The Attilids were a leading

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

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 tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...

, a nomadic pastoralist people who confronted the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

during the

decline of the Western Roman Empire The fall of the Western Roman Empire (also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome) was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vas ...

, as well as the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. They also often fought in alliance with both of these empires against the invading

Germanic people The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...

Origin

The Attilids descended from

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 ...

, the last sole ruler of the Hunnic Empire. Attila was of noble origin, the son of

Mundzuk Mundzuk was a Hunnic chieftain, brother of the Hunnic rulers Octar and Rugila, and father of Bleda and Attila by an unknown consort. Jordanes in ''Getica'' recounts "''For this Attila was the son of Mundzucus, whose brothers were Octar and Ruas, wh ...

. His father was a brother of co-rulers of the Hunnic Empire

Rugila Rugila or Ruga (also Ruas; died second half of the 430s AD),Lee, A.D. (2013) ''From Rome to Byzantium AD 363 to 565: The Transformation of Ancient Rome''. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, pp. 118-119. was a ruler who was a major factor in th ...

and

Octar Octar or Ouptaros was a Hunnic ruler. He ruled in dual kingship with his brother Rugila, possibly with a geographical division, ruling the Western Huns while his brother ruled the Eastern Huns. History Octar ruled along with his brother Rugila as ...

, but never became king himself. He begat two sons by an unknown consort. His sons were

Bleda Bleda () was a Hunnic ruler, the brother of Attila the Hun. As nephews to Rugila, Attila and his elder brother Bleda succeeded him to the throne. Bleda's reign lasted for eleven years until his death. While it has been speculated by Jordanes th ...

and Attila, who succeeded their uncle Rugila as regents of the Empire. Rugila had become sole ruler after the death of his brother Octar in 430.

History

Attila and Bleda made a series of successful campaigns in the Balkans and Greece, capturing the major Roman cities up to arriving to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, where they destroyed the Roman forces around the city before forcing the Romans to pay an increased tribute of gold, along with other priviliges. Thereafter, Bleda died, allegedly killed by his brother Attila, possibly after provocation, Bleda having himself tried to kill Attila. As sole ruler, Attila named his son

Ellac Ellac (died in 454 AD) was the oldest son of Attila (434–453) and Kreka. After Attila's death in 453 AD, his Empire crumbled and its remains were ruled by his three sons, Ellac, Dengizich and Ernak. He ruled shortly, and died at the Battle of Ned ...

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

of the Nations of Pontic Scythia and bestowed on him the title of

of the

Akatziri The Akatziri or Akatzirs ( gr, Άκατίροι, Άκατζίροι, ''Akatiroi'', ''Akatziroi''; la, Acatziri) were a tribe that lived north of the Black Sea, though the Crimean city of Cherson seemed to be under their control in the sixth centu ...

. Attila also showed a particular fondness for his younger son,

Ernak Ernak was the last known ruler of the Huns, and the third son of Attila. After Attila's death in 453 AD, his Empire crumbled and its remains were ruled by his three sons, Ellac, Dengizich and Ernak. He succeeded his older brother Ellac in 454 AD, an ...

, about whom his shamans/prophets had predicted an important role in the continuation of his line. Attila died before naming a heir, and his sons fought among themselves for the empire, tearing it apart. It is not known whetehr Ellac, the eldest son, became himself the sole ruler after the death of his father. He nevertheless died just a year later, at the

Battle of Nedao The Battle of Nedao was a battle fought in Pannonia in 454 between the Huns and their former Germanic vassals. Nedao is believed to be a tributary of the Sava River. Battle After the death of Attila the Hun, allied forces of the subject peoples ...

Dengizich Dengizich (died in 469), was a Hunnic ruler and son of Attila. After Attila's death in 453 AD, his Empire crumbled and its remains were ruled by his three sons, Ellac, Dengizich and Ernak. He succeeded his older brother Ellac in 454 AD, and proba ...

