Ellac (died in 454 AD) was the oldest son of

Attila Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central Europe, C ...

(434–453) and

Kreka Kreka or Hereka was the wife of Attila. She was described by Eastern Roman diplomat Priscus in his account of his stay at Attila's court in 448 or 449 AD. She and Attila had three sons: Ellac, Dengizich, and Ernak, who split among themselves wh ...

. After Attila's death in 453 AD, his empire crumbled, and its remains were ruled by his three sons, Ellac,

Dengizich Dengizich (died in 469), was a Huns, Hunnic ruler and son of Attila. After Attila's death in 453 AD, his empire crumbled and its remains were ruled by his three sons, Ellac, Dengizich and Ernak. Dengizich succeeded his older brother Ellac in AD 45 ...

and

Ernak Ernak was the last known ruler of the Huns, and the third son of Attila. After Attila's death in AD 453, his Empire crumbled and its remains were ruled by his three sons, Ellac, Dengizich and Ernak. He succeeded his older brother Ellac in AD 454, ...

. He ruled briefly and died at the

Battle of Nedao The Battle of Nedao was fought in Pannonia in 454 CE between the Huns and their former Germanic vassals. Nedao is believed to be a tributary of the Sava River. Battle After the death of Attila the Hun, allied forces of the subject peoples under ...

in 454 AD. Ellac was succeeded by his brothers, Dengizich and Ernak.

Etymology

Several scholars derive Ellac from a word akin to

Old Turkic Old Siberian Turkic, generally known as East Old Turkic and often shortened to Old Turkic, was a Siberian Turkic language spoken around East Turkistan and Mongolia. It was first discovered in inscriptions originating from the Second Turkic Kh ...

''älik'' / ''ilik'' / ''ilig'' ("prince, ruler, king), which derives from ''*el'' (realm) + ''lä-g'' (to rule, the rule). The name thus appears to be a title rather than a personal name.

History

In 448 or 449 AD, as

Priscus Priscus of Panium (; ; 410s/420s AD – after 472 AD) was an Eastern Roman diplomat and Greek historian and rhetorician (or sophist)...: "For information about Attila, his court and the organization of life generally in his realm we have the ...

recounts "

Onegesius Onegesius () was a powerful Hunnic ''logades'' (minister) who supposedly held power second only to Attila the Hun. According to Priscus he "seated on a chair to the right of the king" i.e. Attila. History Priscus, who was on a mission to Attil ...

along with the eldest of Attila's children, had been sent to the Akateri, a

Scythian The Scythians ( or ) or Scyths (, but note Scytho- () in composition) and sometimes also referred to as the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic people who had migrated during the 9th to 8th centuries BC fr ...

unnicpeople, whom he was bringing into an alliance with Attila". As the Akatziroi tribes and clans were ruled by different leaders, emperor

Theodosius II Theodosius II ( ; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450), called "the Calligraphy, Calligrapher", was Roman emperor from 402 to 450. He was proclaimed ''Augustus (title), Augustus'' as an infant and ruled as the Eastern Empire's sole emperor after the ...

tried with gifts to spread animosity among them, but the gifts were not delivered according to rank, Kouridachos, warned and called Attila against fellow leaders. So Attila did, Kardach stayed with his tribe or clan in their own territory, while the rest of the Akatziroi became subjected to Attila. Attila "desired to make his eldest son their king, and so sent Onegesios to do it". Onegesios returned with Ellac, who "had taken a spill and broken his right hand". Beside becoming king of the Akatziri, Ellac also governed "the other nations who dwell in Pontic Scythia". Priscus also mentions the number of sons "Onegesios was seated on a chair to the right of the king's couch, and opposite Onegesios two engizich and Ernakof Attila's children were sitting on a chair. The eldest llacwas seated on Attila's couch, not near him but at the edge, looking at the ground out of respect for his father". After the rites of Attila's death in 453, according to

Jordanes Jordanes (; Greek language, Greek: Ιορδάνης), also written as Jordanis or Jornandes, was a 6th-century Eastern Roman bureaucrat, claimed to be of Goths, Gothic descent, who became a historian later in life. He wrote two works, one on R ...

in ''

Getica ''De origine actibusque Getarum'' (''The Origin and Deeds of the Getae''), commonly abbreviated ''Getica'' (), written in Late Latin by Jordanes in or shortly after 551 AD, claims to be a summary of a voluminous account by Cassiodorus of the ori ...

