In the early 500s he commanded a group of bandits in Pannonia, eventually allying himself to the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great.
[4][a] Pritsak also argues that Mundus's father, Giesmus, had a name derived ultimately from the Turkic–Mongolian root kes/käs (protector, bestower of favor, blessing, good-fortune).
[18] Stefan Krautschik instead argues that the Gepid royal family and the Attilid dynasty were likely connected by marriage.
[14] According to Amory, Mundus could have had ancestors who thought of themselves as Goths, Gepids, or Huns, from among which he and others could have chosen as needed.
[19] After his father's death, Mundus was raised by his maternal uncle Thraustila, who likely succeeded Giesmus.
[21] after Thraustila was succeeded by his son Traseric, Mundus came to lead a group of bandits in Pannonia.
[2][24] In 535, with the outbreak of the Gothic War, Mundus was sent to Dalmatia and conquered the city of Salona (Split) from the Goths.