Khingila I (
Bactrian:
χιγγιλο ''Khingilo'',
Brahmi script
Brahmi (; ; ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as 'lath' ...
:
''Khi-ṇgi-la'',
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese recorded in the '' Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expanded editions. The ...
: 金吉剌 ''Jīnjílà'',
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
: شنگل ''Shengel''; c.430-490) was the founding king of the Hunnic
Alkhan dynasty (
Bactrian: αλχανο,
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese recorded in the '' Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expanded editions. The ...
: 嚈噠). He was a contemporary of
Khushnavaz (
fl. 484).
Rule
In response to the migration of the
Wusun
The Wusun (; Eastern Han Chinese *''ʔɑ-suən'' < (140 BCE < 436 BCE): *''Ɂâ-sûn'') were an ancient semi- (who were hard-pressed by the
Rouran) from
Zhetysu
Zhetysu, or Jeti-Suu ( kk, , Жетісу, pronounced ; ky, ''Jeti-Suu'', (), meaning "seven rivers"; also transcribed ''Zhetisu'', ''Jetisuw'', ''Jetysu'', ''Jeti-su'', ''Jity-su'', ''Жетысу'',, National Geospatial-Intelligence Age ...
to the
Pamir Pamir may refer to:
Geographical features
* Pamir Mountains, a mountain range in Central Asia
** Pamir-Alay, a mountain system in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, part of the Pamir Mountains
*A pamir (valley) is a high plateau or valley surro ...
region, Khingila united the
Uars and the
Xionites
Xionites, Chionites, or Chionitae (Middle Persian: ''Xiyōn'' or ''Hiyōn''; Avestan: ''Xiiaona''; Sogdian ''xwn''; Pahlavi ''Xyon'') were a nomadic people in the Central Asian regions of Transoxiana and Bactria.
The Xionites appear to be syno ...
in 460AD, establishing the Hepthalite dynasty.
According to the Syrian compilation of Church Historian
Zacharias Rhetor
Zacharias of Mytilene (c. 465, Gaza – after 536), also known as Zacharias Scholasticus or Zacharias Rhetor, was a bishop and ecclesiastical historian.
Life
The life of Zacharias of Mytilene can be reconstructed only from a few scattered rep ...
(c. 465, Gaza – after 536), bishop of
Mytilene
Mytilene (; el, Μυτιλήνη, Mytilíni ; tr, Midilli) is the capital of the Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University o ...
, the need for new grazing land to replace that lost to the Wusun led Khingila's "Uar-Chionites" to displace the
Sabirs
The Sabirs (Savirs, Suars, Sawar, Sawirk among others; el, Σάβιροι) were nomadic people who lived in the north of the Caucasus beginning in the late-5th -7th century, on the eastern shores of the Black Sea, in the Kuban area, and possibly ...
to the west, who in turn displaced the
Saragur,
Ugor and
Onogur, who then asked for an alliance and land from
Byzantium.
In his coin in the
Brahmi script
Brahmi (; ; ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as 'lath' ...
, Khingila uses the legend "God-King Khingila" (
, ''Deva Shahi Khingila'').
A "
Seal of Khingila
The Seal of Khingila is an historical Seal (emblem), seal from the region of Bactria, on southern Central Asia. The seal was published recently by Pierfrancesco Callieri and Nicholas Sims-Williams. It is now in the private collection of Mr. A. Sae ...
" is known, with legend in the
Bactrian language, but it is uncertain if it belonged to Khingila, or another ruler of the same name.
Khingila is also known from a Brahmi inscription, the
Talagan copper scroll.
Artifacts
File:Khingila of the Alchon Huns Circa 440-490 CE.jpg, Coin of younger Khingila, circa 440-490 CE.
File:Khingila Alchono.jpg, Khingila
Khingila I ( Bactrian: χιγγιλο ''Khingilo'', Brahmi script: ''Khi-ṇgi-la'', Middle Chinese: 金吉剌 ''Jīnjílà'', Persian: شنگل ''Shengel''; c.430-490) was the founding king of the Hunnic Alkhan dynasty ( Bactrian: αλχανο ...
with the word "Alchono" in Bactrian script
Bactrian (, , ) is an extinct Eastern Iranian language formerly spoken in the Central Asian region of Bactria (in present-day Afghanistan) and used as the official language of the Kushan, and the Hephthalite empires.
Name
It was long thought tha ...
(αλχονο) and the Tamgha
A tamga or tamgha (from otk, 𐱃𐰢𐰍𐰀, tamga, lit=stamp, seal; tr, damga; mn, tamga; ; ); an abstract seal or stamp used by Eurasian nomads and by cultures influenced by them. The tamga was normally the emblem of a particular tribe, c ...
symbol on his coins.
File:Alchon Huns. Khingila. Circa 440s-490s.jpg, Later coinage, with name "Khingila" in the Brahmi script
Brahmi (; ; ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as 'lath' ...
.
File:Devashahi Khingila.jpg, A coin of Khingila with the title ''Deva Shahi Khinghila'' ( "God-King Khingila"), 440-490 CE.
File:Alchono legend with coin.jpg, The word "Alchono" (αλχοννο) in the Greco-Bactrian cursive script, on a coin of Khingila
Khingila I ( Bactrian: χιγγιλο ''Khingilo'', Brahmi script: ''Khi-ṇgi-la'', Middle Chinese: 金吉剌 ''Jīnjílà'', Persian: شنگل ''Shengel''; c.430-490) was the founding king of the Hunnic Alkhan dynasty ( Bactrian: αλχανο ...
.CNG Coins
/ref>
File:Hephthalite horseman on British Museum bowl 460-479 CE.jpg, Alchon horseman, possibly Khingila
Khingila I ( Bactrian: χιγγιλο ''Khingilo'', Brahmi script: ''Khi-ṇgi-la'', Middle Chinese: 金吉剌 ''Jīnjílà'', Persian: شنگل ''Shengel''; c.430-490) was the founding king of the Hunnic Alkhan dynasty ( Bactrian: αλχανο ...
, on the Hephthalite silver bowl.
File:Khingila name in Middle Brahmi script.jpg, "Khingila" in Brahmi script
Brahmi (; ; ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as 'lath' ...
on his later coinage
See also
*
Kidarites
References
External links
Khingila coinage
Central Asia
Hephthalites
430 births
490 deaths
{{CAsia-hist-stub