. W4: türk sir bodun yerintä bod qalmadï). Another term denoting ‘tribe’ was oq. According to the widely accepted view this term is etymologically identical with the Turkic word oq ‘arrow.’[1] The Chinese sources call jiu xing (‘Nine Surnames’) the confederation of the toquz ‘nine’ oγuz. It means that oγuz in itself could also mean ‘tribe.’ [2]

 

As far as Chinese terminology is concerned, we can see many expressions such as buluo, zhong, luo, bu, and xing. It is, however, next to impossible to define their exact meanings. As both H. Ecsedy and B. Csongor pointed out, only the term buluo can be translated in an exact way as ‘tribe.’ All other expressions are usually translated as ‘horde,’ without any attempt at finding out their exact connotations (Ecsedy 1972; Csongor 1993, p. 13). According to Ecsedy, the Chinese sources called the Turks buluo for the first time when their population grew more than ‘some hundreds of families (jia),’ under the leadership of the charismatic clan (xing) Ashina. As to the use of jia, Ecsedy called our attention to the fact that in connection with pastoral nomads the Chinese source generally preferred to use the term zhang ‘tent’ (Ecsedy 1972, p. 249). Otherwise, the most frequently used expression in the Chinese sources is xing ‘a surname, a clan, a people’ which in many ways became interchangeable with buluo. Xing could mean both ‘tribe’ and ‘clan.’ Together with a numeral it could also denote a tribal confederation, such as jiu xing ‘The Nine Surnames’ which stood for the toquz oγuz, shi xing ‘Ten Surnames’ for the on oq, i.e., the Western Türks, and san xing geluolu ‘Three Surnames of the Qarluq’ for the üč qarluq of the Turkic inscriptions. According to Ecsedy xing was the basic unit of any nomadic society. There were also many ways to speak about the Turkic society as a whole: in his letter, written to the Chinese Emperor Sui Yangdi (605–617) Qimin khagan (599–608) used the Chinese term tujüe bai xing ‘Hundred [i.e., All] Surnames of the Turks.’ In some cases guo ‘country’ also was in use.[3]

We have only one description of the tribes of the Eastern Türks at our disposal, namely the one to be found in the Tanghuiyao in which their tamγas and dwelling places were also fixed (Liu 1958, pp. 453–454; Zuev 1960). These were crucial pieces of information for the Chinese who were trading in horses with the nomads.[4] According to the Chinese source, the tribes of the Eastern Türks that lived to the north of the Gobi Desert were the following: Ashina, Helu, Ashide, Da Ashide, and Bayan Ashide.

The following tribes lived to the south of the Gobi Desert: Enjie (Sijie), Fuliyu, Qibi, Xijie, Huxie, and Nula.

The most interesting fact one can learn from these is that the tamγa of the tribe Ashina is completely different from that of the charismatic dynastic clan Ashina. The tamγa of the Ashina dynasty has its well-known shape of a mountain goat. The tamγa of the Ashina tribe resembles a horse-neck with mane, or perhaps a wolf-head.

 

Although many of these tamγas are resembling Chinese characters (but apparently none of them is identical with any of the real Chinese characters), they are undoubtedly original ones. Klyashtorny relied on them indicating that the tamγas of the Ashina dynasty and the tribe Ashide appear together in the inscription of Choyr (Mongolia) (Klyashtorny 1971).

This also means that a clear differentiation between the dynasty and the tribe Ashina existed among the Eastern Türks. The Chinese epitaph of Princess Xienli Pijia (Bilgä), the daughter of the Türk Qapγan/Mechuo khagan (691–716) provides us with a clear evidence of this situation. [5] According to this source, the second husband of the Princess held the title “The Heavenly Born (tianshangde = täŋridä bolmis)  Wise (pijia = bilgä) šad (sha) Khagan of the Thirty Tribes (sanshi xing tianshangde pijia sha kehan). [6] We are also informed that the father of the Princess, mentioned here as Gudulu (= Qutluγ) Mechuo khagan was the khagan of Thirty Tribes. At the beginning of his career, the father of the Princess ruled over the left wing of the Empire, then the Nine Surnames (jiu xing) were under his rule. Afterwards he became the ruler of twelve surnames (shier xing), and at least thirty surnames were under his overlordship. Thus, he became the lord of all who ‘button up their garment to the left,’ i.e., all of the Northern Barbarians. [7] This is a rather correct description of Mechuo khagan’s rise to power. 

