A new linguistic study has revealed that the European Huns, including their famous leader Attila, were not Turkic in origin as once believed, but instead spoke an ancient Siberian language.
This surprising discovery reshapes what we know about the Huns and their ancestors, linking them to a group of early peoples from Siberia known as the Yeniseians.
The research was conducted by Dr. Svenja Bonmann from the University of Cologne and Dr. Simon Fries from the University of Oxford.
Their findings, published in the journal Transactions of the Philological Society, suggest that both the European Huns and their Asian ancestors—the Xiongnu—spoke a now nearly extinct language called Arin.
Arin belongs to the Yeniseian family of Paleo-Siberian languages, which existed long before other groups such as the Turkic, Uralic, and Tungusic peoples spread into the region.
The Xiongnu were a powerful tribal confederation that ruled parts of Inner Asia between the 3rd century BCE and 2nd century CE.
Archaeological evidence, including the likely discovery of their capital city Long Cheng in Mongolia, confirms their influence.
Later, in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, the Huns emerged in southeastern Europe, establishing a brief but important empire that left a lasting mark on European history.
Until now, historians assumed that the Huns spoke a Turkic language because Turkic peoples began expanding into Inner Asia around the 7th century CE. But Bonmann and Fries found clues in names, Chinese historical records, and place names that all pointed to a different story.
The pieces came together to show that the Huns’ language predates Turkic migrations and actually had a strong influence on early Turkic speech.
In fact, the Arin language may have held high status in ancient Inner Asia, possibly used by ruling elites such as the Xiongnu royal family.
One especially interesting finding is the name of Attila the Hun. Previously thought to be a Germanic nickname meaning “little father,” the researchers propose that it could instead come from the Yeniseian language, meaning something like “swift” or “quick.”
Their work also explains how the Huns might have migrated west into Europe. By tracing ancient place and river names, the researchers could map the path of Arin-speaking peoples from the Altai-Sayan region in Siberia toward the West.
This study doesn’t just change the story of the Huns—it also highlights how the study of languages can uncover new chapters of human history. As Dr. Fries puts it, linguistics, like archaeology and genetics, is a powerful tool for understanding our past.
