Hunuil of the Goths

Hunuil (Amal Dynasty)
Also Known As:	"Hunuil "Unilt"", "Huneil", "Immune to Magic", "Celui Qui Est Immunisé Contre la Magie", "Wnult", "Hunila", "Hunwil", "Hunull d'Ostrogothie", ""He who is immune to magic""
Birthdate:	circa 210
Birthplace:	(Present Poland)
Death:	circa 280 (61-78) Scythia (Present Ukraine)
Immediate Family:	Son of Ostrogotha "the Patient", King of the Goths and (Generation 6) Husband of (Generation 7) Father of Athal "the Mild" of the Greuthungi
Occupation:	2nd King of the Ostrogoths (250-280), koning der Goten

Managed by:	Private User
Last Updated:	April 27, 2022

View Complete Profile

view all

Immediate Family

(Generation 7)

wife
Athal "the Mild" of the Greuthungi

son
(Generation 6)

mother
Ostrogotha "the Patient", King o...

father

About Hunuil of the Goths

From the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy page on Hungary Kings:

http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/HUNGARY.htm#_Toc146273201

B. DYNASTY of the AMAL GOTHS

Iordanes sets out the ancestors of Athal, in order, as follows "Gapt…Hulmul…Augis…Amal a quo et origo Amalorum decurrit…Hisarnis…Ostrogotha…Hunuil…Athal"[31].

Reference:

[31] Iordanes Getarum, MGH Auct. ant. V.1, p. 77.

----------------------------

From Jordanes' Getica:

http://people.ucalgary.ca/~vandersp/Courses/texts/jordgeti.html#visi

XIV

(79) Now the first of these heroes, as they themselves relate in their legends, was Gapt, who begat Hulmul. And Hulmul begat Augis; and Augis begat him who was called Amal, from whom the name of the Amali comes. This Amal begat Hisarnis. Hisarnis moreover begat Ostrogotha, and Ostrogotha begat Hunuil, and Hunuil likewise begat Athal.

This information is according to the Wikipedia page on Ukrainian Rulers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ukrainian_rulers

Greuthungi

The Amali dynasty, Amals, Amaler, or Amalings of the Greuthungi ("steppe dwellers" or "people of the pebbly coasts"), called later the Ostrogothi.

Hunuil ("Immune to Magic") aka Ginvila, born fl. 210 or ca. 213

(No sources cited)

---------------------------

The name "Ginvila" apparently is in Lithuanian. Taken from a study of Gothic coins (none of which are actually pictured in the PDF - you'll have to take their word for it all):

"Guthones, Kinsmen of the Lithuanian People: A treatise on the Gothic ethnology, history of the Gothic dominion in Italy and Spain, numismatics, language, and proper names" by Alexander M. Rackus, M.D. (Ben M. Angel comments: M.D.?):

http://lituani.com/Guthones.pdf

Roman historians mention in their writings 22 famous Gothic kings, namely:

(1)--- The first great king of the Amala people was Au(st)ra-gudas (Austraguta) (1), called "the Patient". During his reign, the most important undertaking was the war with the Roman emperor Philip the Arab. Au(st)ragudas gathered 30,000 warriors, plundered the Roman province of Lower Moesia, laid siege to its capital Marcianopolis and forced its defenders to redeem themselves with a large sum of money. In this war, Argaitis (Argaits) and Gundarikis (Gunthareiks) were the celebrated Au(st)ragudas' generals. Au(st)ragudas "the Patient" died about the year 250, leaving his son Ginvila (Hunuila). Coins with the name of Au(st)ragudas do not exist. There are only some Roman coins with Au(st)ragudas' counterstamp. Bronze, silver and gold shillings were the native money of the Gothic people, of the same shape as you see in fig. 1.

Reference:

1. In modern times the Russians were the biggest enemies of the Lithuanian and Samogitian people, therefore now the Lithuanians apply the disdainful name "Gudas" (=Goth) to any Russian.

(Ben M. Angel notes: Apparently Austragudas or Ostrogotha is supposed to be Cniva, a historically known figure who carried out the raids described.)

---------------------------

From "Widsith: a study in old English heroic legend" by Raymond Wilson Chambers:

http://books.google.cl/books?id=Nn08AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA219&lpg=PA219&dq=...

