Coins of the Avars 6th-7th centuries CE imitating Ravenna mint types of Heraclius

The Pannonian Avars () were an alliance of several groups of

Eurasian nomads The Eurasian nomads were a large group of nomadic peoples from the Eurasian Steppe, who often appear in history as invaders of Europe, Western Asia, Central Asia, Eastern Asia, and South Asia. A nomad is a member of people having no permanent ab ...

of various origins. The peoples were also known as the Obri in chronicles of Rus, the Abaroi or Varchonitai ( el, Βαρχονίτες, Varchonítes), or Pseudo-Avars in

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

sources, and the Apar ( otk, 𐰯𐰺) to the

Göktürks The Göktürks, Celestial Turks or Blue Turks ( otk, 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰰:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, Türük Bodun; ; ) were a nomadic confederation of Turkic peoples in medieval Inner Asia. The Göktürks, under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan (d. 552) a ...

(). They established the Avar Khaganate, which spanned the

Pannonian Basin The Pannonian Basin, or Carpathian Basin, is a large basin situated in south-east Central Europe. The geomorphological term Pannonian Plain is more widely used for roughly the same region though with a somewhat different sense, with only th ...

and considerable areas of

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

and

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

from the late 6th to the early 9th century. The name Pannonian Avars (after the area in which they settled) is used to distinguish them from the Avars of the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historica ...

, a separate people with whom the Pannonian Avars might or might not have had links. Although the name ''Avar'' first appeared in the mid-5th century, the Pannonian Avars entered the historical scene in the mid-6th century, on the

Pontic–Caspian steppe The Pontic–Caspian steppe, formed by the Caspian steppe and the Pontic steppe, is the steppeland stretching from the northern shores of the Black Sea (the Pontus Euxinus of antiquity) to the northern area around the Caspian Sea. It extend ...

as a people who wished to escape the rule of the Göktürks. They are probably best known for their invasions and destruction in the Avar–Byzantine wars from 568 to 626 and influence on the Slavic migrations to the Balkans. Recent archaeogenetic studies indicate that the ruling class of the Pannonian Avar population had varying degrees of Northeast Asian ancestry similar to those of modern-day people from

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million ...

and the

Amur River The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeastern China (Inner Manchuria). The Amur proper is long ...

region in

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer M ...

, while the average commoner population resembled surrounding European groups. Linguistic evidence may also point to the presence of an

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

component among the migrating Avars, based on Iranian loanwords in local Slavic languages.

Origins

Avars and pseudo-Avars

The earliest clear reference to the Avar ethnonym comes from Priscus the Rhetor, who recounts that in c. 463 the Šaragurs and Onogurs were attacked by the Sabirs, who had been attacked by the Avars. In turn, the Avars had been driven off by people fleeing "man-eating

griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon ( Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail, and ...

s" coming from "the ocean" (''Priscus Fr 40''). Whilst Priscus' accounts provide some information about the ethno-political situation in the Don-

Kuban Kuban ( Russian and Ukrainian: Кубань; ady, Пшызэ) is a historical and geographical region of Southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Don Steppe, the Volga Delta and the Caucasus, and separated ...

Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catch ...

region after the demise of the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...

, no unequivocal conclusions can be reached. Denis Sinor has argued that whoever the "Avars" referred to by Priscus were, they differed from the Avars who appear a century later, during the time of

Justinian Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized '' renova ...

(who reigned from 527 to 565). The next author to discuss the Avars, Menander Protector, appeared during the 6th century and wrote of Göktürk embassies to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

in 565 and 568 AD. The Turks appeared angry at the Byzantines for having made an alliance with the Avars, whom the Turks saw as their subjects and slaves.

Turxanthos Tumgan (also known as Turkshad, Turxanthos or Turksanf) was a shad (governor prince) of the Turkic Empire (also called Göktürk) in the late 6th century. According to Edward Gibbon his name may be a title rather than a proper name. Background I ...

, a Turk prince, calls the Avars "Varchonites" and "escaped slaves of the Turks", who numbered "about 20 thousand" (''Menander Fr 43''). Many more, but somewhat confusing, details come from Theophylact Simocatta, who in c. 629, describes the final two decades of the 6th century. In particular, he claims to quote a triumph letter from Turxanthos: Avaric - Drinking Bowl - Walters 57565 - Profile

Avaric - Drinking Bowl - Walters 57565 - Profile

According to the interpretation of Dobrovits and Nechaeva, the Turks insisted that the Avars were only "pseudo-Avars", so as to boast that they were the only formidable power in the Eurasian steppe. The Göktürks claimed that the "real Avars" remained loyal subjects of the Turks, farther east. A political name *''(A)Par'' 𐰯𐰻 was indeed mentioned in inscriptions honoring

Kul Tigin , native_name_lang = otk , image = Turkic Head of Koltegin Statue (35324303410).jpg , caption = Bust of Kul Tigin found at the Khoshoo Tsaidam burial site, in Khashaat, Arkhangai Province, Orkhon River valley. Located in the Nat ...

and Bilge Qaghan, yet in Armenian sources ( Egishe Vardapet, Ghazar Parpetsi, and

Sebeos Sebeos () was a 7th-century Armenian bishop and historian. Little is known about the author, though a signature on the resolution of the Ecclesiastical Council of Dvin in 645 reads 'Bishop Sebeos of Bagratunis.' His writings are valuable as one ...

) ''Apar'' seemingly indicated "a geographical area (

Khorasan Khorasan may refer to: * Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan * Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...

), which might also intimate a political formation once there"; additionally, "'Apar-shar', that is, ''the country of the Apar''" was named after possibly

Hephthalites The Hephthalites ( xbc, ηβοδαλο, translit= Ebodalo), sometimes called the White Huns (also known as the White Hunas, in Iranian as the ''Spet Xyon'' and in Sanskrit as the ''Sveta-huna''), were a people who lived in Central Asia during th ...

