View source for Pannonian Avars

{{short description|Alliance of various Eurasian nomads – 6th to 9th centuries}}
{{About||the modern ethnic group native to the North Caucasus|Avars (Caucasus)|other uses|Avar (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox Former Country
| conventional_long_name = Avar Khaganate
| common_name            = Avars
| status                 = Empire
| government_type        = [[Khanate]]
| common_languages       = {{plainlist|
*[[Turkic languages|Turkic]], [[Mongolic languages|Mongolic]] and/or [[Tungusic languages]] (ruling class){{sfn|Curta|2004|pp=125–148}}{{sfn|Helimski|2004|pp=59–72}}{{sfn|de la Fuente|2015}}{{page needed|date=August 2022}}
*[[Proto-Slavic]] (''possibly late [[lingua franca]]''){{sfn|Curta|2004|p=132}}}}
| capital                = 
| religion               = Originally [[shamanism]] and [[animism]], [[Christianity]] after 796
| year_start             = 567&nbsp;
| event1                 = Defeated by [[Samo#Rebellion|Samo]]
| date_event1            = 626
| event2                 = Conquered by [[White Croats]] in [[White Croat conquest of Dalmatia|Dalmatia]]
| date_event2            = 634–638
| event3                 = Defeated by [[Pepin of Italy]]
| date_event3            = 796
| year_end               = &nbsp; 822{{sfn|Waldman|Mason|2006|p=769}}
| p1                     = Lombards
| p2                     = Kingdom of the Gepids
| p3                     = Hunnic Empire
| p4                     = Byzantine Empire under the Justinian dynasty
| p5                     = Samo's Empire
| s1                     = Carolingian Empire
| s2                     = First Bulgarian Empire
| s3                     = Samo's Empire
| s4                     = Pannonian Slavs
| s5                     = Avar March
| image_map              = {{Eurasia 576 CE|center|||Map of the Avar Khaganate in Eurasia.png|none}}
| image_map_caption      = {{center|The Avar Khaganate ({{Colorsample|#6B8E23}}) and main contemporary polities {{circa|576}} }}
| image_map2             = Avar Khaganate Map 602.png
| image_map2_caption     = The Avar Khaganate and surroundings {{circa|602}}.
| image_map2_size        = 300
| leader1                = {{plainlist|
*[[Bayan I]] (562–602)
*[[Bayan II]] (602–617)
*(''Names&nbsp;unknown''&nbsp;617&nbsp;–&nbsp;c.&nbsp;802)
*[[Zodan]] ([[flourished|fl.]] 803)
*[[Theodore Abu-Qurrah|Theodorus]] (? – 805)<ref>Some sources claim that Khagan Theodorus and his predecessor Zodan were one and the same; that is, Zodan assumed the name Thedourus after converting to Christianity.</ref>
*[[Abraham (Avar khagan)|Abraham]] (fl. 805)
*[[Isaac (Avar khagan)|Isaac]] (? – ?)<ref>The name of Khagan Isaac appears to have been corrupted into Latin as ''Canizauci princeps Avarum'' ("Khagan Isaac, Prince of the Avars").</ref>
}}
| year_leader1           = 
| title_leader           = [[Khagan]]
| demonym                = 
| area_km2               = 
| today                  = 
}}

The '''Pannonian Avars''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|v|ɑr|z}} {{respell|AV|arz}}) were an alliance of several groups of [[Eurasian nomads]] of various origins.<ref>{{multiref2|{{harvnb|Encyclopædia Britannica|Avar}}|{{harvnb|Frassetto|2003|pp =54–55}}|{{harvnb|Waldman|Mason|2006|pp =46–49}}|{{harvnb|Beckwith|2009|pp =390–391|ps=: "... the Avars certainly contained peoples belonging to several different ethnolinguistic groups, so that attempts to identify them with one or another specific eastern people are misguided."}}|{{harvnb|Kyzlasov|1996|p=322|ps=: "The Juan-Juan state was undoubtedly multi-ethnic, but there is no definite evidence as to their language... Some scholars link the Central Asian Juan-Juan with the Avars who came to Europe in the mid-sixth century. According to widespread but unproven and probably unjustified opinion, the Avars spoke a language of the Mongolic group."}}|{{harvnb|Pritsak|1982|p= 359}}
}}</ref> The peoples were also known as the '''Obri''' (modern {{langx | ru | обры}}, Obry) in the chronicles of the [[Rus' people|Rus]],<ref>
С. М. Соловьев. книга I // История России с древнейших времён (в пятнадцати книгах) / отв. ред. Л. В. Черепнин. — 3-е изд. (в новой орфографии). — М.: Издательство социально-экономической литературы, 1959—1966. — Т. 1. — С. 122.
</ref> the '''Abaroi''' or '''Varchonitai'''{{sfn|Encyclopedia of Ukraine|Avars}} ({{langx|el|Βαρχονῖται|Varchonitai}}), or '''Pseudo-Avars'''<ref>{{harvnb|Grousset|1939|p= 171|ps=:According to Grousset, [[Theophylact Simocatta]] called them 'pseudo-Avars' because he thought that the true Avars were the [[Rouran Khaganate|Rouran]].}}</ref> in [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] sources, and the '''Apar''' ({{langx|otk|𐰯𐰺}}) to the [[Göktürks]].<ref>{{harvnb|Kultegin Inscription||last1=|year=}}</ref> They established the '''Avar Khaganate''', which spanned the [[Pannonian Basin]] and considerable areas of [[Central Europe|Central]] and [[Eastern Europe]] from the late-6th to the early-9th centuries.{{sfn|Pohl|2002|pp=26–29}}

The name "Pannonian Avars" (after [[Pannonian Basin|Pannonia]] in the upper [[Danube basin]] where they eventually settled) is used to distinguish them from the [[Avars (Caucasus)|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,{{sfn|Curta|2006}} on the [[Pontic–Caspian steppe]] as a people who wished to escape 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 for their influence on the [[Slavic migrations to the Balkans]].

Recent [[Archaeogenetics|archaeogenetic]] studies indicate that the Pannonian Avars were of primarily [[Ancient Northeast Asian]] ancestry similar to the forebears of modern-day people from [[Mongolia]] and the [[Amur|Amur River]] region in [[Manchuria]], pointing to an initial rapid migration of nomadic tribes into 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 [[Eurasian steppe]] groups.{{sfn|Neparáczki|Maróti|2019}}{{sfn|Csáky|Gerber|2020}}{{sfn|Gnecchi-Ruscone et al.|2022}}{{sfn|Maróti|Neparáczki|Schütz|2022}}{{sfn|David|2022}}{{sfn|Saag|Staniuk|2022|pp=38–41}}{{NoteTag|It is likely that other groups from the Western Eurasian steppes took part in the Avar migration, and that at least the Avar khagans and their core group were actually descended from the Rouran. The results of the present article support this view. The written sources also indicate that Cutrigurs, Utigurs and Bulgars from the Pontic steppes accompanied the Avars into the Carpathian Basin.|name=Gnecchi-Ruscone et al. 2022}}

==Origins==
===Avars and pseudo-Avars===
{{multiple image
| perrow            = 2
| total_width       = 300
| image1            = Grave goods from the Avar cemetery of Gyenesdiás, Hungary - saber and sheath.jpg
| image2            = Grave goods from the Avar cemetery of Gyenesdiás, Hungary - harness mountings.jpg
| image3            = Grave goods from the Avar cemetery of Gyenesdiás, Hungary - rings.jpg
| image4            = Grave goods from the Avar cemetery of Gyenesdiás, Hungary - reflex bow.jpg
| footer            = Grave goods (saber and sheath, harness mountings, rings, reflex bow) from the Avar cemetery of [[Gyenesdiás|Gyenesdiás, Hungary]]
}}

