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98-634: The name Pannonian Avars (after the area in which they settled) is used to distinguish them from the Avars of the Caucasus , a separate people with whom the Pannonian Avars may or may 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 as a people who wished to escape

196-429: A Para-Mongolic language (Serbi-Avar), which is a sister lineage to contemporary Mongolic languages . In 2003, Walter Pohl summarized the formation of nomadic empires : 1. Many steppe empires were founded by groups who had been defeated in previous power struggles but had fled from the dominion of the stronger group. The Avars were likely a losing faction previously subordinate to the (legitimate) Ashina clan in

294-563: A glottal stop ). In modern Avarian, three words retain the ancient basis of awar . They include awarag , meaning "envoy, prophet, messiah"; awari , meaning "pommel of a saddle"; and awara , meaning "obstacle, opposition". Awara habize means "to make an obstacle, to resist." There is also an Avarian river called авар ʕωr in Avarian and Avar koysu in Russian. All three listed words are found in ancient lexicons of

392-563: 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 ". Similarly, with the final demise of Avar power in the early 9th century, Avar identity disappeared almost instantaneously. Savelyev and Jeong (2020) in " Early nomads of

490-573: A Chinese transfer of a similar-sounding word, war/Uar. Mehmed Tezcan writes that according to a Chinese record, the Hephthalites descended from a Rouran tribe called Hua in the Qeshi region (near Turpan ). This tribe came to Tokharistan and soon settled also in eastern regions of Khorasan at the beginning of the 5th century. About the same time, the name Avars/Awards appears in the sources. Again, in his well-known Atlas of China, A. Herrmann shows

588-529: A Mongol residue in Daghestan". Supporters of the so-called old Turanian nomad horde "infiltrate" point of view (with various clauses) include the following scientists: Josef Markwart , Omeljan Pritsak , Vladimir Minorsky , Vladimir Baileys , Harald Haarmann , Murad Gadjievich Magomedov , Alikber Alikberov , and Timur Aytberov . The Avar language belongs to the Avar-Andi-Tsez subgroup of

686-757: A Northeast Caucasian people who speak Avar , a Northeast Caucasian language . According to Encyclopedia Britannica , the Turanian nomads also share the name Avar. The Encyclopedia Britannica describes the Turanian nomads as "a people of undetermined origin and language." As of 2002, the Avarians numbered about 1.04 million. 912,020 Avarians lived in Russia during the 2010 census; 850,011 of them lived in Dagestan. Only 32% lived in cities. Avarians inhabit most of

784-906: A link between the Avars of European history with the Rouran Khaganate of Inner Asia based on a coincidence between Tardan Khan's letter to Constantinople and events recorded in Chinese sources, notably the Wei Shu and Bei Shi . Chinese sources state that Bumin Qaghan , founder of the First Turkic Khaganate , defeated the Rouran, some of whom fled and joined the Western Wei . Later, Bumin's successor Muqan Qaghan defeated

882-794: A long time. According to Richard Helli: "By such reasoning, the Ephthalites are thought to have originated at Hsi-mo-ta-lo (southwest of Badakhshan and near the Hindu Kush ), which tantalizingly, stands for Himtala, 'snow plain', which may be the Sanskritized form of Hephthal." In 484, the Hephthalite chief Akhshunwar led his army to attack the Sassanian King Peroz I , who was defeated and killed in Khurasan. After

980-540: A national meaning connected with former statehood. "Avar" is a significant part of the word "Avaria," which refers to the Khunzakh Khanate. The Khanate formed in the 12th century after the disintegration of Sarir . From the middle of the 19th century, this territory was the Avarian District of the Daghestan area. This area is now referred to as Khunzakhsky District of Dagestan. Khunzakhsky District

1078-500: A new group of steppe riders was often taken from a repertoire of prestigious names which did not necessarily denote any direct affiliation to or descent from groups of the same name; in the Early Middle Ages , Huns , Avars, Bulgars , and Ogurs, or names connected with -(o)gur ( Kutrigurs , Utigurs , Onogurs , etc.), were most important. In the process of name-giving, both perceptions by outsiders and self-designation played

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1176-641: A noted "Asian" tactic, which may depict the Avars. According to mid-20th century physical anthropologists such as Pál Lipták , human remains from the early Avar (7th century) period had mostly " Europoid " features, while grave goods indicated cultural links to the Eurasian Steppe . 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

