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Uldin, also spelled Huldin (died before 412) is the first 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 tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...
whose historicity is undisputed.
Etymology
The name is recorded as ''Ουλδης'' (Ouldes) by
Sozomen
Salamanes Hermias Sozomenos ( grc-gre, Σαλαμάνης Ἑρμείας Σωζομενός; la, Sozomenus; c. 400 – c. 450 AD), also known as Sozomen, was a Roman lawyer and historian of the Christian Church.
Family and home
He was born arou ...
, ''Uldin'' by
Orosius
Paulus Orosius (; born 375/385 – 420 AD), less often Paul Orosius in English, was a Roman priest, historian and theologian, and a student of Augustine of Hippo. It is possible that he was born in '' Bracara Augusta'' (now Braga, Portugal), t ...
, and ''Huldin'' by
Marcellinus Comes Marcellinus Comes (Greek: Μαρκελλίνος ό Κόμης, died c. 534) was a Latin chronicler of the Eastern Roman Empire. An Illyrian by birth, he spent most of his life at the court of Constantinople. His only surviving work, the ''Chronicl ...
. On the basis of the Latin variants,
Omeljan Pritsak
Omeljan Yosypovych Pritsak ( uk, Омелян Йосипович Пріцак; 7 April 1919, Luka, Sambir County, West Ukrainian People's Republic – 29 May 2006, Boston) was the first Mykhailo Hrushevsky Professor of Ukrainian History at Harvar ...
and
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 ...
argue that the name ended on ''-n'', not the Greek suffix ''-s''.
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 Fren ...
, however, argues that ''-in'' is a Greek suffix added to the name.
Maenchen-Helfen considers the name to be of Turkic origin. He compares it with the names ''Ult''inzur and
''Uld''ach and argues that it is the element ''*uld'' or ''*ult'' plus a dimuninative suffix ''*-ïn''. He does not give an etymology of the element ''*uld/*ult''.
Pritsak derives the root of the etymon from the verb ''öl-'', which survived in
Mongolian ''olje, ol-jei'' (auspice, happiness, good luck). He argues that the middle suffix ''jei'' was originally ''*di'' + ''ge'', thus ''*öl-jige'' > ''öl-dige''. In place of Mongolian ''ge'', Hunnic would then have the suffix ''n''. He thus reconstructs the form is ''*öl-di-n'' (auspicious, happy, lucky, fortunate).
Hyun Jin Kim derives the name from the common Turkic word for six, ''*alti'', comparing it to the
Chuvash form ''ultta''. He argues that the name was actually a title and may indicate that Uldin was one of the six principle nobles of the Huns rather than a king.
History
In 400, Uldin ruled in
Muntenia
Muntenia (, also known in English as Greater Wallachia) is a historical region of Romania, part of Wallachia (also, sometimes considered Wallachia proper, as ''Muntenia'', ''Țara Românească'', and the seldom used ''Valahia'' are synonyms in R ...
, present-day Romania east of the
Olt River
The Olt (Romanian and Hungarian; german: Alt; la, Aluta or ', tr, Oltu, grc, Ἄλυτος ''Alytos'') is a river in Romania. It is long, and its basin area is . It is the longest river flowing exclusively through Romania. Its average discha ...
. The extension of his realm to the north and east is unknown, but to the west probably reached the banks of
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
where Huns had been camped since 378-380. When
Gainas
Gainas (Greek: Γαϊνάς) was a Gothic leader who served the Eastern Roman Empire as ''magister militum'' during the reigns of Theodosius I and Arcadius.
Gainas began his military career as a common foot-soldier, but later commanded the bar ...
, former ''
magister militum
(Latin for "master of soldiers", plural ) was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, ...
praesentalis'', with his Gothic followers fled across the borders to "''his native land''", Uldin "''did not think it safe to allow a barbarian with an army of his own to take up dwellings across the Danube''", and attacked him. Uldin was victorious, killed Gainas and sent his head to the Emperor
Arcadius
Arcadius ( grc-gre, Ἀρκάδιος ; 377 – 1 May 408) was Roman emperor from 383 to 408. He was the eldest son of the ''Augustus'' Theodosius I () and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and the brother of Honorius (). Arcadius ruled the ea ...
in
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 (" ...
.
Late in the fall of 404 and in 405, according to
Sozomen
Salamanes Hermias Sozomenos ( grc-gre, Σαλαμάνης Ἑρμείας Σωζομενός; la, Sozomenus; c. 400 – c. 450 AD), also known as Sozomen, was a Roman lawyer and historian of the Christian Church.
Family and home
He was born arou ...
