Tarrach (died 515) was a Hun military officer for the

East Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

. He was the assassin of the officer Cyril. Tarrach was credited as the "fiercest of the Huns".

Biography

Otto 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 ...

listed his name among those of undetermined origin. He noted that, if he was baptized, his original pagan name might have been assimilated to Tarachus, the name of one of the three martyrs of Cappadocia. The general Vitalian employed him to assassinate Cyril. Cyril was an officer who had been appointed by the Emperor instead of the unpopular Hypatius. Cyril immediately marched to Lower Moesia, but Vitalian sent Tarrach, who successfully assassinated him. In 515 Vitalian mobilized his army, with Tarrach as one of its officers, and marched towards

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

for a second time, but was defeated and retreated north with his troops. After the collapse of Vitalian's second rebellion, Tarrach was captured. Described as the "fiercest of the Huns", he was tortured and burned at the stake in

Chalcedon Chalcedon (; ; sometimes transliterated as ) was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor, Turkey. It was located almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari (modern Üsküdar) and it is now a district of the city of Ist ...

References

Sources

* * {{Huns Hun military leaders Byzantine people of Hunnic descent 6th-century Byzantine military personnel 6th-century executions by the Byzantine Empire Byzantine torture victims 515 deaths