'', the sons Ellac,

and

(but possibly existed also other sons who pretended the throne): A coalition of Germanic tribes, led by

Ardaric Ardaric (; c. 450 AD) was the Germanic kingship, king of the Gepids, a Germanic peoples, Germanic tribe closely related to the Goths. He was "famed for his loyalty and wisdom," one of the most trusted adherents of Attila the Hun, who "prized him a ...

, king of the

Gepids The Gepids (; ) were an East Germanic tribes, East Germanic tribe who lived in the area of modern Romania, Hungary, and Serbia, roughly between the Tisza, Sava, and Carpathian Mountains. They were said to share the religion and language of the G ...

, revolted against such slavery treatment, and "so they were armed for mutual destruction. War was waged in

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, on the west by Noricum and upper Roman Italy, Italy, and on the southward by Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia and upper Moesia. It ...

, next to a river called Nedao. Various nations Attila had held in his sway came into combat there ... Goths, Gepids,

Rugii The Rugii, Rogi or Rugians (), were one of the smaller Germanic peoples of Late Antiquity who are best known for their short-lived 5th-century kingdom upon the Roman frontier, near present-day Krems an der Donau in Austria. This kingdom, like t ...

, Suavi, Huns,

Alans The Alans () were an ancient and medieval Iranian peoples, Iranic Eurasian nomads, nomadic pastoral people who migrated to what is today North Caucasus – while some continued on to Europe and later North Africa. They are generally regarded ...

and

Heruli The Heruli (also Eluri, Eruli, Herules, Herulians) were one of the smaller Germanic peoples of Late Antiquity, known from records in the third to sixth centuries AD. The best recorded group of Heruli established a kingdom north of the Middle Danu ...

". By "slavery" status is considered the pay of tributes and military service. There were many "grim clashes", but unexpected victory fell to the Gepids. Ardaric and his allies annihilated nearly 30,000 Huns and their allies. In the battle Attila's oldest son, Ellac, died. According to Priscus: Jordanes recounts: Lonjsko Polje Sava

"When Ellac was slain, his remaining brothers were put to fight near the shore of the Sea of Pontus where we have said the Goths settled. And so yielded the Huns to whom the whole world was once thought to yield: their disintegration was so calamitous that a nation which, with their forces united, used to terrify, when divided, tumbled down ... Many nations, by sending embassies, came to Roman lands and were welcomed by the emperor
Marcian Marcian (; ; ; 392 – 27 January 457) was Roman emperor of the Byzantine Empire, East from 450 to 457. Very little is known of his life before becoming emperor, other than that he was a (personal assistant) who served under the commanders ...
... Now when the Goths saw the Gepids defending for themselves the territory of the Huns, and the people of the Huns dwelling again in their ancient abodes, they preferred to ask for lands from the Roman Empire, rather than invade the lands of others with dangers to themselves. So they received
Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, on the west by Noricum and upper Roman Italy, Italy, and on the southward by Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia and upper Moesia. It ...
".

After the battle Attila's largely Germanic subject tribes started to reassert their independence. However, it was not sudden, and not all freed themselves. The Huns "turned in flight and sought the parts of

Scythia Scythia (, ) or Scythica (, ) was a geographic region defined in the ancient Graeco-Roman world that encompassed the Pontic steppe. It was inhabited by Scythians, an ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic people. Etymology The names ...

which border on the stream of the river Danaber, which the Huns call in their own tongue Var". Hernak "chose a home in the most distant part of

Scythia Minor Scythia Minor or Lesser Scythia (Greek: , ) was a Roman province in late Antiquity, occupying the lands between the lower Danube and the Black Sea, the modern-day Dobruja region in Romania and Bulgaria. It was detached from Moesia Inferior by ...

". Not all Huns immediately left the

Pannonian Basin The Pannonian Basin, with the term Carpathian Basin being sometimes preferred in Hungarian literature, is a large sedimentary basin situated in southeastern Central Europe. After the Treaty of Trianon following World War I, the geomorpholog ...

, yet only Middle Danube. Some Huns remained in

Dacia Ripensis Dacia Ripensis () was the name of a Roman province in the northern Balkan peninsula, immediately south of the Middle Danube. Its capital was Ratiaria (modern Archar, Bulgaria). It was a district less urban than neighbouring Dacia Mediterranea ...

i.e. Lower Danube,

Moesia Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; ) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River. As a Roman domain Moesia was administered at first by the governor of Noricum as 'Civitates of Moesia and Triballi ...

and

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{Huns 5th-century Hunnic kings 5th-century monarchs in Europe 454 deaths Year of birth unknown Monarchs killed in action Attilid dynasty