|
|
|
|
September 19th, 2006, 11:19 GMT · By Stefan Anitei
|
|
SHARE:
Adjust text size: 
|
|
|

Attila (403 -453) was the last and greatest king (or better said khan?) of the Huns. Attila means "Little Father" in Gothic or perhaps "Land-Father" in Hunnic. Atil was also the ancient name of the Volga River (renamed after Bulgarians, a Turkic people related to the Huns). The historical context of Attila's life played a large part in determining his later public image: in the last years of the Western Empire, his conflicts with the general Aetius (called the "last of the Romans") and the strangeness of his culture and appearance contributed to cover him in the mask of the ferocious barbarian and enemy of civilization, as he has been portrayed in many films and other art forms. Attila is known in Western history and tradition by the grim "Scourge of God", and his name has become a symbol for cruelty and barbarism. In the popular imagination, the steppe warlords such as the Mongol Ghengis Khan and Turkic Tamerlane were cruel, clever, and sanguinary lovers of battle and pillage. 
The reality of his character may be more complex. The Huns of Attila's era had been mingling with Roman civilization for some time, largely through the Germanic tribes of the border. Priscus - a historian who traveled on an embassy of the Eastern Roman Empire to Attila in 448 AC - could identify Hunnic, Gothic
and Latin as the three common languages in Attila's camp. He recounted his meeting with Romans fully assimilated into the Huns' way of life. The Roman historian describes Attila's humility and simplicity with admiration. In the public culture, Attila is almost only showed as European. Often blond, long haired, with long blonde mustache and/or beard; straight Caucasoid face features, with huge, blue and blooded eyes. This is what we see in every painting, sculpture or movie depicting Attila. However, this doesn't fit the historical truth. In many cases this is due to misconception or ignorance. 
But it could also come from the wrong idea that the Huns are ancestors of the Hungarians. This way, Attila is thought to be Hungarian and consequently Caucasoid. Paradoxical in this concept is that Hungarians - at their arrival in Europe - were, in fact, of Mongoloid race (at most slightly mixed with Caucasoid populations) and their present racial type is the result of mixing and assimilation with neighboring European people. The Huns vanished from history after Attila's death. There is a gap of almost five centuries between the Huns' disappearance from Panonia and the arrival of the Hungarians there. Meanwhile, many populations installed in Panonia, the most notorious being the Avars (distantly related to the Huns). Moreover, the Hungarians are not even related to the Huns; they speak an Ugro-Finnic language, so they are close to the Finns, Sami (Lapps), Estonians and even more to the Siberian tribes Mansi and Kanthy, which - by isolation - preserved the original Ugro-Finnic Mongoloid race. Less mixed Ugro-Finnic populations, like the Lapps, show obvious mixed features even today. The only extant description on Attila's appearance is that of Priscus: "short of stature, with a broad chest and a large head; his eyes were small, his beard thin and sprinkled with gray; and he had a flat nose and a swarthy complexion, showing the evidences of his origin" (like this old illustration shows). 
Attila's physical appearance was most likely that of an Eastern Asian, Mongol or Turkic. Europeans were not used to seeing these facial features and so they often described him in harsh terms. Actually, what were the Huns? Historians think they are an early branch of Turkic speaking people who - in 2nd century - departed from Northern China and arrived in Europe in their migration to West, in the 4th century. The only extant Turkic people thought to be closely related to them are the Chuvash, located close to the Ural Mountains. The Turkic people have their roots in the region of Mongolia and Northern China. They share an ancestral root with Mongol people. And indeed, those who stayed close to the place of their origin are still of Mongoloid race (like Kirghiz, Kazah, Uigur, Yakut). Those established - in time - more to the west were assimilated in the Caucasoid race (like Turks, Azers). Others present a mixed type (Turkmens, Uzbeks). Recent genetic research shows that many of the great confederations of steppe war tribes were not entirely of the same race, but rather tended to be ethnic mixtures, of the Mongoloid (Turkic, Tungus, Mongolian, Finno-Ugric) and Caucasoid ( Iranian, Caucasian = Caucasoid people from Caucasus Mountains) races. Of course, the Huns during Attila's time had incorporated many unrelated Caucasoid tribes: Iranian Scythians (Alans, Sarmatians), Germanics (Gepids, Gothians), Slavs. This was the case of the ordinary people, but we can assume that the rule of "pure blood" was kept inside the ruling ranks. It is doubtful that a "half bred bastard" could have been elected as "King of the Huns", like it happened along the history in many cultures.
|
|
|
|
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK:
|
21,865 hits
· 16 comments
· Link to this article
· Print article
· Send to friend
· Subscribe to news
|
MUST-READ RELATED ARTICLES:
READER COMMENTS: |
| Comment #1 by: Carly Corday on 11 Feb 2009, 15:17 UTC | reply to this comment | "This was the case of the ordinary people, but we can assume that the rule of pure blood was kept inside the ruling ranks. It is doubtful that a half bred bastard could have been elected as King of the Huns, like it happened along the history in many cultures."
