Ardagast or RadogostRelations between the autochthonous population and the migratory populations on the territory of Romania: a collection of studies
p. 198 (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

: Ἀρδάγαστος ''Ardagastos''; Cyrillic: Ардагаст; fl. 584–597''History of the Later Roman Empire from Arcadius to Irene'', p. 144) was a 6th-century South Slavic chieftain under King

Musokios Musokios or MužokPavel Jozef Šafárik, ''Über die Abkunft der Slawen nach Lorenz Surowiecki'' (1828), Budapage 25/ref> was a 6th-century ('' Antes'') monarch that ruled around 592, during Maurice's Balkan campaigns. Menander Protector writes a ...

of the Antes.

Etymology

The name may derive from Slavic ''rada'' – "council" or "rad" – "eager" and ''gostiti'' or ''hostit'' – "to host", meaning "the one who hosts the council" or "eager to host – hospitable". It could have been a personal name, or an acquired title designating the leader or chieftain of a council, assembly, or

veche Veche ( rus, вече, véče, ˈvʲet͡ɕe; pl, wiec; uk, ві́че, víče, ; be, ве́ча, viéča, ; cu, вѣще, věšte) was a popular assembly in medieval Slavic countries. In Novgorod and in Pskov, where the veche acquired gr ...

. ''Ardagast'' is an old Slavic unmetathised form.

Historical records

Menander Protector Menander Protector (Menander the Guardsman, Menander the Byzantian; el, Μένανδρος Προτήκτωρ or Προτέκτωρ), Byzantine historian, was born in Constantinople in the middle of the 6th century AD. The little that is known of ...

writes about Ardagast in his works, and the ''Strategikon'' of Maurice (late 6th century) makes mention of him. The Strategikon spends an entire an entire chapter to the "Slavs" (Sclavenes), who in their eyes had a different form of social and political organization to that of the Avars. Some scholars think this may have been an umbrella term for a number of groups living north of the Danube, who could neither be called "Huns" or "Avars".

Military campaigns

Ardagast may have led the Slavs who plundered Greece in 577. After the Avar Khagan

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

and the Byzantine Emperor

Emperor Maurice Maurice ( la, Mauricius or ''Mauritius''; ; 539 – 27 November 602) was Eastern Roman emperor from 582 to 602 and the last member of the Justinian dynasty. A successful general, Maurice was chosen as heir and son-in-law by his predecessor Tib ...

concluded a treaty in 584, Ardagast raided

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

, penetrating as far as the Long Wall. The Slavs suffered defeats only twice: at the Erginia river near the Long Walls (583) and in the Ansinon neighbourhood of Hadrianople at the hands of

Comentiolus Comentiolus ( el, Κομεντίολος, ''Komentiolos''; died 602) was a prominent Eastern Roman (Byzantine) general at the close of the 6th century during the reign of Emperor Maurice (). He played a major role in Maurice's Balkan campaigns, ...

. The Slavs were later driven out of the ''Astica'' region. The raid in Thrace in 585 prompted Emperor Maurice to deal with the Slavs – sending an army under commander-in-chief

Priscus Priscus of Panium (; el, Πρίσκος; 410s AD/420s AD-after 472 AD) was a 5th-century Eastern Roman diplomat and Greek historian and rhetorician (or sophist)...: "For information about Attila, his court and the organization of life general ...

and infantry commander Gentzon to cross the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

at '' Dorostolon'' (present-day Silistra) and to carry out a surprise attack on the Slavs in their own territory (as the Slavs had long been pillaging the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

).''History of the Later Roman Empire from Arcadius to Irene'', p. 128 The Byzantine army arrived at the Slavic camp at midnight, surprising the Slavs, who fled in confusion; Ardagast fell on a tree stump and was almost captured, but luckily he was near a river and eluded the attackers. Priscus sent his lieutenant

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

across the ''Helibakion'' ( Ialomiţa River) to find Slavs who were hiding in the woods and swamps, they failed to burn out the people hiding there, but a

Gepid The Gepids, ( la, Gepidae, Gipedae, grc, Γήπαιδες) were an East Germanic tribe who lived in the area of modern Romania, Hungary and Serbia, roughly between the Tisza, Sava and Carpathian Mountains. They were said to share the religion ...

Christian who was associated with the Slavs deserted and revealed a secret passage. The Byzantine army then easily captured the Slavs, who according to the Gepid, were spies sent by King

, who just heard about the attack on Ardagast.''History of the Later Roman Empire from Arcadius to Irene'', p. 129

References

History of the Later Roman Empire from Arcadius to Irene, Vol 2
{{Authority control South Slavic history 6th-century people 6th-century Slavs Slavic warriors