Huns in ancient sources appear as beings worse than wild animals that came from the Far East and conquer other peoples standing in their way. Lack of information as to their origin and the motives for further aggressive conquests, an interesting explanation was made.
The history of the appearance of the Huns on the historical map is repeated by successive writers of the Eastern Roman Empire: Zozimos, Priscus and Jordanes. According to this narrative, the Goths and Huns lived in their neighbourhood, interestingly without knowing it. They were separated by the Kerch Strait, but one day a Hun bull was bitten by a thorn and it got to the other side. The Hun’s shepherd went before and, surprised by the new lands, told his companions about this fact – this was to cause the Huns to march west.
Another story tells how Hunnic hunters found their way across the Strait after a runaway cow. The fertile, huge areas encouraged the Huns to invade the Crimean Peninsula and raid Gothic centres.
Keeping fantastic history aside, if the Strait was indeed crossed, it must have happened during a cold winter, when the water was frozen.
