The Avar–Byzantine wars were a series of conflicts between 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 ...

and the Avar Khaganate. The conflicts were initiated in 568, after the Avars arrived in Pannonia, and claimed all the former land of 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 religion ...

and

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 ...

as their own. This led to an unsuccessful attempt to seize the city 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 Illyrian ...

from Byzantium, which had previously retaken it from the Gepids. Most subsequent conflicts came as a result of raids by the Avars, or their subject Slavs, into the Balkan provinces of the Byzantine Empire. The Avars usually raided the Balkans when the Byzantine Empire was distracted elsewhere, typically in its frequent wars with the Sassanid Empire in the East. As a result, they often raided without resistance for long periods of time, before Byzantine troops could be freed from other fronts to be sent on punitive expeditions. This happened during the 580s and 590s, where Byzantium was initially distracted in the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 572–591, but then followed up by a series of successful campaigns that pushed the Avars back.

Background

The Avars arrived in the

Carpathian Basin The Pannonian Basin, or Carpathian Basin, is a large Sedimentary basin, basin situated in south-east Central Europe. The Geomorphology, geomorphological term Pannonian Plain is more widely used for roughly the same region though with a somewh ...

in 568, fleeing from the First Turkic Khaganate. They quickly entered into an alliance with the

to seize the land of the

. However, during this process, the Lombards retreated to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, allowing the Avars to take both the lands of the Gepids and the former lands of the Lombards for themselves, creating the Avar Khaganate. The Avars then claimed all former territory of both as their own territory. This included

, which had been recently reconquered by the Byzantines from the Gepids, and would serve as the first cause of conflict between the Avars and the Byzantines. The Avars were heavily dependent upon the skills and labor of their subject peoples for both

siege warfare A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterize ...

and

logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

. Subject peoples, such as the

early Slavs The early Slavs were a diverse group of tribal societies who lived during the Migration Period and the Early Middle Ages (approximately the 5th to the 10th centuries AD) in Central and Eastern Europe and established the foundations for the S ...

and the Huns, had long traditions of engineering and craftsmanship, such as the building of boats and bridges, and the use of

rams In engineering, RAMS (reliability, availability, maintainability and safety)tortoise formations, and

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

in sieges. In every documented use of siege engines by the Avars, the Avars depended upon subject peoples who had knowledge of them, usually the

Sabirs The Sabirs (Savirs, Suars, Sawar, Sawirk among others; el, Σάβιροι) were nomadic people who lived in the north of the Caucasus beginning in the late-5th -7th century, on the eastern shores of the Black Sea, in the Kuban area, and possibly ...

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 an ...

, or Slavs. Avar military tactics also relied upon speed and shock.

Avar attacks on Sirmium (568–582)

The Avars almost immediately launched an attack on Sirmium in 568, but were repulsed. The Avars withdrew their troops back to their own territory, but allegedly sent 10,000 Kotrigur Huns, a people who like the Avars had been forced into the Carpathians by the Turkic Khaganate, to invade the Byzantine province of Dalmatia. They then began a period of consolidation, during which the Byzantines paid them 80,000 gold

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 weig ...

a year. Except for a raid on Sirmium in 574, they did not threaten Byzantine territory until 579, after Tiberius II stopped the payments. The Avars retaliated with another siege of Sirmium. The city fell in , or possibly 582. After the capture of Sirmium, the Avars demanded 100,000 solidi a year. Refused, they began pillaging the northern and eastern Balkans, which only ended after the Avars were pushed back by the Byzantines from 597 to 602.

Avar offensive in the Balkans (582–591)

After capturing Sirmium, the Avars began to rapidly encroach into the Balkans. Their rapid spread was facilitated by the ongoing Byzantine–Sasanian War of 572–591, which left the Byzantine garrisons on the Danube frontier under-manned and underpaid. Because of this, the Avars and Slavs were able to raid without resistance, with the Byzantines only being able to harass raiding columns and set small ambushes, rather than forcing a decisive victory or launching a counteroffensive. The Avars took the cities of Augustae,

Singidunum Singidunum ( sr, Сингидунум/''Singidunum'') was an ancient city which later evolved into modern Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. The name is of Celtic origin, going back to the time when Celtic tribe Scordisci settled the area in the 3r ...