:
"''About this time the dissensions by which the church was agitated were accompanied, as is frequently the case, by disturbances and commotions in the state. The Huns crossed Ister Ister, The Ister, or Der Ister may refer to:
*The Danube river, known as the Ister in Ancient Greek (Ἴστρος) and Thracian
*The Dniester river, known as the Ister in Thracian
*"Der Ister", a poem by Friedrich Hölderlin
**''Hölderlin's Hymn " ...
and devastated 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 robbers in Isauria
Isauria ( or ; grc, Ἰσαυρία), in ancient geography, is a rugged, isolated, district in the interior of Asia Minor, of very different extent at different periods, but generally covering what is now the district of Bozkır and its surrou ...
, gathered in great strength, ravaged the towns and villages between Caria
Caria (; from Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; tr, Karya) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionians, Ionian and Dorians, Dorian Greeks colonized the west of i ...
and Phoenicia
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...
.''"
In 406, Uldin and
Sarus the Goth Sarus or Saurus (d. 413 AD) was a Gothic chieftain, known as a particularly brave and skillful warrior. He became a commander for the emperor Honorius. He was known for his hostility to the prominent Gothic brothers-in-law Alaric I and Athaulf, an ...
were called by Roman ''magister militum''
Stilicho
Flavius Stilicho (; c. 359 – 22 August 408) was a military commander in the Roman army who, for a time, became the most powerful man in the Western Roman Empire. He was of Vandal origins and married to Serena, the niece of emperor Theodosius ...
to help defeat the invasion of Italy by the Goths led by king
Radagaisus
Radagaisus (died 23 August 406) was a Gothic king who led an invasion of Roman Italy in late 405 and the first half of 406.Peter Heather, ''The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians'', 2nd ed. 2006:194; A committed Pa ...
. Orosius numbered 200,000 Goths. At the
Battle of Faesulae (406)
The Battle of Faesulae was fought in 406 AD as part of the Gothic invasion of the Western Roman Empire. After General Flavius Stilicho repelled the Visigoths at Pollentia and Verona, he encountered a new incursion of Vandals and Goths led by ...
, Hunnic
auxiliaries
Auxiliaries are support personnel that assist the military or police but are organised differently from regular forces. Auxiliary may be military volunteers undertaking support functions or performing certain duties such as garrison troops, u ...
encircled a significant part of Goths, and Radagaisus tried to escape, but was captured and executed in April 406 AD. It is considered that Goths of Radagaisus fled from the Hunnic lands, who themselves were pushed Westward by other nomadic tribes from the East.
In the summer of 408, the Huns learned that Stilicho would not push
Alaric I
Alaric I (; got, 𐌰𐌻𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃, , "ruler of all"; c. 370 – 410 AD) was the first king of the Visigoths, from 395 to 410. He rose to leadership of the Goths who came to occupy Moesia—territory acquired a couple of decades ...
Visigoths
The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...
into
Illyricum, and that Roman troops in the East would be moved to the Persian frontier; accordingly, they entered
Balkan
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
and Thrace. The Huns captured
Castra Martis Castra Martis ( bg, Кастра Мартис) was a Roman fortified garrison (castra) in Dacia which became a town and bishopric and remains a Latin Catholic titular see.
History
Castra Martis, named after the Roman god of war Mars, on the mode ...
in
Dacia Ripensis
Dacia Ripensis () was the name of a Roman province in the northern Balkan peninsula, immediately south of the Middle Danube. Its capital was Ratiaria (modern Archar, Bulgaria). It was a district less urban than neighbouring Dacia Mediterranea a ...
.
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 ...
thought that
Jerome
Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, th ...
's description of unnamed, multiple tribes who invaded the Roman Empire as ''feras gentes'' "''whose face and language are terrifying, who display womanly and deeply cut faces, and who pierce the backs of bearded man as they flee''" as referring to the Huns.
Sozomen recounts that Uldin replied to a Roman commander who proposed a peace by "''pointing to the rising sun and declaring that it would be easy for him, if he so desired, to subjugate every region of the earth enlightened by that luminary''". While Uldin sought a large tribute in exchange to not wage war, his ''
oikeioi'' and ''
lochagos
''Lochagos'' (; abbreviated as Λγος) is used in the Greek language to mean " Captain". More precisely, it means "leader of a ''lochos''". The equivalent term in the Hellenic Army Armour & Cavalry is el, ιλάρχος, ilarchos, "leader of an ...
'' reflected a Roman form of government, philanthropic impulses, and readiness in rewarding the best men.
