The Avar–Byzantine wars were a series of conflicts between the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

and the

Avar Khaganate The Pannonian Avars ( ) were an alliance of several groups of Eurasian nomads of various origins. The peoples were also known as the Obri in the chronicles of the Rus' people, Rus, the Abaroi or Varchonitai (), or Pseudo-Avars in Byzantine Empi ...

. The conflicts were initiated in 568, after the Avars arrived in

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, on the west by Noricum and upper Roman Italy, Italy, and on the southward by Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia and upper Moesia. It ...

, and claimed all the former land of the

Gepids The Gepids (; ) were an East Germanic tribes, 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 language of the G ...

and

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

as their own. This led to an unsuccessful attempt to seize the city of

Sirmium Sirmium was a city in the Roman province of Pannonia, located on the Sava river, on the site of modern Sremska Mitrovica in the Vojvodina autonomous province of Serbia. First mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited by Illyrians ...

from Byzantium, which had previously retaken it from the Gepids. Most subsequent conflicts came as a result of raids by the Avars, or their subject Slavs, into the Balkan provinces of the Byzantine Empire. The Avars usually raided the Balkans when the Byzantine Empire was distracted elsewhere, typically in its frequent wars with the

Sassanid Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...

in the East. As a result, they often raided without resistance for long periods of time, before Byzantine troops could be freed from other fronts to be sent on punitive expeditions. This happened during the 580s and 590s, where Byzantium was initially distracted in the

Byzantine–Sasanian War of 572–591 The Byzantine–Sasanian War of 572–591 was a war fought between the Sasanian Empire, Sasanian Empire of Persia and the Byzantine Empire. It was triggered by pro-Byzantine revolts in areas of the Caucasus under Persian hegemony, although othe ...

, but then followed up by a series of successful campaigns that pushed the Avars back.

Background

The Avars arrived in the

Carpathian Basin The Pannonian Basin, with the term Carpathian Basin being sometimes preferred in Hungarian literature, is a large sedimentary basin situated in southeastern Central Europe. After the Treaty of Trianon following World War I, the geomorphologic ...

in 568, fleeing from the

First Turkic Khaganate The First Turkic Khaganate, also referred to as the First Turkic Empire, the Turkic Khaganate or the Göktürk Khaganate, was a Turkic khaganate established by the Ashina clan of the Göktürks in medieval Inner Asia under the leadership of Bu ...

. They quickly entered into an alliance with the

to seize the land of the

. However, during this process, the Lombards retreated to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, allowing the Avars to take both the lands of the Gepids and the former lands of the Lombards for themselves, creating the

. The Avars then claimed all former territory of both as their own territory. This included

, which had been recently reconquered by the Byzantines from the Gepids, and would serve as the first cause of conflict between the Avars and the Byzantines. The Avars were heavily dependent upon the skills and labor of their subject peoples for both

siege warfare A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characte ...

and

logistics Logistics is the part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the Consumption (economics), point of consumption according to the ...

. Subject peoples, such as the

early Slavs The early Slavs were speakers of Indo-European languages, Indo-European dialects who lived during the Migration Period and the Early Middle Ages (approximately from the 5th to the 10th centuries AD) in Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Ea ...

and the Huns, had long traditions of engineering and craftsmanship, such as the building of boats and bridges, and the use of

rams In engineering, reliability, availability, maintainability and safety (RAMS)tortoise formations, and

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

in sieges. In every documented use of siege engines by the Avars, the Avars depended upon subject peoples who had knowledge of them, usually the Sabirs,

Kutrigurs The Kutrigurs were a Turkic nomadic equestrian tribe who flourished on the Pontic–Caspian steppe in the 6th century AD. To their east were the similar Utigurs and both possibly were closely related to the Bulgars. They warred with the Byzan ...

, or Slavs. Avar military tactics also relied upon speed and shock.

Avar attacks on Sirmium (568–582)

The Avars almost immediately launched an attack on Sirmium in 568, but were repulsed. The Avars withdrew their troops back to their own territory, but allegedly sent 10,000 Kotrigur Huns, a people who like the Avars had been forced into the Carpathians by the Turkic Khaganate, to invade the Byzantine province of

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

. They then began a period of consolidation, during which the Byzantines paid them 80,000 gold solidi a year. Except for a raid on Sirmium in 574, they did not threaten Byzantine territory until 579, after Tiberius II stopped the payments. The Avars retaliated with another siege of Sirmium. The city fell in , or possibly 582. After the capture of Sirmium, the Avars demanded 100,000 solidi a year. Refused, they began pillaging the northern and eastern Balkans, which only ended after the Avars were pushed back by the Byzantines from 597 to 602.