114. Unwenes. Jordanes (XIV, 79) has "Ostrogotha autem genuit Hunuil: Hunuil item genuit Athal," upon which Müllenhoff comments "Hunuil nominis certe ultimam partem corruptam esse nemo non videt." He suggests in view of this passage in Widsith that Unuin should be read: "Unwin stands for Unwen as Thiudimir interchanges with Thiudemer. The name means son born beyond hope, cf. Z.f.d.A. XII, 253. Unwen must have been a famous hero for to have been remembered in England 'til after the Norman Conquest (see Appendix K). Yet he does not succeed his father Ostrogotha in the Gothic story: he was therefore presumably cut off in his youth. Was it in this connection that Ostrogotha, like Thurisind or Olaf the Peacock, showed his characteristic patience?

Ben M. Angel summary: From Getica, we know that Hunuil is supposed to be the son of an early Gothic king called Ostrogotha (or if you buy into an unsourced story about Gothic-Lithuanian kinship: Austragudas) "The Patient". He was given the odd epithet "Immune to Magic" by the English Wikipedia page on Ukrainian rulers. This is unsourced, so I'm going to leave it off his name.

The idea that he was "cut off in his youth" is amusing as conjecture (Unwenes being equated with Hunuil, and Unwenes supposedly meaning "son beyond hope"), as is the conjecture that his father was Cniva but in a different name.

Hunuil's time period, according to the Wikipedia article on Ukrainian names, would fit about right with his father's migration from the present Wisla (Vistula) River valley to present Ukraine (a journey that takes today a little bit more than 24 hours by the Warsaw-Odessa train). For that reason, I've placed his birth in present Poland.

A review of the events in Hunuil's life that might have affected the Gothic people follows:

234: Alexander Severus faces German invaders in Gaul, the first such contact in his generation. His attempt to buy off the invaders was seen by his own soldiers as an attempt to pursue "a life of ease" rather than defend the Empire.

235: In the present Crimea, Tiberius Julius Ininthimeus succeeds his brother Rhescuporis IV as the next Bosporan King. His reign is regarded as the first to encounter the Goths, who quickly overwhelmed his peninsula. In the Roman Empire, the army proclaims Gaius Iulius Verus Maximinus (better known as Maximinus Thrax, a supposedly Gothic-Alanic Roman soldier) as the new Emperor and Emperor Alexander Severus is assassinated. This initiates the great Crisis of the Third Century. (His ancestry and timeline, c.173-238, would lead to interesting questions about the third century migration of the Goths from the Vistula River to present Ukraine. Likely the assertion by Sir Ronald Syme supporting Herodian's claim that he was of Thraco-Roman origin is correct.) After consolidating power, Maximinus establishes his headquarters in Sirmium in Pannonia and carries out a winter campaign against the Dacians (Carpi) and Sarmatians.

238: The Goths clearly arrive on the Black Sea by this time as they are first mentioned as sacking a Roman settlement, namely Histria (present Lake Sinoe on the present Romanian Dobruja coast). In April, disaffected soldiers besieging Aquileia assassinate Emperor Maximinus. The guilty soldiers are decapitated - their heads placed on poles and carried to Rome by cavalry. Rome afterward undergoes it's "Year of Six Emperors" as Emperor after Emperor is killed in an undeclared war for succession. Gordian III emerges as the next emperor.

240: King Ininthimeus of the Bosporan Kingdom (present Crimea) dies and is succeeded by his son Rhescuporis V. By this time, his kingdom is under intense pressure from the invading Goths, who recently arrived on the Black Sea.

242: Emperor Gordian III evacuates the Bosporan Kingdom (present Crimea) of Roman soldiers. The Goths establish the Bosporan Kingdom (under King Rhescuporis V) as its own client state after the Roman evacuation, possibly under King Ostrogotha (the name Crimea would not be applied to the peninsula until it is occupied by the Turks).

244: The Goths invade Moesia (present northern Bulgaria) while other Germanic tribes raid Pannonia. The invasion takes 4 years for the Roman Empire under Philip the Arab to repel.

248: After the Roman legions repel the Goth invasion of Moesia, the troops there rebel and proclaim Tiberius Claudius Pacatiuanus as their Emperor. Emperor Philip the Arab crushed the uprising and installs Gaius Messius Quintus Decius as governor. As Philip was celebrating the 1,000th birthday of Rome, troops along the Danube proclaim Decius as their new Emperor and march to the Imperial capital.

249: In September, Emperor Philip the Arab is killed in fighting near Verona. Decius succeeds him (he becomes known for restoring the office of censor, and for persecuting Christians).