1274-571: A role. These names were also connected with prestigious traditions that directly expressed political pretensions and programmes, and had to be endorsed by success. In the world of the steppe, where agglomerations of groups were rather fluid, it was vital to know how to deal with a newly-emergent power. The symbolical hierarchy of prestige expressed through names provided some orientation for friend and foe alike. Such views are mirrored by Csanád Bálint  [ hu ] . "The ethnogenesis of early medieval peoples of steppe origin cannot be conceived in

1372-464: Is by a misnomer that the barbarians on the Ister have assumed the appellation of Avars; the origin of their race will shortly be revealed. So, when the Avars had been defeated (for we are returning to the account) some of them made their escape to those who inhabit Taugast . Taugast is a famous city, which is a total of one thousand five hundred miles distant from those who are called Turks, ... Others of

1470-522: Is more correct to refer to them thus) are divided in their ancestry, some bearing the time-honoured name of Var while others are called Chunni. 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

1568-405: Is referred to as χunzaχ in literary Avarian and χwnzaa in a local dialect. The modern literary language of Avarias ( Awar mac' ), both in the past and today, is known among Avarians as the language of boʔ ( bolmac' ). The Avarian word bo means "army, armed people." According to reconstructions, this word descends from * ʔωar in the proto-Avarian language ("ʔ" represents

1666-742: Is the 10th-century Datuna Church in the village of Datuna. The Mongol invasions seem not to have affected the Avar territory, and the alliance with the Golden Horde enabled the Avar khans to increase their prosperity. In the 15th century the Horde declined, and the Shamkhalate of Kazi-Kumukh rose to power. The Shamkhalate absorbed the Avar Khanate. From the 16th century onwards, the Safavids and Ottomans began expanding their territory in

1764-555: Is unknown but stated that it is likely that the Avars were originally mainly composed of Turkic (Oghuric) tribes. Increasing evidence supports a relationship between the elite of the Pannonian Avars and the Inner Asian Rouran Khaganate ; however it remains unclear to what extent the European Avars descent from the Rouran population. It is argued that the initial elite core of the Pannonian Avars spoke

1862-559: 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 . 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

1960-573: 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 in the 670s by a " Kuber " Chagan. About this time, Mark of Kalt records that in 677, the principality of Ungvar (Ung fortress) was established in the regions further north where Kotrag 's group also fled following

2058-520: The Abdali (I mean indeed, of the Hephthalites , as they are called), conquered him, and assumed the rule of the nation. Then he […] enslaved the Avar nation. But let no one think that we are distorting the history of these times because he supposes that the Avars are those barbarians neighbouring on Europe and Pannonia , and that their arrival was prior to the times of the emperor Maurice . For it

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2156-905: The Ancient Northeast Asian (ANA) 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% [Ancient North-East Asian] ancestry ", 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

2254-589: The Avarian District . Some Avars refused to collaborate with Russians and migrated to Turkey, where their descendants live to this day. Despite war and emigration, the Avars retained their position as the dominant ethnic group in Dagestan during the Soviet period. After World War II , many Avars left the barren highlands for the fertile plains closer to the shores of the Caspian Sea . The Avarians are

2352-542: The Emirate of Tbilisi in 736. Later, the Christian kingdom of Sarir governed much of modern-day Dagestan. The Kingdom of Georgia was also Christian. However, when Sarir fell in the early 12th century and Mongol invasions led by Subutai and Jebe weakened Georgia, Christian influence in the area ended. The Avar Khanate , a predominantly Muslim polity, succeeded Sarir. The only extant monument of Sarir architecture

2450-552: The First Bulgarian Empire , stabilized by the victory at the battle of Ongal 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

2548-598: The Iranian languages . The Parthian word apar and the Middle Persian word abar/aβar both mean "up, on, over" and "higher, superior." The Middle Persian word abraz means "acclivity," or uphill slope. Similar Middle Persian words include abarag/aβarag , meaning "superior"; abargar/aβargar , meaning "god, divinity"; abarmanig/aβarmanig , meaning "noble"; apar amatan , meaning "to surpass", and apar kardan/apar handaχtan , meaning "to attack". At

