Traces of The Late Huns of Europe: Historical Sources And Legends
Authors: Obrusanszky Borbala 
Published: December 2024

The history of the Huns has always been of great interest to European
researchers. Regarding their history, many questions are yet to be answered, e.g. what
happened to the Huns in various parts of Europe after Attila's death.
In some parts of the East and the West European continent many local legends on
the Huns still exist today, which indicates that this unique horsemen people of the eastern
steppes left a deep mark. 1 We find a particularly vivid tradition among the Seklers living
in the eastern part of the Carpathian Basin. 2 Scientific research is still skeptical about the
survival and influence of the Huns however, recent years’ scientific publications have
somewhat colored the previous picture of the Huns. 3 The publication on the Huns is so
extensive that it is impossible to present it in one study. Since the 19th century, numerous
studies have dealt with the possible language of the Huns. Russian researchers began to
excavate Asian Hun tombs at the very beginning of the 20th century. In the second half
of the 20th century, dozens of Hun cities and cemeteries were discovered in the territory
of the former Soviet Union. Sergey Botalov wrote a summary monograph on them. In
this work, he analyzed the archaeological findings of the European and Asian Huns.
Gmirya and Gadjiyev have written significant publications on the history and
archaeological findigns of the Caucasian Huns. One of the most thorough summaries of
the history of the European Huns is Maenchen-Helfen's work published in 1973. In recent
decades, the studies of Heather and the Korean Kim have significantly reassessed the
view on the Huns. In 2008, a study: The Heritage of the Huns was published in which
foreign and Hungarian researchers presented their findings on the European and Asian
Huns. In this study, in addition to archaeology and history, linguistics and culture were
also presented. An international Hun conference was organized in 2005 in Sukhbaatar,
Mongolia, in 2007 in Speyer, and in 2011 in Ulaanbaatar, and since then similar scientific
forums have taken place in many countries.
In my present study, my intention is to track down where Hun communities led by
Attila’s relatives or sons remained and how they played a significant role in late ancient
history. Studying the ancient written records, I attempt to reveal the probable historical
process. I compare some ancient Greek and Roman records with European Hun folklore
1 There are dozens of legends related to the Huns and Attila in Western Europe: Germany, France and
Switzerland. Michel Bakocs and Szilvia Sztruhar collected them. Their book is being published in 2025.
2 The Sekler-Hungarian folklore texts mentioned the descendants of the Huns in Europe. The Seklers
regard Attila’s youngest son Chaba their king.
3 Niles, Ferrari, Heather, Kim, etc.
Reconstructing the Past: Journal of Historical Studies
Volume 2 Number 4 November 2024
6
tradition. Unfortunately, most of the publications were pro-Goths or Romans, and they
did not pay enough attention to the remnants of the Huns. Recently, many new
publications have appeared, which emphasize the significant historical role of the Huns in
the second half of the 5th century as well. I have studied these new approaches and the
new results of archaeology. Archaeological findings 1 of typical Hun objects can be
found throughout Europe.