, another prominent son of Attila, died 15 years later, in 469, after a failed invasion of the Eastern Roman Empire. Attila's young son, Ernak, is thought to have survived and to have been given land in the region of

Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...

Legacy

Attila had many wives, and numerous children, allegedly "amounting to a people". The '' Nominalia of the Bulgarian khans'' claimed the second ruler of the

Dulo The Dulo clan was a ruling dynasty of the Bulgars. The origins of the Bulgars and Dulo clan are not known precisely, and there are many theories about their origin. It is generally considered that they – or at least the elite caste – were in ...

was ''Irnik'' (), who is often identified with

, a son of Attila.Sedlar, Jean W. (2011). East Central Europe in the Middle Ages, 1000-1500. University of Washington Press. p. 28 According to Bulgarian historian

Vasil Zlatarski Vasil Nikolov Zlatarski ( bg, Васил Николов Златарски; – 15 December 1935) was a Bulgarian historian-medievalist, archaeologist, and epigraphist. Life Vasil Zlatarski was born in Veliko Tarnovo in 1866, the youngest c ...

, if Irnik was indeed Ernak, then both Ernak and his father Attila belonged to the Dulo clan.Zlatarski, V. N. (1918).
Medieval History of the Bulgarian State, Vol I: History of the First Bulgarian Empire, Part I: Age of Hun-Bulgar Domination (679-852)
' (in Bulgarian). Sofia: Science and Arts Publishers, 2nd Edition (Petar Petrov, Ed.), Zahari Stoyanov Publishers, 4th Edition, 2006. p. 79-80 Medieval Hungarian chroniclers,

Anonymus (notary of Béla III) ''Anonymus Bele regis notarius'' ("Anonymous Notary of King Bela") or Master P. ( late 12th century – early 13th century) was the notary and chronicler of a Hungarian king, probably Béla III. Little is known about him, but his latinized name ...

Simon of Kéza Simon of Kéza ( hu, Kézai Simon) was the most famous Hungarian chronicler of the 13th century. He was a priest in the royal court of king Ladislaus IV of Hungary. In 1270–1271, bearing the title "master" (''magister''), Simon was part of a d ...

, and

Mark of Kalt Mark of Kalt (, ; ) was the canon of the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and chronicler of King Louis I of Hungary, known for his work ''Chronicon Pictum'', beginning its composition in 1358 and finishing it between 1370 and ...

, claimed Attilid ancestry for the

Árpád dynasty The Árpád dynasty, consisted of the members of the royal House of Árpád (), also known as Árpáds ( hu, Árpádok, hr, Arpadovići). They were the ruling dynasty of the Principality of Hungary in the 9th and 10th centuries and of the Kingd ...

and the Aba clan. Specifically: *Two

's patriarchs,

Árpád Árpád (; 845 – 907) was the head of the confederation of the Magyar tribes at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries. He might have been either the sacred ruler or ''kende'' of the Hungarians, or their military leader or '' gy ...

and his father

Álmos Álmos (), also Almos or Almus (c. 820 – c. 895), was—according to the uniform account of Hungarian chronicles—the first head of the "loose federation" of the Hungarian tribes from around 850. Whether he was the sacred ruler (''kende'') of ...

, supposedly descended from a certain

Ügyek Ügyek (second half of the 8th century – first half of the 9th century), also known as Ugek or Vgec, was – according to the chronicler Anonymus (or "Master P.") – the father of Álmos, the first Grand Prince of the Hungarians. However, accord ...

:Anonymus (author),

Martyn Rady Martyn Rady (born 1955) is Masaryk Professor Emeritus of Central European History at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES), University College London. He was from 1995 to 2009 Warden of Hughes Parry Hall, an intercollegiate ha ...

(translator) (2009) ''

Gesta Hungarorum ''Gesta Hungarorum'', or ''The Deeds of the Hungarians'', is the earliest book about Hungarian history which has survived for posterity. Its genre is not chronicle, but ''gesta'', meaning "deeds" or "acts", which is a medieval entertaining li ...