The earliest clear reference to the Avar ethnonym comes from [[Priscus|Priscus the Rhetor]] (420s–after 472), who recounts that in c. 463 the [[Saragurs|Šaragurs]] and [[Onogurs]] were attacked by the [[Sabir people|Sabirs]], who had been attacked by the Avars. In turn, the Avars had been driven off by people fleeing "man-eating [[griffin]]s" coming from "the ocean" (''Priscus Fr 40'').{{sfn|Maenchen-Helfen|1976|p=436}} Whilst Priscus' accounts provide some information about the ethno-political situation in the [[Don (river)|Don]]-[[Kuban]]-[[Volga Delta|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 the Avars who appear a century later, during the time of [[Justinian]] (r. 527–565).{{sfn|Dobrovits|2003}}

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 [[Turkic peoples|Turks]] appeared angry at the Byzantines for having made an alliance with the Avars, whom the Turks saw as their subjects and slaves. [[Tamgan|Turxanthos]], a Turk prince, calls the Avars "Varchonites" and "escaped slaves of the Turks", who numbered "about 20 thousand" (''Menander Fr 43'').{{sfn|Whitby|Whitby|1986|p=226, footnote 48}}

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:

{{blockquote|text=For this very [[Khagan|Chagan]] had in fact outfought the leader of the nation of the [[Durrani|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 [[Pannonian Basin|Pannonia]], and that their arrival was prior to the times of the [[emperor Maurice]]. For it 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 [[Tuoba|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 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 the course of the Til, which Turks are accustomed to call Melas. The earliest leaders of this nation were named [[khingila|Var]] and [[xionites|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 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.&nbsp;[…]

When the [[Barsils]], [[Onogurs]], [[Sabir people|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 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 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.}}

[[File:Coins of the Avars 6th-7th centuries CE imitating Ravenna mint types of Heraclius.jpg|thumb|Coins of the Avars 6th–7th centuries AD, imitating [[Ravenna]] mint types of [[Heraclius]]{{sfn|CNG|2009}}]]
[[File:Avaric - Drinking Bowl - Walters 57565 - Profile.jpg|thumb|Gold Avar bowl, found in modern [[Albania]], c. 700]]

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 the Turks, farther east.{{sfn|Dobrovits|2003}}{{sfn|Nechaeva|2011}} A political name *''(A)Par'' 𐰯𐰻 was indeed mentioned in inscriptions honoring [[Kul Tigin]] and [[Bilge Qaghan]], yet in Armenian sources ([[Elishe|Egishe Vardapet]], [[Ghazar Parpetsi]], and [[Sebeos]]) ''Apar'' seemingly indicated "a geographical area ([[Greater Khorasan|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 [[Middle Chinese|MC]] *''ɦˠuɛt̚'' > [[standard Chinese|Ch.]]''Huá'' in Chinese sources. Even so, *''Apar'' could not be linked to the European Avars, notwithstanding any link, if there were, between the Hephthalites and [[Rourans]].{{sfn|Tezcan|2004}}{{page needed|date=August 2022}} 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 the Byzantines and Avars (coinciding with Emperor Maurice's northern Balkan campaigns).{{sfn|Dobrovits|2003}}

===Paul the Deacon===
[[Paul the Deacon]] in his ''[[History of the Lombards]]'' insisted that Avars were known previously as [[Huns]] and he conflated the two groups.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bak |first1=János M. |last2=Veszprémy |first2=László |title=Studies on the Illuminated Chronicle |date=1 July 2018 |publisher=Central European University Press |isbn=978-963-386-262-9 |page=128 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ufiZDwAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref>

===Uar, Rouran and other Central Asian peoples===
{{Continental Asia in 500 CE|right|{{center|The Rouran Khaganate and contemporary Asian polities c. 500 CE}}.||Map of Rouran.png||{{Annotation|0|0|[[File:Map of Rouran.png|300px]]}}}}  

According to some scholars, the Avars who settled in Pannonia originated from a confederation, formed in the [[Aral Sea]] region, by a tribe known as the '''Uar''' (also known as the ''Ouar'', ''Warr'' and ''Var'') and the [[Xionites]] (or ''Chionitae'', ''Xiyon'' etc).{{sfn|Muratov|2008}}{{sfn|Gulyamov|1957}}{{page needed|date=August 2022}} The Pannonian Avars were also known by names including ''Uarkhon'' and ''Varchonites'' {{snd}} which may have been a [[portmanteau]] combining names such as ''Var'' and ''Chion''. The cultural and linguistic affiliations of the Uar have remained obscure, although the Xionites had likely been speakers of [[Iranian languages|Iranian]] and/or [[Turkic languages|Turkic]] languages.{{sfn|Golden|2006|p=19}} (While the [[Hephthalites]] had also previously been part of the same confederation as the Uar and Xionites,{{cn|date=July 2025}} the Hephthalites had evidently not taken part in any westward migration, and had instead remained in [[Central Asia]], and migrated into [[South Asia]].)

The 18th century historian [[Joseph de Guignes]] postulates 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 ''[[Book of Wei|Wei Shu]]'' and ''[[History of the Northern Dynasties|Bei Shi]]''.{{sfn|Harmatta|2001|pp=109–118}} 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 the Hephthalites as well as the Turkic [[Tiele people|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 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.{{sfn|Pulleyblank|1999|pp=35, 44}} Several historians, including Peter Benjamin Golden, suggest that the Avars are of Turkic origin, likely from the Oghur branch.{{sfn|Golden|1992}} Another theory suggests that some of the Avars were of [[Tungusic peoples|Tungusic]] origin.{{sfn|Helimski|2004|pp=59–72}} 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 is unknown but stated that it is likely that the Avars were originally mainly composed of Turkic (Oghuric) tribes.{{sfn|Silić|Heršak|2002}}{{page needed|date=August 2022}}

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 a [[Para-Mongolic languages|Para-Mongolic language]] (Serbi-Avar), which is a sister lineage to contemporary [[Mongolic languages]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gnecchi-Ruscone |first1=Guido Alberto |last2=Szécsényi-Nagy |first2=Anna |last3=Koncz |first3=István |last4=Csiky |first4=Gergely |last5=Rácz |first5=Zsófia |last6=Rohrlach |first6=A. B. |last7=Brandt |first7=Guido |last8=Rohland |first8=Nadin |last9=Csáky |first9=Veronika |last10=Cheronet |first10=Olivia |last11=Szeifert |first11=Bea |last12=Rácz |first12=Tibor Ákos |last13=Benedek |first13=András |last14=Bernert |first14=Zsolt |last15=Berta |first15=Norbert |date=14 April 2022 |title=Ancient genomes reveal origin and rapid trans-Eurasian migration of 7th century Avar elites |journal=Cell |volume=185 |issue=8 |pages=1402–1413.e21 |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2022.03.007 |pmid=35366416 |pmc=9042794 |issn=0092-8674 |quote=While we can conclude that the Rouran most likely called themselves Avars, to what extent the European Avars were descended from them has been debated (Dobrovits, 2003; Pohl, 2018). ... Striking genetic similarity between early Avar elites and the Rouran in Mongolia|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Shimunek, Andrew 2017">Shimunek, Andrew (2017). ''Languages of Ancient Southern Mongolia and North China: a Historical-Comparative Study of the Serbi or Xianbei Branch of the Serbi-Mongolic Language Family, with an Analysis of Northeastern Frontier Chinese and Old Tibetan Phonology''. [[Wiesbaden]]: Harrassowitz Verlag. {{ISBN|978-3-447-10855-3}}. [[OCLC (identifier)|OCLC]] 993110372.</ref>

===Steppe empire dynamics and ethnogenesis===
[[File:Pontic steppe region around 650 AD.png|thumb|The [[Pontic steppe]], c. 650, showing the early territories of the [[Khazars]], [[Bulgars]], and Avars]]

In 2003, [[Walter Pohl]] summarized the formation of [[nomadic empire]]s:{{sfn|Jarnut|Pohl|2003|pp=477–478}}

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 {{clarify|text=(legitimate)|date=November 2022}} [[Ashina tribe|Ashina clan]] in 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 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 ([[Kutrigur]]s, [[Utigurs]], [[Onogurs]], etc.), were most important. In the process of name-giving, both perceptions by outsiders and self-designation played 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 {{ill|Bálint Csanád|hu|Bálint Csanád|lt=Csanád Bálint}}. "The [[ethnogenesis]] of early medieval peoples of steppe origin cannot be conceived in a ''single linear'' fashion due to their great and constant mobility", with no ethnogenetic "point zero", theoretical "proto-people" or proto-language.{{sfn|Bálint|2010|p=150}}{{page needed|date=August 2022}} 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.{{sfn|Pohl|1998}}{{page needed|date=August 2022}}

