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{{Short description|4th century king of the Xionites}}

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Grumbates or Krumbates was a king of the Chionitae, probably of the Kidarites tribe, an ancient nomadic tribe of Transoxiana.

Etymology

The exact origin of his name is not fully known. Hyun Jin Kim etymologized his name as *Qurum-pat, "ruling prince";BOOK, Hyun Jin, Kim, Hyun Jin Kim, The Huns, Rome and the Birth of Europe, {{google books, y, jCpncXFzoFgC, 37, |date=18 April 2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-00906-6 |p=37}}BOOK, Hans Robert, Roemer, Wolfgang-Ekkehard, Scharlipp, Philologiae Turcicae fundamenta. T. 3, Philologiae et historiae Turcicae fundamenta / ed. Louis Bazin ; György Hazai. History of the Turkic peoples in the pre-Islamic period, {{google books, y, Ym5tAAAAMAAJ, 273, |year=2000|publisher=Franciscum Steiner|isbn=978-3-87997-283-8|p=273}} containing Iranian element pat "chieftain, ruler"BOOK, Byzantinoslavica, {{google books, y, kZrRAAAAMAAJ, 181, |year=1973|publisher=Academia}} and Turkic qurum "rule, leadership, administration"BOOK, Materialia Turcica, {{google books, y, CJ5pAAAAMAAJ, 25, |year=1984|publisher=Studienverlag Brockmeyer|p=25}}BOOK, Kommission für die Altertumskunde Mittel- und Nordeuropas, Untersuchungen zu Handel und Verkehr der vor- und frühgeschichtlichen Zeit in Mittel- und Nordeuropa: Der Handel der Karolinger- und Wikingerzeit, {{google books, y, bAwUAQAAMAAJ, 74, |year=1985|publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht|isbn=978-3-525-82441-2|p=74}} which is attested in the name of Bulgarian khan Krum.

Attacks on the Sasanian Empire

The Kidarite king Grumbates mentioned by Ammianus Marcellinus was a cause of much concern to the Persians. Between 353 AD and 358 CE, the Xionites under Grumbates attacked in the eastern frontiers of Shapur II's empire along with other nomad tribes. After a prolonged struggle they were forced to conclude a peace, and their king Grumbates accompanied Shapur II in the war against the Romans.

Alliance with Shapur II against the Romans

File:Diyarbakirwalls2.jpg|thumb|The walls of Amida, built by Constantius II before the Siege of Amida of 359, in which Grumbates participated. Ammianus himself was present in the city until a day before its fall.]]Grumbates thus participated in the Siege of Amida in 359 CE as an ally of Shapur II.BOOK, Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae, 1982, Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA, 18.8.2, Sassanian Iran- economy, society, arts and crafts, N.N.Chegini and A.V. Nikitin, History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The crossroads of civilizations, (UNESCO, 1996), 38. His participation to the Sasanian campaign in the Eastern Caspian lands are described by Ammianus Marcellinus, who was inside the fortress of Amida at the time:History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Ahmad Hasan Dani, B. A. Litvinsky, Unesco p.38 sqThe son of Grumbates, while inspecting the defences of Amida, was shot and killed with an arrow shot by the city garrison.BOOK, Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae, 19.1.7, Ammianus described how the Grumbates, outraged at his son's death, demanded revenge from the Romans: he compares the death to that of Patroclus at Troy. The Sassanids began the attack with siege towers and attempted to take the city hastily, but were largely unsuccessful. Unable to gain a quick victory, Shapur II had to commit to capturing Amida in order to appease his ally Grumbates.

References

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Sources

• weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160730153539weblink">Turks in Transoxiana, Richard N. Frye
• Richard N. Frye, Turks in Transoxiana