Octar or Ouptaros was a Hunnic ruler. He ruled in dual kingship with his brother

Rugila Rugila or Ruga (also Ruas; died second half of the 430s AD),Lee, A.D. (2013) ''From Rome to Byzantium AD 363 to 565: The Transformation of Ancient Rome''. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, pp. 118-119. was a ruler who was a major factor in th ...

, possibly with a geographical division, ruling the Western Huns while his brother ruled the Eastern Huns.

History

Octar ruled along with his brother

as reported by

Jordanes Jordanes (), also written as Jordanis or Jornandes, was a 6th-century Eastern Roman bureaucrat widely believed to be of Gothic descent who became a historian later in life. Late in life he wrote two works, one on Roman history ('' Romana'') a ...

in his ''

Getica ''De origine actibusque Getarum'' (''The Origin and Deeds of the Getae oths'), 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 ...

'': "''...Mundzucus, whose brothers were Octar and Ruas, who were supposed to have been kings before Attila, although not altogether of the same erritoriesas he''". Their brother

Mundzuk Mundzuk was a Hunnic chieftain, brother of the Hunnic rulers Octar and Rugila, and father of Bleda and Attila by an unknown consort. Jordanes in ''Getica'' recounts "''For this Attila was the son of Mundzucus, whose brothers were Octar and Ruas, ...

was the father 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 ...

, but he was not a supreme ruler of the Huns. According to

Priscus Priscus of Panium (; el, Πρίσκος; 410s AD/420s AD-after 472 AD) was a 5th-century Eastern Roman diplomat and Greek historian and rhetorician (or sophist)...: "For information about Attila, his court and the organization of life genera ...

their fourth brother

Oebarsius Oebarsius or Aybars (died after 448) was a Hun nobleman, brother of Mundzuk and uncle of Bleda and Attila Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Centra ...

was still alive in 448 AD. Their ancestors and relation with previous rulers

Uldin Uldin, also spelled Huldin (died before 412) is the first ruler of the Huns whose historicity is undisputed. Etymology The name is recorded as ''Ουλδης'' (Ouldes) by Sozomen, ''Uldin'' by Orosius, and ''Huldin'' by Marcellinus Comes. On th ...

and

Charaton Charaton (Olympiodorus of Thebes: ''Χαράτων'') was one of the first kings of the Huns. History In the end of 412 or beginning of 413, Charaton received the Byzantine ambassador Olympiodorus sent by Honorius. Olympiodorus travelled to Cha ...

are unknown. He ruled with his brother in dual kingship, possibly a geographical division where Rugila ruled over Eastern Huns while Octar over Western Huns, possibly like Attila and

Bleda Bleda () was a Hunnic ruler, the brother of Attila the Hun. As nephews to Rugila, Attila and his elder brother Bleda succeeded him to the throne. Bleda's reign lasted for eleven years until his death. While it has been speculated by Jordanes th ...

. According to

Socrates of Constantinople Socrates of Constantinople ( 380 – after 439), also known as Socrates Scholasticus ( grc-gre, Σωκράτης ὁ Σχολαστικός), was a 5th-century Greek Christian church historian, a contemporary of Sozomen and Theodoret. He is ...

, Octar, identified with Ouptaros, died in 430 near the

Rhine The Rhine ; french: Rhin ; nl, Rijn ; wa, Rén ; li, Rien; rm, label=Sursilvan, Rein, rm, label=Sutsilvan and Surmiran, Ragn, rm, label=Rumantsch Grischun, Vallader and Puter, Rain; it, Reno ; gsw, Rhi(n), including in Alsatian dialect, Al ...

, "'' r the king of the Huns, Uptaros by name, having burst asunder in the night from surfeit, the Burgundians attacked that he Huns of Uptarospeople then without a leader; and although few in numbers and their opponents many, they obtained victory''".

Etymology

The name is recorded in two variants, Greek ''Ούπταρος'' (Ouptaros), and Latin ''Octar''. The change from ''-ct-'' to ''-pt-'' is characteristic of Balkan Latin.

Otto J. Maenchen-Helfen Otto John Maenchen-Helfen (German: Otto Mänchen-Helfen; July 26, 1894 – January 29, 1969) was an Austrian academic, sinologist, historian, author, and traveler. From 1927 to 1930, he worked at the Marx-Engels Institute in Moscow, and from 193 ...

considered the name to be of unknown origin.

Omeljan Pritsak Omeljan Yosypovych Pritsak ( uk, Омелян Йосипович Пріцак; 7 April 1919, Luka, Sambir County, West Ukrainian People's Republic – 29 May 2006, Boston) was the first Mykhailo Hrushevsky Professor of Ukrainian History at Har ...

derived the name from

Turkic Turkic may refer to: * anything related to the country of Turkey * Turkic languages, a language family of at least thirty-five documented languages ** Turkic alphabets (disambiguation) ** Turkish language, the most widely spoken Turkic language * ...

Mongolian Mongolian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Mongolia, a country in Asia * Mongolian people, or Mongols * Mongolia (1911–24), the government of Mongolia, 1911–1919 and 1921–1924 * Mongolian language * Mongolian alphabet * Mong ...

word ''*öktem'' (strong, brave, imperious; proud, boastful; pride) and verb ''ökte-'' / ''oktä-'' (to encourage). He argued that the deverbal Turkic-Mongolian suffix ''m'' was replaced in Turkic by ''z'' while in Mongolian by ''ri''. The reconstructed form is appellative ''*öktä-r''.

References

Sources

* * {{Huns Hunnic rulers 5th-century monarchs in Europe 5th-century Hunnic rulers 430 deaths