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Europe in 600 AD, showing the Onogurs and their neighbors.

The Onogurs, also known as (Bulgar) Utigurs, were a horde of equestrian nomads in the North Eurasian steppe east of the Don River (Russia) during the 5th to 8th centuries. The Onogurs crossed the Volga and entered into Europe around the year 460 within the larger context of the Great Migrations and the Turkic expansion.

In a old Turkic language interpretation of Onogurs: On~Ono means "10" and Gar~Gurs~Gur~Gundur, mean "tribes", so Onogurs means "People of 10 tribes" or "People of 10 Arrows". Hungarians call the tribes as being the following: 3 tribes (Ság, Ladány, Berény-Tárkány - the Kabar federation) settled in Hungarian Transilvania plus 7 tribes (Megyer~Magyar~Madar~Madjar~Muageris -the dominant tribe-, Jenő, Keszi, Nyék, Kér, Tarján and Kürt~Kubat~Kubrat) settled in Pannonia.^{[citation needed]} A common misunderstanding that has arisen is the identification of the onogurs as Bulgars, since "bul-gar" could derive from a parallel wording: Bul~Bol meaning "Many" and Gar~Gurs~Gur~Gundur meaning "Tribe", thus the "people of 10 tribes" is easily misidentified as the "People of many tribes" or "Bulgars". There is also a historical relationship between Onogurs and the Khazars Empire, until the breakdown of Great Prince Arpad Almos.^[1]

Etymology[link]

The name Onogur is analyzed as On-Oğuz "ten (tribes of the) Oğuz". The 7th-century tribal alliance of Old Great Bulgaria was also known as the Onogundur-Bulgar Empire (or in its western version Onoguria). It is uncertain whether they should be considered identical to the Onogundurs.^{[clarification needed][2]}

Hungarians and Onogurs[link]

The name of Hungary and the name of the Hungarian people are also connected with the term of Onogur,^[3] because in the western European languages the Hungarians (Magyars) are called Onogurs (e.g. Ungarn, Hongrie, Hongar, Ungherese).^[3] The Magyars must have belonged to the Onogur tribal alliance and likely they became its ethnic majority.^[3]

Hungor & Maugor[link]

The Onogurs were ethnically closely related and allied to the Cozarig-Bulgar tribes the legend being that the Onogurs and Bulgars descended from princes of Kush: Hungor & Maugor. Maugor has recently been identified as Muageris.^{[citation needed]}
The legend of Hunor and Magor is a part of the Hungarian folklore as well.

See also[link]

• Bulgars
• Huns
• Khazars
• Kutrigurs
• Utigurs
• Hungarian prehistory

References[link]