Hun, Alan, Avar, and other Steppe Nomad Movements

[Flavivs Aetivs]

Well the Proto-Huns were merely the peoples there, just like so many Germanic groups were passed over and assimilated and dissimilated over several centuries. We probably don't hear of them because none of them rose to noteworthy positions, or there was no distinction made.

However, whether or not it was controlled by Sarmatians, we know for certain that the various wetlands from the Aral sea to the upper Ob were dominated by Altaic peoples, even if not controlled by Altai.

I see the Huns as a predominately Altaic people, most of whom came from the area around the Aral and East Caspian, but had elements stretching as far as the Volga Bulgars (who were the direct successors of the Huns), and to the East on the Ob. This suggests certainly Finno-Ugrian influence, certainly some Sauromatian, but the vast majority was Altaic/Lir-Turkic.