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Revision as of 06:46, 15 September 2003 by Zestauferov (talk | contribs) ( additional info gleamed from other articles.)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)"Hephthalite" is the English transliteration of the Greek rendering of "Hayathelite", the name used by Persian writers to refer to a 6th century empire on the northern and eastern periphery of their land. In China they were known as 厌哒 or 厭達 (pinyin Yanda). This has been given various latinised renderings, such as "Yeda", although the Korean pronunciation "Yoptal" (엽달) is much more recognisable and is certainly a much more archaic fossilisation.
The chinese classic 梁 職貢圖 describes their origin China as Hua Country (滑國) and indicates that "Yoptal" was the name of a Yuezhi (月氏) family who had come to rule a people calling themselves Hua (滑). .
They are Procopius's "White Huns" which Simokattes calls Uar (reminicient of their 滑 self designation according to the 梁 職貢圖) and are identified as the "true" Avars of the east and the true political force behind what he calls the "pseudo" Avars who eventually settled down in Transylvania. White supremacists have argued that they were "Aryan" Caucasoids and much that has been written about them has been influenced by such ideas. Various theories concerning the origin of the name Yoptal include references to the number Seven and the biblical Patriarch Japheth. However, according to many authors (for example Dr. David Nicolle, Osprey) they were of Turko-Mongoloid stock.
They were probably the "Avars" of the east in control of Uighuristan from 541-565CE. This was during the reign of the Hephthal Toramana 2 though they had a presence in Xinjiang under his predecessor Ye-dai-yi-li-tuo (507-531) even during the Juan Juan rule there (460-545). It was apparently during the reign of Ye-dai-yi-li-tuo that there was a split resulting in the western portions of Hua & Alchoni relocating their interests in the Volga region of Europe as the Avars.
Variations in spelling include "Ephthalite", "Epthalite", "Ephtalite", "Eptalite", "Hepthalite", "Hephtalite", and "Heptalite". It has been suggested that Oghur & Oghuz from which derives the Russian Yugor mean White Huns (Ak-Gunz or Aq-Guzz).