 

Czeglédy (1972) was the first to try to identify these thirty tribes. According to him, if we identify the ‘Nine Surnames’ (jiu xing) of the text with the toquz oγuz, and there can be no doubt about this identification, the “Twelve Tribes” cannot be other than the confederation of the Türks. He was, however, misled by the famous Tibetan source referred to as Pelliot Tibétain 1283. This text—based on the relation of five Uighur explorers of Inner Asia after 750—often makes mention of the Türks as dru-gu. The text also mentions those twelve tribes that lived between the Copper City, legendary capital of the Western Türks (Tib. Pa-ker pa-lig = Tu. Baqïr balïq), and ’Bug-čhor. The names of these tribes were as follows: the tribe of King Ża-ma-mońan, then Ha-li, A-ša-ste, Šar-du-li, Lo-lad, Par-sil, Rńi-ke, So-ni, Jol-to, Yan-ti, Hebdal, Gar-rga-pur (Bacot 1956, p. 145). As to the Copper City, it was Czeglédy (1960) who identified it with Bešbalïq (Chinese Beiting, Iranian Panjikath) in Eastern Turkestan. As far as ’Bug-čhor is concerned, Louis Ligeti identified it with the Tibetan name of Mechuo khagan, and also with the land that formerly belonged to him, i.e., the realm of the Eastern Türks. Ligeti warned that Czeglédy’s attempt to identify the twelve tribes mentioned in  the Tibetan source with the Türks was wrong (Ligeti 1971, pp. 177, 178–179). Czeglédy (1982) also failed to prove his second idea according to which the number of the tribes of the toquz oγuz together with the ten tribes of the Uighurs were eighteen. [8] Czeglédy, however, was quite near the solution. The term Nine Surnames (jiu xing) really stands for the toquz oγuz. No further emendation is needed. The eleven tribes of the Eastern Türks together with the nine tribes of the toquz oγuz make up twenty. Adding to this amount the ten tribes of the Western Turks (on oq) we get the thirty tribes (xing) we were looking for. 

 

The last question left is the following: Who were then the “twelve tribes” (shier xing) mentioned by the epitaph of Princess Xienli Pijia? We can respond very easily: the twelfth xing was the dynasty itself. It was not a tribe, but an independent unit that had its own tamγa and also the term xing fit for it.

References:

Bacot, J. (1956): Reconnaissance en Haute Asie septentrionelle par cinq envoyés ouigours au VII^e siècle. JA, pp. 137–153.

Bazin, L. (1953): Notes sur les mots «Oguz» et «Türk». Oriens 6, pp. 315–322 = reprint in: Bazin, L.: Les Turcs : Des mots, des hommes. Budapest–Paris 1994 (Bibliotheca Orientalis Hungarica XLI), pp. 174–176.

Bombaci, A. (1971): The Husbands of Princess Hisen-li Bilgä. In: Ligeti, L. (ed.): Studia Turcica.

Budapest (Bibliotheca Orientalis Hungarica XVII), pp. 103–123.

Chavannes, Éd. (1912): Épitaphes des deux princesses turques de l’époque des T’ang. In: Festschrift Vilhelm Thomsen. Leipzig, pp. 78–87.

Clauson, G. Sir (1972): An Etymological Dictionary of Pre-Thirteenth Century Turkish. Oxford.

Csongor, Cs. (1993): Kínai források az ázsiai avarokról [Chinese Sources on Asian Avars]. Budapest (Történelem és kultúra 8).

Czeglédy K. (1960): A Rézváros [Copper City]. Antik Tanulmányok 7, pp. 211–216 = reprint: Czeglédy K.: Magyar Őstörténeti Tanulmányok. Budapest 1985 (Budapest Oriental Reprints A3), pp. 354–359.

Czeglédy, K. (1972): On the Numerical Composition of the Ancient Turkish Tribal Confederations. AOH 25, pp. 275–281.

Czeglédy, K. (1982): Zur Stammesorganisation der türkischen Völker. AOH 26, pp. 89–93.

