ÿþ<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=unicode"> <meta name="Author" content="Vassil Karloukovski"> <meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage 5.0"> <meta name="ProgId" content="FrontPage.Editor.Document"> <title>O. Maenchen-Helfen - The Language of the Huns - Conclusions</title> </head> <body> <font face="Palatino Linotype"> <b>The World of the Huns. <i>Chapter IX. Language</i></b> <br><b>O. Maenchen-Helfen</b> <br>&nbsp; </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><b>11. Conclusions</b> </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype">To judge by the tribal names, a great part of the Huns must have spoken a Turkish language. Ultin ur and Alpil ur are as Turkish as Bug- or, the Pecheneg tribal names ending in&nbsp;<img SRC="441_1.jpg" height=20 width=52 align=ABSBOTTOM>, and the Kirghiz tribal and clan names ending in&nbsp; <i>oro</i>. Another common ending in Turkish tribal names, -<i>gur</i>, occurs in Kutrigur, Utigur, Onogur, Bittugur, *Tongur, and *Ugur. On the analogy with Ultin ur, Ultingir, ending in -<i>gir</i> like other definitely Turkish ethnic names, must likewise be Turkish. The same is true for Bardor = Var-dor and Ultindur. </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype">The personal names give a different picture. </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype">The names of the <i>Attilanic Huns</i> are as follows: <br>&nbsp;&nbsp; Turkish or probably Turkish: Basich, Berichos, Dengizich, Ellac, Emnetzur, Erekan, Eskam, Mundzucus, Oebarsios, Uldin, Ultzindur; <br>&nbsp;&nbsp; Germanic or Germanized: Attila, Bleda, Edekon, Laudaricus, Onegesius, Ruga; <br>&nbsp;&nbsp; Persian: Hormidac; <br>&nbsp;&nbsp; Hybrid: Kursich, Tuldila; <br>&nbsp;&nbsp; Unknown origin: Adamis, Charaton, Ernach, Esla, Mama, Octar, Skotta. </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><img SRC="line_down.gif" height=18 width=596> <br>&nbsp;442 </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><i>Akatir</i> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp; Possibly Turkish: Kuridachos. </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><i>Bittugures</i> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp; Germanic: Ragnaris </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><i>Uligur</i> and <i>Kutrigur</i> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp; Turkish: Sandil, Sandilchos; <br>&nbsp;&nbsp; Iranian: Zabergan; <br>&nbsp;&nbsp; Of unknown origin: Anagaios, Chinialon. </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><i>Bosporan Huns</i> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp; Of unknown origin: Gordas, Muageris. </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><i>Caucasian Huns</i> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp; Iranian: Amazukes, Glones, Styrax; <br>&nbsp;&nbsp; Of unknown origin: Zilgibis. </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><i>Sabir</i> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp; Probably Turkish: Balach, Iliger, Kutilzis; <br>&nbsp;&nbsp; Of unknown origin: Boarex. </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><i>Huns in the East Roman army</i> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp; Turkish: Althias, Elmin ur, Elmingeir, Zolbon; <br>&nbsp;&nbsp; Iranian: Aischmanos, Balas, Chorsomanos, Chorsomantis, Zartir; <br>&nbsp;&nbsp; Hybrid: Apsich, Apsikal; <br>&nbsp;&nbsp; Of unknown origin: Aigan, Akum, Argek, Askan, Bochas, Chalazar, Chelchal, Gubulgudu, Odolgan, Sigizan, Simmas, Sinnion, Sunikas, Tarrach, Turgun, Uldach. <br>&nbsp; </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype">The distribution of the Iranian and German or Germanized names is very instructive. No Germanic names occur among the non-Attilanic Huns. If any Germans in the East, outside the Crimea, survived the Hun storm, they either were too few or in a social position too low to allow their names to appear among those of the ruling groups or even in the ranks of those free warriors who took service in the Byzantine army. In contrast, no less than six of the Attilanic names are Germanic or pseudo-Germanic. The forms in Priscus and Jordanes are as Germanic as Alaric and Theoderic, not only because the real Hunnish names were transformed in Gothic pronunciation; they corroborate what Jordanes says about Attila's friendship with the Germanic leaders. The stress is on leaders. Thompson rightly emphasized the one-sidedness of the so-called Hunno-Gothic symbiosis. The generous and magnanimous Attila of German epic poetry shared with the Gothic and Gepidic chieftains the loot he brought back </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype"><img SRC="line_down.gif" height=18 width=596> <br>&nbsp;443 </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype">from his campaigns. If those wretched Goths who in the 460's were forced to march with the Huns had composed songs, they would have been very different from the poetry at the sites of the Germanic "kings." </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype">Taken by themselves, Charaton and Ernac could be either Turkish or Iranian. In view of the absence of definitely Iranian and the preponderance of definitely Turkish names among the Attilanic Huns, they must be transferred from the column "of unknown origin" to the Turkish names. In a previous chapter I conjectured that the greater part of the Alans broke their alliance with the Huns about 400 A.D. and migrated west. This is now borne out by the analysis of the Attilanic names. In the fifth century the Alans played no political role in the life of the Huns. None of their nobles was accepted as equal, none rose to any prominence. </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype">The absence of Iranian names before the sixth century speaks against strong relations between pre-Attilanic Huns and Parthians, Sasanian Persians, and Middle Asiatic Iranians. The Iranian names of the Caucasian Huns were no doubt borrowed either from Persians or from Armenians and Georgians under strong Persian influence. Of greater interest are the Iranian names in the Byzantine army, but they concern first of all the students of the proto-Bulgarians. Asparuch-Isperikh, Bezmer in the Princes' List, and Rasata in the list from Cividale are also of Iranian origin. To analyze the Iranian Hunnish names must be left to Iranian scholars. Some of these names, as, for instance, B(V)alas, are almost certainly Persian; others may be Sarmatian. Whereas there is very little archaeological evidence of Persian influence on the nomads between the Volga and the Crimea, the presence of Sarmatian elements in the culture of the proto-Bulgarians is well attested. The artificially deformed skulls in proto-Bulgarian graves cannot be separated from those in the graves of the Sarmatized Turks or Turkicized Sarmatians of the post-Attilanic graves in the South Russian steppes. <br>&nbsp; </font> <p><font face="Palatino Linotype">[<a href="mh_10.html">Previous</a>] <br>[<a href="index.html">Back to Index</a>] </font> </body> </html>