Khingila I (Bactrian: χιγγιλο Khingilo, Brahmi script:Khi-nngi-la Name of Alchon ruler Khingila in the Brahmi script 430-490 CE.jpg Khi-ṇgi-la, Middle Chinese: 金吉剌 Kim kjit lat, Persian: شنگل Shengel; c.430-490) was the founding king of the Hunnic Alkhan dynasty (Bactrian: αλχανο, Middle Chinese: 嚈噠). He was a contemporary of Khushnavaz (fl. 484).

Rule

In response to the migration of the Wusun (who were hard-pressed by the Rouran) from Zhetysu to the Pamir region, Khingila united the Uars and the Xionites in 460AD, establishing the Hepthalite dynasty. According to the Syrian compilation of Church Historian Zacharias Rhetor (c. 465, Gaza – after 536), bishop of Mytilene, the need for new grazing land to replace that lost to the Wusun led Khingila's "Uar-Chionites" to displace the Sabirs to the west, who in turn displaced the Saragur, Ugor and Onogur, who then asked for an alliance and land from Byzantium. In his coin in the Brahmi script, Khingila uses the legend "God-King Khingila" (Gupta ashoka hi.jpgKhi-nngi-la Name of Alchon ruler Khingila in the Brahmi script 430-490 CE.jpg, Deva Shahi Khingila). A "Seal of Khingila" is known, with legend in the Bactrian language, but it is uncertain if it belonged to Khingila, or another ruler of the same name. Khingila is also known from a Brahmi inscription, the Talagan copper scroll.

Artifacts