Ellac

Ellac (also called Ellak ; † 454 in the Battle of Nedao in Pannonia ) was the eldest son of Attila, king of the Huns . After his death, the empire of the Huns fell apart .

Life

Little is known about Ellac's life. The biographical data and facts about him are based exclusively on the Getica des Jordanes († after 552) and the fragmentary historical work of the Priskos (2nd half of the 5th century).

Ellac is first reported when his father installed him as ruler of the Akatziren tribe , a people divided into several tribes whose residence was in the area between the (northern) Caucasus and what is now eastern Ukraine . The enthronement of Ellac is likely to have been the result of a victorious campaign by his father. Attila's attempt to set up a Hunnish secondary school for his son was evidently unsuccessful, for in 449 Ellac was already back in his father's court camp; and after that there is no longer any mention of a Hunnish-Akatzirian connection in the sources.

After Attila's death (453), his sons fought over their father's inheritance. As Jordanes reports, they finally agreed to divide up the numerous tribes ( gentes ) that were subject to the Huns. There was , however, resistance to this rule of succession, which amounted to " " that warlike kings with their peoples would be raffled like serfs " ". Under the leadership of the Gepid King Ardarich , one of the most loyal vassals of Attila, a coalition of discontented people was formed, the majority of which were Germanic tribal leaders and their warriors. This coalition defeated the Armed Forces 454, led by Ellac and his brothers and predominantly composed of Huns, in the decisive battle on the Nedao River in Pannonia . According to Jordanes, Ellac fell in this battle after a valiant battle.

With Ellac's death, " the prospect for the continued existence of the ... Huns under new auspices " was finally extinguished. After this defeat, the other sons of Attila had neither the military power nor the personal authority to be able to resume the struggle for the fatherly kingdom. “ The huge“ tribal swarm ”, ” which the Hun Empire had represented, “ now disintegrated into its components within a short time. "

literature

Otto J. Maenchen-Helfen : The world of the Huns . 1978, ND Wiesbaden 1997.
Timo Stickler: The Huns . Verlag CH Beck, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-53633-5 .
Gerhard Wirth : Attila. The Huns and Europe . (= Kohlhammer-Urban-Taschenbücher, Volume 467). Verlag W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart u. a. 1999, ISBN 3-17-014232-1 .

Remarks

↑ Maenchen-Helfen (1997), p. 275, Ellac does not interpret it as a personal name, but as a title.
↑ See Wirth (1999), p. 64.
↑ Jordanes, Getica 259. Quoted from Stickler (2007), pp. 101f.
↑ In some research, the view is also held that the battle took place in 453 or only 455.
↑ A convincing localization of this river has not yet succeeded. See general Maenchen-Helfen (1997), p. 110ff.
↑ Stickler (2007), p. 102.
↑ Stickler (2007), p. 103.

personal data
SURNAME	Ellac
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Ellak
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Son of Attila the King of the Huns
DATE OF BIRTH	4th century or 5th century
DATE OF DEATH	454
Place of death	Nedao River, Pannonia

[1] Maenchen-Helfen (1997), p. 275, Ellac does not interpret it as a personal name, but as a title.

[2] See Wirth (1999), p. 64.

[3] Jordanes, Getica 259. Quoted from Stickler (2007), pp. 101f.

[4] In some research, the view is also held that the battle took place in 453 or only 455.

[5] A convincing localization of this river has not yet succeeded. See general Maenchen-Helfen (1997), p. 110ff.

[6] Stickler (2007), p. 102.

[7] Stickler (2007), p. 103.