, who were known as 滑 MC *''ɦˠuɛt̚'' > Ch.''Huá'' in Chinese sources. Even so, *''Apar'' could not be linked to the European Avars, notwithstanding any link, if there were, between the Hephthalites and Rourans. Furthermore, Dobrovits has questioned the authenticity of Theophylact's account. As such, he has argued that Theophylact borrowed information from Menander's accounts of Byzantine–Turk negotiations to meet political needs of his time – i.e. to castigate and deride the Avars during a time of strained political relations between the Byzantines and Avars (coinciding with Emperor Maurice's northern Balkan campaigns).

Uar, Rouran and other Central Asian peoples

According to some scholars, the Pannonian Avars originated from a confederation formed in the

Aral Sea The Aral Sea ( ; kk, Арал теңізі, Aral teñızı; uz, Орол денгизи, Orol dengizi; kaa, Арал теңизи, Aral teńizi; russian: Аральское море, Aral'skoye more) was an endorheic lake lying between Kazak ...

region, by the Uar (also known as the ''Ouar'', ''Warr'' or ''Var'') and the Xionites. The Xionites had likely been speakers of

and/or Turkic languages. The Hephthalites, affiliated previously to the Uar and Xionites, had remained in

and northern

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

. The Pannonian Avars were also known by names including ''Uarkhon'' or ''Varchonites'' – which may have been a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsJoseph de Guignes postulates a link between the Avars of European history with the

Rouran Khaganate The Rouran Khaganate, also Juan-Juan Khaganate (), was a tribal confederation and later state founded by a people of Proto-Mongolic Donghu origin.*Pulleyblank, Edwin G. (2000)"Ji 姬 and Jiang 姜: The Role of Exogamic Clans in the Organizati ...

of Inner Asia based on a coincidence between Tardan Khan's letter to Constantinople and events recorded in Chinese sources, notably the ''

Wei Shu The ''Book of Wei'', also known by its Chinese name as the ''Wei Shu'', is a classic Chinese historical text compiled by Wei Shou from 551 to 554, and is an important text describing the history of the Northern Wei and Eastern Wei from 386 to ...

'' and ''

Bei Shi The ''History of the Northern Dynasties'' () is one of the official Chinese historical works in the ''Twenty-Four Histories'' canon. The text contains 100 volumes and covers the period from 386 to 618, the histories of Northern Wei, Western We ...

''. Chinese sources state that Bumin Qaghan, founder of the

First Turkic Khaganate The First Turkic Khaganate, also referred to as the First Turkic Empire, the Turkic Khaganate or the Göktürk Khaganate, was a Turkic khaganate established by the Ashina clan of the Göktürks in medieval Inner Asia under the leadership of B ...

, defeated the Rouran, some of whom fled and joined the Western Wei. Later, Bumin's successor Muqan Qaghan defeated the Hephthalites as well as the Turkic Tiele. Superficially these victories over the Tiele, Rouran and Hephthalites echo a narrative in the ''Theophylact'', boasting of Tardan's victories over the Hephthalites, Avars and Oghurs. However, the two series of events are not synonymous: the events of the latter took place during Tardan's rule, c. 580–599, whilst Chinese sources referring to the Turk defeat of the Rouran and other Central Asian peoples occurred 50 years earlier, at the founding of the First Turkic Khaganate. It is for this reason that the linguist János Harmatta rejects the identification of the Avars with the Rouran. According to Edwin G. Pulleyblank, the name Avar is the same as the prestigious name Wuhuan in the Chinese sources. Several historians, including Peter Benjamin Golden, suggest that the Avars are of Turkic origin, likely from the Oghur branch. Another theory suggests that some of the Avars were of Tungusic origin. A study by Emil Heršak and Ana Silić suggests that the Avars were of heterogeneous origin, including mostly Turkic (Oghuric) and Mongolic groups. Later in Europe some Germanic and Slavic groups were assimilated into the Avars. They concluded that their exact origin is unknown but state that it is likely that the Avars were originally mainly composed of Turkic (Oghuric) tribes.

Steppe empire dynamics and ethnogenesis

In 2003, Walter Pohl summarized the formation of

nomadic empire Nomadic empires, sometimes also called steppe empires, Central or Inner Asian empires, were the empires erected by the bow-wielding, horse-riding, nomadic people in the Eurasian Steppe, from classical antiquity (Scythia) to the early modern era ...

s: Such views are mirrored by . "The

ethnogenesis Ethnogenesis (; ) is "the formation and development of an ethnic group". This can originate by group self-identification or by outside identification. The term ''ethnogenesis'' was originally a mid-19th century neologism that was later introd ...

of early medieval peoples of steppe origin cannot be conceived in a ''single linear'' fashion due to their great and constant mobility", with no ethnogenetic "point zero", theoretical "proto-people" or proto-language. Moreover, Avar identity was strongly linked to Avar political institutions. Groups who rebelled or fled from the Avar realm could never be called "Avars", but were rather termed "

Bulgars The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region during the 7th century. They became known as noma ...

". Similarly, with the final demise of Avar power in the early 9th century, Avar identity disappeared almost instantaneously. Savelyev and Jeong in "''Early nomads of the Eastern Steppe and their tentative connections in the West''" concluded that the initial Pannonian Avars originated in Central Asia from various ethno-linguistic groups, including

Iranian peoples The Iranian peoples or Iranic peoples are a diverse grouping of Indo-European peoples who are identified by their usage of the Iranian languages and other cultural similarities. The Proto-Iranians are believed to have emerged as a separate ...

, Ugrians, Oghur-Turks, and

Rouran The Rouran Khaganate, also Juan-Juan Khaganate (), was a tribal confederation and later state founded by a people of Proto-Mongolic Donghu origin.*Pulleyblank, Edwin G. (2000)"Ji 姬 and Jiang 姜: The Role of Exogamic Clans in the Organizat ...

tribes. They further note that "the broadly East Asian component in the archaeological record of the European Avars is limited even in the earlier period of their history; elements originating from West Asia, the Caucasus, the Southern Russian steppes and the local Central European cultures can be traced alongside each other".