Dobrovits M. (2003): A türkök harminc törzse [The thirty tribes of the Turks]. Eleink. Magyar őstörténet 2003/2, pp. 23–28.

Doerfer, G. (1962): Zur Beziehung der Westtürken. CAJ 7, pp. 256–263.

Ecsedy, H. (1972): Tribe and Tribal Society in the 6th Century Türk Empire. AOH 25, pp.  245–262.

Golden, P. B. (1992): Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples. Ethnogenesis and State Formation in Medieval and Early-Modern Eurasia and the Middle East. Wiesbaden, Otto Harrassowitz (Turcologica, Bd. 20).

Hamilton, J. R. (1962): Toquz oγuz et on Uyγur. JA, pp. 23–63.

Klyashtorny, S. G. (1971): Руническая надпись из Восточной Гоби. In: Ligeti, L. (ed.): Studia Turcica. Budapest (Bibliotheca Orientalis Hungarica XVII), pp. 249–258.

Ligeti, L. (1971): A propos du «Rapport sur les rois demeurant dans le nord». In: Études tibétaines dédiée à la mémoire de Marcelle Lalou. Paris, pp. 166–189.

Liu, Mau-tsai (1958): Die chinesischen Nachrichten zur Gechichte der Ost-Türken (T’u-küe). Wiesbaden, Otto Harrassowitz (Göttinger Asiatische Forschungen 10).

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Németh, Gy. (1921a): On ogur, hét magyar, Dentümogyer. MNy 17, pp. 205–207.

Németh, J. (1921b): On ogur, hét magyar, Dentümogyer. KCsA 1, pp. 148–155.

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Pritsak, O. (1985): Old Turkic Regnal Names in the Chinese Sources. JTS 9, pp. 205–211.

Pulleybank, E. (1956): Some Remarks on the Toquzoghuz Problem. UAJb 28, pp. 35–42.

Rybatzki, V. (2000): The Titles of Türk and Uigur Rulers in the Old Turkic Inscriptions. CAJ 44, pp. 205–292.

Sinor, D. (1950): Oğuz kağan destanı üzerinde bazi mülâhazalar. İstanbul Üniversitesi, Edebiyat Fakültesi, Türk Dili ve Edebiyatı Dergisi 4, pp. 1–14.  

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Zuev, Ju. A. (1960): «Тамги лошадей из вассальных княжеств» (Перевод из китайского сочинения VIII–X вв. Танхуйяо, т. III, цзюань 72, стр. 1305–1308). Труды Института истории, археологии и этнографии Академии наук Казахской ССР 8, pp. 93–137.

 

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[1] Németh (1921a, 1921b); Clauson (1972, p. 76); Turan (1945); Gerhard Doerfer, on the contrary, read this expression as uq and derived its etymology from the Mongol uγ ‘Geschlecht, Familie; Herkunft’ (Doerfer 1962).

[2] On the various etymologies of the oγuz see the works of Németh cited above and also Marquart (1914, pp. 37, 201); Sinor (1950); Bazin (1953, pp. 315–322) = Bazin (1994, pp. 174–176); Hamilton (1962, pp. 23–25); Sümer (1999, p. 20); Golden (1992, p. 96).

[3] Ecsedy (1972, pp. 251–254). For the letter of the khagan in the Suishu, see Liu (1958, pp. 60–61); for another version incorporated into the Zizhi tongjian, see Taşağıl (1995, p. 167).

[4] On the horse fairs of the Türks, see Liu (1958, pp. 454–455).

[5] Chavannes (1912); Pelliot (1912); Bombaci (1971); Pritsak (1985, p. 207); Rybatzki (2000, pp. 227–228).

[6] Instead of Bombaci’s mistaken reading (san pu t’ien shang tê p’i-chia sha k’o-han: 1971, p. 117) we follow Rybatzki’s reading (2000, p. 228).

[7] Chavannes (1912, p. 83); Bombaci (1971, pp. 105–106); in a former and shorter Hungarian version of our article, we confused the husband and the father of the Princess, cf.: Dobrovits (2003, pp. 26–27).

[8] On this question, see also Pulleybank (1956); Hamilton (1962).