Ardaric
Ardaric (; c. 450 AD) was the king of the Gepids, a 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 above all the other chieftains." Ardaric is first mentioned by Jordanes as Attila's most prized vassal at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (451): After Attila's death in 453, Ardaric led the rebellion against Attila's sons and routed them in the Battle of Nedao, thus ending the Huns' dominance in Eastern Europe. Since Attila's death, his  eldest son Ellak had risen to power. Supported by Attila's chief lieutenant, Onegesius, he wanted to assert the absolute control with which Attila had ruled, while Attila's other two sons, Dengizik and Ernak, claimed kingship over smaller subject tribes. In 454, Ardaric led his Gepid and Ostrogothic forces against Attila's son Ellak and his Hunnish army. The Battle of Nedao was a bloody but decisive victory for Ardaric, in which Ellak was killed. Ardaric's most immediate achievement was the establishment of his people in Dacia. His defeat of the Huns at the River Nedao reduced the  threat of invasion posed to the Eastern Roman Empire. While the Western Roman Empire lay in ruins after AD 476, the Eastern Roman Empire survived for almost another thousand years. The name "Ardaricus" is assumed to represent Germanic "*Hardu-reiks"; Schütte (1933) tentatively identified the Heiðrekr of Germanic legend with the historical Gepid king. Ardaric's year of death is unknown. The Gepid king Mundo ("Mundonus"), who ruled in the early 6th century, was probably his grandson.