Anthropology

Lamellar helmet from Niederstotzingen (reconstruction)

In contemporary art, Avars were sometimes depicted as mounted archers, riding backwards on their horses. According to mid-20th century

physical anthropologists Biological anthropology, also known as physical anthropology, is a scientific discipline concerned with the biological and behavioral aspects of human beings, their extinct hominin ancestors, and related non-human primates, particularly from an ...

such as Pál Lipták, human remains from the early Avar (7th century) period had mostly " Europoid" features, while

grave goods Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are the items buried along with the body. They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into the afterlife or offerings to the gods. Grave goods may be classed as a ...

indicated cultural links to the

Eurasian Steppe The Eurasian Steppe, also simply called the Great Steppe or the steppes, is the vast steppe ecoregion of Eurasia in the temperate grasslands, savannas and shrublands biome. It stretches through Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Transnistr ...

. Cemeteries dated to the late Avar period (8th century) included many human remains with physical features typical of East Asian people or Eurasians (i.e., people with both East Asian and European ancestry). Remains with East Asian or Eurasian features were found in about one third of the Avar graves from the 8th century. According to Lipták, 79% of the population of the Danube-Tisza region during the Avar period showed Europoid characteristics. However, Lipták used racial terms later deprecated or regarded as obsolete, such as "

Mongoloid Mongoloid () is an obsolete racial grouping of various peoples indigenous to large parts of Asia, the Americas, and some regions in Europe and Oceania. The term is derived from a now-disproven theory of biological race. In the past, other terms ...

" for northeast Asian and "

Turanid The Turanid race was a supposed sub-race of the Caucasian race in the context of a now-outdated model of dividing humanity into different races which was developed originally by Europeans in support of colonialism. The Turanid type was traditiona ...

" for individuals of mixed ancestry. Several theories suggest that the ruling class of the Avars were of Tungusic East Asian origin or of partially Tungusic origin.

Genetics

A genetic study published in ''

Scientific Reports ''Scientific Reports'' is a peer-reviewed open-access scientific mega journal published by Nature Portfolio, covering all areas of the natural sciences. The journal was established in 2011. The journal states that their aim is to assess sole ...

'' in September 2016 examined the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of 31 people buried in the Carpathian Basin between the 7th and 9th centuries. They were found to be mostly carrying European haplogroups such as H, K, T and U, while about 15% carried Asian haplogroups such as C, M6, D41c and F1a. Their mtDNA were found to be primarily characteristic of Eastern and Southern Europe. A genetic study published in the '' American Journal of Physical Anthropology'' in 2018 examined 62 individuals buried in the 8th and 9th centuries at an Avar-Slavic burial in Cífer‐Pác,

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

. Of the 46 samples of mtDNA extracted, 93% belonged to west Eurasian lineages, while 6% belonged to east Eurasian lineages. The amount of east Eurasian lineages was higher than among modern European populations, but lower than what has been found in other genetic studies on the Avars. The mtDNA of the examined individuals was found to be quite similar to medieval and modern

Slavs Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...

, and it was suggested that the mixed population examined had emerged through intermarriage between Avar males and Slavic females. A genetic study published in ''Scientific Reports'' in November 2019 examined the remains of fourteen Avar males. Eleven of them were dated to the early Avar period, and three were dated to the middle and late Avar period. The eleven early Avar males were found to be carrying the paternal haplogroups N1a1a1a1a3 (four samples), N1a1a (two samples), R1a1a1b2a (two samples), C2, G2a, and I1. The three males dated to the middle and late Avar period carried the paternal haplogroups C2, N1a1a1a1a3 and E1b1b1a1b1a. In short, mostly carried "east Eurasian Y haplogroups typical for modern north-eastern Siberian and Buryat populations". The Avars studied were all determined to have had dark eyes and dark hair, and the majority of them were found to be primarily of East Asian origin. A genetic study published in ''Scientific Reports'' in January 2020 examined the remains of 26 individuals buried at various elite Avar cemeteries in the Pannonian Basin dated to the 7th century. The mtDNA of these Avars belonged mostly to East Asian haplogroups, while the Y-DNA was exclusively of East Asian origin and "strikingly homogenous", belonging to haplogroups N-M231 and Q-M242. The evidence suggests that the Avar elite were largely

patrilineal Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritan ...

and endogamous for a period of around one century, and entered the Pannonian Basin through migrations from East Asia involving both men and women. Another 2020 study, but of Xiongnu remains in East Asia, found that the Xiongnu shared certain paternal (N1a, Q1a, R1a-Z94 and R1a-Z2124) and maternal haplotypes with the

and Avars, and suggested on this basis that they were descended from Xiongnu, who they in turn suggested were descended from Scytho-Siberians. A genetic study published in scientific journal '' Cell'' in April 2022 analyzed 48 Pannonian Avar samples from early & middle & late period, and found them to be of nearly exclusively northeast Asian origin (with predominant paternal lineage N1a1a1a1a3a-F4205, with some Q1a, Q1b, R1a, R1b and E1b subclades), with strong affinity to modern peoples inhabiting the region from

to the

Amur The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeastern China (Inner Manchuria). The Amur proper is long ...

, including a historical

sample and those from Xiongnu-Xianbei periods in the eastern Asian steppe. The Avar individuals showed their highest genetic affinity with present-day Mongolic and Tungusic peoples, as well as

Nivkhs The Nivkh, or Gilyak (also Nivkhs or Nivkhi, or Gilyaks; ethnonym: Нивхгу, ''Nʼivxgu'' (Amur) or Ниғвңгун, ''Nʼiɣvŋgun'' (E. Sakhalin) "the people"), are an indigenous ethnic group inhabiting the northern half of Sakhalin Islan ...

. A genetic study published in scientific journal ''

Current Biology ''Current Biology'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal that covers all areas of biology, especially molecular biology, cell biology, genetics, neurobiology, ecology, and evolutionary biology. The journal includes research arti ...

