Third son of Attila and last known ruler of the Huns
Ernak
was the last known ruler of the
Huns
, and the third son of
Attila
. After Attila's death in 453 AD, his Empire crumbled and its remains were ruled by his three sons,
Ellac
,
Dengizich
and Ernak. He succeeded his older brother Ellac in 454 AD, and probably ruled simultaneously over Huns in dual kingship with his brother Dengizich, but in separate divisions in separate lands.
Priscus
, during his stay at Attila's court in 448 or 449 AD, recorded a personal occasion between Attila and Ernak. At a banquet Attila looked on him with serene eyes, while taking small account of his other sons.
He was Attila's favorite son,
because as a certain Hun explained to him, the Hunnic
prophets
prophesied his
genos
would fail, but would be restored by this son.
Ernak has often been identified with
Irnik
from the
Nominalia of the Bulgarian khans
, who is noted as a descendant of the
Dulo
clan and leader of the
Bulgars
for 150 years, starting approximately from
437
AD.
Etymology
[
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]
The name is recorded in two, possibly three variants,
?ρν?χ
(Ernakh) by
Priscus
, and
Hernac
by
Jordanes
in
Getica
, and possibly
Ирникъ
(Irnik) in
Nominalia of the Bulgarian khans
.
Otto J. Maenchen-Helfen
discounted this last connection, arguing that the name is just as similar to the
Armenian
Arnak, a figure living at the same time as Ernak, as it is to Irnik.
Nicholas Poppe
argued that the name originally had
h-
in initial position (
er
<
har
,
her
).
Omeljan Pritsak
derived the name from
Turkic
eran
, irregular plural of
?r
, meaning "man, real man, hero".
He argued that the ending
-nik
was a diminutive suffix,
-nak
or
-nik
, found only in the
Altai
dialects, sometime also used as an augmentation.
The name, reconstructed by Pritsak as
H?rnak
, could thus mean both "hero" and "little [lucky] man".
Maenchen-Helfen, while aware of Pritsak's theory, considered the name to be of unknown origin.
History
[
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]
The oldest brother
Ellac
died in 454 AD, at the
Battle of Nedao
.
Jordanes
recorded 'When Ellac was slain, his remaining brothers were put to fight near the shore of the
Sea of Pontus
where we have said the Goths settled ... dwelling again in their ancient abodes".
Jordanes recounts c. 454-455:
"[After the Ostrogoths led by their king
Valamir
, and his brothers
Theodemir
and Vidimir received
Pannonia
] Now it happened that the sons of Attila, regarding the Goths as deserters from their rule, came against them as though they were seeking fugitive slaves and attacked Valamir alone, when his brothers knew nothing of it. He sustained their attack, though he had but few with him, and after harassing them a long time, so utterly overwhelmed them that scarcely a portion of the enemy remained. The remnant turned in flight and sought the parts of
Scythia
which border on the stream of the river Danaber, which the Huns call in their own tongue
Var
. Whereupon he sent a messenger of good tidings to his brother Theodemir ... on the very day the messenger arrived ...
Theoderic
was born [in 454]".
"Hernac, the younger son of Attila, with his followers, chose a home in the most distant part of
Scythia Minor
. Emnetzur and Ultzindur kinsmen of his, seized by force Oescus and Vtus and Almus in
Dacia
on the bank of the Danube, and many of the Huns, then swarming everywhere, betook themselves into Romania; descendants of them are to this day called Sacromontisi and Fossatisii".
The toponyms
Vtus
(at the mouth of river
Utus
, today Vit),
Oescus
, near present
Gigen
at the mouth of river
Iskar
, and
Almus
, the present
Lom
, were situated in
Dacia Ripensis
.
The
Sacromontisi
may have received their name from the holy mountain in
Thrace
, while the
Fossatisii
(
fossatum
, military camp) linguistically points to
Moesia
.
Jordanes makes distinction between the Huns who
seized
land, and Alanic and Germanic tribes who
received
it.
In early 458, Western Roman Emperor
Majorian
gathered a vast army formed by barbarian tribes, including
Chunus
, for the campaign against the
Vandals
.
Sidonius Apollinaris
recounts that "around thee thronged thousands under diverse standards. Only one race denied thee obedience, a race who had lately, in a mood even more savage than their wont, withdrawn their untamed host from the Danube because they had lost their lords in warfare, and
Tuldila
stirred in that unruly multitude a mad lust for fight which they must needs pay dear".
This account refers to the loss of Ellac and other chieftains, the Battle of Nedao was fought only few years before, and they withdrawn from the Danube, now occupied by former Germanic subjects.
Those Huns were situated in Moesia Superior and Dacia Ripensis.
Priscus
recorded that in 465-466,
Dengizich
and Ernak sent diplomats to
Constantinople
. They wanted a peace treaty, and a market place on Danube "according to the ancient customs" between Romans and Huns, but were rejected.
While Dengizich died in 469, it is considered that Ernak managed to maintain peaceful relations with the Romans living in the
Dobruja
region.
It seems he was content, compared to Dengizich, with the limited land he was given.
The fate of Ernak is unclear.
Legacy
[
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Irnik, a village in Bulgaria is named after Irnik (Ernak).
Irnik Point
on
Snow Island
in the
South Shetland Islands
,
Antarctica
is named after Irnik (Ernak).
References
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Sources
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History
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Rulers
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Military leaders
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Noblemen
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Diplomats
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Other notable Huns
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Culture
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Wars
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Other Hunnic peoples
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Related topics
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