Donatus was a man living among the

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

in the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

region in the early 5th century. Though some modern historians consider him a Hunnic king, no sources call him either a Hun or a king. Very little is known about Donatus. In the sources, it is mentioned that an embassy (around 413) by the Eastern Romans was sent to him, in which the historian

Olympiodorus of Thebes Olympiodorus of Thebes (; born c. 380, fl. c. 412–425 AD) was a Roman historian, poet, philosopher and diplomat of the early fifth century. He produced a ''History'' in twenty-two volumes, written in Greek, dedicated to the Emperor Theodosius II, ...

also took part, whose report has only been preserved in fragments. According to this, Donatus was deceived by an oath and then murdered.

Charaton Charaton (Olympiodorus of Thebes: ''Χαράτων'') was one of the first kings of the Huns. Etymology The name is found in Greek as Χαράτων (''Kharatōn''). Otto J. Maenchen-Helfen notes that the ''-ton'' element might be an artifact of ...

, a king (or leader) of the Huns, was extremely angered by the assassination of Donatus and could only be appeased by the Romans with gifts. It is not clear from the sources who Donatus was and what exact political role he played. Otto Mänchen-Helfen considered him a Roman who defected to the Huns. Otto J. Maenchen-Helfen: ''The World of the Huns: Studies in Their History and Culture.'' University of California Press, Berkeley/Los Angeles 1973, p. 423. It is likely that he was murdered by the embassy in which also Olympiodorus took part in a very 'modern' pattern: "a government dispatches its agents to dispose of a possibly inconvenient émigré who had taken refuge in a foreign country." The fact that Charaton was displeased with his death indicates he was esteemed by the Hun king; the fact Charaton didn't overreact shows the action was considered Roman business. Sinor fancied he might have been a

Donatist Donatism was a schism from the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Carthage from the fourth to the sixth centuries. Donatists argued that Christian clergy must be faultless for their ministry to be effective and their prayers and sacraments to ...

seeking refuge among the Huns. His name was very likely of Roman,

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

origin. The name Donatus was popular among the Romans at the time.

References

{{Huns 4th-century births Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 5th-century people Huns

Further reading

References