Avar offensive in the Balkans (582–591)

After capturing Sirmium, the Avars began to rapidly encroach into the Balkans. Their rapid spread was facilitated by the ongoing

, which left the Byzantine garrisons on the Danube frontier under-manned and underpaid. Because of this, the Avars and Slavs were able to raid without resistance, with the Byzantines only being able to harass raiding columns and set small ambushes, rather than forcing a decisive victory or launching a counteroffensive. The Avars took the cities of Augustae,

Singidunum Singidunum ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Сингидунум, Singidunum) was an ancient city which later evolved into modern Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. The name is of Celtic origin, going back to the time when the Celtic tribe Scordisci settled the a ...

, and

Viminacium Viminacium (also ''Viminatium)'' was a major city, military camp, and the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman province of Moesia (modern-day Serbia). Following the division of Moesia in 87, following Domitian's Domitian's Dacian War, Dacian War, i ...

in 583, and a further eight cities by siege in 586. Many of these sieges relied upon the Avars utilizing both surprise and speed, advantages which they lost after they moved further inland in 587. Nevertheless, they destroyed many cities in

Moesia Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; ) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River. As a Roman domain Moesia was administered at first by the governor of Noricum as 'Civitates of Moesia and Triballi ...

in 587 including Marcianopolis and Cabyle though they failed in the sieges of Diocletianopolis, Philippopolis, and Beroe. In 588, they abandoned the siege of Singidunum after only seven days, in exchange for a meagre ransom. After this they succeeded at the siege of Anchialos, with the support of a fleet manned by Slavic auxiliaries, they then started and quickly abandoned the sieges of Drizipera and Tzurullon. The Avars and Slavs continued to raid with little resistance until 591, when Emperor Maurice made a ceasefire treaty with the Sassanids in a fairly favorable terms, and shifted his focus to the Balkans.

Roman counteroffensive (591–595)

After the peace treaty with the Persians and subsequent Roman refocusing on the Balkans as mentioned above, Maurice deployed veteran troops to the Balkans, allowing the Byzantines to shift from a reactive strategy to a pre-emptive one. The general

Priscus Priscus of Panium (; ; 410s/420s AD – after 472 AD) was an Eastern Roman diplomat and Greek historian and rhetorician (or sophist)...: "For information about Attila, his court and the organization of life generally in his realm we have the ...

was tasked with stopping the Slavs from crossing the Danube in spring 593. He routed several raiding parties, before he crossed the Danube and fought the Slavs in what is now

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

until autumn. Maurice ordered him to make camp on the northern bank of the Danube, however Priscus instead retired to Odessos. Priscus' retreat allowed for a new Slav incursion in late 593/594 in

and Macedonia, with the towns of Aquis,

Scupi Scupi (; ) is an archaeological site located between Zajčev Rid (''Зајчев Рид'' 'Rabbit Hill') and the Vardar River, several kilometers from the center of modern Skopje in North Macedonia. A Roman military camp was founded here in the se ...

and Zaldapa being destroyed. In 594 Maurice replaced Priscus with his own brother,

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

. Due to his inexperience, Peter suffered initial failures, but eventually managed to repulse the tide of Slav and Avar incursions. He set up base at Marcianopolis, and patrolled the Danube between

Novae A nova ( novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white ...

and the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

. In late August of 594, he crossed the Danube near Securisca and fought his way to the Helibacia river, preventing the Slavs and Avars from preparing new pillaging campaigns. Priscus, who had been given command of another army, prevented the Avars from besieging Singidunum in 595, in combination with the Byzantine Danube fleet. After this, the Avars shifted their focus to Dalmatia, where they sacked several fortresses, and avoided confronting Priscus directly. Priscus was not particularly concerned about the Avar incursion, as Dalmatia was a remote and poor province; he sent only a small force to check their invasion, keeping the main body of his forces near the Danube. The small force was able to hamper the Avar advance, and even recovered a part of the loot taken by the Avars, better than expected.

