Musokios or MužokPavel Jozef Šafárik, ''Über die Abkunft der Slawen nach Lorenz Surowiecki'' (1828), Buda page 25 /ref> was a 6th-century ('' Antes'') monarch that ruled around 592, during
Maurice's Balkan campaigns
Maurice's Balkan campaigns were a series of military expeditions conducted by Roman Emperor Maurice (reigned 582–602) in an attempt to defend the Balkan provinces of the Roman Empire from the Avars and the South Slavs. Maurice was the only E ...
.
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 Musokios in his works.
Raid on Ardagast
Ardagast, a commander of Musokios, was sent and 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 ...
, which prompted Emperor Maurice to deal with the Antae - sending an army with 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 surprise attack 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 ...
). The Army arrived at the Antae 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 caption.
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, 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 showed a secret passage after which the army easily captured the Slavs, who according to the Gepid, were spies sent by King Musokios that just heard about the attack on Ardagast.
End
When lieutenant Alexander returned with the
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 ...
and captives, the Gepid received handsome presents and arranged a strategy to bring Musokios and his army into the hands of the Byzantines.
The Gepid contacted Musokios and asked him to send a transport across the ''Paspirion'' river for the remaining army of Ardagast, Musokios assembled 150
monoxyles
A dugout canoe or simply dugout is a boat made from a hollowed tree. Other names for this type of boat are logboat and monoxylon. ''Monoxylon'' (''μονόξυλον'') (pl: ''monoxyla'') is Greek – ''mono-'' (single) + '' ξύλον xylon'' (t ...
and 30 oarsmen which crossed the river. Meanwhile, Priscus approached the banks and met with the Gepid and arranged an ambush with 200 men in the guidance of Alexander.
On the following night, the boatmen were heavily intoxicated of wine and fell asleep. The Gepid gave the signal and the Slav colony was slaughtered, with the boats taken into Byzantine possession and filled with 300 soldiers heading towards Musukios.
A funeral ceremony of the brother of Musukios took place at the camp, with the people, as the boatsmen, being heavily intoxicated. Musukios was surprised and taken alive, a massacre lasted til the morning. Some Slavs escaped and returned to kill some of the army, as a result, Priscus
hanged
Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...