The Battles of Viminacium were a series of three battles fought against the Avars by the

Eastern Roman 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 Constantin ...

. They were decisive Roman successes, which were followed by an invasion of Pannonia. In summer 599, the East Roman Emperor

Maurice Maurice may refer to: People * Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr * Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...

sent his generals Priscus and

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, ...

to the

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 , p ...

front against the Avars. The generals joined their forces at

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 advanced together down the river to

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). ...

. The Avar '' khagan''

Bayan I Bayan I reigned as the first khagan of the Avar Khaganate between 562 and 602. As the Göktürk Empire expanded westwards on the Eurasian Steppe during the 6th century, peoples such as the Avars (also known as the ''Pseudo-Avars'', ''Obri'', ...

meanwhile - learning that the Romans had determined to violate the peace - crossed the Danube at Viminacium and invaded

Moesia Prima Moesia Prima (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία) was a frontier province of the late Roman Empire, situated in the central parts of present-day Serbia, along the south bank of the Danube River. Provincial capital was Viminacium, near modern ...

, while he entrusted a large force to four of his sons, who were directed to guard the river and prevent the Romans from crossing over to the left bank. In spite of the presence of the Avar army, however, the Byzantine army crossed on rafts and pitched a camp on the left side, while the two commanders sojourned in the town of Viminacium, which stood on an island in the river. Here Comentiolus is said to have fallen ill or to have mutilated himself so as to be incapable of further action; Thus Priscus assumed command over both armies. Unwilling at first to leave the city without Comentiolus, Priscus was soon forced to appear in the camp, as the Avars were harassing it in the absence of the generals. A battle was fought which cost the East Romans only three hundred men, while the Avars lost four thousands. This engagement was followed by two other great battles in the next ten days, in which the strategy of Priscus and the tactics of the Roman army were brilliantly successful. In the first, nine thousand of the Avars and their Slav allies fell, while the second was fatal to fifteen thousand, of whom the greater part, and among them the four sons of the ''khagan'', perished in the waters of a lake, into which they were driven by the Roman swords and spears. Priscus subsequently pursued the fleeing ''khagan'' and invaded the Avar homeland in Pannonia, where he won another series of battles on the banks of the River

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 ...

, deciding the war for the Romans and ending, for a time, the Avar and Slavic incursions across the Danube.

Sources

* *{{cite book, last1=Whitby, first1=Michael, last2=Whitby, first2=Mary, title=The History of Theophylact Simocatta, location=Oxford, United Kingdom, publisher=Clarendon Press, year=1986, isbn=978-0-19-822799-1, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AtRfAAAAMAAJ, pages=194–214

6th century in the Byzantine Empire Avar–Byzantine wars 599 590s conflicts 6th century in Serbia 590s in the Byzantine Empire