With this, you launch a whole new article and then don't deliver it.
WHY can we "assume" that the "rule" of pure blood was kept inside the ruling ranks?
As to the LAST sentence...wha?
You didn't prove your opener: "Attila's Real Face - The Scourge of God was of Mongoloid race!" You stated the claim, followed with interesting stuff that seems to prove how impossible it would be to determine the race of the Huns, then you end by reiterating your claim about Attila, insisting he was Mongolian because you say so.
Finish your story! Explain that last sentence. It reads like an opener. As a closer, it's jibberish. |
| Comment #2 by: Gozde on 25 Mar 2009, 17:54 UTC | reply to this comment | It is obvious that Huns are Turkic. They may have mongoloid face but being a Turkic or Hun is not about bloodline or anything but accepting the system or culture. I am completely diasgreeing your following comment:
"This was the case of the ordinary people, but we can assume that the rule of "pure blood" was kept inside the ruling ranks. It is doubtful that a "half bred bastard" could have been elected as "King of the Huns", like it happened along the history in many cultures."
Turks were never be racist like this. This kind of statement is a Eupean or roman statement. Turkics like to embrace the thing they like from various cultures. There is no notion of half bred or vice versa. For example: you can see that Ottomans sultans are Turk but in fact all of their mothers (except the founder Odman) are christions greek or slav. I am turkic not because my blood say so but "I" say so.... |
| Comment #3 by: Horka on 13 Oct 2009, 15:38 UTC | reply to this comment | Obviously, your explanation is based on currently "accepted" historical evidence, which changes over time, as more research and archeological/linguistic discoveries will almost completely disprove all the western-hysteria that has been established to deface and smear anything, that isn't wasn't - first- Roman and -then later and now- Christian.
Since Attila was the biggest threat to the Roman Empire and later the residing Avars were pagans so were the arriving Hungarians later, they did everything possible to defame those who were neither part of the previous empire and/or not following the Christian dogma. Your "racist" idea of "pure blood" and the rest debate about who Attila was or wasn't is also based on Western ideology of racism, which did not exist in the same form in the Hunnic tribes. Attlia could not have hold such a size of army and followers simply by aggressive integration, it would have been impossible. Thank you for your article which based on half truths. And as the saying goes, Half truths are full lies. |
| Comment #4 by: truth on 21 Dec 2010, 15:24 UTC | reply to this comment | this article is completely wrong, huns where not of mongoloid race, and turcic people never looked mongoloid, in fact the first skeletons inside mongolia are caucasoid, mongolians came from turcic people.
and the original Ugro-Finnic race was not mongoloid either, they where caucasoid, the isolated siberian tribes gained their mongoloid features by remaining in the harch snowy climate they lived in. |
| Comment #5 by: arpo on 29 Dec 2010, 21:55 UTC | reply to this comment | attila was the greatest Hun leader and this barbarian soldier first attack the total Europe . |
| Comment #6 by: George Sinclair on 03 Feb 2011, 14:55 UTC | reply to this comment | I agree with this story. Whatever nonsense some nationalist nutcrackers may utter about Hungarians being "Turkic" (= no big honour) or "Hun" (= a blatant shame), Hungarian is definitely mostly related to Khanti and Mansi (two small languages in the Altai region).
The next closest relatives are the Finnish nations, which are the Finns, Estonians, Sami, Vepsians, Karelians, Mordvinians, Mari, Udmurts and Komi.
This proven fact is also showing itself in the fact that all three Ugro-Finnic nations, which managed to build an independent state for themselves (Hungarians, Finns and Estonians) produce a very large group of clever scientists, inventors, software experts and artists of all kinds, much more than you would expect in relation to their small numbers
The Finno-Ugric theory is not "invented", neither by Habsburgs or Germans, nor by Soviets (and, to make sure, nor by "Jews"), but discovered by true scientists, of whom many actually were Hungarians.
No serious scientists even considers the absurd and pointless theories, which try to "prove" that the Huns are the ancestors of the modern Hungarians. The misunderstanding can be traced back to the fact, that some of the Huns once settled in Pannonia, and hence that Atilla happened to die there. The Danube valley region was therefore renamed "Hun-garia" by popular European discourse at the time. Most of the Huns withdrew back east after Atilla's death, and the few remaining soon assimilated into the newcoming population. These were the Slavic tribes, who filled the vacuum which the Goths and then the Huns left behind. It wasn't until almost five centuries later, that another network of tribes, speakers of a Ugro-Finnic language, settled in the region. Due to being semi-nomadic, they exposed a higher degree of military organisation
that the Slavic settlers, hence they could impose their language and culture upon them. This does not reduce the fact that even today most Hungarians have primarily Slavic genes.