First interlude (595–597)

After their invasion of Dalmatia had been blocked, the Avars were discouraged by their lack of success against the Byzantines, and thus began to make their raids against the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

, who they saw as being easier to attack, launching major raids against them in 596. Due to the shift in focus, there was little activity in the Balkans from 595 to 597.

Avar invasion (597–602)

Emboldened by the plunder from the Franks, the Avars resumed their raids across the Danube in autumn of 597, catching the Byzantines by surprise. The Avars even caught Priscus' army while it was still in its camp in Tomis, and laid siege to it. However, they lifted the siege on 30 March 598, at the approach of a Byzantine army led by Comentiolus, which had just crossed Mount Haemus and was marching along the Danube up to Zikidiba, only from Tomis. For unknown reasons, Priscus did not join Comentiolus when he pursued the Avars. Comentiolus made camp at Iatrus, however he was routed by the Avars, and his troops had to fight their way back over the Haemus. The Avars took advantage of this victory and advanced to Drizipera, near Constantinople. At Drizipera the Avar forces were struck by a plague, leading to the death of a large portion of their army, and seven sons of Bayan, the Avar Khagan. Due to the threat posed by the Avar forces at Drizipera, Comentiolus was replaced with Philippicus, and recalled to Constantinople. Maurice assembled a force made up of the Circus Factions and his bodyguards to defend the

Anastasian Wall The Anastasian Wall (Greek: , ; ) or the Long Walls of Thrace (Greek: , ; Turkish: ''Uzun Duvar'') or simply Long Wall / Macron Teichos () is an ancient stone and turf fortification located west of Istanbul, Turkey, built by the Eastern Roman Em ...

. Maurice then paid off the Avars for a temporary truce, spending the rest of 598 in reorganizing his forces and analyzing how to improve the Byzantines' strategy. In the same year, the Byzantines concluded a peace treaty with the Avars, which allowed the Byzantines to send expeditions into

. Ignoring the peace treaty, the Byzantines made preparations to invade the Avars' land. Priscus set up expeditionary camp near Singidunum and wintered there in 598/599. In 599 Priscus and Comentiolus led their troops downstream to Viminacium, and crossed the Danube. Once on the north bank, they defeated the Avars in the

Battles of Viminacium The Battles of Viminacium were a series of three battles fought against the Avars by the Eastern Roman Empire. They were decisive Roman successes, which were followed by an invasion of Pannonia. In summer 599, the East Roman Emperor Maurice ...

. This battle was significant, as it was the first time the Avars suffered a major defeat in their home territory, and also led to the deaths of several more of Bayan's sons. After the battle, Priscus led his forces north into the

Pannonian plain The Pannonian Basin, with the term Carpathian Basin being sometimes preferred in Hungarian literature, is a large sedimentary basin situated in southeastern Central Europe. After the Treaty of Trianon following World War I, the geomorphologic ...

, engaging and defeating the Avars deep within their heartland. Comentiolus meanwhile remained near the Danube, to guard it. Priscus devastated the lands east of the

Tisza The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa (see below) is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. It was once called "the most Hungarian river" because it used to flow entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national bo ...

, inflicting heavy casualties on the Avars and Gepids, and defeating them in two further battles on the banks of the Tisza. In autumn 599, Comentiolus reopened the Gates of Trajan, which had not been used by the Byzantines for decades. In 601 Peter led troops to the banks of the Tisza, to defend the Danube cataracts, which were vital to the Byzantine Danube fleet's access to the cities of Sirmium and Singidunum. The next year, in 602, the Antes began to invade the Avars' land, who were already on the brink of collapse due to the uprisings of several Avar tribes, one of whom even defected to the Byzantines.

Second interlude (602–612)

After being beaten back by the Byzantines under Maurice, the Avars shifted their focus to Italy, establishing diplomatic contact in 603, and attempting an invasion of North Italy in 610. The Balkan frontier was largely pacified, for the first time since the reign of Anastasius I (). Maurice planned to repopulate the devastated lands which the Byzantines had recovered by settling Armenian peasants, whose homeland was the eastern part opposite to the Western Balkan part in the Empire -It was a deliberately enforced imperial strategy in order to prevent ethnic/tribal consolidation as the independent rebellious forces-, as well as Romanizing the Slavic settlers already in the area. Maurice also planned to lead further campaigns against the Avar Khaganate, so as to either destroy them or force them into submission. However, Maurice was overthrown in 602 by

Phocas Phocas (; ; 5475 October 610) was Eastern Roman emperor from 602 to 610. Initially a middle-ranking officer in the East Roman army, Roman army, Phocas rose to prominence as a spokesman for dissatisfied soldiers in their disputes with the cour ...