, and

Viminacium Viminacium () or ''Viminatium'', was a major city (provincial capital) and military camp of the Roman province of Moesia (today's Serbia), and the capital of ''Moesia Superior'' (hence once a metropolitan archbishopric, now a Latin titular see). ...

in 583, and a further eight cities by siege in 586. Many of these sieges relied upon the Avars utilizing both surprise and speed, advantages which they lost after they moved further inland in 587. Nevertheless, they destroyed many cities in Moesia in 587 including

Marcianopolis Marcianopolis or Marcianople (Greek: Μαρκιανούπολις), also known as Parthenopolis was an ancient Greek, then Roman capital city and archbishopric in Moesia Inferior. It is located at the site of modern-day Devnya, Bulgaria. The a ...

and

Kabile Kabile ( bg, Кабиле), Cabyle, or Kabyle is a village in southeastern Bulgaria, part of the Tundzha municipality, Yambol Province. The ancient Thracian city of Kabyle was one of the most important and largest towns in Thrace and its arc ...

though they failed in the sieges of Diocletianopolis, Philippopolis, and Beroe. In 588, they abandoned the siege of Singidunum after only seven days, in exchange for a meagre ransom. After this they succeeded at the siege of Anchialos, with the support of a fleet manned by Slavic auxiliaries, they then started and quickly abandoned the sieges of Drizipera and Tzurullon. The Avars and Slavs continued to raid with little resistance until 591, when Emperor Maurice made a ceasefire treaty with the Sassanids in a fairly favorable terms, and shifted his focus to the Balkans.

Roman counteroffensive (591–595)

After the peace treaty with the Persians and subsequent Roman refocusing on the Balkans as mentioned above, Maurice deployed veteran troops to the Balkans, allowing the Byzantines to shift from a reactive strategy to a pre-emptive one. The general

Priscus Priscus of Panium (; el, Πρίσκος; 410s AD/420s AD-after 472 AD) was a 5th-century Eastern Roman diplomat and Greek historian and rhetorician (or sophist)...: "For information about Attila, his court and the organization of life general ...

was tasked with stopping the Slavs from crossing the Danube in spring 593. He routed several raiding parties, before he crossed the Danube and fought the Slavs in what is now

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

until autumn. Maurice ordered him to make camp on the northern bank of the Danube, however Priscus instead retired to Odessos. Priscus' retreat allowed for a new Slav incursion in late 593/594 in Moesia and Macedonia, with the towns of Aquis,

Scupi Scupi (''Σκούποι'' in ancient greek) is an archaeological site located between Zajčev Rid (''Зајчев Рид'' 'Rabbit Hill') and the Vardar River, several kilometers from the center of Skopje in North Macedonia. A Roman military camp w ...

and Zaldapa being destroyed. In 594 Maurice replaced Priscus with his own brother,

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

. Due to his inexperience, Peter suffered initial failures, but eventually managed to repulse the tide of Slav and Avar incursions. He set up base at

, and patrolled the Danube between

Novae A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramat ...

and the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

. In late August of 594, he crossed the Danube near Securisca and fought his way to the Helibacia river, preventing the Slavs and Avars from preparing new pillaging campaigns. Priscus, who had been given command of another army, prevented the Avars from besieging Singidunum in 595, in combination with the Byzantine Danube fleet. After this, the Avars shifted their focus to Dalmatia, where they sacked several fortresses, and avoided confronting Priscus directly. Priscus was not particularly concerned about the Avar incursion, as Dalmatia was a remote and poor province; he sent only a small force to check their invasion, keeping the main body of his forces near the Danube. The small force was able to hamper the Avar advance, and even recovered a part of the loot taken by the Avars, better than expected.

First interlude (595–597)

After their invasion of Dalmatia had been blocked, the Avars were discouraged by their lack of success against the Byzantines, and thus began to make their raids against the

Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...

, who they saw as being easier to attack, launching major raids against them in 596. Due to the shift in focus, there was little activity in the Balkans from 595 to 597.

Avar invasion (597–602)

Emboldened by the plunder from the Franks, the Avars resumed their raids across the Danube in autumn of 597, catching the Byzantines by surprise. The Avars even caught Priscus' army while it was still in its camp in Tomis, and laid siege to it. However, they lifted the siege on 30 March 598, at the approach of a Byzantine army led by

Comentiolus Comentiolus ( el, Κομεντίολος, ''Komentiolos''; died 602) was a prominent Eastern Roman (Byzantine) general at the close of the 6th century during the reign of Emperor Maurice (). He played a major role in Maurice's Balkan campaigns, ...

