Washington Journal., 1942-01-30
The Hunnic Scourge

About $40 AID. the laurie peninsula fel
under the invasion of Hun horsemen from
Mongolia, who rushed from east to ives
through the steppes of South Russia. On
their way they overwhelmed the northern
Crimea. Gairmanareiks German: Herman
rich) an aged Austragoth King, failing t.
stop them, was said to nave killed himself
His people there took to the mountains. Whel
the Huns swept farther west, through Daci;
and up the Danube, the Crimean Cloths cam,
down to the level country and seashores again
restoring Gairmanareik's sons power al
ruler of the peninsula and maintaining thei-
Christianity.
After the Huns defeat at C%halons-sur
Marine in 453 and the sudden death Of theil
great ruler Attila C'Konig Etzel" of thu
N~ibelungenlied) his empire broke up. One O
the Hun tribes, the Utigurs, returned from
the Danube eastward through the Tauri'
peninsula. A stubborn army of Cloths stooC
them off for a while, but after the death il
battle of their leader Gainathi, a former gen
eral under Emperor Theodosius, they entered
into a truce and, crossing the Strait of Kerch
joined them on the southern Russian steppes
King Hiunamunths became a vassal of thu
Huns. This resulted in a separation Of thu
Austragoths, one part remaining in the PENN
Suld, Tic OIIlCI SCUlllIlS vi luc oOcDpCo dCIOOi
the strait.
The Cloths in the peninsula reared thu
mountain stronghold Of Theodore, late
known as Mangup-Kale, on an inaccessible
rock, some 1900 feet above sea level, abou
10 miles from the present railway station
Belbik. It remained their strongest fortress
several centuries.
In the 9th century, long after the great
Austragoth king Thiudareik English
'~'Theoderic'', German: Dietrich" Of the
N~ibelungenlied) had conquered the western
Roman Empire and defeated the generals o.
the Eastern Empire, Athalareiks, an Austria
goth boy king, made his peace with Byzan
tium. His successor T~hiudagoda failed K
keep the peace, so the Emperor Justinial
527-65, making war on him, defeated hin
repeatedly, whereupon an enraged Goth war
rior slew King Thiudagoda. The Crimeal
Cloths, experimenting another incursion of the
Huns, felt impelled to seek help from Byzan
tium and were required to furnish J~ustiniai
with auxiliary troops for his warfare agains
the Huns.
Crimea Under Other Rulers
In SIG the Turko-K hazars captured the
Crimean Bosporus and, five years later, tht
Chersonesus, which they kept nearly three
~ huQll VI OlC . III ooS
ceeded in capturing the Gothic stronghold
Theodore (Mangup) and made a king, whose
name has not come down to us, their vassal
The Turko-Khazars maintained their pre-
dominance in the Crimea until the 9th century
In the first quarter of the 9th century BRAY
lin, a Russian prince, Whom the Cloths called
"Vitiges'', meaning a brave knight), coming
from NOvgorod invaded the Crimea. He laiC
waste the coast land between Cherson anC
Kerch. After a Gothic rebellion toward tn
end of the 10th century the Russian prince
Vladimir in 988 captured Cherson, regainins
Slav power over the Cloths there.
Gothia became a Russian protectorate
Meanwhile the inhabitants under Byzantine
influence had become hellenized and wer'
called Gotho-Greeks by some ~contemporar.
writer's. The upper classes in Gothia SPOKE
and wrote Greek, the merchants and soldiers
spoke a Slavic tongue. Only the yokels
women and small children still talked Gothic
Their ancient Teutonic runes had long beer
forgotten. Greek and Roman coins haC
supplanted their gold, silver and bronz'
bracelets and spangles, which under the name
Of "shillingso, formerly passed for money
with the Cloths.
Thus, in the 18th century, st. Anthony, {
Roman missionary at Novgorod, met a merch
ant from Gothia, who, besides his own Gothic
language spoke Latin, Greek and Russian
The missionary described him as an 'Shelle
nized Goth"
In an old Russian epic, ''The Lay of thu
War Ride of Igor, written down in 1885
there is a famous passage: "Thus, the fail
maidens of the Cloths sang on the shore Of thu
blue sea, tinkling in Russian gold. They sins
the time Of Busa; they cherish the revenge Of
Sharokan."
The context shows that 'sthe blue sea-
means the Sea of Azov. Another passage il
4lA-AA.A- .alo4oA Lo-u L. noa:lorn LII loo-