'' in May 2022 examined 143 Avar samples from various periods, including elite and commoners. It confirmed the Northeast Asian paternal and maternal origin for the Avar elite, with N1a-F4205 being their predominant and characteristic paternal lineage, alongside incorporated Q1a2a1 and R1a-Z94 Hunnic-Iranian remnants, and the rest belonging to local haplogroups found among surrounding populations. Autosomally, the Elite Avar samples "''preserved very ancient Mongolian pre-Bronze Age genomes, with ca 90% ncient North-East Asianancestry''", shared deep ancestry with European Huns, but although since Early Avar period started mixing with local and immigrant Hunnic-Iranian related populations, "''people with different genetic ancestries were seemingly distinguished, as samples with Hun-related genomes were buried in separate cemeteries''". The majority of the Avar Khaganate population consisted of local European peoples (EU_core) but did not display Northeast Asian admixture, supporting a model of elite dominance of arriving horse nomads over a large sedentary population. Genetic data on later Avar elite samples showed an increase of

associated ancestry, suggesting either further migration from the Western Steppe, or substructure among the initial Avars not observed before.

History

Arrival in Europe

In 557, the Avars sent an embassy to

, presumably from the northern

. This marked their first contact with the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. In exchange for gold, they agreed to subjugate the "unruly ''gentes''" on behalf of the Byzantines: subsequently they conquered and incorporated various nomadic tribes

Kutrigurs Kutrigurs were Turkic nomadic equestrians who flourished on the Pontic–Caspian steppe in the 6th century AD. To their east were the similar Utigurs and both possibly were closely related to the Bulgars. They warred with the Byzantine Empire and ...

and Sabirsand defeated the Antes. By 562 the Avars controlled the lower

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

basin and the steppes north of the Black Sea. By the time they arrived in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

, the Avars formed a heterogeneous group of about 20,000 horsemen. After the Byzantine Emperor

Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized '' renov ...

bought them off, they pushed northwestwards into

Germania Germania ( ; ), also called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman province of the same name, was a large historical region in north-c ...

. However, Frankish opposition halted the Avars' expansion in that direction. Seeking rich pastoral lands, the Avars initially demanded land south of the Danube in present-day

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

, but the Byzantines refused, using their contacts with the Göktürks as a threat against Avar aggression. The Avars turned their attention to the Carpathian Basin and to the natural defenses it afforded. The Carpathian Basin was occupied by the

Gepids The Gepids, ( la, Gepidae, Gipedae, grc, Γήπαιδες) were an East Germanic tribe who lived in the area of modern Romania, Hungary and Serbia, roughly between the Tisza, Sava and Carpathian Mountains. They were said to share the relig ...

. In 567 the Avars formed an alliance with the

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 an ...

enemies of the Gepidsand together they destroyed much of the Gepid kingdom. The Avars then persuaded the Lombards to move into

northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative region ...

, an invasion that marked the last Germanic mass-movement in the

Migration Period The Migration Period was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories by various tribes, and the establishment of the post-Roma ...

. Continuing their successful policy of turning the various barbarians against each other, the Byzantines persuaded the Avars to attack the

Sclavenes The ' (in Latin) or ' (various forms in Greek, see below) were early Slavic tribes that raided, invaded and settled the Balkans in the Early Middle Ages and eventually became the progenitors of modern South Slavs. They were mentioned by early ...

in Scythia Minor, a land rich with goods. After devastating much of the Sclavenes' land, the Avars returned to Pannonia after many of the khagan's subjects deserted to the Byzantine emperor.

Early Avar period (580–670)

By about 580, the Avar Khagan Bayan I had established supremacy over most of the Slavic, Bulgar and Germanic tribes living in Pannonia and the Carpathian Basin. When the Byzantine Empire was unable to pay subsidies or hire Avar mercenaries, the Avars raided their Balkan territories. According to Menander, Bayan commanded an army of 10,000 Kutrigur Bulgars and sacked

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see names in other languages) is one of the four historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of the Adriatic Sea, str ...

in 568, effectively cutting the Byzantine terrestrial link with northern Italy and western Europe. In the 580s and 590s, many of the imperial armies were busy fighting the Persians, and the remaining troops in the Balkans were no match for the Avars. By 582, the Avars had captured Sirmium, an important fort in Pannonia. When the Byzantines refused to increase the stipend amount as requested by Bayan's son and successor Bayan II, the Avars proceeded to capture Singidunum (Belgrade) and Viminacium. They suffered setbacks, however, during

Maurice's Balkan campaigns Maurice's Balkan campaigns were a series of military expeditions conducted by Roman Emperor Maurice (reigned 582–602) in an attempt to defend the Balkan provinces of the Roman Empire from the Avars and the South Slavs. Maurice was the only Ea ...

in the 590s. By 600 the Avars had established a nomadic empire ruling over a multitude of peoples and stretching from modern Austria in the west to the

in the east. After being defeated at the Battles of Viminacium in their homeland, some Avars defected to the Byzantines in 602, but

Emperor Maurice Maurice ( la, Mauricius or ''Mauritius''; ; 539 – 27 November 602) was Eastern Roman emperor from 582 to 602 and the last member of the Justinian dynasty. A successful general, Maurice was chosen as heir and son-in-law by his predecessor Tib ...

decided not to return home as was customary. He maintained his army camp beyond the Danube throughout the winter, but the hardship caused the army to revolt, giving the Avars a desperately needed respite and they attempted an invasion of northern Italy in 610. The Byzantine civil war prompted a Persian invasion in the Byzantine–Sasanian War, and after 615 the Avars enjoyed a free hand in the undefended Balkans. While negotiating with Emperor

Heraclius Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, led a revol ...

beneath the walls of Constantinople in 617, the Avars launched a surprise attack. While they were unable to capture the city centre, they pillaged the suburbs and took 270,000 captives. Payments in gold and goods to the Avars reached a sum of 200,000 ''

solidi The ''solidus'' (Latin 'solid'; ''solidi'') or nomisma ( grc-gre, νόμισμα, ''nómisma'', 'coin') was a highly pure gold coin issued in the Late Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire. Constantine introduced the coin, and its weigh ...