''
pdf
p. 7-12Simon of Kéza, ''Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum'

quote: "Ethele király czimerén is, mellyet tulajdon pajzsán szokott volt hordani, koronás fejü madár vala ábrázolva, mellyet magyarúl turulnak hívnak. ..Azon kapitányok közt tehát Árpád, Álmos fia, ki Előd fia, ki Ögyek fia volt, a Turul nemzetségből vagyonban gazdagabb s hadban hatalmasabb vala."Mark of Kalt, ''Chronicon Pictum'
László Geréb's Hungarian translation
quote: "Ögyek fia Előd Szittyaországban Eunodubilia leánytól fiat nemzett, kinek neve lőn Álmos, annak okáért, mert anyjának álmában keselyűforma madár jelent meg, amikor terhes állapotban volt; méhéből rohanó víz fakadt, meggyarapodott, de nem a maga földjén; ebből azt jósolták, hogy ágyékából dicső királyok származnak. Miután a somnium a mi nyelvünkön álom, s ama fiú származását álom jövendölte meg, ezért nevezték Álmosnak, aki Előd, ez Ögyek, ez Ed, ez Csaba, ez Etele, .. **Anonymus claimed that Álmos was the son of Ügyek, a descendant of Attila; however, Anonymus did not specify which of Attila's sons Ügyek descended from. **Simon of Kéza claimed that Álmos was the son of Előd, who in turn was the son of Ügyek, from the clan

Turul The Turul is a mythological bird of prey, mostly depicted as a Falcon, in Hungarian tradition and Turkic tradition, and a national symbol of Hungarians. Origin The Turul is probably based on a large falcon. The Hungarian language word ''tur ...

, a mythological bird of prey that also allegedly had appeared on Attila (Ethele)'s coat of arms. ** Mark of Kalt claimed that Álmos was the son of Előd, son of Ügyek, son of Ed, son of the legendary

Prince Csaba In Hungarian mythology, Prince Csaba was the youngest son of Attila, King of the Huns. A fierce and skilled warrior, he led the Huns to victory in all the battles they encountered over the ages. He is the legendary leader of the Székelys. But ...

, son of Attila, etc. *The Aba clan supposedly descended from the legendary

, son of Attila.Mark of Kalt, ''Chronicon Pictum'
László Geréb's Hungarian translation
quote: "Csaba Attila törvényes fia volt, Honorius görög császár leányától; az ő fiait Edöménnek és Ednek hívták. Mikor a magyarok másodízben tértek vissza Pannóniába, Edömén atyjának és anyjának nagyszámú atyafiságával jött el, mert anyja khvarezmi származású volt. Ed pedig Szittyaországban maradt atyjánál. Csabától ered az Aba nemzetség." According to historian

Hyun Jin Kim Hyun Jin Kim (born 1982) is an Australian academic, scholar and author. He was born in Seoul and raised in Auckland, New Zealand. Kim got his Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Oxford. He started learning Latin, German, and Frenc ...

, the

Kutrigurs Kutrigurs were Turkic Eurasian nomads, nomadic equestrians who flourished on the Pontic–Caspian steppe in the 6th century AD. To their east were the similar Utigurs and both possibly were closely related to the Bulgars. They warred with the Byza ...

Utigurs Utigurs were Turkic nomadic equestrians who flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe in the 6th century AD. They possibly were closely related to the Kutrigurs and Bulgars. Etymology The name ''Ut(r)igur'', recorded as , and , is generally con ...

Onogurs The Onoğurs or Oğurs (Ὀνόγουροι, Οὔρωγοι, Οὔγωροι; Onογurs, Ογurs; "ten tribes", "tribes"), were Turkic nomadic equestrians who flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region between 5th and 7th cen ...

and Akatziris were all ruled by branches of the Attilid dynasty.