2646-722: The Northeast Caucasian (or Nakh–Dagestanian) language family. The writing is based on the Cyrillic script , which replaced the Arabic script used before 1927 and the Latin script used between 1927 and 1938. More than 60% of the Avars living in Dagestan speak Russian as their second language. Khingila Khingila I ( Bactrian : [REDACTED] χιγγιλο Khingilo , Brahmi script : Khi-ṇgi-la , Middle Chinese : 金吉剌 Kim kjit lat , Persian : شنگل Shengel ; c.430-490)

2744-596: The Russo-Persian War of 1722–1723 , Russia briefly took Dagestan from the Safavids. The Afsharids reestablished full control over the Caucasus again in the early 18th century under Nader Shah 's Caucasus campaign and Dagestan campaign . During that same time, the Avars routed one of Nader Shah's armies at Andalal during the later stages of his Dagestan campaign. In the wake of this triumph, Umma Khan of

2842-612: The Sassanid 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 . Each year, the Huns [Avars] came to the Slavs, to spend the winter with them; then they took the wives and daughters of the Slavs and slept with them, and among

2940-580: 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

3038-557: The Western Turkic Khaganate , and they fled west of the Dnieper . 2. These groups usually were of mixed origin, and each of its components was part of a previous group. 3. Crucial in the process was the elevation of a khagan, which signified a claim to independent power and an expansionist strategy. This group also needed a new name that would give all of its initial followers a sense of identity. 4. The name for

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3136-594: The Xionites . The Xionites had likely been speakers of Iranian and/or Turkic languages. The Hephthalites, affiliated previously to the Uar and Xionites, had remained in Central and northern South Asia . The Pannonian Avars were also known by names including Uarkhon or Varchonites  – which may have been a portmanteau combining Var and Chunni . The 18th-century historian Joseph de Guignes postulates

3234-726: The "Tungid type" (common among Tungusic speaking peoples). A genetic study published in Scientific Reports 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 , D4c1 and F1a . Their mtDNA were found to be primarily characteristic of Eastern and Southern Europe. A genetic study published in

3332-481: The Avar Khaganate general 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, with at least some subsequent admixture events. Genetic data on later Avar elite samples showed continuity with earlier Avars and the long-term presence of Northeast Asian ancestry among

3430-905: The Avar elite were largely patrilineal 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 Huns 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

3528-483: The Avar elite, suggesting a possible endogamous social system. There was however an increase of Northeast Asian and Saka associated ancestry among the total population, suggesting either further migration from the Eurasian Steppe and admixture between local and Avar groups, or substructure among the overall population not observed before. In 557, the Avars sent an embassy to Constantinople , presumably from

3626-500: 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 " for northeast Asian and " Turanid " for individuals of mixed ancestry. Several theories suggest that the ruling class of the Avars were of Northern East Asian origin resembling

3724-401: 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: For this very Chagan had in fact outfought the leader of the nation of

3822-680: The Avars (reigned 1774–1801) managed to extract tribute from most states of the Caucasus, including Shirvan and Georgia. Umma Khan died in 1801. Two years later, the khanate voluntarily submitted to Russian authority following the Russian annexation of Georgia and the Treaty of Georgievsk . This was only confirmed after considerable Russian successes and the victory in the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813 , after which Persia lost southern Dagestan and many of its other Caucasian territories to Russia. The 1828 Treaty of Turkmenchay indefinitely consolidated Russian control over Dagestan and other areas where

3920-525: 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 (2002) 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. Heršak and Silić concluded that their exact origin

4018-595: The Avars controlled the lower Danube basin and the steppes north of the Black Sea. By the time they arrived in the Balkans , the Avars formed a heterogeneous group of about 20,000 horsemen. After the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I bought them off, they pushed northwestwards into Germania . However, Frankish opposition halted the Avars' expansion in that direction. Seeking rich pastoral lands,

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4116-417: The Avars enjoyed a free hand in the undefended Balkans. While negotiating with Emperor Heraclius 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 shortly before 626. In 626, the Avars cooperated with

4214-675: The Avars initially demanded land south of the Danube in present-day Bulgaria , 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 . In 567 the Avars formed an alliance with the Lombards —enemies of

