Bochas (died 537) was a

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 ...

officer of the guard under

Belisarius Belisarius (; el, Βελισάριος; The exact date of his birth is unknown. – 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under the emperor Justinian I. He was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean terri ...

. He was one of the bodyguards (or ''

bucellarii Bucellarii (the Latin plural of ''Bucellarius''; literally "biscuit–eater", '' el, Βουκελλάριοι'') were formations of escort troops used in the Roman Empire in Late Antiquity. They were employed by high-ranking military figures (suc ...

'') of Belisarius. He fought for Belisarius in the

Gothic War Gothic War may refer to: *Gothic War (248–253), battles and plundering carried out by the Goths and their allies in the Roman Empire. *Gothic War (367–369), a war of Thervingi against the Eastern Roman Empire in which the Goths retreated to Mont ...

in the 530s. He once fought against twelve

Goths The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...

. They encircled him and hit him with their lances but his armor withstood their blows. One of the Goths managed to hit him from behind, piercing him. This, however, was not a mortal blow.

Etymology

Ferdinand Justi Ferdinand Justi (2 June 1837 in Marburg, Germany – 17 February 1907 in Marburg) was a German linguist and Orientalist. He finished his studies of linguistics at the University of Marburg and the University of Göttingen. In 1861 he lived in Ma ...

listed the name as

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

, though

Otto J. Maenchen-Helfen Otto John Maenchen-Helfen (German: Otto Mänchen-Helfen; July 26, 1894 – January 29, 1969) was an Austrian academic, sinologist, historian, author, and traveler. From 1927 to 1930, he worked at the Marx-Engels Institute in Moscow, and from 193 ...

was perplexed by such conclusion. The latter explained that Justi might've thought of "Beuca, mentioned in ''Getica'' 277 as king of the

Sarmatians The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic peoples of classical ant ...

in southern Pannonia about 470". It is possible that the name be of Turkic origin. ''Buqa'' (''buga''), literally "

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...

", occurs frequently in Turkic names, since early times.

References

{{Huns Hun military leaders Byzantine people of Hunnic descent 537 deaths