The Sermesianoi or, alternatively, Keramisians were a group of 70,000

Bulgars The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic peoples, Turkic Nomad, semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region between the 5th and 7th centu ...

Pannonian Avars The Pannonian Avars ( ) were an alliance of several groups of Eurasian nomads of various origins. The peoples were also known as the Obri in the chronicles of the Rus' people, Rus, the Abaroi or Varchonitai (), or Pseudo-Avars in Byzantine Empi ...

and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

Christians from

Syrmia Syrmia (Ekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srem, Срем, separator=" / " or Ijekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srijem, Сријем, label=none, separator=" / ") is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is div ...

. They fled in Byzantine

region of Macedonia Macedonia ( ) is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time; however, it came to be defined as the modern geographical region by the mid-19th century. ...

, following a successful revolt against the

Avar Khaganate The Pannonian Avars ( ) were an alliance of several groups of Eurasian nomads of various origins. The peoples were also known as the Obri in the chronicles of the Rus' people, Rus, the Abaroi or Varchonitai (), or Pseudo-Avars in Byzantine Empi ...

led by the

Bulgar Bulgar may refer to: *Bulgars, a historical Turkic group *Bulgar language, the extinct language of the Bulgars *Oghur languages Bulgar may also refer to: *Bolghar, the capital city of Volga Bulgaria *Bulgur, a wheat product * Bulgar, an Ashkenazi ...

noble

Kuber Kuber (also Kouber or Kuver) was a Bulgar leader who, according to the '' Miracles of Saint Demetrius'', liberated a mixed Bulgar and Byzantine Christian population in the 670s, whose ancestors had been transferred from the Eastern Roman Empi ...

, around the year 680.

In Avar Pannonia

The Sermesianoi were a mixed population, which included the descendants of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

(

) Christians, whom the Avars had captured in the

Balkan Peninsula The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with 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 throug ...

and settled in the region 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 province of Serbia. First mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited by Illyrians ...

. Kuber had been made governor of the region by the Avar

Khagan Khagan or Qaghan (Middle Mongol:; or ''Khagan''; ) or zh, c=大汗, p=Dàhán; ''Khāqān'', alternatively spelled Kağan, Kagan, Khaghan, Kaghan, Khakan, Khakhan, Khaqan, Xagahn, Qaghan, Chagan, Қан, or Kha'an is a title of empire, im ...

. Kuber's subjects called themselves ''Sermesianoi'', but the Byzantines referred to them as "Bulgars". They had preserved their Roman and Christian traditions, even though their ancestors had been taken to the Avar Khaganate some 60 years prior to Kuber's appointment. As the Sermesianoi never stopped dreaming of returning to their ancestors' homes, Kuber rose up in open rebellion against the Khagan. According to modern historians, Kuber's rebellion occurred in the 670s or early 680s. Around 70,000 Sermesianoi joined him and departed for the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

. The Khagan attempted to hinder their migration, but they routed the Avars in five or six battles and crossed the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

In Byzantine Macedonia

Kuber and the Sermesianoi went as far as south as the plain of Thessaloniki, where they settled, asking for the permission of the Byzantine emperor. The emperor gave his consent and ordered the nearby Slavic tribe of the Dragovites to supply Kuber and his people with food. Kuber and his associate

Mauros Mauros (; , "black, dark") (fl. 686–711) was a Bulgar leader, one of the chief subordinates and closest supporters of Kuber, a 7th-century Bulgar ruler in Macedonia. After orchestrating a foiled attempt to capture Thessaloniki for Kuber, Mauro ...

subsequently attempted to seize Thessaloniki, taking advantage of a civil war in the city but were unsuccessful. According to

Bulgarian historians Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

, Kuber and those Sermesianoi who had not returned to their ancestral homes ultimately settled in the ''Keramisian field'', most likely the

Pelagonia Pelagonia (; ) is a geographical region of Macedonia named after the ancient kingdom. Ancient Pelagonia roughly corresponded to the present-day municipalities of Bitola, Prilep, Mogila, Novaci, Kruševo, and Krivogaštani in North Macedo ...

plain in North Macedonia, hence their other name, "Keramisians" (most likely a corruption of Sermesianoi). Macedonian archaeologist

Ivan Mikulčić Ivan Mikulčić ( Croatian: Ivan Luka Mikulčić; Macedonian: Иван Микулчиќ) was a prominent archaeologist from North Macedonia. Biography Mikulcic was born on March 25, 1936, in the then Kingdom of Yugoslavia in the Srem town of In� ...

localizes the initial settlement of the Sermesianoi to western

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

and their resettlement in

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

, thus attributes the treasures found at Vrap and

Ersekë Ersekë ( sq-definite, Erseka), is a town and a former municipality in southeastern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision and the seat of the municipality Kolonjë. Founded in the 17th century, Erseka was the seat o ...

(the

Avar Treasure The Avar Treasure, also called Vrap Treasure, is an ensemble currently in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The various vessel making up the ensemble were found in Vrap, Albania, and have been attributed to the Avars. On the othe ...

) to Kuber's people. German archeologist Joachim Werner has also linked the Vrap Treasure to Kuber and the Sermesianoi. According to Werner, the treasure may have been part of the Khagan's treasury, which was robbed by Kuber and then carried south of the

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bulgar Pannonian Avars Migration Period Turkic peoples Turkic nomadic tribes Medieval Thessalonica Medieval history of Bulgaria Kutmichevitsa History of Syrmia Medieval history of Vojvodina History of Macedonia (region)

In Avar Pannonia

In Byzantine Macedonia

See also

References

Sources