'' shortly before 626. In 626, the Avars cooperated with the

Sassanid The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...

force in the failed siege of 626. Following this defeat, the political and military power of the Avars declined. Byzantine and Frankish sources documented a war between the Avars and their western Slav clients, the Wends. In the 630s, Samo, the ruler of the first Slavic polity known as Samo's Tribal Union or Samo's realm, increased his authority over lands to the north and west of the Khaganate at the expense of the Avars, ruling until his death in 658. The '' Chronicle of Fredegar'' records that during Samo's rebellion in 631, 9,000 Bulgars led by Alciocus left Pannonia to modern-day

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

where Dagobert I massacred most of them. The remaining 700 joined the Wends. At about the time of Samo's realm, Bulgar leader Kubrat of the Dulo clan led a successful uprising to end Avar authority over the Pannonian Plain, establishing Old Great Bulgaria, or Patria Onoguria, "the homeland of Onogurs". The civil war, possibly a succession struggle in Onoguria between the Kutrigurs under Alciocus on one side and

Utigur Utigurs were Turkic nomadic equestrians who flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe in the 6th century AD. They possibly were closely related to the Kutrigurs and Bulgars. Etymology The name ''Ut(r)igur'', recorded as , and , is generally cons ...

forces on the other, raged from 631 to 632. After Alciocus fled to Bavaria, the power of the Avars' Kutrigur forces was shattered, and Kubrat established peace between the Avars and Byzantium in 632. According to

Constantine VII Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe ...

's 10th century work ''

De Administrando Imperio ''De Administrando Imperio'' ("On the Governance of the Empire") is the Latin title of a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is ("To yown son Romanos"). It is a domes ...

,'' a group of

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic ...

who had separated from the White Croats in White Croatia had also fought against the Avars, after which they organized the

Duchy of Croatia The Duchy of Croatia (; also Duchy of the Croats, hr , Kneževina Hrvata; ) was a medieval state that was established by White Croats who migrated into the area of the former Roman province of Dalmatia 7th century CE. Throughout its existenc ...

. The Unknown Archon's people from Samo's realm were also resettled at this time.

Middle (670–720) and late (720–804) Avar periods

With the death of Samo in 658 and Kubrat in 665, some Slavic tribes again came under Avar rule. Despite their father's advice, Kubrat's sons failed to maintain cohesion in Old Great Bulgaria which began to disintegrate. A few years later in the time of

Batbayan Batbayan ( bg, Батбаян) ruled the Khazarian Bulgars mentioned by Theophanes and Nicephorus after the Khazars defeated the Bulgars and Old Great Bulgaria disintegrated. There is a scholarly theory that he may have been the same person as ...

, Old Great Bulgaria dissolved into 5 branches. From western Onoguria the first group of folk moved to Ravenna under Alzeco in the 650s. According to Book II of the '' Miracles of Saint Demetrius'', a certain Avar Chagan seized his opportunity to coalesce in the regions further north in response to the secession of the Diocese of

Sirmium Sirmium was a city in the Roman province of Pannonia, located on the Sava river, on the site of modern Sremska Mitrovica in the Vojvodina autonomous provice of Serbia. First mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited by Illyria ...

in the 670s by a " Kuber" Chagan. :"Finally, the (Avar) Chagan, considering them to constitute a people with an identity of its own put, in accordance to the custom of his race, a chieftain upon them, a man by the name of Kouver. When Kouver (Chagan) learned from some of his most intimate associates the desire of the exiled Romans for their ancestral homes, he gave the matter some thought, then took them together with other peoples, i.e., the foreigners who had joined them, s is said in the Book of Moses about the Jews at the time of their exodus,with all their baggage and arms. According to what is said, they rebelled and separated themselves from the (Avar) Chagan. The (Avar) Chagan, when he learned this, set himself in pursuit of them, met them in five or six battles and, being defeated in each one by them, took flight and retired to the regions further north. After the victory, Kouver (Chagan), together with the aforementioned people, crossed the aforementioned river Danube, came to our regions and occupied the Keramesion plain." About this time, the '' Viennese chronicle'' records that in 677, the principality of

Ungvar Uzhhorod ( uk, У́жгород, , ; ) is a city and municipality on the river Uzh in western Ukraine, at the border with Slovakia and near the border with Hungary. The city is approximately equidistant from the Baltic, the Adriatic and th ...

(Ung fortress) was established in the regions further north where Kotrag's group also fled following the chaos, and a third group of Onogur-Bulgarians led by Batayan was subdued by Ziebel's emerging Khazar Empire according to Nikephoros I of Constantinople. Under Mauros, a fourth group of folk eventually settled in the present-day region of

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

. The fifth group from Onogur, Bulgaria, led by Khan Asparukh—the father of Khan Tervel—settled permanently along the Danube (c. 679–681), establishing the

First Bulgarian Empire The First Bulgarian Empire ( cu, блъгарьско цѣсарьствиѥ, blagarysko tsesarystviye; bg, Първо българско царство) was a medieval Bulgar- Slavic and later Bulgarian state that existed in Southeastern Eur ...

, stabilized by the victory at the

battle of Ongal The Battle of Ongal took place in the summer of 680 in the Ongal area, an unspecified location in and around the Danube delta near the Peuce Island, present-day Tulcea County, Romania. It was fought between the Bulgars, who had recently invaded ...

south of the eastern Carpathians. The Bulgarians turned on Byzantium who had established an alliance with Ziebel's Khazars. Although the Avar empire had diminished to half its original size, the Avar-Slav alliance consolidated their rule west from the central parts of the mid-Danubian basin and extended their sphere of influence west to the Vienna Basin. The new ethnic element marked by hair clips for pigtails; curved, single-edged sabres; and broad, symmetrical bows marks the middle Avar-Bulgar period (670–720). New regional centers, such as those near Ozora and Igar appeared. This strengthened the Avars' power base, although most of the Balkans lay in the hands of Slavic tribes since neither the Avars nor Byzantines were able to reassert control. There are very few sources that cover the last century of Avar history. They only talk about the relations between the Avars and Lombards but little about the internals of the khaganate, so information about the Carpathian Basin is mostly from archaeology. Even here, elites are almost invisible, and there is little evidence of nomadic behavior. This transformation is little understood, but may have something to do with population growth. Europe around 650

A new type of ceramics—the so-called " Devínska Nová Ves" pottery—emerged at the end of the 7th century in the region between the Middle Danube and the Carpathians. These vessels were similar to the hand-made pottery of the previous period, but wheel-made items were also found in Devínska Nová Ves sites. Large inhumation cemeteries found at

Holiare Holiare, until 1948 ''Gelér'' ( hu, Gellér, Hungarian pronunciation:) is a village and municipality in the Komárno District in the Nitra Region of south-west Slovakia. Geography The village lies at an altitude of 112 metres and covers an a ...