Savelyev and Jeong (2020) in "''Early nomads of 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-Turkic|Oghur-Turks]], and [[Rouran Khaganate|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, the Caucasus, the Southern Russian steppes and the local Central European cultures can be traced alongside each other".<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Savelyev |first1=Alexander |last2=Jeong |first2=Choongwon |date=2020 |title=Early nomads of the Eastern Steppe and their tentative connections in the West |journal=Evolutionary Human Sciences |language=en |volume=2 |article-number=e20 |doi=10.1017/ehs.2020.18 |pmid=35663512 |pmc=7612788 |hdl=21.11116/0000-0007-772B-4 |issn=2513-843X}}</ref>

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]].<ref name="GAGR" /><ref name=":0" />

===Anthropology===
{{multiple image
| perrow            = 2
| total_width       = 400
| image1            = 2008.09.26.Szolnok 045.jpg
| image2            = 2008.09.26.Szolnok 064.jpg
| footer            = Skeleton and grave goods from the Avar cemetery of [[Szolnok]], János Damjanich Museum
}}

In the [[Stuttgart Psalter]] there is an image of mounted archers riding backwards on their horses, a noted "Asian" tactic, which may depict the Avars.{{sfn|Golden|1984|pp=11–12, 26}} According to mid-20th century [[Biological anthropology|physical anthropologists]] such as [[Pál Lipták]], human remains from the early Avar (7th century) period had mostly "[[Caucasian race|Europoid]]" features, while [[grave goods]] indicated cultural links to the [[Eurasian Steppe]].{{sfn|Fóthi|2000|pp=87–94}} 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).{{sfn|''Acta Archaeologica''|1967|p=86}} Remains with East Asian or Eurasian features were found in about one third of the Avar graves from the 8th century.{{sfn|Oshanin|1964|p=21}} According to Lipták, 79% of the population of the [[Danube–Tisza Interfluve|Danube-Tisza region]] during the Avar period showed Europoid characteristics.{{sfn|Fóthi|2000|pp=87–94}} However, Lipták used racial terms later deprecated or regarded as obsolete, such as "[[Mongoloid]]" for northeast Asian and "[[Turanid race|Turanid]]" for individuals of mixed ancestry.{{sfn|Lipták|1955}}{{page needed|date=August 2022}} Several theories suggest that the ruling class of the Avars were of Northern East Asian origin resembling the "Tungid type" (common among Tungusic speaking peoples).{{sfn|Helimski|2004|pp=59–72}}

===Archaeogenetics===
{{See also|Donghu people#Genetics|Rouran Khaganate#Genetics|Xianbei#Genetics|Xiongnu#Genetics|Huns#Genetics}}
[[File:Lamellar helmet from Niederstotzingen (reconstruction).jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Colour photograph of a reconstruction of the ''Lamellenhelm'' from Niederstotzingen|Reconstruction of a [[lamellar helmet]] from [[Niederstotzingen]]; dated 560–600 AD; it is considered to be an Avar lamellar helmet{{sfn|Kubik|2008|p=151}}]]
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.{{sfn|Csősz|Szécsényi-Nagy|2016|p=1}} They were found to be mostly carrying European haplogroups such as [[Haplogroup H (mtDNA)|H]], [[Haplogroup K (mtDNA)|K]], [[Haplogroup T (mtDNA)|T]] and [[Haplogroup U (mtDNA)|U]], while about 15% carried Asian haplogroups such as [[Haplogroup C (mtDNA)|C]], [[Haplogroup M (mtDNA)|M6]], [[Haplogroup D (mtDNA)|D4c1]] and [[Haplogroup F (mtDNA)|F1a]].{{sfn|Csősz|Szécsényi-Nagy|2016|pp=2–4}} Their mtDNA were found to be primarily characteristic of Eastern and Southern Europe.<ref>{{harvnb|Csősz|Szécsényi-Nagy|2016|p=1}}. "[T]he analyzed Avars represents a certain group of the Avar society that shows East and South European genetic characteristics..."</ref>

A genetic study published in the ''[[American Journal of Biological Anthropology|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]].{{sfn|Šebest|Baldovič|2018|p=1}} Of the 46 samples of mtDNA extracted, 93% belonged to west Eurasian lineages, while 6% belonged to east Eurasian lineages.{{sfn|Šebest|Baldovič|2018|pp=1, 6}} 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 the Avars.{{sfn|Šebest|Baldovič|2018|p=14}} 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.<ref>{{harvnb|Šebest |Baldovič|2018|p=14}}. "The most probable explanation of our findings could be that the assimilation rate of Avars and Slavs was already relatively high in theanalyzed mixed ancient population, where a majority of the inter-ethnic marriages involved Avar men and Slavic women."</ref>
 
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 the middle and late Avar period.{{sfn|Neparáczki|Maróti|2019|p=3|loc=Figure 1}} The eleven early Avar males were found to be carrying the paternal haplogroups [[Haplogroup N-M231#N1a1a (M178)|N1a1a1a1a3]] (four samples), [[Haplogroup N-M231#N1a1a (M178)|N1a1a]] (two samples), [[Haplogroup R1a#R1a1a1b2 (R-Z93) (Asia)|R1a1a1b2a]] (two samples), [[Haplogroup C-M217|C2]], [[Haplogroup G-M201|G2a]], and [[Haplogroup I-M253|I1]].{{sfn|Neparáczki|Maróti|2019|p=3|loc=Figure 1}} The three males dated to the middle and late Avar period carried the paternal haplogroups C2, N1a1a1a1a3 and [[Haplogroup E-V68|E1b1b1a1b1a]].{{sfn|Neparáczki|Maróti|2019|p=3|loc=Figure 1}} In short, most carried "East Eurasian Y haplogroups typical for modern north-eastern Siberian and [[Buryats|Buryat]] populations". The Avars studied were all determined to have had dark eyes and dark hair, and the majority of them were found to be primarily of East Asian origin.<ref>{{harvnb|Neparáczki|Maróti|2019|pp=5–7}}. "All Hun and Avar age samples had inherently dark eye/hair colors... 8/15 Avar age individuals showed predominantly East Asian origin with both methods, 4 individuals were definitely European, while two showed evidence of admixture."</ref>

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.{{sfn|Csáky|Gerber|2020|p=1}} The mtDNA of these Avars belonged mostly to East Asian haplogroups, while the [[Y chromosome|Y-DNA]] was exclusively of East Asian origin and "strikingly homogenous", belonging to haplogroups [[Haplogroup N-M231|N-M231]] and [[Haplogroup Q-M242|Q-M242]].{{sfn|Csáky|Gerber|2020|pp=1, 4}} The evidence suggests that the Avar elite were largely [[Patrilineality|patrilineal]] and [[Endogamy|endogamous]] for centuries, and entered the Pannonian Basin through migrations from East Asia involving both men and women.{{sfn|Csáky|Gerber|2020|pp=1, 9–10}} 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 says on this basis that they were descended from Xiongnu, who they in turn suggested were descended from [[Scythian cultures|Scytho-Siberians]].{{sfn|Keyser|Zvénigorosky|2020|ps=:[O]ur findings confirmed that the Xiongnu had a strongly admixed mitochondrial and Y-chromosome gene pools and revealed a significant western component in the Xiongnu group studied.... [W]e propose Scytho-Siberians as ancestors of the Xiongnu and Huns as their descendants... [E]ast Eurasian R1a subclades R1a1a1b2a-Z94 and R1a1a1b2a2-Z2124 were a common element of the Hun, Avar and Hungarian Conqueror elite and very likely belonged to the branch that was observed in our Xiongnu samples. Moreover, haplogroups Q1a and N1a were also major components of these nomadic groups, reinforcing the view that Huns (and thus Avars and Hungarian invaders) might derive from the Xiongnu as was proposed until the eighteenth century but strongly disputed since... Some Xiongnu paternal and maternal haplotypes could be found in the gene pool of the Huns, the Avars, as well as Mongolian and Hungarian conquerors.}}

