3. Creation of the hun state

During the movement of the Huns to the west from the Volga, the Bulgars, who lived in the regions of Northern Caucasus and Azerbaijan, joined in. Before that the Bulgars served the Alanian ruler prince Boz-Urus. When the leader of the Huns, Bulьmar, raised a banner of a Dulo clan “a red felt ball witha tail of multi-colored stripes on it” (1; 11), Bulgars understood that the closely related Huns are coming, and switched sides.

The senior son of Bulьmar, Alyp-bi (Prince Alyp) with a corps of Bulgars and Huns defeated Sadumians (Scandinavians) and forced them to escape to Italy. Then he forded the Danube and routed an 80 000 Byzantian army (1;13). It happened in 378 under Adrianople (Bulgars called it Kan - Dare). Among military trophies also was an imperial crown. Alyp-bi brought this crown to his father. Bulьmar put on the crown and proclaimed himself the Khan (King) of the Huns. During a victory feast he died suddenly. Alyp-bi became the Khan. He proclaimed the creation of the Hun state. Her territory reached from the Lower Volga up to the Lower Danube. Part of the Huns joined the Bulgars. As a result, the Bulgars became a numerous people. The main clans of the Bulgars of that time (80s - 90s of the 4th c. AD) were Erdim, Bakil (Boyandur), Seber, Agachir, Kharka, Utig, Kimer (1; 14), who gradually were increasing their influence within the Hun state. When Khan (King) Alyp-bi died, he was buried on a mountain Kuyantau (Kuk - Kuyan), i.e. upland, on which is located the modern city Kiev. On his tomb was installed a huge stone tamga of the clan Dulo. The tamga was called “Baltavar”, i.e. “Lord Of Princes” and looked like a trident. Its + part meant an axe, and U bow (1;14). The baltavar was a sign of royal authority.

The Hun state reached its power under Alyp-bi, grandson of Attila. Attila was a son of Aibat, known in the European sources as Mundzuk, who died in 434 AD. After the death of Aibat his sons Attila and Buda ruled over the Huns. Attila ruled over the Huns living west of the Don, and his brother Bled ruled east of this river. When Buda died in 444 or 445 AD, Attila began to rule over all Huns.

In the description of historian Priscus, who personally saw Attila, he was 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 (2; 102). So Attila looked in 448. The residence of the ruler of the Huns was then in Pannonia (modern Hungary), where they moved in 405 - 406 AD. The capital was between the rivers Tisza and Temes. Both rivers are left influents of the Danube. The capital was a rather large settlement, which could be compared to a “most expansive city”. It was surrounded by wooden walls made “of shiny boards, whose joints were so accurate that the union of the boards could scarcely be distinguished by close scrutiny” (2; 101). Inside the territory of the settlement was a courtyard surrounded with a huge fence. Here were Attila’s tent and palace. The palace, constructed on a hill and topped by towers, was decorated with carvings.

In 451 Attila set off against the Visigoths from the bank of the Tisza to the bank of the Rhine. The major reason of the campaign: the king of the Visigoths poisoned his wife, Attila’s sister. In the second half of June 451 at the Catalaunian Plains (modern province of Champagne in France) the two most powerful armies of Europe clashed. In Attila’s army, besides Huns, were Bulgars, Ostgoths under the leadership of three brothers (Valamir, Thiudimer, Vidimer), and Gepids under the leadership of Ardaric. The Visigothic king Theodorid and an outstanding commander Aetius led the Roman army. In this army, besides Visigoths and Romans, were Alans.

Attila won the battle. Both sides lost 180 thousand soldiers each. In Europe, there was now no force capable to resist Attila.

In 453 Attila married again. His choice was a girl “of remarkable beauty,named Ildico” (2; 116 - 117). The next day after the wedding the royal attendants suspected some ill and, after a great uproar, broke the doors. There they found Attila dead from a poisoned drink.” (2; 117). By the Hun’s custom men plucked out the hair of their heads and made their faces hideous with deep wounds, so that the renowned warrior might be mourned, not by effeminate wailings and tears, but by the blood of men” (4; 117).

For the burial, Attila's body was transported to the steppe. There was set a silk tent and the body of the deceased was laid there in state. The best horsemen of the Huns rode around in circles. Huns built a memorial kurgan (tumulus), celebrated a memorial feast and buried the body of the powerful leader in the earth. They bound his coffins, the first one with gold, the second one with silver, and the third one with the strength of iron. Gold and the silver coffins symbolized the rout of two empires -Gothic and Roman, and iron – a conquest of the other peoples. In the tomb were laid weapons and breast plates, sparkling with various gems. To hide the site of the tomb, he was buried at night, and those appointed to work were killed. Horsemen stomped the steppe, so that it was impossible to find a burial place. The great king of the Huns, Lord of the bravest tribes”, as was spoken then about him, had forced the Byzantian emperor Theodosius II (died in 450) to pay annual tribute at a rate of 2 thousand golden pounds. Not only Bulgars preserved his memory, but many other peoples also. So, for example, in the “Song of Nibelungs” (German epos) his image is shown under the name Etsel, in the Scandinavian epos it is under the name Atli (4; 304).