, Nové Zámky and other places in Slovakia, Hungary and Serbia from the period beginning around 690 show that the settlement network of the Carpathian Basin became more stable in the Late Avar period. The most popular Late Avar motifs—

s and

tendril In botany, a tendril is a specialized stem, leaf or petiole with a threadlike shape used by climbing plants for support and attachment, as well as cellular invasion by parasitic plants such as '' Cuscuta''. There are many plants that have tend ...

s decorating belts, mounts and a number of other artifacts connected to warriors—may either represent nostalgia for the lost nomadic past or evidence a new wave of nomads arriving from the Pontic steppes at the end of the 7th century. According to historians who accept the latter theory, the immigrants may have been either Onogurs or Alans. Anthropological studies of the skeletons point at the presence of a population with mongoloid features. The Khaganate in the Middle and Late periods was a product of cultural symbiosis between Slavic and original Avar elements with a Slavic language as a

lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...

or the most common language. In the 7th century, the Avar Khaganate opened a door for Slavic demographic and linguistic expansion to Adriatic and Aegean regions (see Slavic migrations to the Balkans). In the early 8th century, a new

archaeological culture An archaeological culture is a recurring assemblage of types of artifacts, buildings and monuments from a specific period and region that may constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society. The connection between thes ...

—the so-called "griffin and tendril" culture—appeared in the Carpathian Basin. Some theories, including the "double conquest" theory of archaeologist

Gyula László Gyula László ( Kőhalom, 14 March 1910 – Oradea, 17 June 1998) was a Hungarian historian, archaeologist and artist. His main work is the novel theory of "double conquest" of the Carpathian Basin by Hungarians in 5th and 9th century. The ...

, attribute it to the arrival of new settlers, such as early

Magyars Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Uralic ...

, but this is still under debate. Hungarian archaeologists Laszló Makkai and András Mócsy attribute this culture to an internal evolution of Avars resulting from the integration of the Bulgar émigrés from the previous generation of the 670s. According to Makkai and Mócsy, "the material culture—art, clothing, equipment, weapons—of the late Avar/Bulgar period evolved autonomously from these new foundations". Many regions that had once been important centers of the Avar Empire had lost their significance while new ones arose. Although Avaric

material culture Material culture is the aspect of social reality grounded in the objects and architecture that surround people. It includes the usage, consumption, creation, and trade of objects as well as the behaviors, norms, and rituals that the objects crea ...

found over much of the northern Balkans may indicate an existing Avar presence, it probably represents the presence of independent Slavs who had adopted Avaric customs. Radovan Bunardžić dated Avar-Bulgar graves excavated in Čelarevo (near Sirmium), containing skulls with Mongolian features and Judaic symbols, to the late 8th century and 9th century.

Collapse

The gradual decline of Avar power accelerated to a rapid fall. A series of Frankish campaigns, beginning from 788, ended with the conquest of the Avar realm within a decade. Initial conflict between Avars and Franks occurred soon after the Frankish deposition of Bavarian duke Tassilo III and the establishment of direct Frankish rule over

in 788. At that time, the border between Bavarians and Avars was situated on the

river Enns The Enns (, ) is a southern tributary of the river Danube, joining northward at Enns, Austria. The Enns spans , in a flat-J-shape. It flows from its source near the village Flachau, generally eastward through Radstadt, Schladming, and Liezen, then ...

. An initial Avarian incursion into Bavaria was repelled, and Franco-Bavarian forces responded by taking the war to neighbouring Avarian territories, situated along the Danube, east of Enns. The two sides collided near the river Ybbs, on Ybbs Field (german: Ybbsfeld), where the Avars suffered a defeat in 788. This heralded the rise of Frankish power and Avarian decline in the region. In 790, the Avars tried to negotiate a peace settlement with the Franks, but no agreement was reached. A Frankish campaign against the Avars, initiated in 791, ended successfully for the Franks. A large Frankish army, led by

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first E ...

, crossed from Bavaria into the Avarian territory beyond the Enns, and started to advance along the Danube in two columns, but found no resistance and soon reached the region of the Vienna Woods, near the Pannonian Plain. No pitched battle was fought, since the Avars had fled before the advancing Carolingian army, while disease left most of the Avar horses dead. Tribal infighting began, showing the weakness of the khaganate. The Franks had been supported by the Slavs, who established polities on former Avar territory. Charlemagne's son

Pepin of Italy Pepin or Pippin (or ''Pepin Carloman'', ''Pepinno'', April 777 – 8 July 810), born Carloman, was the son of Charlemagne and King of the Lombards (781–810) under the authority of his father. Pepin was the second son of Charlemagne by his th ...

captured a large, fortified encampment known as "the Ring", which contained much of the spoils from earlier Avar campaigns. The campaign against the Avars again gathered momentum. By 796, the Avar chieftains had surrendered and became open to the acceptance of Christianity. In the meantime, all of Pannonia was conquered. According to the '' Annales Regni Francorum'', the Avars began to submit to the Franks in 796. The song "''

De Pippini regis Victoria Avarica ''Rythmus'' (or ''Carmen'') ''de Pippini regis Victoria Avarica'' ("Poem ongof king Pippin's Avar victory"), also known by its incipit as ''Omnes gentes qui fecisti'' ("All peoples whom you created"), is a medieval Latin encomium celebrating the ...