250: The Carpi from Dacia invade the border regions between Moesia Superior and Moesia Inferior, ahead of a major invasion by Goth military leader Cniva after the late Philip the Arab refused to continue tribute payments to the Goths (started by Maximinus Thrax over a decade earlier).

251: Cniva, a Goth military leader, begins his invasion of the Roman Empire by crossing with Sarmatian and Germanic allies across the Danube River into Moesia (he may have been as old as Athal's father, Huinul). Cniva takes Phillippopolis (present Plovdiv) and begins to return with slaves and loot. Before he can make it back, Emperor Decius catches up with him, but the Roman Emperor and his army are killed in battle near present Abritus. Trebonianus Gallus, his successor, is forced to sign a treaty with the Goths under duress, restoring tribute payments for another 20 years. In Rome itself, the Plague of Cyprian erupts. Over the next 15 years, it will take the lives of up to 5,000 a day (on its worst days) in the Imperial capital. The Christians would later blame Decius' persecution of them for the outbreak (most likely smallpox).

252: Pope Cornelius is imprisoned by Emperor Gallus as persecutions of Christians continue.

253: In the Bosporan Kingdom (present Crimea), Tiberius Julius Pharsanzes (Pharsanzus) is crowned as co-ruler alongside his father, the reigning King Rhescuporis V. The Goths invade Lower Moesia again, perhaps during the period that Gallus is succeeded by Aemilian, a general on the Moesian frontier. Valerian succeeds him before the end of the year.

254: In the Bosporan Kingdom (present Crimea), Pharsanzus, co-ruler with and son of King Rhescuporis V, dies. This event may have been related to the Goths, who now clearly dominate the peninsula.

258: The Goths ravage Asia Minor (present Turkey). Uncertain if this was by land or sea. Bosporan King Rhescuporis V's son Tiberius Julius Synges is crowned co-ruler alongside his father. Not much is known of the internal activities of the Bosporan Kingdom. Inegenuus, Pannonian governor, begins his rebellion after the death of Valerian II on the Danube River. Future emperor Gallienus is quick to suppress him (the rebel leader commits suicide). The death of the governor prompts a further raid by Germanic tribes into the Empire.

260: Gepids (supposedly Goth migration stragglers) begin to appear on the borders of the Roman Empire. Emperor Valerian is captured during peace talks with Persian Emperor Shapur following the Battle of Edessa. When he dies sometime in the next four years, his skin is stuffed with straw and placed in one of the most celebrated temples of Persia as a trophy. The empire is rocked by rebellion under his successor Gallienus.

267: Over the next two years, the Goths and other tribes invade the Balkans in great numbers. The Heruli raise an armada in the northern Black Sea and raid the ports of Greece (including Athens and Sparta).

268: Claudius II is proclaimed Emperor. He repels an invasion of the Alamanni into Raetia and Italy. In the meantime, a Scythian army of Goths (both coastal Greuthungi and inland Thervingi), Gepids, and Peucini, form a new and bigger armada with the Heruli at the mouth of the Tyras (present Dniester) River. They raid Byzantium, Chrysopolis, and the Aegean islands before laying siege to Thessalonica and Cassandreia.

269: The Gothic invasion is put to an end when Claudius II defeats a barbarian coalition near Naissus (present Nis, Serbia), killing or capturing some 50,000 Goths and earning the title "Gothicus". Future Emperor Aurelian led the decisive cavalry charge in the battle. Many of those that survived eventually died of disease before returning home. Late in the year, Roman Emperor Claudius II Gothicus arrives in Sirmium (present Sremska Mitrovica in the Vojvodina region of Serbia) in preparation for an attack against the Vandals. Before it can start, the Emperor catches the Plague of Cyprian (likely smallpox) and dies early in the following year. His brother, Quintillus, rules for only days before he too was dead and replaced by Lucius Domitus Aurelianus (Emperor Aurelian).

270: Aurelian is proclaimed Emperor at Sirmium in September by the Roman Legions there, likely after arranging for Quintillus' death. He immediately carries out a campaign to expel the Vandals, Juthungi, and Sarmatians in northern Italy, and earns the title of Germanicus Maximus. Several usurpers attempt to seize power.

