{{Infobox noble , name = Atakam , title = Prince of the Huns , image = , caption = , alt = , CoA = , more = no , succession = , reign = , reign-type = , predecessor = , successor = , suc-type = , spouse = , spouse-type = , issue-type = , issue = , issue-link = , issue-pipe = , full name = , native_name = , styles = , other_titles = , noble family = , house-type = , father = , mother = , birth_name = , birth_date = , birth_place =

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now wes ...

Hunnic Empire The Huns were a nomadic people who 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 ...

, christening_place = , death_date = , death_place = Carsum,

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...

, death_cause =

Impalement Impalement, as a method of torture and execution, is the penetration of a human by an object such as a stake, pole, spear, or hook, often by the complete or partial perforation of the torso. It was particularly used in response to "crimes aga ...

, burial_date = , burial_place = , occupation = , memorials = , website = , module = Atakam was a young

Hun The Huns were a nomadic people who 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 ...

prince who was impaled by

Attila Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European traditio ...

. He was a young member of the royal house and a fugitive who deflected to the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. After the Huns and the Romans concluded a treaty whereby "all the Scythian (i.e., Hunnic) fugitives must be returned", he and fellow Hun royal family member Mamas were handed over to the Huns and impaled. He was impaled near Carsum, in

Priscus Priscus of Panium (; el, Πρίσκος; 410s AD/420s AD-after 472 AD) was a 5th-century Eastern Roman diplomat and Greek historian and rhetorician (or sophist)...: "For information about Attila, his court and the organization of life generall ...

uses a Greek word meaning "suspension" for the method of execution, which can also be read as "crucifixion".

Peter Heather Peter John Heather (born 8 June 1960) is a British historian of late antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Heather is Chair of the Medieval History Department and Professor of Medieval History at King's College London. He specialises in the fall ...

, who reads the word as "impaling", further noted that "Impaling seems to have been the main method of dealing with most problems in the Hunnic world."{{cite book , last1=Cook , first1=John Granger , title=Crucifixion in the Mediterranean World , date=2018 , publisher=Mohr Siebeck , isbn=9783161560019 , page=307 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cMd9DwAAQBAJ , access-date=26 October 2022

References

{{reflist {{Huns Huns People executed by impalement Attila the Hun 5th-century executions