[[File:Genomic_evidence_from_Avar_period_human_remains.png|thumb|upright=1.75|Genomic evidence from human remains shows that Avar elites were essentially derived from [[Ancient Northeast Asians]] (ANA).<ref name="GAGR"/>]]
A genetic study published in scientific journal ''[[Cell (journal)|Cell]]'' in April 2022 analyzed 48 Pannonian Avar samples from 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%<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Balinova |first1=Natalia |last2=Post |first2=Helen |last3=Kushniarevich |first3=Alena |last4=Flores |first4=Rodrigo |last5=Karmin |first5=Monika |last6=Sahakyan |first6=Hovhannes |last7=Reidla |first7=Maere |last8=Metspalu |first8=Ene |last9=Litvinov |first9=Sergey |last10=Dzhaubermezov |first10=Murat |last11=Akhmetova |first11=Vita |last12=Khusainova |first12=Rita |last13=Endicott |first13=Phillip |last14=Khusnutdinova |first14=Elza |last15=Orlova |first15=Keemya |date=September 2019 |title=Y-chromosomal analysis of clan structure of Kalmyks, the only European Mongol people, and their relationship to Oirat-Mongols of Inner Asia |journal=European Journal of Human Genetics |volume=27 |issue=9 |pages=1466–1474 |doi=10.1038/s41431-019-0399-0 |issn=1476-5438 |pmc=6777519 |pmid=30976109}}</ref>), with Q1a, Q1b, R1a, R1b and E1b subclades present in smaller numbers. The samples had a strong affinity with modern peoples inhabiting 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.<ref name="GAGR">{{cite journal |last1=Gnecchi-Ruscone |first1=Guido Alberto |title=Ancient genomes reveal origin and rapid trans-Eurasian migration of 7th century Avar elites |journal=Cell |date=14 April 2022 |volume=185 |issue=8 |pages=1402–1413.e21 |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2022.03.007 |pmid=35366416 |language=en |issn=0092-8674|quote=All of these individuals, albeit variably mixed with other sources, have been shown to trace their eastern Eurasian ancestry component to a genetic profile referred to as the "ancient northeast Asians" (ANA) (...) All of the early-Avar-period individuals (DTI_early_elite), except for an infant and a burial with typical characteristics of the Transtisza group (Figure 2B), form a tight cluster with a high level of ANA ancestry.|pmc=9042794 }}</ref> The Avar individuals showed their highest genetic affinity with present-day Mongolic and Tungusic peoples, as well as [[Nivkh people|Nivkhs]].<ref name=":0">{{harvnb|Gnecchi-Ruscone et al.|2022|ps=:They are located between present-day Mongolic- (e.g., Buryats and Khamnigans) and Tungusic/Nivkh-speaking populations (e.g., Negidals, Nanai, Ulchi, and Nivkhs) together with the only available ancient genome from the Rouran-period Mongolia and are close to the three AR_Xianbei_P_2c individuals in the PCA}}</ref>
[[File:Prehistoric migration routes for Y-chromosome haplogroup N lineage.png|thumb|Migration routes for the Y-chromosome haplogroup N lineage, the dominant paternal haplogroup of Elite Avar remains.]]
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 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 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 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.{{sfn|Maróti|Neparáczki|Schütz|2022}}

Wang et al. 2025 analyzed 722 remains from the periphery of the Avar Khaganate in [[Austria]] dating to 650–800 CE, specifically from sites in present-day [[Leobersdorf]] and [[Mödling]], [[Lower Austria]]. Although both sites displayed a shared material culture, the remains from Leobersdorf displayed mostly [[East Asians|East Asian]] ancestry, while the remains from Mödling displayed mostly European-like ancestry. The archaeogenetic data revealed that even after 200 years since the arrival of the 'core Avars' from present-day [[Mongolia]], East Asian ancestry remained dominant among their elite, but apparently also among non-elite groups in periphery areas, as is the case for Leobersdorf. According to the authors, this can primarily be explained via "systematically choosing partners with similar ancestry from other sites in the Avar realm", until the assimilation of the Avar Khaganate into the [[Frankish empire]] starting at 800 CE, with the last Avar prince being mentioned in 822 CE. The male Avar remains from Leobersdorf carried primarily the paternal [[haplogroup C-M217]], while a minority carried [[haplogroup O-M175]] and [[haplogroup R1a]], in contrast, the male remains from Mödling displayed a more heterogeneous variation, including mostly local haplogroups, and only a minority carrying haplogroup C-M217 or N1a. The authors note that "what the evidence from Leobersdorf crucially shows is that entire groups of mostly Asian ancestry did not display elite or warrior status any more in the 8th century, and had moved out of the core area of the Avar realm", beyond that, non-Asian locals were fully assimilated into 'Avar culture', indistinguishable in terms of material culture.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Ke |last2=Tobias |first2=Bendeguz |last3=Pany-Kucera |first3=Doris |last4=Berner |first4=Margit |last5=Eggers |first5=Sabine |last6=Gnecchi-Ruscone |first6=Guido Alberto |last7=Zlámalová |first7=Denisa |last8=Gretzinger |first8=Joscha |last9=Ingrová |first9=Pavlína |last10=Rohrlach |first10=Adam B. |last11=Tuke |first11=Jonathan |last12=Traverso |first12=Luca |last13=Klostermann |first13=Paul |last14=Koger |first14=Robin |last15=Friedrich |first15=Ronny |date=15 January 2025 |title=Ancient DNA reveals reproductive barrier despite shared Avar-period culture |journal=Nature |volume=638 |issue=8052 |language=en |pages=1007–1014 |doi=10.1038/s41586-024-08418-5 |issn=1476-4687|doi-access=free |pmid=39814885 |pmc=11864967 |bibcode=2025Natur.638.1007W }}</ref>

== History ==

=== Arrival in Europe ===
In 557, the Avars sent an embassy to [[Constantinople]], presumably from 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{{mdash}}[[Kutrigurs]] and [[Sabir people|Sabirs]]{{mdash}}and defeated the [[Antes people|Antes]].

{{harvnb|Pohl|1998|p=18|ps=: [...] the first thing the Avars did when they came near the Caucasus on their flight from Central Asia 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 the Avars controlled the lower [[Danube]] basin and the steppes north of the Black Sea.{{sfn|Pohl|1998|p=18}}{{request quotation|date=May 2020}} By the time they arrived in the [[Balkans]], the Avars formed a heterogeneous group of about 20,000 horsemen.{{sfn|Curta|2001}} After the Byzantine Emperor [[Justinian I]] bought them off, they pushed northwestwards into [[Germania]]. However, [[Franks|Frankish]] opposition halted the Avars' expansion in that direction. Seeking rich pastoral lands, 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.{{sfn|Evans|2005|page=xxxv|ps=: An Avar embassy first appeared in Constantinople in 558, asking for land within the empire and calling for an annual subsidy. Justinian granted them a subsidy, but for land he directed them elsewhere.}} The Avars turned their attention to the Carpathian Basin and to the natural defenses it afforded.{{sfn|Makkai|Mócsy|2001}} The Carpathian Basin was occupied by the [[Gepids]]. In 567 the Avars formed an alliance with the [[Lombards]]{{mdash}}enemies of the Gepids{{mdash}}and together they destroyed much of the Gepid kingdom. The Avars then persuaded the Lombards to move into [[Kingdom of the Lombards|northern Italy]], an invasion that marked the last Germanic mass-movement in the [[Migration Period]].{{citation needed|date= May 2014}}

Continuing their successful policy of turning the various barbarians against each other, the Byzantines persuaded the Avars to attack the [[Sclaveni|Sclavenes]] in [[Scythia Minor]], a land rich with goods.{{sfn|Curta|2001}}{{page needed|date= December 2015}} After devastating much of the Sclavenes' land, the Avars returned to Pannonia after many of the khagan's subjects deserted to the Byzantine emperor.