, which had just crossed

Mount Haemus In earlier times, the Balkan Mountains were known as the Haemus Mons ( ). It is believed that the name is derived from a Thracian word ''*saimon'', 'mountain ridge', which is unattested but conjectured as the original Thracian form of Greek ''Em ...

and was marching along the Danube up to Zikidiba, only from Tomis. For unknown reasons, Priscus did not join Comentiolus when he pursued the Avars. Comentiolus made camp at Iatrus, however he was routed by the Avars, and his troops had to fight their way back over the Haemus. The Avars took advantage of this victory and advanced to Drizipera, near Constantinople. At Drizipera the Avar forces were struck by a

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

, leading to the death of a large portion of their army, and seven sons of Bayan, the Avar Khagan. Due to the threat posed by the Avar forces at Drizipera, Comentiolus was replaced with

Philippicus Philippicus ( la, Filepicus; el, Φιλιππικός, Philippikós) was Byzantine emperor from 711 to 713. He took power in a coup against the unpopular emperor Justinian II, and was deposed in a similarly violent manner nineteen months later. ...

, and recalled to Constantinople. Maurice assembled a force made up of the Circus Factions and his bodyguards to defend the Anastasian Wall. Maurice then paid off the Avars for a temporary truce, spending the rest of 598 in reorganizing his forces and analyzing how to improve the Byzantines' strategy. In the same year, the Byzantines concluded a peace treaty with the Avars, which allowed the Byzantines to send expeditions into

. Ignoring the peace treaty, the Byzantines made preparations to invade the Avars' land. Priscus set up expeditionary camp near Singidunum and wintered there in 598/599. In 599 Priscus and Comentiolus led their troops downstream to Viminacium, and crossed the Danube. Once on the north bank, they defeated the Avars in the

Battles of Viminacium The Battles of Viminacium were a series of three battles fought against the Avars by the Eastern Roman Empire. They were decisive Roman successes, which were followed by an invasion of Pannonia. In summer 599, the East Roman Emperor Maurice se ...

. This battle was significant, as it was the first time the Avars suffered a major defeat in their home territory, and also led to the deaths of several more of Bayan's sons. After the battle, Priscus led his forces north into the

Pannonian plain 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 the ...

, engaging and defeating the Avars deep within their heartland. Comentiolus meanwhile remained near the Danube, to guard it. Priscus devastated the lands east of the

Tisza The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders. The Tisza be ...

, inflicting heavy casualties on the Avars and Gepids, and defeating them in two further battles on the banks of the Tisza. In autumn 599, Comentiolus reopened the Gates of Trajan, which had not been used by the Byzantines for decades. In 601 Peter led troops to the banks of the Tisza, to defend the Danube cataracts, which were vital to the Byzantine Danube fleet's access to the cities of Sirmium and Singidunum. The next year, in 602, the Antes began to invade the Avars' land, who were already on the brink of collapse due to the uprisings of several Avar tribes, one of whom even defected to the Byzantines.

Second interlude (602–612)

After being beaten back by the Byzantines under Maurice, the Avars shifted their focus to Italy, establishing diplomatic contact in 603, and attempting an invasion of North Italy in 610. The Balkan frontier was largely pacified, for the first time since the reign of Anastasius I (). Maurice planned to repopulate the devastated lands which the Byzantines had recovered by settling Armenian peasants, whose homeland was the eastern part opposite to the Western Balkan part in the Empire -It was a deliberately enforced imperial strategy in order to prevent ethnic/tribal consolidation as the independent rebellious forces-, as well as Romanizing the Slavic settlers already in the area. Maurice also planned to lead further campaigns against the Avar Khaganate, so as to either destroy them or force them into submission. However, Maurice was overthrown in 602 by

Phocas Phocas ( la, Focas; grc-gre, Φωκάς, Phōkás; 5475 October 610) was Eastern Roman emperor from 602 to 610. Initially, a middle-ranking officer in the Eastern Roman army, Phocas rose to prominence as a spokesman for dissatisfied soldiers ...

, as his army rebelled against the endless Balkan campaigning. Phocas promptly scrapped those plans. Phocas maintained the security of the Balkans during his reign from 602 to 610, although he did withdraw some forces from the Balkans in 605, in order to use them in the ongoing Byzantine-Sassanid War of 602–628. There is no archaeological evidence of Slavic or Avar incursions during this time. While the lack of Byzantine action or presence may have encouraged the Avars, they did not attack Byzantine territory until , when Emperor Heraclius () withdrew his troops stationed in the Balkans in order to fend off the Persian advance in the East.

