Onoulphus, also Onoulf, Unulf and Hunulf (died 493) was a general of the late fifth century of

Sciri The Sciri, or Scirians, were a Germanic people. They are believed to have spoken an East Germanic language. Their name probably means "the pure ones". The Sciri were mentioned already in the late 3rd century BC as participants in a raid on th ...

an origin. He served as '' magister militum per Illyricum'' from 477 to 479 as a general of the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantino ...

, then afterwards was a general for his brother

Odoacer Odoacer ( ; – 15 March 493 AD), also spelled Odovacer or Odovacar, was a soldier and statesman of barbarian background, who deposed the child emperor Romulus Augustulus and became Rex/Dux (476–493). Odoacer's overthrow of Romulus August ...

, king of Italy, until their death.

Biography

Onoulphus was a Scirian; with his brother (or possibly half-brother), Odoacer, he was raised at the court of

Attila Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in March 453. He was also the leader of a tribal empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Bulgars, among others, in Central and E ...

, King of the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...

. Following the destruction of the Sciri, who had been incited to break their treaty with the

Ostrogoths The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the large Gothic populations who ...

Hunimund Hunimund (395 - after 469) was a leader - variously described by Jordanes as dux and as rex - of the Suebi. Hunimund fought with Ardaric against the Huns at the Battle of Nedao in 454. Afterwards Hunimund founded a small and short-lived kingdom in ...

, king of the

Swabians Swabians (german: Schwaben, singular ''Schwabe'') are a Germanic people who are native to the ethnocultural and linguistic region of Swabia, which is now mostly divided between the modern states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, in southweste ...

, Onoulphus with his father Edeko joined the Swabian side in the

Battle of Bolia The Battle of Bolia, was a battle in 469 between the Ostrogoths ( Amal Goths) and a coalition of Germanic tribes in the Roman province of Pannonia. It was fought on the south side of the Danube near its confluence with the river Bolia, in pre ...

in the late 460s, where they were again defeated by the Ostrogoths under their king Theodemir. Onoulphus joined the Roman army in the 470s and rose through its ranks. He found a protector in the general

Armatus Flavius Armatus (died 477), also known as Harmatius, was an Eastern Roman military commander, ''magister militum'' under Emperors Leo I, Basiliscus and Zeno, and consul. He was instrumental in the rebellion of Basiliscus against Zeno, and in hi ...

, who had him appointed first '' comes'' and in 477, '' magister militum per Illyricum'', commander in chief of the

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

army. In that same year, by order of the Emperor

Zeno Zeno ( grc, Ζήνων) may refer to: People * Zeno (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Philosophers * Zeno of Elea (), philosopher, follower of Parmenides, known for his paradoxes * Zeno of Citium (333 – 264 BC), ...

, Onoulphus killed Armatus, despite his having greatly benefited by the latter's protection (sources states that Armatus lent him a huge sum to pay for a banquet). Onoulphus kept his office until 479, when he fell out of favour. He then found refuge with his brother

, who by then had become king of Italy. One of the duties he carried out for his brother was a campaign against Fredericus, who had succeeded his father Feletheus as king of the Rugians. Onoulphus found it necessary to evacuate the remaining Romans and resettled them in Italy. The remaining Rugians fled and took refuge with the Ostrogoths; the abandoned province was settled by the

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 an ...

by 493. He remained loyal to Odoacer during his brother's war for survival against

Theodoric the Great Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal ( got, , *Þiudareiks; Greek: , romanized: ; Latin: ), was king of the Ostrogoths (471–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy ...

, king of the

, standing with him during the siege of Ravenna. After Odoacer's death, Onoulphus was killed by archers while seeking refuge in a church.

Connection between Onoulphus, Odoacer and Armatus

A recent publication by Stephan Krautschick advanced the hypothesis that Armatus and his cousin and emperor

Basiliscus Basiliscus ( grc-gre, Βασιλίσκος, Basilískos; died 476/477) was Eastern Roman emperor from 9 January 475 to August 476. He became in 464, under his brother-in-law, Emperor Leo (457–474). Basiliscus commanded the army for an inv ...

were related by blood with the chieftain of the

Heruli The Heruli (or Herules) were an early Germanic people. Possibly originating in Scandinavia, the Heruli are first mentioned by Roman authors as one of several " Scythian" groups raiding Roman provinces in the Balkans and the Aegean Sea, attacking ...

and later King of Italy

. According to this hypothesis, supported by several scholars, Armatus was the brother of Onoulphus and Odoacer, who, therefore, was the nephew of Emperor Basiliscus and of his sister, the Empress

Verina Aelia Verina ( Greek: Βερίνα, died 484) was the Empress consort of Leo I of the Eastern Roman Empire. She was a sister of Basiliscus. Her daughter Ariadne was Empress consort of first Zeno and then Anastasius I. Verina was the maternal gr ...

, wife of Emperor

Leo I The LEO I (Lyons Electronic Office I) was the first computer used for commercial business applications. The prototype LEO I was modelled closely on the Cambridge EDSAC. Its construction was overseen by Oliver Standingford, Raymond Thompson and ...

. This hypothesis explains why Armatus generously helped Onoulphus in his career, and states that he was killed by his own brother. The connection between Armatus, Odoacer and Onoulphus is given by a fragment in the chronicle of John of Antioch, in which Onoulphus is said to be the killer and the brother of Armatus. Before Krautschick's hypothesis, and still today for scholars who reject this identification, John's passage was corrected to read "Odoacer was the brother of that Onoulphus who killed Armatus": this correction makes the statement compatible with those of the contemporary historians, as neither

John Malalas John Malalas ( el, , ''Iōánnēs Malálas''; – 578) was a Byzantine chronicler from Antioch (now Antakya, Turkey). Life Malalas was of Syrian descent, and he was a native speaker of Syriac who learned how to write in Greek later ...

nor Malchus tell about the relationship between Odoacer and Basiliscus or the killing of Armatus by his own brother.MacGeorge.

Notes

Bibliography

* * Alexander Demandt, ''Die Spätantike: römische Geschichte von Diocletian bis Justinian 284-565 n. Chr.'', 1989, Munchen, p. 178. * Krautschick, Stephan, "Zwei Aspekte des Jahres 476", ''Historia'', 35, 1986, pp. 344–371. * * Rohrbacher, David, ''The Historians of Late Antiquity'', Routledge, 2002, {{ISBN, 0-415-20458-5, pp. 82–92. 493 deaths 5th-century Romans Germanic warriors Sciri Huns Comites Magistri militum Year of birth unknown