=== Early Avar period (580–670) ===
[[File:Avari pljene balkanske zemlje, K. Mandrović (1885).jpg|thumb|left|Avars plundering Balkan lands]]
By about 580, the Avar Khagan [[Bayan I]] had established supremacy over most of the [[South Slavs|Slavic]], [[East Germanic tribes|Germanic]] and [[Bulgars|Bulgar]] tribes living in Pannonia and the Carpathian Basin.{{sfn|Pohl|1998|p=18}} 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 (theme)|Dalmatia]] in 568, effectively cutting 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.{{sfn|Curta|2019|p=65}} By 582, the Avars had [[Siege of Sirmium|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]], 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History 0 - 1.000 AD |url=https://meandyoukraine.com/History_02.php |access-date=2025-07-02 |website=Me and Youkraine}}</ref>{{unreliable source|sure=y|date=July 2025}} After being defeated at the [[Battles of Viminacium]] in their homeland, some Avars defected to the Byzantines in 602, but [[Maurice (emperor)|Emperor Maurice]] decided not to return home as was customary.{{sfn|Pohl|2002|p=158}} 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 of 602–628|Byzantine–Sasanian War]], and after 615 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 ''[[Solidus (coin)|solidi]]'' shortly before 626.{{sfn|Pohl|1988|p=181}}{{page needed|date=August 2022}} In 626, the Avars cooperated with the [[Sasanian Empire|Sassanid]] force in the failed [[siege of Constantinople (626)|siege of 626]]. After the 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]].{{sfn|Curta|2001}}

{{blockquote|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 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 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. |''[[Chronicle of Fredegar]]'', Book IV, Section 48, written {{circa|642}}}}

In the 630s, [[Samo]], the ruler of the first Slavic polity known as Samo's Tribal Union or [[Samo's Empire|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.<ref>The fate of Samo's empire after his death is unclear; it is generally assumed to have disappeared. Archaeological findings show that the Avars returned to their previous territories{{mdash}}at least to southernmost part of present-day Slovakia{{mdash}}and entered into a symbiotic relationship with the Slavs, whereas to the north of the Avar empire was purely Wend territory. The first specific knowledge of the presence of Slavs and Avars in this area is the existence in the late 8th century of the Moravian and [[Principality of Nitra|Nitrian]] principalities (see [[Great Moravia]]) that were attacking the Avars and the defeat of the Avars by the Franks under [[Charlemagne]] in 799 or 802–803.</ref> The ''[[Chronicle of Fredegar]]'' records that during Samo's rebellion in 631, 9,000 Bulgars led by [[Alcek|Alciocus]] left Pannonia to modern-day [[Bavaria]] where [[Dagobert I]] massacred most of them. The remaining 700 joined 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 [[Utigurs|Utigur]] forces on the other, raged from 631 to 632. After Alciocus fled to Bavaria, 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]].{{sfn|Kardaras|2019|p=94}} The [[Unknown Archon]]'s people from Samo's realm were also resettled at this time.

=== Middle (670–720) and late (720–822) Avar periods ===
[[File:KHM - Nagyszentmiklos Medaillonkrug 2.jpg|thumb|A golden jug from the [[Treasure of Nagyszentmiklós]] depicting a warrior with his captive. Experts cannot agree if this warrior is Bulgar, Khazar or Avar]]

With 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 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. 
:"Finally, the (Avar) Chagan, considering them to constitute a people with an identity of its own put, in accordance to the custom of his race, a chieftain upon them, a man by the name of Kouver. When Kouver (Chagan) learned from some of his most intimate associates the desire of the exiled Romans for their ancestral homes, he gave the matter some thought, then took them together with other peoples, i.e., the foreigners who had joined them, [as is said in the Book of Moses about the Jews at the time of their exodus,] with all their baggage and arms. According to what is said, they rebelled and separated themselves from the (Avar) Chagan. The (Avar) Chagan, when he learned this, set himself in pursuit of them, met them in five or six battles and, being defeated in each one by them, took flight and retired to the regions further north. After the victory, Kouver (Chagan), together with the aforementioned people, crossed the aforementioned river Danube, came to our regions and occupied the Keramesion plain."<ref>[https://www.jassa.org/?p=11361 All the Slavs of the Miracles of Saint Demetrius – Book II: V. Concerning the Civil War Planned Secretly Against our City by the Bulgars Mauros and Kouver]</ref>
About this time, ''[[Mark of Kalt]]'' records that in 677, the principality of [[Uzhhorod|Ungvar]] (Ung fortress) was established in the regions further north where [[Kotrag]]'s group also fled following the chaos, and a third group of Onogur-Bulgarians led by Batayan was subdued by [[Tong Yabghu Qaghan#Campaigns against Persia|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 [[Asparuh of Bulgaria|Asparukh]]—the father of Khan [[Tervel of Bulgaria|Tervel]]—settled permanently along the Danube (c. 679–681), establishing 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 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.{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}

There are very few sources that cover 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.{{sfn|Curta|2019|p=61}}

[[File:Europe around 650.jpg|thumb|Avar Khaganate around 650]]
[[File:Bulgarians and Slavs VI-VII century.png|thumb|Avar Khaganate, Slavs and [[Bulgars]]]]
[[File:Avar settlement area.jpg|thumb|The Avar settlement area from the 7th to the 9th century, according to Éva Garam]]

A new type of ceramics—the so-called "[[Devínska Nová Ves]]" pottery—emerged at the end of the 7th century in the region between the Middle Danube and the Carpathians.{{sfn|Barford|2001|p=78}} 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.{{sfn|Barford|2001|p=78}} 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 the Carpathian Basin became more stable in the Late Avar period.{{sfn|Barford|2001|p=78}}{{sfn|Curta|2006|pp=92–93}} The most popular Late Avar motifs—[[griffin]]s and [[tendril]]s 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.{{sfn|Barford|2001|p=79}}{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=92}} According to historians who accept the latter theory, the immigrants may have been either [[Onogurs]]{{sfn|Kristó|1996|p=93}} or [[Alans]].{{sfn|Havlík|2004|p=228}} Anthropological studies of the skeletons point at the presence of a population with mongoloid features.{{sfn|Barford|2001|p=79}}

In the early 8th century, a new [[archaeological culture]]—the so-called "griffin and tendril" culture—appeared in the Carpathian Basin. Some theories, including the "double conquest" theory of archaeologist [[Gyula László]], attribute it to the arrival of new settlers, such as early [[Hungarians|Magyars]], but this is still under debate. Hungarian archaeologists Laszló Makkai and András Mócsy attribute this culture to an internal evolution of Avars resulting from the integration of the Bulgar émigrés from the previous generation of the 670s. According to Makkai and Mócsy, "the material culture—art, clothing, equipment, weapons—of the late Avar/Bulgar period evolved autonomously from these new foundations". Many regions that had once been important centers of the Avar Empire had lost their significance while new ones arose. Although Avaric [[material culture]] found over much of the northern Balkans may indicate an existing Avar presence, it probably represents the presence of independent Slavs who had adopted Avaric customs.{{sfn|Makkai|Mócsy|2001}} Radovan Bunardžić dated Avar-Bulgar graves excavated in Čelarevo (near Sirmium), containing skulls with Mongolian features and Judaic symbols, to the late 8th century and 9th century.<ref>Exhibition Menoroth from čelarevo : Jewish Historical Museum in Belgrade, Museum of the City of Novi Sad = Izložba Menore iz čelareva. Authors:Exposition itinérante nationale, Radovan Bunardžić. Fedération of Jewish Communities in Yugoslavia, Belgrade, 1980.</ref>

=== Collapse ===
[[File:Awarenmark-frankenreich.png|thumb|right| Frankish [[Avar March]] and neighbouring provinces in the time of [[Charlemagne]] (reigned 800–814)]]
{{main|Avar Wars}}
{{See also|Avar March|March of Pannonia|Pannonian Slavs}}