Renewed Avar attacks (612–626)

The Avars, who were likely encouraged by their successful campaigns against the Lombards in 610 and the Franks in 611, resumed their incursions some time after 612. By 614, with the Persian capture of Jerusalem, it became clear to the Avars and their Slav subjects that retaliation from the Byzantines was extremely unlikely. Chronicles of the 610s record wholesale pillaging, with cities such as

Justiniana Prima Justiniana Prima (Latin: , sr, Јустинијана Прима, Justinijana Prima) was an Eastern Roman city that existed from 535 to 615, and currently an archaeological site, known as or ''Caričin Grad'' ( sr, Царичин Град), nea ...

and

Salona Salona ( grc, Σάλωνα) was an ancient city and the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia. Salona is located in the modern town of Solin, next to Split, in Croatia. Salona was founded in the 3rd century BC and was mostly destroyed in ...

fallen. The cities of Naissus and

Serdica Serdika or Serdica ( Bulgarian: ) is the historical Roman name of Sofia, now the capital of Bulgaria. Currently, Serdika is the name of a district located in the city. It includes four neighbourhoods: "Fondovi zhilishta"; "Banishora", "Orlandov ...

were captured in 615, and the cities of Novae and Justiniana Prima were destroyed in 613 and 615, respectively. The Slavs also raided in the Aegean, as far as

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

, in 623. During this time period, there were three separate sieges of Thessalonica: in

604 __NOTOC__ Year 604 (Roman numerals, DCIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 604 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini ...

615 __NOTOC__ Year 615 ( DCXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 615 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

, and

617 __NOTOC__ Year 617 ( DCXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 617 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar e ...

. In 623 the Byzantine emperor Heraclius journeyed into Thrace in an attempt to agree peace with the Avar Khagan face to face. Instead the Byzantines were ambushed, with Heraclius narrowly escaping and most of his bodyguard and retainers being killed or captured. The Avar raids continued, culminating in the

Siege of Constantinople The following is a list of sieges of Constantinople, a historic city located in an area which is today part of Istanbul, Turkey. The city was built on the land that links Europe to Asia through Bosporus and connects the Sea of Marmara and the ...

in 626, where the Avars were finally defeated.

Siege of Constantinople (626)

The Persian king

Khosrau II Khosrow II (spelled Chosroes II in classical sources; pal, 𐭧𐭥𐭮𐭫𐭥𐭣𐭩, Husrō), also known as Khosrow Parviz (New Persian: , "Khosrow the Victorious"), is considered to be the last great Sasanian king (shah) of Iran, ruling fr ...

, after suffering reverses through Heraclius' campaigns in the Persian rear, resolved to launch a decisive strike. While general

Shahin Vahmanzadegan Shahen or Shahin (Middle Persian: ''Shāhēn Vahūmanzādagān'', in Greek sources: ; died ca. 626) was a senior Sasanian general ('' spahbed'') during the reign of Khosrow II (590–628). He was a member of the House of Spandiyadh. Biography Sh ...

was sent to stop Heraclius with 50,000 men,

Shahrbaraz Shahrbaraz (also spelled Shahrvaraz or Shahrwaraz; New Persian: ), was shah (king) of the Sasanian Empire from 27 April 630 to 9 June 630. He usurped the throne from Ardashir III, and was killed by Iranian nobles after forty days. Before usurp ...

was given command of a smaller army and ordered to slip by Heraclius' flank, and march for

Chalcedon Chalcedon ( or ; , sometimes transliterated as ''Chalkedon'') was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor. It was located almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari (modern Üsküdar) and it is now a district of the cit ...

, a Persian base across the

Bosporus The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...

from

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 ( ...

. Khosrau II also made contact with the Khagan of the Avars to allow for a coordinated attack on Constantinople, the Persians on the Asiatic side, and the Avars from the European side. The Avar army approached Constantinople from Thrace and destroyed the

Aqueduct of Valens The Aqueduct of Valens ( tr, Valens Su Kemeri, grc, Ἀγωγὸς τοῦ ὕδατος, translit=Agōgós tou hýdatos, lit=aqueduct) was a Roman aqueduct system built in the late 4th century AD, to supply Constantinople – the capital of the ...