4312-400: The Avars lived. The Russians instituted heavy taxes, expropriated estates, and constructed fortresses in the Avar region. The Avar population revolted under the flag of the Muslim Imamate of Dagestan . Ghazi Mohammed (1828–1832), Hamzat Bek (1832–1834), and Shamil (1834–1859) led the revolts. This Caucasian War raged until 1864, when the Avarian Khanate was abolished and replaced by

4410-426: The Avars proceeded to capture Singidunum (Belgrade) and Viminacium . They suffered setbacks, however, during Maurice's Balkan campaigns 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 Pontic–Caspian steppe in the east. After being defeated at the Battles of Viminacium in their homeland, some Avars defected to

4508-418: The Avars who appear a century later, during the time of Justinian (r. 527–565). The next author to discuss the Avars, Menander Protector , appeared during the 6th century and wrote of Göktürk embassies to Constantinople in 565 and 568. 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 , a Turk prince, calls

4606-406: The Avars, who declined to humbler fortune because of their defeat, came to those who are called Moukri ( Goguryeo ); this nation is the closest neighbour to the men of Taugast; Then the Chagan embarked on yet another enterprise, and subdued all the Ogur, which is one of the strongest tribes on account of its large population and its armed training for war. These make their habitations in the east, by

4704-429: The Avars. In turn, the Avars had been driven off by people fleeing "man-eating griffins " coming from "the ocean" ( Priscus Fr 40 ). Whilst Priscus' accounts provide some information about the ethno-political situation in the Don - Kuban - Volga region after the demise of the Huns , no unequivocal conclusions can be reached. Denis Sinor has argued that whoever the "Avars" referred to by Priscus were, they differed from

4802-429: The Avars. The mtDNA of the examined individuals was found to be quite similar to medieval and modern Slavs , 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

4900-410: 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 ,

4998-401: The Byzantines and Avars (coinciding with Emperor Maurice's northern Balkan campaigns). Paul the Deacon in his History of the Lombards insisted that Avars were known previously as Huns and he conflated the two groups. According to some scholars, the Pannonian Avars originated from a confederation formed in the Aral Sea region, by the Uar (also known as the Ouar , Warr or Var ) and

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5096-404: The Byzantines in 602, but Emperor Maurice 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

5194-411: The Carpathian Basin became more stable in the Late Avar period. The most popular Late Avar motifs— griffins and tendrils 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,

5292-415: The Caucasus, the Southern Russian steppes and the local Central European cultures can be traced alongside each other". Subsequent analyses from 2022 on Avar remains however confirmed their Ancient Northeast Asian origin, and support a possible ethnogenesis of the Avar Elite from the former Rouran Khaganate . In the Stuttgart Psalter there is an image of mounted archers riding backwards on their horses,

5390-554: The Caucasus. By the mid-16th century, what is now Dagestan , eastern Georgia , Azerbaijan , and Armenia were under Safavid rule. The area that is now western Georgia fell under Ottoman Turkish control. Although the Ottoman Turks briefly gained Dagestan during the Ottoman-Safavid War of 1578–1590 , Dagestan and many of its Avar inhabitants stayed under Safavid suzerainty for many centuries. Despite Safavid rule, many ethnic groups in Dagestan, including many Avars, retained relatively high amounts of freedom and self-governance. After

5488-445: The Eastern Steppe and their tentative connections in the West " concluded that the initial Pannonian Avars formed in Central Asia from various ethno-linguistic groups, including Iranian peoples , Ugrians , Oghur-Turks , and Rouran 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,

5586-429: 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

5684-439: The Gepids—and together they destroyed much of the Gepid kingdom. The Avars then persuaded the Lombards to move into northern Italy , an invasion that marked the last Germanic mass-movement in the Migration Period . Continuing their successful policy of turning the various barbarians against each other, the Byzantines persuaded the Avars to attack the Sclavenes in Scythia Minor , a land rich with goods. After devastating much of

5782-407: 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

5880-433: 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 rejected the identification of the Avars with the Rouran on this basis. 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

5978-542: The Sclavenes' land, the Avars returned to Pannonia after many of the khagan's subjects deserted to the Byzantine emperor. By about 580, the Avar Khagan Bayan I had established supremacy over most of the Slavic , Germanic and Bulgar 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 I commanded an army of 10,000 Kutrigur Bulgars and sacked Dalmatia in 568, effectively cutting