271: The Alamanni raid the Po River valley and occupy Placentia. With some initial difficulties, Aurelian drives them out of Italy. He then returns to the Balkans and attacks the Thervingi Goths, killing military leader Cannabaudes. This earns the Roman Emperor the title of Gothicus Maximus. Nonetheless, he carries out a strategic withdrawal of all Romans from Dacia, abandoning the province to the Thervingi and allied tribes. He organizes Moesia into a new province called Dacia Repensis, establishing Serdica as the capital.

272: Aurelian carries out a campaign against Queen Zenobia and the breakaway Palmyrene Empire (present Syria, Palestine/Israel, Egypt, and southeastern Turkey) in the Eastern Mediterranean. Queen Zenobia was captured and paraded onto the Roman streets as a captive. For this, he became known as the Restitutor Orientis.

273: Achiulf is supposedly born in Scythia, the son of Athal "The Mild", as emperor Aurelian defeats the Carpi in Dacia, earning the title Carpicus Maximus. Many Carpi prisoners, evacuated with Roman troops from Dacia (Roman citizens had likely evacuated long before this), are settled into Pannonia near present Pecs, Hungary. Nonetheless, the Carpi, also called "Free Dacians" remained a functioning entity that perhaps dominated much of evacuated Dacia (albeit under Goth protection).

274: Aurelian defeats the breakaway Gallic Empire, earning the title Restitutor Orbis. His "restoration of the world" adds 200 years to the life of the Roman Empire.

275: Aurelian is murdered at Caenophrurium (present Corlu, Turkey) by a conspiracy of high-ranking officers that appeared likely to face punishment (urged on by Zosimus, his secretary).

276: In the Bosporan Kingdom (present Crimea) Rhescuporis V's son Synges, his co-ruler, dies. The aging king brings his next eldest son Teiranes to the throne before he himself passes away. Teiranes tries to co-rule with his eldest son Sauromates IV, but his son dies before the end of the year. All that is known of Teiranes' reign is that his coinage contained a copper-based alloy not previously found in bronze and silver coins of the realm.

277: Emperor Probus, who came to succession after a brief term by Tacitus, carried out a new attack against the Thervingi Goths on the lower Danube River, defeating them. He was given the title of Gothicus. A year later, after defeating the Franks and Burgundians invading Gaul, he inflates this to Gothicus Maximus, to go along with his new title Germanicus Maximus.

278: King Teiranes of the Bosporan Kingdom crowns his son Theothorses as co-ruler.

279: In the Bosporan Kingdom, King Teiranes dies, leaving Theothorses as the sole ruler. The only thing that is known about Theothorses' reign is that his coins contained large amounts of lead in them (his sons would be the last to rule the Bosporan Kingdom). In Illyricum within the Roman Empire, Emperor Probus defeats a Vandal invasion.

282: After Emperor Probus leaves Rome to carry out a new campaign in the east, Senator and Praetorian Guard Prefect Marcus Aurelius Carus carries out a coup. When Probus sends troops to put it down, they change sides. Upon news of this mass defection reaching his headquarters in Sirmium in October, his remaining soldiers turn on him and kill him.

283: Shortly after seizing power, Emperor Carus marches eastward and carries out an attack against the Quadi and Sarmatians on the Danube River before continuing on to Asia Minor and the Persian Sassanid Empire. While there, in August, Carus is found dead after a lightning storm. His son Numerian and his brother Carinus (who had gone west) rush back to Rome to reestablish their authority.

284: Carinus returned quickly to Rome, but Numerian hardly made it to Bithynia near the Sea of Marmara when he was found dead in his carriage. Diocletian is chosen to succeed him. the new Emperor's first task was to secure the border and to purge the empire of all threats to his power - he establishes a Tetrarchy to better organize his control. At the same time, Aurelius Julianus takes possession of northern Italy and Pannonia, at least until Carinus overruns his capital of Siscia (present Sisak, Croatia).

285. In Spring, Emperor Diocletian meets with armies sent by Carinus in Moesia near present Belgrade. Carinus is killed by his own men, who turn on him during the Battle of Margus. Following this, Diocletian turns north and attacks the Quadi and Marcomanni on the Danube River. After a brief visit to Rome, the Emperor returns to meet with the Sarmatians in November near present Ptuj,Slovenia. The Sarmatians demand assistance in recovering lands lost to them within the Empire, to which Diocletian refused. Instead, he drove them off.

291: The Thervingi are described by Claudius Mermentinus as "another division of the Goths" who joined with the Taifali in a tribal confederation to attack the Vandals and Gepidae Goths (then under King Fastida).

Född: 210 Abt , södra Skandinavien