''" celebrating the defeat of the Avars at the hands of

in 796 still survives. The Franks baptized many Avars and integrated them into the

Frankish Empire Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...

. In 799, some Avars revolted. In 804,

conquered the southeastern Avar lands in

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the A ...

and southeastern Pannonia up to the Middle Danube, and many Avars became subjects of the

Bulgarian Empire In the medieval history of Europe, Bulgaria's status as the Bulgarian Empire ( bg, Българско царство, ''Balgarsko tsarstvo'' ) occurred in two distinct periods: between the seventh and the eleventh centuries and again between the ...

. Khagan Theodorus, a convert to Christianity, died after asking Charlemagne for help in 805; he was succeeded by Khagan

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Je ...

, who was baptized as the new Frankish client (and should not be assumed from his name alone to have been Khavar rather than Pseudo-Avar). Abraham was succeeded by Khagan (or Tudun)

Isaac Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was ...

(Latin ''Canizauci''), about whom little is known. The Franks turned the Avar lands under their control into a frontier march. The March of Pannoniathe eastern half of the Avar Marchwas then granted to the Slavic Prince Pribina, who established the Lower Pannonia principality in 840. Whatever was left of Avar power was effectively ended when the

expanded their territory into the central and eastern portions of traditional Avar lands around 829. According to Pohl, an Avar presence in Pannonia is certain in 871, but thereafter the name is no longer used by chroniclers. Pohl wrote, "It simply proved impossible to keep up an Avar identity after Avar institutions and the high claims of their tradition had failed", although Regino wrote about them in 889. The growing amount of archaeological evidence in Transdanubia also presumes an Avar population in the Carpathian Basin in the late 9th century. Archaeological findings suggest a substantial, late Avar presence on the Great Hungarian Plain, however it is difficult to determine their proper chronology. The preliminary results of the new excavations also imply that the known and largely accepted theory of the destruction of the Avar settlement area is outdated; a disastrous depopulation of the Avar Khaganate never happened. Byzantine records, including the "''Notitia episcopatuumî''", the "''Additio patriarchicorum thronorumî''" by Neilos Doxapatres, the "''Chronica''" by Petrus Alexandrinus and the "''Notitia patriarchatuum''" mention the 9th century Avars as an existing Christian population. The Avars had already been mixing with the more numerous Slavs for generations, and they later came under the rule of external polities, such as the Franks, Bulgaria, and

Great Moravia Great Moravia ( la, Regnum Marahensium; el, Μεγάλη Μοραβία, ''Meghálī Moravía''; cz, Velká Morava ; sk, Veľká Morava ; pl, Wielkie Morawy), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavic to ...

. Fine presumes that Avar descendants who survived the Hungarian Conquest in the 890s were likely absorbed by the Hungarian population. After the mid to late 8th-century Frankish conquest of Pannonia, Avar and Bulgar refugees migrated to settle in the area of Bulgaria and along its western periphery. The Avars in the region known as ''solitudo avarorum''currently called the Great Hungarian Plainvanished in an arc of three generations. They slowly merged with the Slavs to create a bilingual Turkic-Slavic-speaking people who were subjected to Frankish domination; the invading Magyars found this composite people in the late 9th century. The ''

'', written around 950 and based on older documents, states that "there are still descendants of the Avars in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

, and are recognized as Avars". Modern historians and archaeologists until now proved the opposite, that Avars never lived in Dalmatia proper (including

Lika Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east b ...

), that statement occurred somewhere in Pannonia, and the information belongs to the 9th century. There has been speculation that the modern Avar people of the Caucasus might have an uncertain connection to the historical Avars, but direct descent from them is rejected or doubted by many scholars.

List of known khagans

The recorded Avar khagans were: * Kandik (c.552 - c.562) * Bayan I (562—602) * Bayan II (602—617) * Brother of Bayan II, unknown name (617—630) * Kouver Chagan (677-?) * Theodorus (795—814) *

(814—?) * Isaac (?—835)

Social and tribal structure

The Pannonian Basin was the centre of the Avar power base. The Avars resettled captives from the peripheries of their empire to more central regions. Avar material culture is found south to Macedonia. However, to the east of the Carpathians, there are next to no Avar archaeological finds, suggesting that they lived mainly in the western Balkans. Scholars propose that a highly structured and hierarchical Avar society existed, having complex interactions with other "barbarian" groups. The khagan was the paramount figure, surrounded by a minority of nomadic aristocracy. A few exceptionally rich burials have been uncovered, confirming that power was limited to the khagan and a close-knit class of "elite warriors". In addition to hoards of gold coins that accompanied the burials, the men were often buried with symbols of rank, such as decorated belts, weapons, stirrups resembling those found in central Asia, as well as their horse. The Avar army was composed from numerous other groups: Slavic, Gepidic and Bulgar military units. There also appeared to have existed semi-independent "client" (predominantly Slavic) tribes which served strategic roles, such as engaging in diversionary attacks and guarding the Avars' western borders abutting the Frankish Empire. Initially, the Avars and their subjects lived separately, except for Slavic and Germanic women who married Avar men. Eventually, the Germanic and Slavic peoples were included in the Avaric social order and culture, which was Persian-Byzantine in fashion. Scholars have identified a fused Avar-Slavic culture, characterized by ornaments such as half-moon-shaped earrings, Byzantine-styled buckles, beads, and bracelets with horn-shaped ends.

Paul Fouracre Paul J. Fouracre is professor emeritus of medieval history at the University of Manchester. His research interests relate to early medieval history, the history of the Franks, law and custom in medieval societies, charters, hagiography and serf-lor ...

notes, " ere appears in the seventh century a mixed Slavic-Avar material culture, interpreted as peaceful and harmonious relationships between Avar warriors and Slavic peasants. It is thought possible that at least some of the leaders of the Slavic tribes could have become part of the Avar aristocracy". Apart from the assimilated Gepids, a few graves of

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippi ...

peoples have been found in the Avar lands. They perhaps served as mercenaries.