. Because the Byzantine navy controlled the Bosporus strait, the Persians could not send troops to the European side to aid the Avars, which cut off the Persian access to the Avars with the Persian expertise in siege warfare. Byzantine naval superiority also made communication between the two forces difficult. Constantinople's defenders were under the command of Patriarch Sergius and the patrician

Bonus Bonus commonly means: * Bonus, a Commonwealth term for a distribution of profits to a with-profits insurance policy * Bonus payment, an extra payment received as a reward for doing one's job well or as an incentive Bonus may also refer to: Plac ...

On 29 June 626, the Avars and Persians began a coordinated assault upon the walls. The Byzantine defenders had 12,000 well-trained cavalry troops, who were likely dismounted, facing roughly 80,000 Avars and

Sclaveni 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 Byz ...

(Slavs whose land was controlled by the Avars). Because the Persian base in Chalcedon had been established for many years, it was not immediately obvious that a siege would take place. It only became obvious to the Byzantines after the Avars began to move heavy siege equipment towards the

Theodosian Walls The Walls of Constantinople ( el, Τείχη της Κωνσταντινουπόλεως) are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul in Turkey) since its founding as the ...

. Although the walls had been continuously bombarded for a month, high morale had been maintained in the city; Patriarch Sergius bolstered morale by leading processions along the tops of the walls, carrying the

Blachernitissa Blachernitissa ( el, Βλαχερνίτισσα), also called Theotokos of Blachernae (Θεοτόκος των Βλαχερνών, Θεοτόκος η Βλαχερνίτισσα) or Our Lady of Blachernae (Παναγία η Βλαχερνίτι� ...

icon of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

. The peasantry around Constantinople were rallied by this religious zeal, especially because both forces attacking Constantinople were non-Christians. On August 7, a fleet of Persian rafts ferrying troops across the Bosporus to the European side were surrounded and destroyed by the Byzantine fleet. The Sclaveni then attempted to attack the Sea Walls from across the

Golden Horn The Golden Horn ( tr, Altın Boynuz or ''Haliç''; grc, Χρυσόκερας, ''Chrysókeras''; la, Sinus Ceratinus) is a major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. As a natural estuary that connects with t ...

, while the Avars attacked the land walls. However, the Sclaveni boats were rammed and destroyed by the galleys of Bonus, and the Avar land assaults on August 6 and 7 were repelled. At around this point, the news that the Emperor's brother Theodore had decisively defeated Shahin arrived, leading the Avars to retreat to the Balkan hinterland within two days. They would never seriously threaten Constantinople again. Even though the Persian army of Shahrbaraz still remained at Chalcedon, the threat to Constantinople was over, as the Persians could not use artillery from their side of the Bosporus. In thanks for the lifting of the siege and the supposed divine protection granted by the Virgin Mary, the celebrated

Akathist Hymn An Akathist Hymn ( el, Ἀκάθιστος Ὕμνος, "unseated hymn") is a type of hymn usually recited by Eastern Orthodox or Eastern Catholic Christians, dedicated to a saint, holy event, or one of the persons of the Holy Trinity. The ...

was written by an unknown author, possibly Patriarch Sergius or George of Pisidia.

Avar decline (626–822)

Territorial expansion during the reign of Khan Krum (803-814)

After failing to capture Constantinople, the Avars rapidly began to decline before disintegrating entirely, due to both internal power struggles, and conflicts with the Bulgars and Sclaveni. After their

hegemony Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one State (polity), state over other states. In Ancient Greece (8th BC – AD 6th ), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of the ''hegemon'' city-state over oth ...

over various tribal peoples collapsed, their land was further reduced by the Bulgars around 680, leaving behind a

rump state A rump state is the remnant of a once much larger state, left with a reduced territory in the wake of secession, annexation, occupation, decolonization, or a successful coup d'état or revolution on part of its former territory. In the last case ...

which remained until their conquest 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 ...

, starting in 790 and ending in 803.

References

Primary sources

* '' De Administrando Imperio'', by the 10th-century emperor

Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos 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 K ...

. * '' Strategikon'', attributed to Emperor Maurice. * '' Miracula Sancti Demetrii'', by John, Archbishop of Thessalonica. * Surviving fragments of

Menander Protector Menander Protector (Menander the Guardsman, Menander the Byzantian; el, Μένανδρος Προτήκτωρ or Προτέκτωρ), Byzantine historian, was born in Constantinople in the middle of the 6th century AD. The little that is known of ...

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Avar Byzantine wars 6th-century conflicts 7th-century conflicts 6th century in the Byzantine Empire 7th century in the Byzantine Empire Wars involving the Byzantine Empire