The Baiounitai ( gr, Βαϊουνίται) or Vayunites ( mk, Вајунити, bg, Ваюнити, sh-Cyrl, Вајонити, војници) were a Sclavene ( South Slavic) tribe which settled the region of Macedonia at the end of 6th century. The Baiounitai initially settled in the region west of

Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

. They belonged to a group of Slavic tribes that unsuccessfully tried to capture the city at the beginning of the 7th century, after which they are believed to have migrated to the region of northern

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

, between Ioannina in Greece and Himara in modern

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. In the 6th century many Slavic tribes populated the wider region around the

Byzantine 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 ...

city of

. In ca. 614–616 the Baiounitai are mentioned in the ''

Miracles of Saint Demetrius The ''Miracles of Saint Demetrius'' ( la, Miracula Sancti Demetrii) is a 7th-century collection of homilies, written in Greek, accounting the miracles performed by the patron saint of Thessalonica, Saint Demetrius. It is a unique work for the ...

'' as one of them. Their territory was on the western side of Thessalonica. The territory inhabited by the Baiounitai formed a

Sclavinia The ' (in Latin) or ' (various forms in Greek, see below) were early Slavic tribes that raided, invaded and settled the Balkans in the Early Middle Ages and eventually became the progenitors of modern South Slavs. They were mentioned by early Byz ...

. In ca. 614–616 the Baiounitai and other neighbouring Slavic tribes united under a leader named

Chatzon Chatzon ( el, Χάτζων) or, in some modern Slavic studies, Hacon (Хацон), was a Slavic chieftain (έξαρχος Σκλαβίνων, "exarch of the Sclaveni" in the Greek sources) who, according to Book II of the ''Miracles of Saint Demetr ...

and besieged the city. Forces composed of many different Slavic tribes attacked the city with

siege engine A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent heavy castle doors, thick city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare. Some are immobile, constructed in place to attack enemy fortifications from a distance, while oth ...

s trying to break through the city walls, while their small and manoeuvrable dugouts attacked the city from the sea. Their efforts failed and Chatzon was killed after entering the city to negotiate. After this failure to capture Thessalonica, many members of the defeated Slavic tribes moved further from the city. According to some, the Baiounitai moved from Macedonia to the territory of

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

, and settled the region north of Ioannina. Some connect the region of

Thesprotia Thesprotia (; el, Θεσπρωτία, ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Epirus region. Its capital and largest town is Igoumenitsa. Thesprotia is named after the Thesprotians, an ancient Greek tribe that inhabited the ...

, known as

Vagenetia Vagenetia or Vagenitia ( gr, Βαγενετία, Βαγενιτία) was a medieval region on the coast of Epirus, roughly corresponding to modern Thesprotia. The region likely derived its name from the Slavic tribe of the Baiounitai. It is first a ...

up until the 1270s, to the tribe. Two personal seals of archons of ''Vagenetia'' have been found, that of ''spatharios'' Theodoros dated to the 7th or 8th century, and that of ''protospatharios'' Hilarion dated to the late 9th and early 10th century. Similar toponyms like Viyanite or Viyantije survived until the 16th century when they were replaced with the name

Delvinë Delvinë ( or , ); is a town and a municipality in Vlorë County, southern Albania, northeast of Saranda. It was formed in the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Delvinë and Vergo, which became municipal unit ...

which also became an official name of the Ottoman

sanjak of Delvina The Sanjak of Delvina ( tr, Delvine Sancağı, al, Sanxhaku i Delvinës) was one of the sanjaks of the Ottoman Empire which county town was Delvinë but during the 18th century became Gjirokastër, Albania. It was created in the mid-16th centu ...

. The territory around the river Aoös (or Vjosë, today in southern

) was probably also named after this tribe."Становништво словенског поријекла у Албанији" – Зборник радова са међународног научног скупа одржаног на Цетињу 21, 22. и 23. јуна 1990. Драгољуб С. Петровић
"Хетерогеност становништва детерминанта сложености решења политичког статуса албанског простора"
–

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* * * * * * * {{Slavic ethnic groups (VII-XII century) Sclaveni Medieval Epirus Medieval Macedonia Slavic tribes in Macedonia Medieval Albania Thesprotia