Sinnion ( gr, Σιννίων or Σισίννιος; undetermined origin, perhaps Iranian) was a

Kutrigur Kutrigurs were Turkic 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 Byzantine Empire and ...

leader of the 6th century. Sinnion was a veteran of the

Vandalic War The Vandalic War was a conflict fought in North Africa between the forces of the Byzantine Empire and the Vandal Kingdom, Vandalic Kingdom of Carthage in 533–534. It was the first of Justinian I's wars of reconquest of the Western Roman Empi ...

. Noted for their strength and bravery, Sinnion and Balas led a group of 600 auxiliaries (all mounted archers), at the

Battle of Ad Decimum The Battle of Ad Decimum took place on September 13, 533 between the armies of the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, and the Byzantine Empire, under the command of General Belisarius. This event and events in the following year are sometimes ...

(September 13, 533). After the

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 ...

led by

Sandilch Sandilch (''Σάνδιλ'', ''Σάνδιλχος''; Turkic "boat) was a chieftain of the Utigur Bulgars in the 6th century. The origin of the name is probably Turkic."The Histories, Volume 2, Part 1", Agathias, https://books.google.bg/books?id=Pqs ...

had attacked the Kutrigurs, Sinnion succeeded Chinialon as leader of the Kutrigurs between 551 and 558. Having suffered great losses, the Kutrigurs made a peace treaty with

Byzantine 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 ...

, and 2000 Kutrigurs with their wives and children were led by Sinnion into the Empire's service and were settled in

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 ...

. The shelter provided to the Kutrigurs was not well received by Sandilch. Sinnion was succeeded by

Zabergan Zabergan ( grc-x-medieval, Ζαβεργάν) was the chieftain of the Kutrigur Bulgar Huns, a nomadic people of the Pontic–Caspian steppe, after Sinnion. His name is Iranian, meaning full moon. Either under pressure from incoming Avars,; or in r ...

References

Sources

* * {{s-end 6th-century monarchs in Europe Kutrigurs 6th-century Byzantine military personnel Vandalic War Medieval Thrace