Language

The language or languages spoken by the Avars are unknown. However, linguistic evidence suggests that the Avars were connected to the Altaic sprachbund in some way. For example, classical

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined ...

Samu Szádeczky-Kardoss states that most of the Avar words used in contemporaneous

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

or Greek texts appear to have their origins in possibly Mongolian or

Turkic languages The Turkic languages are a language family of over 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia ( Siberia), and Western Asia. The Turki ...

. Other theories propose a Tungusic origin. According to Szádeczky-Kardoss, many of the titles and ranks used by the Pannonian Avars were also used by Turks,

Proto-Bulgars The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region during the 7th century. They became known as noma ...

Uighurs The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghu ...

and/or

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

, including ''

khagan Khagan or Qaghan (Mongolian:; or ''Khagan''; otk, 𐰴𐰍𐰣 ), or , tr, Kağan or ; ug, قاغان, Qaghan, Mongolian Script: ; or ; fa, خاقان ''Khāqān'', alternatively spelled Kağan, Kagan, Khaghan, Kaghan, Khakan, Khakhan ...

'' (or ''kagan''), ''

khan Khan may refer to: *Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan *Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name *Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...

, kapkhan, tudun, tarkhan'', and ''

khatun Khatun ( Mongolian: хатан; otk, 𐰴𐰍𐰣, katun; ota, خاتون, hatun or قادین ''kadın''; fa, خاتون ''khātūn''; ; hi, ख़ातून ') is a female title of nobility and counterpart to "khan" or " Khagan" promine ...

''. There is also evidence, however, that ruling and subject clans spoke a variety of languages. Proposals by scholars include Caucasian,

, Tungusic, Hungarian and Turkic. A few scholars speculated that Proto-Slavic became the

of the Avar Khaganate. Historian

has suggested that the late 9th-century Pannonian Avars spoke a variety of Old Hungarian, thereby forming an Avar-Hungarian continuity with then-newly arrived

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the ...

. Based on archeologic and linguistic data, Florin Curta and Johanna Nichols concluded that there is no conceiving evidence for the presence of any Turkic or Mongolic languages among the Avars, but evidence for the presence of

Iranian languages The Iranian languages or Iranic languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau. The Iranian languages are groupe ...

, further strengthened by Iranian-derived loanwords and toponyms in the region and among languages within the range of the Avars.Curta, Florin (2004). "The Slavic lingua franca (Linguistic notes of an archaeologist turned historian)". ''East Central Europe/L'Europe du Centre-Est''. 31: 125–148. Retrieved 29 May 2015.

Warfare

The Avars were skilled warriors and almost exclusively fought on horseback. They often used light horse archers armed with powerful composite bows, as many other steppe peoples. These archers wore little to no armour, besides occasional helmets or knee guards. The Avars also employed the use of heavy cavalry, fully armoured in chainmail or scale armour as well as helmets. These heavier troops were armed with long lances, swords, and daggers. Upon subjugating the Slavic tribes in Pannonia, they often allied with the Slavs and employed them as foot soldiers even together laying siege to Constantinople, along with large numbers of Persians. These Slav warriors were usually armed with bows, axes, various types of spears, and round shields. The Byzantine Emperor Maurice wrote of the Avars and other nomad peoples in the Strategikon:

Avar-Hungarian continuity theory

Gyula László suggests that late Avars, arriving to the khaganate in 670 in great numbers, lived through the time between the destruction and plunder of the Avar state by the Franks during 791–795 and the arrival of the Magyars in 895. László points out that the settlements of the Hungarians (Magyars) complemented, rather than replaced, those of the Avars. Avars remained on the plough fields, good for agriculture, while Hungarians took the river banks and river flats, suitable for pasturage. He also notes that while the Hungarian graveyards consist of 40–50 graves on average, those of the Avars contain 600–1,000. According to these findings, the Avars not only survived the end of the Avar polity but lived in great masses and far outnumbered the Hungarian conquerors of

Árpád Árpád (; 845 – 907) was the head of the confederation of the Magyar tribes at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries. He might have been either the sacred ruler or '' kende'' of the Hungarians, or their military leader or '' g ...

. He also shows that Hungarians occupied only the centre of the Carpathian basin, but Avars lived in a larger territory. Looking at those territories where only the Avars lived, there are only Hungarian geographical names, not Slavic or Turkic as would be expected interspersed among them. This is further evidence for the Avar-Hungarian continuity. Names of the Hungarian tribes, chieftains and the words used for the leaders, etc., suggest that at least the leaders of the Hungarian conquerors were Turkic speaking. However, Hungarian is not a Turkic language, rather

Uralic The Uralic languages (; sometimes called Uralian languages ) form a language family of 38 languages spoken by approximately 25million people, predominantly in Northern Eurasia. The Uralic languages with the most native speakers are Hungarian lan ...

, and so they must have been assimilated by the Avars that outnumbered them. László's Avar-Hungarian continuity theory posits that the modern

Hungarian language Hungarian () is an Uralic language spoken in Hungary and parts of several neighbouring countries. It is the official language of Hungary and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. Outside Hungary, it is also spoken by Hungar ...

descends from that spoken by the Avars rather than the conquering Magyars. Based on DNA evidence from graves, the original Magyars most resembled modern Bashkirs, a Turkic people located near the Urals, whereas the Khanty and Mansi, whose languages most resemble Hungarian, live some ways to the northeast of the Bashkirs.

Notes

References

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- YouTube
Documentary with Gyula László in Hungarian, on state television channel Duna. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * p. 221 * * * *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avar States and territories established in the 560s States and territories disestablished in the 820s Medieval Bulgaria Ancient peoples of Russia Hungary in the Early Middle Ages Romania in the Early Middle Ages Moldova in the Early Middle Ages Avars Migration Period Medieval ethnic groups of Europe Barbarian kingdoms Turco-Mongol 6th-century establishments in Europe 9th-century disestablishments in Europe 560s establishments 820s disestablishments