a title from *qara-tun, meaning "black people", with black referencing the direction north. Maenchen-Helfen also suggests an Iranian etymology as an potential alternative, with chara- deriving from a word akin to Parthian hara, xara (dark), as in the Parthian name Charaspes. He further notes that the -ton element is also found in the Scythian name Sardonius and the Ossetian name Syrdon. References Sources Hunnic rulers 5th-century monarchs in Europe 5th-century Hunnic rulers