Hungarian nationalists should in fact be proud and grateful that they are related to the modern, clever and hardworking Finns and to peaceful, creative Slavs, rather than to those backward medieval Turks or (even worse) those barbaric Huns, who attacked the high civilisation of ancient China, exterminated the (highly developed) Tocharians. Alans and Scythians, practised ethnic cleansing in Eastern Europe, raped many Gothic and Slavic women and children and destroyed the Roman Empire, and hence rightfully faded into oblivion soon after their monstruous atrocities.
It might even have been more inspiring to be related to the briliant Japanese and Koreans, or the spiritual Tibetans, or the Sumerians (as some claim), but alas, this is definitely not true. |
| Comment #6.1 by: robi on 03 May 2011, 08:41 GMT | Romans who destroyed everything and everyone who dared to Roman conquest. Atilla when every Roman legion defeated and became THE King of the World, Atilla was not destroyed Rome, but stopped at the gate of Rome and sent for the Pope.He listened to the Pope's prayer, spared the city and the barbaric Romans. Later, a lot of cruel conquest occurred on the name of the Catholic Church (America, Africa, Asia). Who was the Barbarian?
p.c.: Atilla (the philosopher,the generous,the merciful,) had a mistake, responsible for the western barbarians ...... |
| Comment #7 by: robi on 09 Feb 2011, 07:51 UTC | reply to this comment | I think you should know the Codex Isfahani |
| Comment #8 by: robi on 09 Feb 2011, 13:22 UTC | reply to this comment | Attila the Hun is known as a destroyer rather than a builder of civilizations. The Hun nation, although it spanned the greater part of eastern Europe in its day, was relatively disorganized and uncultured, even compared to its German neighbors. The Germanic tribes varied in their relationship with the Roman Empire, but many, such as the Visigoths, were relatively civilized. The Huns were a long standing enemy and threat to the German tribes, and in many cases Germanic incursions into Roman territory during previous generations had been inspired by the desire to flee from the Huns to areas of greater safety and civilization. By the mid fifth century, much of Gaul had been settled by German tribes, and although they were independent from the emperor in Rome, they had assimilated much of Latin culture and, in some cases, become Christians. They were no longer "barbarian" in the same sense that the Huns were. |
| Comment #9 by: antonioneveda on 24 Apr 2011, 22:02 UTC | reply to this comment | half bred bastard????
Everyone healthy person is a half bred bastard. The alternative is an inbred retard!!!!! |
| Comment #10 by: Tootie on 22 May 2011, 22:53 UTC | reply to this comment | Why did a recent movie portray Attila as a Caucasoid? |
| Comment #10.1 by: robi on 02 Jun 2011, 07:52 GMT | Attila was born next to the Caucasus, so he was a Caucasoid.
I'll give you a little help,but you should know also in Hungarian. The Hungarians are still preserved in the Hun-Hungarian relationship.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVG9HP0e9h4 |
| Comment #11 by: Li on 14 Jul 2011, 14:50 UTC | reply to this comment | So hes pretty much mongolian right? Sheez this is getting confusing |
| Comment #12 by: BulgArian Ruler on 06 Sep 2011, 16:20 UTC | reply to this comment | Pffff... Obviously the author doesn't have a clue what he's talkin about. Neither the Huns neither the Bulgarians were ever mongols or turks!!! This is filthy communist propaganda from the beginning of the 20th century which is already refuted by most of the modern historians. The Bulgarians and the Huns were (and still are) Indo-Iranian people which is 100% proven by genetical and antropological evidences. So stop brainwashing the people with this * , please! |
| Comment #13 by: Tuck on 22 Dec 2011, 01:55 UTC | reply to this comment | Love the stories of the Caesars, the Huns and the Khans. History is what we make of it, we shouldn't go too much into who came from where or why, we learn from the past...i thought I was an old Saxon family from the family history, turns out i'm almost certianly norman french, bugger it I'm English I can,t stand the French! |
| Comment #14 by: Sieg Varheit on 24 Mar 2012, 05:25 UTC | reply to this comment | The Huns have blonde hair and blue/green eyes. This is why they appear always north of the Roman border, where the Goths defeated them, and drove them north, into Scandinavia, Britain and Russia.
White Races of Europe do not have blonde hair. Blonds are of the Mongoloid race, they have small beady eyes, which are slanted, they're either Trollishly tall like the Trolls of Norse mythology, or fat and stouty like the Asians.
Blonde people have mongoloid moustaches. Huns were predominantly blonde, and still are now.
Blonds are not White Europeans. They even have yellow semitic skin, and many Turkish features. | |
Copyright © 2001-2012 Softpedia. Contact/Tip us at 
|
|