, as his army rebelled against the endless Balkan campaigning. Phocas promptly scrapped those plans. Phocas maintained the security of the Balkans during his reign from 602 to 610, although he did withdraw some forces from the Balkans in 605, in order to use them in the ongoing Byzantine-Sassanid War of 602–628. There is no archaeological evidence of Slavic or Avar incursions during this time. While the lack of Byzantine action or presence may have encouraged the Avars, they did not attack Byzantine territory until , when Emperor

Heraclius Heraclius (; 11 February 641) was Byzantine emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exarch of Africa, led a revolt against the unpopular emperor Phocas. Heraclius's reign was ...

() withdrew his troops stationed in the Balkans in order to fend off the Persian advance in the East.

Renewed Avar attacks (612–626)

The Avars, who were likely encouraged by their successful campaigns against the Lombards in 610 and the Franks in 611, resumed their incursions some time after 612. By 614, with the Persian capture of Jerusalem, it became clear to the Avars and their Slav subjects that retaliation from the Byzantines was extremely unlikely. Chronicles of the 610s record wholesale pillaging, with cities such as Justiniana Prima and

Salona Salona (, ) was an ancient city and the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia and near to Split, in Croatia. It was one of the largest cities of the late Roman empire with 60,000 inhabitants. It was the last residence of the final western ...

fallen. The cities of Naissus and Serdica were captured in 615, and the cities of Novae and Justiniana Prima were destroyed in 613 and 615, respectively. The Slavs also raided in the Aegean, as far as

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

, in 623. During this time period, there were three separate sieges of Thessalonica: in 604, 615, and 617. In 623 the Byzantine emperor Heraclius journeyed into Thrace in an attempt to agree peace with the Avar Khagan face to face. Instead the Byzantines were ambushed, with Heraclius narrowly escaping and most of his bodyguard and retainers being killed or captured. The Avar raids continued, culminating in the Siege of Constantinople in 626, where the Avars were finally defeated.

Siege of Constantinople (626)

The Persian king

Khosrau II Khosrow II (spelled Chosroes II in classical sources; and ''Khosrau''), commonly known as Khosrow Parviz (New Persian: , "Khosrow the Victorious"), is considered to be the last great Sasanian King of Kings (Shahanshah) of Iran, ruling from 590 ...

, after suffering reverses through Heraclius' campaigns in the Persian rear, resolved to launch a decisive strike. While general

Shahin Vahmanzadegan Shahen or Shahin (Middle Persian: ''Shāhēn Vahūmanzādagān'', in Greek sources: ; died ) was a senior Sasanian general ('' spahbed'') during the reign of Khosrow II (590–628). He was a member of the House of Spandiyadh. Biography Shahin ...

was sent to stop Heraclius with 50,000 men,

Shahrbaraz Shahrbaraz (also spelled Shahrvaraz or Shahrwaraz; New Persian: ) was shah (king) of the Sasanian Empire from 27 April 630 to 9 June 630. He usurped the throne from Ardashir III, and was killed by Iranian nobles after forty days. Before usurp ...

was given command of a smaller army and ordered to slip by Heraclius' flank, and march for

Chalcedon Chalcedon (; ; sometimes transliterated as ) was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor, Turkey. It was located almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari (modern Üsküdar) and it is now a district of the city of Ist ...

, a Persian base across the

Bosporus The Bosporus or Bosphorus Strait ( ; , colloquially ) is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and forms one of the continental bo ...

from

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. Khosrau II also made contact with the

Khagan Khagan or Qaghan (Middle Mongol:; or ''Khagan''; ) or zh, c=大汗, p=Dàhán; ''Khāqān'', alternatively spelled Kağan, Kagan, Khaghan, Kaghan, Khakan, Khakhan, Khaqan, Xagahn, Qaghan, Chagan, Қан, or Kha'an is a title of empire, im ...

of the Avars to allow for a coordinated attack on Constantinople, the Persians on the Asiatic side, and the Avars from the European side. The Avar army approached Constantinople from Thrace and destroyed the Aqueduct of Valens. Because the