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6076-550: The Turks, farther east. A political name * (A)Par 𐰯𐰻 was indeed mentioned in inscriptions honoring Kul Tigin and Bilge Qaghan , yet in Armenian sources ( Egishe Vardapet , Ghazar Parpetsi , and Sebeos ) Apar seemingly indicated "a geographical area ( Khorasan ), which might also intimate a political formation once there"; additionally, "'Apar-shar', that is, the country of the Apar " was named after possibly Hephthalites , who were known as 滑 MC * ɦˠuɛt̚ > Ch. Huá in Chinese sources. Even so, * Apar could not be linked to

6174-441: 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 forces on the other, raged from 631 to 632. After Alciocus fled to Bavaria,

6272-465: The alternate endonym maarulal , also meaning "mountaineer". Most of those known as Tavlins trace their lineage to the upper parts of two tributaries of the Sulak River : the Andiyskoe Koisu and Avarskoye Koisu. Between the 5th and 12th centuries, Georgian Orthodox Christianity was introduced to the Avar valleys. During the Islamic conquests , Arabs invaded the Caucasus , conquering Azerbaijan in 639 and Derbent in 643. They also founded

6370-435: The appellation of Chagan. Let us declare, without departing in the least from the truth, how the means of changing their name came to them. […] When the Barsils , Onogurs , Sabirs , and other Hun nations in addition to these, saw that a section of those who were still Var and Chunni had fled to their regions, they plunged into extreme panic, since they suspected that the settlers were Avars. For this reason they honoured

6468-412: The census. This makes it difficult to know exactly how many Avarians live in Turkey. According to Ataev B.M., who referenced A.M. Magomeddadaev's research, the Avarian population there should have been around 53,000 in 2005. Avarian is a collective term; among the Avarians there are around 15 sub-ethnic groups, including the Avar, Andi , and Tsez (Dido) peoples. According to genetic studies in 2023,

6566-411: The centre of Europe from the Eastern Eurasian Steppe. The Pannonian Avars' core may have been descended from the remnants of the Rouran Khaganate , which were accompanied by other Steppe groups. The earliest clear reference to the Avar ethnonym comes from Priscus the Rhetor (420s–after 472), who recounts that in c. 463 the Šaragurs and Onogurs were attacked by the Sabirs , who had been attacked by

6664-422: 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 . The fifth group from Onogur, Bulgaria , led by Khan Asparukh —the father of Khan Tervel —settled permanently along the Danube (c. 679–681), establishing

6762-466: The course of the Til, which Turks are accustomed to call Melas. The earliest leaders of this nation were named Var and Chunni ; from them some parts of those nations were also accorded their nomenclature, being called Var and Chunni. Then, while the emperor Justinian was in possession of the royal power, a small section of these Var and Chunni fled from that ancestral tribe and settled in Europe. These named themselves Avars and glorified their leader with

6860-421: 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 , Old Great Bulgaria dissolved into five branches. From western Onoguria the first group of folk moved to Ravenna under Alzeco in the 650s. According to Book II of

6958-417: The early, middle and late period, and found nearly all of them to have a high level of Ancient Northeast Asian (ANA) ancestry. The paternal lineage N1a1a1a1a3a-F4205 was most common (today highest percent of haplogroup N-F4205 was found in Dukha people of Mongolia with 52.2%), with Q1a, Q1b, R1a, R1b and E1b subclades present in smaller numbers. The samples had a strong affinity with modern peoples inhabiting

7056-406: The eastern regions of Khorasan, Tokharistan, etc. as the dominions of Afu/Hua/Awards/Hephthalites between ca. 440 and 500 A.D., relying on the identification Hua = Uar = Awar. The German researcher Karl Heinrich Menges considered Eurasian Avars to be one of the ancient Mongol peoples, who "were the first to use the title ga gan (later qān, ḵān) for their supreme ruler." He describes the "traces of

7154-658: 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 , Nové Zámky and other places in Slovakia, Hungary and Serbia from the period beginning around 690 show that the settlement network of

