The nomadic Huns (Hunni) appeared from beyond the Volga. No agreement has been reached on the location of their homeland.

The earliest source is Ammianus Marcellinus (c. 395 CE). He describes primitive pastoralists herding cattle and horses but not practising agriculture. Food supplements came from hunting and gathering. Animal skins and linen (traded from foreign peoples) were used for clothing. They are reported to have spent a great deal of time on horseback. Ammianus states that they had no kings and no overall leaders. They are reported to have followed "primates" about who's powers we are totally ignorant. Jordanes contradicts this be telling us that the Hunnish attack on the Ostrogoths was lead by Balamber. Tombs found in the Dnieper region have been assigned to the Huns. The richness of these tombs does not sit well with Ammianus's description of their poverty. The first invasions cover the five years from 372 to 377