Byzantine navy The Byzantine navy was the Navy, naval force of the Byzantine Empire. Like the state it served, it was a direct continuation from its Roman navy, Roman predecessor, but played a far greater role in the defence and survival of the state than its ...

controlled the Bosporus strait, the Persians could not send troops to the European side to aid the Avars, which cut off the Persian access to the Avars with the Persian expertise in siege warfare. Byzantine naval superiority also made communication between the two forces difficult. Constantinople's defenders were under the command of Patriarch Sergius and the patrician

Bonus Bonus commonly means: * Bonus, a Commonwealth term for a distribution of profits to a with-profits insurance policy * Bonus payment, an extra payment received as a reward for doing one's job well or as an incentive Bonus may also refer to: Place ...

On 29 June 626, the Avars and Persians began a coordinated assault upon the walls. The Byzantine defenders had 12,000 well-trained cavalry troops, who were likely dismounted, facing roughly 80,000 Avars and

Sclaveni The ' (in Latin language, Latin) or ' (Sclaveni#Terminology, various forms in Greek language, Greek) were Early Slavs, early Slavic tribes that raided, invaded and settled in the Balkans in the Early Middle Ages and eventually became one of the p ...

(Slavs whose land was controlled by the Avars). Because the Persian base in Chalcedon had been established for many years, it was not immediately obvious that a siege would take place. It only became obvious to the Byzantines after the Avars began to move heavy siege equipment towards the

Theodosian Walls The Walls of Constantinople (; ) are a series of defensive wall, defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (modern Fatih district of Istanbul) since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire b ...

. Although the walls had been continuously bombarded for a month, high morale had been maintained in the city; Patriarch Sergius bolstered morale by leading processions along the tops of the walls, carrying the Blachernitissa icon of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. The peasantry around Constantinople were rallied by this religious zeal, especially because both forces attacking Constantinople were non-Christians. On August 7, a fleet of Persian rafts ferrying troops across the Bosporus to the European side were surrounded and destroyed by the Byzantine fleet. The Sclaveni then attempted to attack the Sea Walls from across the

Golden Horn The Golden Horn ( or ) is a major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. As a natural estuary that connects with the Bosphorus Strait at the point where the strait meets the Sea of Marmara, the waters of the ...

, while the Avars attacked the land walls. However, the Sclaveni boats were rammed and destroyed by the galleys of Bonus, and the Avar land assaults on August 6 and 7 were repelled. At around this point, the news that the Emperor's brother Theodore had decisively defeated Shahin arrived, leading the Avars to retreat to the Balkan hinterland within two days. They would never seriously threaten Constantinople again. Even though the Persian army of Shahrbaraz still remained at Chalcedon, the threat to Constantinople was over, as the Persians could not use artillery from their side of the Bosporus. In thanks for the lifting of the siege and the supposed divine protection granted by the Virgin Mary, the celebrated Akathist Hymn was written by an unknown author, possibly Patriarch Sergius or George of Pisidia.

Avar decline (626–822)

After failing to capture Constantinople, the Avars rapidly began to decline before disintegrating entirely, due to both internal power struggles, and conflicts with the

Bulgars The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic peoples, Turkic Nomad, semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region between the 5th and 7th centu ...

and Sclaveni. After their

hegemony Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one State (polity), state over other states, either regional or global. In Ancient Greece (ca. 8th BC – AD 6th c.), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of ...

over various tribal peoples collapsed, their land was further reduced by the

around 680, leaving behind a

rump state A rump state is the remnant of a once much larger state that was reduced in the wake of secession, annexation, occupation, decolonization, a successful coup d'état or revolution on part of its former territory. In the last case, a government st ...

which remained until their conquest by

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

, starting in 790 and ending in 803.

References

Primary sources

* ''

De Administrando Imperio (; ) is a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII. It is a domestic and foreign policy manual for the use of Constantine's son and successor, the Emperor Romanos II. It is a prominent example of Byz ...

'', by the 10th-century emperor

Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Byzantine emperor of the Macedonian dynasty, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, and ...

. * '' Strategikon'', attributed to Emperor Maurice. * '' Miracula Sancti Demetrii'', by John, Archbishop of Thessalonica. * Surviving fragments of Menander Protector.

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Avar Byzantine wars 6th-century conflicts 7th-century conflicts 6th century in the Byzantine Empire 7th century in the Byzantine Empire Wars involving the Byzantine Empire Sieges of Thessaloniki