7252-416: The following haplogroups are found to predominate among Avars: МагIарулал , transliterated as Ma'arulal means "inhabitants of the top grounds, mountaineers." Another group of Avarians is described as belonging to a different category, Хьиндалал ( X'indalal with a soft "χ"). This term means "inhabitants of plains (warm valleys) and gardeners". The name "Avarians" has a narrower meaning; it has

7350-569: The fugitives with splendid gifts and supposed that they received from them security in exchange. Then, after the Var and Chunni saw the well-omened beginning to their flight, they appropriated the ambassadors' error and named themselves Avars: for among the Scythian nations that of the Avars is said to be the most adept tribe. In point of fact even up to our present times the Pseudo-Avars (for it

7448-422: The immigrants may have been either Onogurs or Alans . Anthropological studies of the skeletons point at the presence of a population with mongoloid features. Avars (Caucasus) The Avars ( / ˈ æ v ɑːr z / ), also known as Maharuls' ( Avar : магӀарулал , romanized:  maⱨarulal , lit.   'mountaineers'), are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group . The Avars are

7546-698: The largest of several ethnic groups living in the Russian republic of Dagestan . The Avars reside in the North Caucasus between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea . Alongside other ethnic groups in the North Caucasus region, the Avars live in ancient villages located approximately 2,000 meters above sea level. The Avar language spoken by the Caucasian Avars belongs to the family of Northeast Caucasian languages . Sunni Islam has been

7644-483: 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. A new type of ceramics—the so-called " Devínska Nová Ves " pottery—emerged at

7742-666: 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

7840-537: 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, most 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

7938-668: The mountainous part of Dagestan as well the plains ( Buynaksk , Khasavyurt , Kizilyurt and other regions). Outside of Dagestan, Russian Avars also live in Chechnya and Kalmykia . As of 1999, 50,900 Avarians lived in the Balakan and Zakatala rayons of Azerbaijan. The Avarian population of Azerbaijan had decreased to 49,800 by 2009. In 2002, 1,996 Kvareli Avars lived in Georgia. In Turkey , Avarians are considered "ethnic Turks", and so aren't counted as their own ethnic group on

8036-644: The need for new grazing land to replace that lost to the Wusun led Khingila's "Uar-Chionites" to displace the Sabirs to the west, who in turn displaced the Saragur , Ugor and Onogur , who then asked for an alliance and land from Byzantium . In his coin in the Brahmi script , Khingila uses the legend "God-King Khingila" ( [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] , Deva Shahi Khingila ). A " Seal of Khingila "

8134-608: The northern Caucasus . This marked their first contact with the Byzantine Empire . 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 and Sabirs —and defeated the Antes . Pohl 1998 , p. 18: [...] the first thing the Avars did when they came near the Caucasus on their flight from Central Asia

8232-470: The other mistreatments [already mentioned] the Slavs were also forced to pay levies to the Huns. But the sons of the Huns, who were [then] raised with the wives and daughters of these Wends could not finally endure this oppression anymore and refused obedience to the Huns and began, as already mentioned, a rebellion. When now the Wendish army went against the Huns, the [aforementioned] merchant Samo accompanied

8330-633: The power of the Avars' Kutrigur forces was shattered, and Kubrat established peace between the Avars and Byzantium in 632. According to Constantine VII 's 10th century work De Administrando Imperio , a group of Croats 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 Unknown Archon 's people from Samo's realm were also resettled at this time. With

8428-403: The prevailing religion of the Avars since the 14th century. According to 19th-century Russian historians, the Avars' neighbors usually referred to them with the exonym Tavlins ( tavlintsy ). Vasily Potto wrote, "The words in different languages have the same meaning... [of] mountain dwellers [or] highlanders." Potto claimed that members of Avarian tribe also often referred to themselves by

8526-574: The region from Mongolia to the Amur , with a historical Rouran Khaganate sample, and with samples 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 . A genetic study published in scientific journal Current Biology in May 2022 examined 143 Avar samples from various periods, including Avar elites and local commoners. It confirmed

8624-703: 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 Southeastern Europe . Recent archaeogenetic studies indicate that the Pannonian Avars were of primarily Ancient Northeast Asian ancestry similar to those of modern-day people from Mongolia and the Amur River region in Manchuria , pointing to an initial rapid migration of nomadic tribes into