The gradual decline of Avar power accelerated to a rapid fall. A series of Frankish campaigns, beginning from 788, ended with the conquest of the Avar realm within a decade. Initial conflict between Avars and Franks occurred soon after the Frankish deposition of Bavarian duke [[Tassilo III, Duke of Bavaria|Tassilo III]] and the establishment of direct Frankish rule over [[Duchy of Bavaria|Bavaria]] in 788. At that time, the border between Bavarians and Avars was situated on the [[Enns (river)|river Enns]]. An initial Avarian incursion into Bavaria was repelled, and Franco-Bavarian forces responded by taking the war to neighbouring Avarian territories, situated along the Danube, east of Enns. The two sides collided near the river [[Ybbs]], on Ybbs Field ({{langx|de|Ybbsfeld}}), where the Avars suffered a defeat in 788. This heralded the rise of Frankish power and Avarian decline in the region.{{sfn|Bowlus|1995|pp=47, 80}}{{sfn|Pohl|2018|pp=378–379}}

In 790, the Avars tried to negotiate a peace settlement with the Franks, but no agreement was reached.{{sfn|Pohl|2018|pp=378–379}} A Frankish campaign against the Avars, initiated in 791, ended successfully for the Franks. A large Frankish army, led by [[Charlemagne]], crossed from Bavaria into the Avarian territory beyond the Enns, and started to advance along the Danube in two columns, but found no resistance and soon reached the region of the [[Vienna Woods]], near the Pannonian Plain. No pitched battle was fought,{{sfn|Schutz|2004|p=61}} since the Avars had fled before the advancing Carolingian army, while disease left most of the Avar horses dead.{{sfn|Schutz|2004|p=61}} Tribal infighting began, showing the weakness of the khaganate.{{sfn|Schutz|2004|p=61}}

The Franks had been supported by the Slavs, who established polities on former Avar territory.{{sfn|Schutz|2004|pp=61–62}} Charlemagne's son [[Pepin of Italy]] captured a large, fortified encampment known as "the Ring", which contained much of the spoils from earlier Avar campaigns.{{sfn|Duruy|1891|p=446}} The campaign against the Avars again gathered momentum. By 796, the Avar chieftains had surrendered and became open to the acceptance of Christianity.{{sfn|Schutz|2004|p=61}} In the meantime, all of Pannonia was conquered.{{sfn|Sinor|1990|pp=218–220}} According to the ''[[Royal Frankish Annals|Annales Regni Francorum]]'', the Avars began to submit to the Franks in 796. The song "''[[De Pippini regis Victoria Avarica]]''" celebrating the defeat of the Avars at the hands of [[Pepin of Italy]] in 796 still survives. The Franks baptized many Avars and integrated them into the [[Francia|Frankish Empire]].<ref>''...(sc. Avaros) autem, qui obediebant fidei et baptismum sunt consecuti...''</ref> In 799, some Avars revolted.{{sfn|Schutz|2004|p=62}}

In 804, [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgaria]] conquered the southeastern Avar lands in [[Transylvania]] and southeastern Pannonia up to the Middle Danube, and many Avars became subjects of the [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgarian Empire]]. Khagan Theodorus, a convert to Christianity, died after asking Charlemagne for help in 805; he was succeeded by Khagan [[Abraham (Avar khagan)|Abraham]], who was baptized as the new Frankish client (and should not be assumed from his name alone to have been [[Kabar|Khavar]] rather than Pseudo-Avar). Abraham was succeeded by Khagan (or [[Tudun]]) [[Isaac (Avar khagan)|Isaac]] (Latin ''Canizauci''), about whom little is known. The Franks turned the Avar lands under their control into a [[March (territory)|frontier march]]. The [[March of Pannonia]]{{mdash}}the eastern half of the [[Avar March]]{{mdash}}was then granted to the Slavic Prince [[Pribina]], who established the [[Pannonian Slavs#Principality|Lower Pannonia principality]] in 840.

Whatever was left of Avar power was effectively ended when the [[Bulgars]] expanded their territory into the central and eastern portions of traditional Avar lands around 829.{{sfn|Skutsch|2005|p=158}} According to Pohl, an Avar presence in Pannonia is certain in 871, but thereafter the name is no longer used by chroniclers. Pohl wrote, "It simply proved impossible to keep up an Avar identity after Avar institutions and the high claims of their tradition had failed",{{sfn|Pohl|1998|p=19}} although [[Regino of Prüm|Regino]] wrote about them in 889.{{sfn|Olajos|2001|pp=50–56}}<ref>"''Et primo quidem Pannoniorum et Avarum solitudines pererrantes''"</ref> The growing amount of archaeological evidence in [[Transdanubia]] also presumes an Avar population in the Carpathian Basin in the late 9th century.{{sfn|Olajos|2001|pp=50–56}} Archaeological findings suggest a substantial, late Avar presence on the [[Great Hungarian Plain]]; however, it is difficult to determine their proper chronology.{{sfn|Olajos|2001|pp=50–56}} The preliminary results of the new excavations also imply that the known and largely accepted theory of the destruction of the Avar settlement area is outdated; a disastrous depopulation of the Avar Khaganate never happened.{{sfn|Ančić|Shepard|Vedriš|2017}}{{page needed|date=August 2022}}

Byzantine records, including the "''Notitia episcopatuum''", the "''Additio patriarchicorum thronorum''" by [[Neilos Doxapatres]], the [[Chronicle of Peter of Alexandria|''Chronica'' by Petrus Alexandrinus]] and the "''Notitia patriarchatuum''" mention the 9th century Avars as an existing Christian population.{{sfn|Olajos|2001|pp=50–56}} The Avars had already been mixing with the more numerous Slavs for generations, and they later came under the rule of external polities, such as the Franks, Bulgaria, and [[Great Moravia]].{{sfn|Fine|1991|p=79}} Fine presumes that Avar descendants who survived the [[Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin|Hungarian Conquest]] in the 890s were likely absorbed by the Hungarian population.{{sfn|Fine|1991|p=79}} After the mid to late 8th-century Frankish conquest of Pannonia, Avar and Bulgar refugees migrated to settle in the area of Bulgaria and along its western periphery.{{sfn|Fine|1991|pp=251–252}} The Avars in the region known as ''solitudo avarorum''{{mdash}}currently called the Great Hungarian Plain{{mdash}}vanished in an arc of three generations. They slowly merged with the Slavs to create a bilingual Turkic-Slavic-speaking people who were subjected to Frankish domination; the invading Magyars found this composite people in the late 9th century.{{sfn|Róna-Tas|1999|p=264}} The ''[[De Administrando Imperio]]'', written around 950 and based on older documents, states that "there are still descendants of the Avars in [[Kingdom of Croatia (925–1102)|Croatia]], and are recognized as Avars". Modern historians and archaeologists until now proved the opposite, that Avars never lived in Dalmatia proper (including [[Lika]]),<ref>{{cite book |last=Petrinec |first=Maja |chapter=Avar finds on the eastern coast of the Adriatic |date=2022 |editor1=Papeša, Anita Rapan |editor2=Dugonjić, Anita |title=Avars and Slavs: Two Sides of the Belt Strap End - Avars on the North and the South of the Khaganate, proceedings of the international scientific conference held in Vinkovci 2020 |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/93521564 |location=Zagreb, Vinkovci |publisher=Arheološki muzej u Zagrebu, Gradski muzej Vinkovci |page=378 |isbn=978-953-8143-58-8}}</ref> that statement occurred somewhere in Pannonia, and the information belongs to the 9th century.{{sfn|Živković|2012|pp=51, 117–118}}{{sfn|Sokol|2008|pp=185–187}} There has been speculation that the modern [[Avars (Caucasus)|Avar people of the Caucasus]] might have an uncertain connection to the historical Avars, but direct descent from them is rejected or doubted by many scholars.{{sfn|Skutsch|2005|p=158}}

== List of known khagans ==
The recorded Avar khagans were:{{sfn|Lukács}}
* Shaush (? – c. 552)
* [[Kandik]] (c. 552 – c. 562) 
* [[Bayan I]] (562–602)
* [[Bayan II]] (602–617) 
* Bayan III (617–630)
* Kouver Chagan (677–?)
* Theodorus (795–805)
* [[Abraham (Avar khagan)|Abraham]] (805–?) 
* Isaac (?–835)

==Social and tribal structure==
[[File:Klosz Gyorgy Ozora-Totipuszta.jpg|thumb|Avar finds from Ozora-Tótipuszta, Hungary]]

The Pannonian Basin was the centre of the Avar power base. The Avars resettled captives from the peripheries of their empire to more central regions. Avar material culture is found south to Macedonia. However, to the east of the Carpathians, there are next to no Avar archaeological finds, suggesting that they lived mainly in the [[western Balkans]]. Scholars propose that a highly structured and hierarchical Avar society existed, having complex interactions with other "barbarian" groups. The khagan was the paramount figure, surrounded by a minority of nomadic aristocracy.

