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Revision as of 01:59, 2 September 2003 by 203.252.193.13 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Hephthalite is the English transliteration of the Greek rendering of Hayathelite used by Persian writers to refer to a 6thC empire on the North & Eastern peripherey of their land. In China they were known as 厭達 (pinyin Yanda). This has been given various latinised renderings including Yeda though the Korean pronunciation Yoptal is much more recognisable and certainly closer to the original.
The chinese classic 梁職貢圖 (The Liang chih-kung-t'u) describes their origin in western China near the great wall. Other sources indicate that "Yoptal" was the name of a Yue-Chi (月氏) family who came to be the rulers of a people calling themselves Hua
According to Dr. David Nicolle, they were of Turko-Mongoloid stock.
Variations in spelling include: Ephthalites; Epthalites; Ephtalites; Eptalites.