A sufficiently large number of Huns joined the Roman camps, and Uldin, suffering significant casualties and the loss of the whole tribe called
Sciri
The Sciri, or Scirians, were a Germanic people. They are believed to have spoken an East Germanic language. Their name probably means "the pure ones".
The Sciri were mentioned already in the late 3rd century BC as participants in a raid on the ...
(mostly foot soldiers), was forced to re-cross the Danube by March 23, 409. In the summer or fall of 409, military forces of
Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...
, Pannonia Prima,
Noricum
Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celts, Celtic kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were th ...
and
Raetia
Raetia ( ; ; also spelled Rhaetia) was a province of the Roman Empire, named after the Rhaetian people. It bordered on the west with the country of the Helvetii, on the east with Noricum, on the north with Vindelicia, on the south-west with T ...
were entrusted by Honorius to ''pagan'' Generidus to repulse Hunnic raids.
Uldin's royal power gradually weakened in his last years. Between 408-410, the Huns were largely inactive. As allies of the Western Roman Empire, they did not attack the Visigoths of Alaric I in
Pannonia Secunda
Pannonia Secunda was one of the provinces of the Roman Empire. It was formed in the year 296, during the reign of emperor Diocletian. The capital of the province was Sirmium (today Sremska Mitrovica). Pannonia Secunda included parts of present-day ...
and
Pannonia Savia
Pannonia Savia or simply Savia, also known as Pannonia Ripariensis, was a Late Roman province. It was formed in the year 295, during the Tetrarchy reform of Roman emperor Diocletian, and assigned to the civil diocese of Pannonia, which was atta ...
because they fought under Uldin in Illyricum and Thrace. Some Hun garrisons were in the Roman army led by Stilicho, and in
Ravenna
Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...
. In the summer of 409, a Hunnic army numbering 10,000 men was called into assistance by
Honorius, but did not stop Alaric I from
sacking Rome.
Zosimus Zosimus, Zosimos, Zosima or Zosimas may refer to:
People
*
* Rufus and Zosimus (died 107), Christian saints
* Zosimus (martyr) (died 110), Christian martyr who was executed in Umbria, Italy
* Zosimos of Panopolis, also known as ''Zosimus Alchem ...
records that in late 409 some groups of Huns joined the Visigoths from
Pannonia Prima
Pannonia Prima was an ancient Roman province. It was formed in the year 296, during the reign of Emperor Diocletian. Previously, it was a part of the province of Pannonia Superior, which, along with Pannonia Inferior, was gradually divided into ...
who rode to Italy.
Around 410, the future Roman General
Aetius, who was then a young man, was sent to the court of Uldin, where he remained with the Huns throughout much of the reign of
Charaton
Charaton (Olympiodorus of Thebes: ''Χαράτων'') was one of the first kings of the Huns.
History
In the end of 412 or beginning of 413, Charaton received the Byzantine ambassador Olympiodorus sent by Honorius. Olympiodorus travelled to Cha ...
, Uldin's successor.
[Gregory of Tours, ii.8; Merobaudes, ''Carmina'', iv, 42-46, and ''Panegyrici'', ii.1-4 and 127-143; Zosimus, v.36.1] His presence as a hostage was probably used as a guaranty for the Hunnic forces which has been sent against Alaric in 410. According to some early historians, Aetius's upbringing amongst militaristic peoples gave him a martial vigour not common in Roman generals of the time.
In the same time period the alliance between the Huns and the
Alans
The Alans (Latin: ''Alani'') were an ancient and medieval Iranian nomadic pastoral people of the North Caucasus – generally regarded as part of the Sarmatians, and possibly related to the Massagetae. Modern historians have connected the Al ...
broke down. In 394, only the Transdanubian Alans led by Saul (not Hebrew, but Iranian ''Σαυλιος'') joined emperor
Theodosius I
Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...
, in 398 served Stilicho, and still under Saul in 402. The Alans are not mentioned as allies of the Huns after 406, and most of them together with the
Vandals
The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century.
The ...
crossed the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
in late 406 and went to
Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and Africa. This could be explained by Orosius who recounts in 402 "''I say nothing of the many internecine conflicts between the barbarians themselves, when two ''
cunei'' of the Goths, and then the Alans and Huns, destroyed one another in mutual slaughter''". The Hunnic noblemen have either Turkic or Germanized names, and very few Alanic names. Some Alans likely remained, but played a minor role among Huns.
References
;Sources
*
*
*
*
*
{{Huns
4th-century births
410s deaths
Hunnic rulers
4th-century monarchs in Europe
5th-century monarchs in Europe
4th-century Hunnic rulers
5th-century Hunnic rulers
Year of birth unknown