A few exceptionally rich burials have been uncovered, confirming that power was limited to the khagan and a close-knit class of "elite warriors". In addition to hoards of gold coins that accompanied the burials, the men were often buried with symbols of rank, such as decorated belts, weapons, stirrups resembling those found in central Asia, as well as their horse. The Avar army was composed from numerous other groups: Slavic, Gepidic and Bulgar military units. There also appeared to have existed semi-independent "client" (predominantly Slavic) tribes which served strategic roles, such as engaging in diversionary attacks and guarding the Avars' western borders abutting the Frankish Empire.

Initially, the Avars and their subjects lived mostly separately. Eventually, the Germanic and Slavic peoples were included in the Avaric social order and culture, which was Persian-Byzantine in fashion.{{sfn|Makkai|Mócsy|2001}} Scholars have identified a fused Avar-Slavic culture, characterized by ornaments such as half-moon-shaped earrings, Byzantine-styled buckles, beads, and bracelets with horn-shaped ends.{{sfn|Makkai|Mócsy|2001}} [[Paul Fouracre]] notes, "[T]here appears in the seventh century a mixed Slavic-Avar material culture, interpreted as peaceful and harmonious relationships between Avar warriors and Slavic peasants. It is thought possible that at least some of the leaders of the Slavic tribes could have become part of the Avar aristocracy".{{sfn|Fouracre|2005}}{{page needed|date=August 2022}} Apart from the assimilated Gepids, a few graves of [[Carolingian]] peoples have been found in the Avar lands. They perhaps served as mercenaries.{{sfn|Makkai|Mócsy|2001}}

Consistently described as a nomad society by the 19th and 20th century historians, this label is being challenged recently by  archeological findings which show a more complex image, with signs of sedentarism and pastoralism such as bones of cows, pigs, or fowls, or tools used for harvesting crops such as sickles found in Avar burials in the Carpathian Basin.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Curta |first=Florin |date=2025-01-01 |title=Pastoralism and nomadism: an archaeological bifurcation |url=https://www.academia.edu/129610904 |journal=Medieval Archaeology |volume=69 |pages=35–55 |doi=10.1080/00766097.2025.2504284}}</ref>

==Language==
{{Infobox language
| name             = Avar
| altname          = Old Avar, Pannonian Avar, Carpathian Avar
| familycolor      = unclassified
| states           = Avar Khaganate
| family           = unclassified
<br />[[Turkic languages|Turkic]]?<br />([[Para-Mongolic languages|Para-]])[[Mongolic languages|Mongolic]]?<br />[[Tungusic languages|Tungusic]]?<br />[[Languages of the Caucasus|Caucasian]]?<br />[[Iranian languages|Iranian]]?<br />[[Uralic languages|Uralic]] ([[Hungarian language|Hungarian]])?
| extinct          = 9th century AD<ref>{{cite book|author=Richárd Szántó|title=The Avars and other peoples in the Carpathian Basin in the 9th century|publisher=İNTOBA - İnsan ve Toplum Bilimleri Akademi Dergisi |url=https://aperta.ulakbim.gov.tr/record/228319|date=2022|volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=1–14 |doi=10.5281/zenodo.6667495 |access-date=2025-05-13}}</ref>
| ethnicity        = Pannonian Avars
| region           = [[Pannonian Basin]]
| iso3             = none
| glotto           = none
}}

The language or languages spoken by the Avars are unknown.{{sfn|Encyclopædia Britannica|Avar}}{{sfn|Waldman|Mason|2006|pp=46–49}}{{sfn|Beckwith|2009|pp=390–391}}{{sfn|Kyzlasov|1996|p=322}} Classical [[Philology|philologist]] Samu Szádeczky-Kardoss said that most of the Avar words used in contemporaneous [[Latin]] or [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] texts appear to have their origins in possibly [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]] or [[Turkic languages]].{{sfn|Dopsch|2004}}{{page needed|date=August 2022}}{{sfn|Szadeczky-Kardoss|1990|p=221}} Other theories propose a [[Tungusic languages|Tungusic]] origin.{{sfn|Helimski|2004|pp=59–72}} According to Szádeczky-Kardoss, many of the titles and ranks used by the Pannonian Avars were also used by Turks, [[Proto-Bulgars]], [[Uyghur Khaganate|Uighurs]] and/or [[Mongols]], including ''[[khagan]]'' (or ''kagan''), ''[[Khan (title)|khan]], [[Kavhan|kapkhan]], [[tudun]], [[tarkhan]]'', and ''[[khatun]]''.{{sfn|Szadeczky-Kardoss|1990|p=221}} There is evidence, however, that ruling and subject clans spoke a variety of languages. Proposals by scholars include [[Languages of the Caucasus|Caucasian]],{{sfn|Waldman|Mason|2006|pp=46–49}} [[Iranian languages|Iranian]],{{sfn|Curta|2004|pp=125–148}} [[Tungusic languages|Tungusic]],{{sfn|Futaky|2001}}{{page needed|date=August 2022}}{{sfn|Helimski|2000a}}{{page needed|date=August 2022}}{{sfn|Helimski|2000b|pp=43–56}} [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]]{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} and [[Turkic languages|Turkic]].{{sfn|Encyclopedia of Ukraine|Avars}}{{sfn|Róna-Tas|1999|p=116}}

Historian [[Gyula László]] has suggested that the late 9th-century Pannonian Avars spoke a variety of [[Old Hungarian language|Old Hungarian]], thereby forming an Avar-Hungarian continuity with then-newly arrived [[Hungarians]].{{sfn|Gyula|1982}} Based on archeologic and linguistic data, [[Florin Curta]] and [[Johanna Nichols]] considered that there is no convincing evidence for the presence of any Turkic or Mongolic languages among the Avars, but evidence for the presence of [[Iranian languages]], further strengthened by Iranian-derived loanwords and toponyms in the region and among languages within the range of the Avars.<ref>Curta, Florin (2004). "The Slavic lingua franca (Linguistic notes of an archaeologist turned historian)". ''East Central Europe/L'Europe du Centre-Est''. '''31''': 125–148. Retrieved 29 May 2015.</ref> Shimunek (2017) proposes that the elite core of the Avars spoke a "[[Para-Mongolic languages|Para-Mongolic language]]" of the "Serbi–Awar" group, that is a sister branch of the [[Mongolic languages]]. Together, the Serbi–Awar and Mongolic languages make up the ''[[Serbi–Mongolic languages|Serbi–Mongolic]]'' languages.<ref name="Shimunek, Andrew 2017"/>

