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Revision as of 02:10, 2 September 2003 by Cyan (talk | contribs) (wikify, bold, grammar, phrasing)(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 peripherey of their land. In China they were known as 厭達 (pinyin Yanda). This has been given various latinised renderings, such as "Yeda", although the Korean pronunciation "Yoptal" is much more recognisable and is 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-Zhi (月氏) family who became 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", and "Eptalites".