The Pannonian Avars and their Military Prowess
There are very few ancient civilisations that had such an impact on Europe that so little is known about as the Pannonian Avars. Although they were ferocious in battle and had more of an influence than Attila the Hun, they are nowhere near as well known. The Avar’s legacy is still shadowed by time – so who were they really, and why is it that we understand so little about them?
Who were the Avars?
The Pannonian Avars were a nomadic civilisation from Eastern Asia/Siberia. They are not to be confused with the modern Avars native to the North Caucasus, as it is debatable whether or not they have DNA links with this group. After fleeing from the Gokturk Khaganate, the Pannonian Avars were named after the land in which they settled as they created an empire called the Avar Khaganate – an area that traversed the Pannonian Basin and large parts of Europe during the 6th-9th Century.
The reason why we know so little about the Avars is because they kept no written records, and thus documented very little of their history – with the exception of a few untranscribed runic texts.
Fortunately, the Avars kept richly decorated graves which provided insights into their way of life, such as the presence of gold and silver for passage into the afterlife, as well as stirrups which confirmed that they were one of the first civilisations who regularly used horses as a method of transportation – hence their depiction in contemporary art as mounted archers riding backwards on horseback. The graves were even telling of the Avar’s physical appearance as the presence of braid clasps in the tombs indicated that they wore their hair in plaits.
The Pannonian Avar wars
One of the things that we do know about the Pannonian Avars comes from Byzantine and Frankish sources, as they were prolific warriors that raided the Byzantine Empire and seized many major Roman cities. Apparently, the Avars depended on their speed and ability to surprise when launching attacks against their opponents. They also relied on their subject’s knowledge, especially those with military knowledge and prowess.
The Avar-Byzantine wars initiated in the year 568, shortly after the Avars first settled in the Pannonian Basin and claimed the land of the Gepids and Lombards for themselves. They initially failed to take Sirmium, but the city eventually fell in approximately 581, after which the Avars began to attack the Balkans.
The Avar attack on the Balkans was aided by the Byzantine-Sasanian war, as many of the Byzantine troops were left unaided and underpaid. In 583, the Avars successfully raided the cities Augustae, Singidunum, and Viminacium. At around this time, they also took a number of other major cities by force. However, the further inland that the Avars moved, the more at a disadvantage they became as they lost the element of surprise and their ability to attack with speed. Despite this, they still successfully rampaged a range of Moesi cities, continuing their raids with little resistance until the year 591.
After a failed attempt to invade Dalmatia, the Avars realigned their focus and settled their attention on the Franks, who they presumed would be easier to thwart. For this reason, the Balkans was left relatively untouched by war for a few years. This allowed the Avars to resume their modus operandi and take Byzantium by surprise.
The Byzantines made plans to invade the Avars’ land and were able to defeat them in the battles of Viminacium – the Avars’ first defeat on their own land. However, this was the beginning of many Avar defeats, initiating the collapse of their empire.
A few short years later, a number of Avar tribes began to defect to the Byzantines. This forced the Avars to switch their focus to Italy. Although they initiated their contact with the Italians in a peaceful and diplomatic manner, it did not take long for them to switch their tactics and attempt to take them by force. Thus, the Avars eventually felt brave enough to attack the Byzantines again in 615, after Byzantine troops left the Balkans unsupervised while defending against Persian advances.
In 614, it became apparent to the Avars that the Byzantines weren’t going to retaliate against them after the Persians captured Jerusalem. Despite a plead for peace from the Byzantine emperor Heraclius, the Avars refused to back off and instead, they plundered a range of Byzantine cities, continuing their fierce pillaging until the Siege of Constantinople.
In the year 626, the Avars and Persians attempted an assault on the walls of Constantinople, but the Byzantines had approximately 12,000 skilled troops who refused to let the city fall to the Avars. This determination, married with the fact that Persian rafts carrying troops to aid the Avars were intercepted by the Persians, meant that the Avars were forced to retreat and never attempt to seriously attack Constantinople again. Thus, a stop was finally put to the Avars’ persistent military prowess.
After their failed attempt to take Constantinople, the Avars’ decline was rapid. Due to ceaseless conflicts with other civilisations, as well as internal battles for power, the Avars never fully recovered and they continued to lose their land, leaving behind only remnants of a once-powerful empire.
If you would like to know whether you have a DNA link with the powerful Avars, then you can find out with My True Ancestry.