Some scholars like [[Omeljan Pritsak]], [[Horace Lunt]], Florin Curta speculate that [[Proto-Slavic]] became the [[lingua franca]] of the Avar Khaganate, which helped spreading the Slavic language in the Southeastern Europe.{{sfn|Curta|2004|pp=132–148}}<ref>{{Citation |last=Wihoda |first=Martin |title=After Avars: The Beginning of the Ruling Power on the Eastern Fringe of Carolingian Empire |date=27 October 2021 |url=https://brill.com/display/book/9789004500112/BP000012.xml |work=Rulership in Medieval East Central Europe |pages=63–80 |access-date=16 January 2024 |publisher=Brill |language=en |isbn=978-90-04-50011-2}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Rady |first=Martyn |title=The Slavs, Avars, and Hungarians |date=2020 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-history-of-war/slavs-avars-and-hungarians/11EA9AFFD45898310D9023AC3C886633 |work=The Cambridge History of War: Volume 2: War and the Medieval World |volume=2 |pages=133–150 |editor-last=Curry |editor-first=Anne |access-date=16 January 2024 |series=Cambridge History of War |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-87715-2 |editor2-last=Graff |editor2-first=David A.}}</ref> This assumption is problematic for several reasons, as [[Alan Timberlake]] notes that there was no "radical loss of grammar that accompanies [[creolization]]" and that neither the Avars nor the Slavs had specific social and economical mechanisms for spreading a ''lingua franca''.<ref name="Timberlake2013">{{cite book |last=Timberlake |first=Alan |author-link=Alan Timberlake |date=2013 |chapter=Culture and the spread of Slavic |title=Language Typology and Historical Contingency: In honor of Johanna Nichols |series=Typological Studies in Language |volume=104 |editor1=Balthasar Bickel |editor2=Lenore A. Grenoble |editor3=David A. Peterson |chapter-url=https://benjamins.com/catalog/tsl.104.15tim |location= Amsterdam, Philadelphia |publisher=[[John Benjamins Publishing Company]] |pages=348–349 |isbn=978-90-272-0685-5 |doi=10.1075/tsl.104.15tim}}</ref> [[Jouko Lindstedt]] asserts that Late Proto-Slavic/Common Slavic had a complex morphological and accentological system and therefore "shows no trace of a possible lingua-franca function".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lindstedt |first1=Jouko |author-link=Jouko Lindstedt |last2=Salmela |first2=Elina |date=2020 |chapter=Migrations and language shifts as components of the Slavic spread |title=New Perspectives on the Early Slavs and the Rise of Slavic: Contact and Migrations |url=https://blogs.helsinki.fi/esalmela/files/2019/06/Lindstedt_and_Salmela_Slavic_spread_March_2018_preprint.pdf |editor1=Tomáš Klír |editor2=Vít Boček |editor3=Nicolas Jansens |location=Heidelberg |publisher=Universitätsverlag Winter |pages=275–300 |isbn=978-3-8253-4707-9}}</ref>

==Warfare==
The Avars were skilled warriors and almost exclusively fought on horseback. They often used light horse archers armed with powerful composite bows, as many other steppe peoples. These archers wore little to no armour, besides occasional helmets or knee guards. The Avars also employed the use of heavy cavalry, fully armoured in chainmail or scale armour as well as helmets. These heavier troops were armed with long lances, swords, and daggers.{{sfn|Kiley|2012}}{{page needed|date=August 2022}} Upon subjugating the Slavic tribes in Pannonia, they often allied with the Slavs and employed them as foot soldiers even together laying siege to Constantinople, along with large numbers of Persians. These Slav warriors were usually armed with bows, axes, various types of spears, and round shields.

The Byzantine Emperor Maurice wrote of the Avars and other nomad peoples in the Strategikon:

{{Blockquote|"They give special attention to training in archery on horseback. A vast herd of male and female horses follows them, both to provide nourishment and to give the impression of a huge army. They do not encamp within entrenchments, as do the Persians and the Romans [Byzantines], but until the day of battle, spread about according to tribes and clans, they continuously graze their horses both summer and winter... Also in the event of battle, when opposed by an infantry force in close formation they stay on their horses and do not dismount, for they do not last long fighting on foot. They have been brought up on horseback, and owing to their lack of exercise they simply cannot walk about on their own feet... "{{sfn|Maurice|1984}}{{page needed|date=August 2022}}|author=Maurice|title=Strategikon}}

== Avar-Hungarian continuity theory ==
[[Gyula László]] says that the late Avars, arriving in the khaganate in 670 in great numbers, lived through the time between the destruction and plunder of the Avar state by the Franks during 791–795 and the [[Hungarian Conquest of the Carpathian Basin|arrival of the Magyars]] in 895. László points out that the settlements of the [[Hungarians]] (Magyars) complemented, rather than replaced, those of the Avars. Avars remained on the plough fields, good for agriculture, while Hungarians took the river banks and river flats, suitable for pasturage. He notes that while the Hungarian graveyards consist of 40–50 graves on average, those of the Avars contain 600–1,000. According to these findings, the Avars not only survived the end of the Avar polity but lived in great masses and far outnumbered the Hungarian conquerors of [[Árpád]].

He also shows that Hungarians occupied only the centre of the Carpathian basin, while Avars lived in a larger territory. Looking at those territories where only the Avars lived, there are only Hungarian geographical names, not Slavic or Turkic as would be expected interspersed among them. This is further evidence for the Avar-Hungarian continuity. Names of the Hungarian tribes, chieftains and the words used for the leaders, etc., suggest that at least the leaders of the Hungarian conquerors were Turkic-speaking. However, Hungarian is not a Turkic language but [[Uralic languages|Uralic]], so they must have been assimilated by the Avars who outnumbered them.

László's Avar-Hungarian continuity theory posits that the modern [[Hungarian language]] descends from that spoken by the Avars rather than the conquering Magyars.{{sfn|László|1978}}{{page needed|date=August 2022}} Based on DNA evidence from graves, the original Magyars most resembled modern [[Volga Tatars]], a Turkic people located in the Volga-Ural region, whereas the [[Khanty people|Khanty]] and [[Mansi people|Mansi]], whose languages most resemble Hungarian, live some ways to the northeast of the Volga Tatars.{{sfn|Neparáczki|2017|pp=61–65}}{{sfn|Neparáczki|et al.|2017|pp=201–214|ps=:According to Neparáczki: "From all recent and archaic populations tested the [[Volga Tatars]] show the smallest genetic distance to the entire conqueror population" and "a direct genetic relation of the Conquerors to Onogur-Bulgar ancestors of these groups is very feasible."}}{{sfn|Neparáczki|et al.|2018}}

==See also==
* [[Keszthely culture]]
* [[Treasure of Nagyszentmiklós]]
* [[Pannonian Romance]]
* [[Székelys]]
* [[Alattyán]]
* [[Palóc|Palóc people]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==Citations==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==References==
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* {{Cite book|editor-last=Scholz|editor-first=Bernhard Walter|title=Carolingian Chronicles: Royal Frankish Annals and Nithard's Histories|year=1970|publisher=University of Michigan Press|isbn=0-472-06186-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sTzl6wFjehMC}}
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{{cite book|last=Živkovic|first=Tibor |date=2013 |chapter=The Urban Landscape of Early Medieval Slavic Principalities in the Territories of the Former Praefectura Illyricum and in the Province of Dalmatia (ca. 610-950) |editor=Srđan Rudić |title=The World of the Slavs: Studies of the East, West and South Slavs: Civitas, Oppidas, Villas and Archeological Evidence (7th to 11th Centuries AD)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pLJCCwAAQBAJ |publisher=Istorijski institut|isbn=978-86-7743-104-4|pages=15–35}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Pannonian Avars}}
* [http://www.sulinet.hu/oroksegtar/data/telepulesek_ertekei/Zamardi/pages/avarkori_temeto_angol.htm "The largest Cemetery from the Avar period in the Carpathian Basin"]

{{Authority control}}
{{Barbarian kingdoms}}
{{Turco-Mongol}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avar}}
[[Category:Pannonian Avars| ]]
[[Category:States and territories established in the 560s]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in the 820s]]
[[Category:Medieval history of Bulgaria]]
[[Category:Medieval history of Russia]]
[[Category:Medieval history of Ukraine]]
[[Category:Hungary in the Early Middle Ages]]
[[Category:Romania in the Early Middle Ages]]
[[Category:Moldova in the Early Middle Ages]]
[[Category:6th century in the Byzantine Empire|Avars]]
[[Category:Migration Period]]
[[Category:Medieval ethnic groups of Europe]]
[[Category:Barbarian kingdoms]]
[[Category:Turco-Mongol]]
[[Category:6th-century establishments in Europe]]
[[Category:9th-century disestablishments in Europe]]
[[Category:560s establishments]]
[[Category:820s disestablishments]]