In popular culture

* The fantasy character

Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. He is considered to be both the prototypical and the archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by som ...

is a direct descendant of Attila, as specified in the original novel ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

'' by

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busine ...

.The Cambridge Companion to 'Dracula'. Cambridge University Press. 2018. p. 101. ISBN 9781107153172.

Attilid Rulers

, king of the Huns, 434–453 *

, king of Pontic Scythia, king of the Akatziri, 448–454 *

, king of the Huns, until 469 *

, king of the Huns, until 469 and beyond *

Kubrat Kubrat ( el, Κοβρᾶτος, Kούβρατος; bg, Кубрат ) was the ruler of the Onogur–Bulgars, credited with establishing the confederation of Old Great Bulgaria in ca. 632. His name derived from the Turkic words ''qobrat'' — ...

, ruler of the Onogur–Bulgars, c. 632–c. 650 *

Batbayan Batbayan ( bg, Батбаян) ruled the Khazarian Bulgars mentioned by Theophanes and Nicephorus after the Khazars defeated the Bulgars and Old Great Bulgaria disintegrated. There is a scholarly theory that he may have been the same person as ...

, ruler of Khazarian Bulgars, c. 665–c. 668 *

Asparuh Asparuh (also ''Ispor''; bg, Аспарух, Asparuh or (rarely) bg, Исперих, Isperih) was а ruler of Bulgars in the second half of the 7th century and is credited with the establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire in 681. Early life ...

, ruler of the Bulgars, 681–701 *

Tervel Khan Tervel ( bg, Тервел) also called ''Tarvel'', or ''Terval'', or ''Terbelis'' in some Byzantine sources, was the khan of Bulgaria during the First Bulgarian Empire at the beginning of the 8th century. In 705 Emperor Justinian II named ...

, Khan of Bulgaria, 700–721 *

Sevar Sevar ( bg, Севар) was a ruler of Bulgaria in the 8th century. The Nominalia of the Bulgarian khans states that Sevar belonged to the Dulo clan and ruled for 15 years. According to the chronology developed by Moskov, Sevar would have reigne ...

, Khan of Bulgaria, 738–753 *

, Grand Prince of the Hungarians, c. 850–c. 895 *

, Grand Prince of the Hungarians, c. 895–c. 907

Others

Other members of the dynasty include: *

Kreka Kreka or Hereka was the wife of Attila. She was described by Eastern Roman diplomat Priscus in his account of his stay at Attila's court in 448 or 449 AD. She and Attila had three sons: Ellac, Dengizich, and Ernak, who split among themselves what r ...

(by marriage) *

Ildico Ildico (''fl.'' AD 453) was the last wife of the Hunnic ruler Attila. Her name is probably Germanic, a diminutive form of the noun ("battle"), a common element in Germanic female names (e.g. ''Svanhildr'', ''Brynhildr'' and '' Gunnhildr''), ...

(by marriage) * Eskam's daughter (by marriage) *Anonyma, wife of Aruth the Herul * Atakam (unconfirmed) * Chorasminian woman (legendary) * Emnetzur (unconfirmed) *

Gordas Gordas () was a prince of the Crimean Huns. He was a ruler of the Huns near the Maeotis, near the Cimmerian Bosporus. In 527 he went to Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek nam ...

(unconfirmed) * Mamas (unconfirmed) *

Mauricius Maurice is a traditionally masculine given name, also used as a surname. It originates as a French name derived from the Latin Mauritius or Mauricius and was subsequently used in other languages. Its popularity is due to Mauritius, a saint of the ...

* Mundus *

Theudimundus Theodimundus or Theudimund( la, Theodimundus; gr, Θευδιμούνδος; fl. 541) was a Byzantine official of Barbarian origins. Biography Theodimundus was the son of ''strategos'' (and likely ''Magister militum, MVM vacans'') Mauricius (Gepi ...

* Ultzindur (unconfirmed) *Unnamed daughter of Honorius (by marriage; legendary)

Genealogy

Notes

References

{{reflist Huns European dynasties