8722-498: The same time, according to the morphology of the Middle Persian language, the word Aβarag , meaning "superior" can also be translated as "Aβarian", "Khurasanian", and "Parthian" as seen, for example, in a Middle Persian word, Eranag , meaning "Iranian". The first known use of the term "Avar" was in the 10th century. According to Persian author Ibn Rustah , a so-called governor of Sarir , Johannes de Galonifontibus

8820-683: The same. And so Samo's bravery proved itself in wonderful ways and a huge mass of Huns fell to the sword of 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 where Dagobert I massacred most of them. The remaining 700 joined

8918-638: The sovereign house.") In summary, Aparšahr/Aβaršahr is very similar to the German word Oberland . According to historian H.W. Haussig, Aβaršahr means Reich der Abar ("Kingdom of the Abar") and should be sought in the south-western territory of the Western Turkic Khaganate . A Dahae tribe, the Aparnak ( Parni ) moved from the south-eastern shore of the Caspian Sea (part of modern Turkmenistan ), into

9016-719: The territory of Khurasan, where they founded a confederation of Dahae tribes that Avestani texts referred to as "barbarians" and "enemies of Aryans," according to Christian Bartholomae. On the border of Khurasan, the Sassanid Persians built a strong wall, named the " Great Wall of Gorgan " or "The Red Snake." The wall was built to protect Iran from invasion by the White Huns ( Hepthalites ; called Khionites, X'iiaona and Xyôn in Zoroastrian texts). Later another wave of White Huns conquered Khurasan and occupied it for

9114-545: The top, coming from the upper side." Nöldeke, Hübschmann, Frye, Christensen and Enoki identify Aparshahr/Abarshahr/Abharshahr/Abrashahr with Khurasan , a historical region of Iran, or with Nishapur , an Iranian city. The Khurasan ( χwarasan ) in Iranian studies is known as "rise of Sun." The Parthian word apar ( Middle Persian abar/aβar , meaning "up, on, over") and Parthian/Middle Persian šahr are cognate with Old Iranian χšaθra , which means "empire, power,

9212-533: The victory, the Hephthalite empire extended to Merv and Herat . Some of the White Huns drew up a peace treaty with Iran and the two became allies, both fighting against the Byzantine Empire . Thus, Hephthalites lived in the Khurasan/Khorasan area. According to the Chinese classic Liang chih-kung-t'u , 滑 ( pinyin : hua ) was the name the Hephthalites used for themselves, and that is probably

9310-800: Was Agran". The editor of this book, an academician of the Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, Z.M. Buniyatov, confirms that this "Agran" corresponds to the Avar Khanate . The word "Agran" is unknown to modern Avars. According to the Altiranisches Wörterbuch, written by Christian Bartholomae, "agra" means erste, oberste; Anfang, Spitze in his language, German. This corresponds to "first, upper, beginning, tip" in English. He also wrote that "agra'va" meant vom Obersten, von der Oberseite stammend in German, which translates to "from

9408-557: Was the first person to write about Avars under the name "Avar." He wrote in 1404 that " Circassians , Leks , Yasses, Alans , Avars, [and] Kazikumukhs" live in the Caucasus. According to Vladimir Minorsky, one account from 1424 called the Daghestanian Avars the Auhar. Azerbaijani writer Abbasgulu Bakikhanov wrote that the "inhabitants of vicinities of Agran have been moved here from Khurasan . A residence of this emir also

9506-883: Was the founding king of the Hunnic Alkhan dynasty ( Bactrian : αλχανο, Middle Chinese : 嚈噠). He was a contemporary of Khushnavaz ( fl. 484). In response to the migration of the Wusun (who were hard-pressed by the Rouran ) from Zhetysu to the Pamir region, Khingila united the Uars and the Xionites in 460AD, establishing the Hepthalite dynasty . According to the Syrian compilation of Church Historian Zacharias Rhetor ( c.  465 , Gaza – after 536), bishop of Mytilene ,

9604-507: Was to send an embassy to the aging emperor Justinian. That took place sometime in winter 558/59, and they struck the usual deal: the Avars were to fight for the Empire against unruly gentes and in turn would receive annual payments and other benefits. Indeed, for 20 years to come the Avars, under their Khagan Baian, fought Utigurs and Antes, Gepids and Slavs, whereas their policy towards the Empire relied more on negotiation than on war." By 562

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