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Hun, Alan, Avar, and other Steppe Nomad Movements
#34
Magister Militum Flavius Aetius wrote:
Quote:The Huns could not have reached Hungary by 387 (other than federated troops in Rome or small military parties) because in 395 they attacked through the Caspian Gates. Heather brings this point up, saying the Huns could not have organized and launched a sustained campaign over the year 395 if they had to march all the way through around the black Sea.

The Hunnic power must have still been centered on the Don or East of the Maetois, even though some groups may have reached as far as the Dniester.
I respectfully think Heather is mistaken in his conclusion about the capability and reach of Hunnic armies and even Priscus in Fr.11.2 Blockley ps 277-279 contradicts him when he wrote while on his mission to see Attila for the Eastern Empire that one of the Western Roman ambassadors, who were also waiting for an audience with Attila, who was called Romulus told him that Attila in order to increase his empire further was considering an attack on the Persians as they knew what routes to use in order to attack the Medes, which they came upon them a long time ago when famine was sweeping their land and they were not far from Scythia Proper, probably the “Caspian Gates” you spoke of. But I have always been confused about the “Caspian Gates”. There is the Darial (Dariel) Gorge or “The Gate of the Alans” through the Caucasus which was probably the pass the Alans used when they invaded Cappadocia in Arrian’s time, then the Derbent (Darband or 'closed gates') pass which ran on the South-western side of Caspian Sea probably built by Sassanids in late 5th or early 6th centuries, or there is the Great wall of Gorgan located at a geographical narrowing between the South-East corner of Caspian Sea and Pishkamar mountains (apparently built by the Parthians and the 2nd longest wall after Great Wall of China being approximately 195kms long with about 30 fortresses.)
However Priscus mentions the invasion, of 395AD you speak of where he was told that after having crossed a lake, which Romulus thought was the Maeotis, after 15 days they passed over some mountains and entered Media. After plundering and overrunning the land they were checked and defeated by the Persians and had to retreat back over the mountains with with little plunder as the Persians retrieved most of it (I am assuming mainly livestock), but as a precaution took a different route on their retreat, probably past the Baku oilfields of present day Azerbaijan on coast of Caspian Sea as they mentioned that they passed the flame that issues from the rock beneath the sea. Romulus added that if Attila wished to go there he would not have much toil nor is it a long journey to extract booty from the Persians. (Realistically Attila probably used a show of power to impress the diplomats and probably had no intention of ever attacking Persians but he had the Western Roman ambassadors convinced that he could.)
But getting back to that invasion you mentioned. Priscus mentions two Royal Kings again who led this invasion or organised raid. Basich and Kursisch who Priscus describes as of Scythian royaltly (If they were Hunnic kings then this is another case of Dualism amongst the Hunnic leadership) who attacked Persian and Roman territories between Antioch and Ctesiphon before being chased off the Persians. As mentioned I think this was more a large raid in force, than an invasion as Romulus mentioned a famine. I am not saying that these kings are major kings or that it was organized from the west as a massive military operation but maybe they were Alcitziri kings or royalty because unlike the Alans and Greuthungi and possibly other groups who seemed to have moved west with the main body of Huns, most of the Alcitziri tribes seemed to remain around the vicinity of the Maeotis or Scythia on the Pontic Sea. So maybe these two were minor kings dealing with severe drought and famine, possibly looking to restock depleted herds of cattle and sheep lost in these extreme conditions by usual steppe methods, that is a massive raid. So all I am saying is that the Huns probably had the military reach to attack both sides of the Black Sea but not the will as it obviously would have stretched their resources. You also get the impression that Priscus doesn't think highly of the Sassanids but I think Uldin was in charge in the west from about 390AD to 412AD so this raid would have occurred while he was leading the Western Huns although you could be right and he was based if not on the Dniester at least around the lower Danube. Although both R.C. Blockley in his 'Fragmentary Classicising Historians of the Later Roman Empire' book and C.D Gordon in his book 'The Age of Attila' think the raid might have occurred later in early to mid 420s but I think Maenchen-Helfen says 395AD. But this Priscus story does back up your claim that climate change or El Nino may have been one of the reasons that contributed to Hun movements. Cool
EDIT: John Man in his book Attila the Hun mentions that Basich and Kursich were the heirs of Balamber one of the first Hunnic kings who attacked the Goths and Alans so maybe Uldin wasn't the big shot the Romans thought he was.
Regards
Michael Kerr
Michael Kerr
"You can conquer an empire from the back of a horse but you can't rule it from one"
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Hun, Alan, Avar, and other Steppe Nomad Movements - by Michael Kerr - 03-16-2014, 02:19 PM

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