ABOUT THE MIGRATION OF THE SONS OF ATTILLA TO THE EAST ONCE AGAIN

Abstract

The article traces the process of migration of Attila's sons to the east from the second half of the 5th century. In the historiographical tradition, this process is considered as a one-time, full-scale act, carried out either immediately after the battle at the Nedao river (Pannonia) in 454 or a decade after it.

In the present study it is established that the sons of Attila withdrew eastward from the Carpathians, not all at once, but in stages in the period 454-466. The analysis of the sources allows us to talk about at least three such migrations. The first to leave the Middle Danube were the Attila’s sons, who were in the circle of Elak. This happened in 454 after Elak fell slain in a battle with the Gepids and their allies. The new habitats of his brothers can be found in the easternmost ends of the Steppe Empire - to the banks of the Don river. Second are the Huns led by Attila's youngest son Ernach. In 454 or in the following year 455 after their unsuccessful military campaign against the Ostrogoths, they were forced to retreat to the banks of the Dnieper river in eastern neighborhood with the first group. Third and last are the Huns leading by Dengizih. After another severe defeat by the Ostrogoths in the mid-460s, this son of Attila migrated east from the Carpathians, finding himself neighboring his brother Ernach to the east.