Onegesios

Onegesios (or in Latin Onegesius ; died after 449) is the name of a distinguished Hun who held a high-ranking position at the court of Attila in the middle of the 5th century .

Onegesios is the (Greek) form of the name handed down by the contemporary historian Priskos . Priskos was in the Eastern Roman civil service and traveled in 449 together with the Eastern Roman ambassador Maximinos to the court of Attila. Priskos reported in detail about this embassy and the experiences he had gathered in his historical work. This has only survived in fragments, but a longer excerpt has survived (fragment 8 in the Priskosedition Pia Carollas), in which Onegesios is also discussed.

According to the descriptions of Priskos, Onegesios enjoyed a great reputation at court and was only surpassed by Attila himself in this regard. Onegesios seems to have been one of the most distinguished Hunnish greats ( logades ), who also vied for influence at court. He was entrusted by Attila with diplomatic missions (for example with the Akatziren ) and was in contact with Eastern Roman ambassadors on several occasions, and, according to the Priscos, he loyally represented Attila's point of view. He maintained splendid accommodation at court, which also included a Roman bathhouse.

His trace is lost after 449, although he may be identical to a certain Hunigasius , who in 451 acted as an interpreter for Attila during his Gaulish campaign.

literature

• Wilhelm Enßlin : Onegesius. In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume XVIII, 1, Stuttgart 1939, Col. 437 f.
• John Robert Martindale: Onegesius. In: The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire (PLRE). Volume 2, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1980, ISBN 0-521-20159-4 , p. 805.
• Klaus Rosen : Attila. The horror of the world. Beck, Munich 2016, ISBN 978-3-406-69030-3 .