tribal confederation · Central Asia and the Steppe

Onogurs

463 CE – 632 CE (approx.)

Oghur Turkic nomads of the Pontic steppe whose name survives in the word 'Hungary', and from whom the Bulgars of Kubrat emerged.

Origins

The Onogurs, meaning 'ten Oghurs', are first recorded in 463 when, with the Saragurs and Urogs, they sent envoys to Constantinople after being driven west by the Sabirs. They settled in the steppe between the Kuban, the Sea of Azov and the lower Don, in contact with the Caucasus and Byzantine Crimea.

Rule and society

They were a tribal confederation of pastoral nomads organised into ten tribes under chieftains. Byzantine writers record their dealings with Constantinople and their conversion attempts; their leader Organa and his nephew Kubrat had ties to the Byzantine court. In the late 6th century they came under the Western Turkic Khaganate, alongside the Utigurs and Kutrigurs.

Decline and legacy

Around 632 Kubrat threw off Turkic rule and united Onogurs, Utigurs and Kutrigurs as Old Great Bulgaria. After his death the Khazars scattered it, and his sons led groups to the Danube and Volga. The Onogur name, through Slavic and Latin, gave Europe its name for the Hungarians.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Lineage

OnogursOld Great Bulgaria 632 CE – 668 CE

Connections (1)

More states of Central Asia and the Steppe →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Onogurs. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/onogurs
MLA
“Onogurs.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/onogurs. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Onogurs.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/onogurs.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Onogurs’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/onogurs (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