Avar campaign against the Antes
In 602, in retaliation for the Antes’ alliance with Byzantium, the Avar khagan sent his general Apsich to destroy them; after this campaign the Antes disappear from the sources.
- Date
- 602year known
- Place
- Lands of the Antes north of the lower Danubeapproximate locationtoday: Moldova and southern Ukraine (location conjectural) · Eastern Europe
- Participants
- Avars, Antes, Byzantine Empire
- Threads
- Eastern Europe and Rus’ before the Baptism (1st–10th c.)
- Also known as
- Apsich; Апсих; Last mention of the Antes; Последнее упоминание антов
The campaign is recorded by Theophylact Simocatta. During Emperor Maurice’s Balkan wars the Antes fought as Byzantine allies against the Avars and the Sclaveni; in 602, after a Roman attack on the Sclavene allies of the Avars, the khagan sent Apsich against the Antes. Many of his soldiers deserted to the Romans and the outcome is not described, but the Antes as a political community are never mentioned again — only the epithet Anticus in the imperial titulature survived until 612.
Historians disagree whether the Avar attack destroyed the Antes (Florin Curta) or whether they disappeared with the collapse of the lower Danube frontier after Maurice’s overthrow later in 602 (Georgios Kardaras). Archaeologically, the end of the Penkovka culture in the 7th century is linked with the pressure of the Avars, Bulgars and Khazars.
Connections
Causes and preconditions
- The Avars ravage the lands of the Antesbetween 560 and 562 · Eastern Europe
Same participants
- The Avars settle in the Carpathian Basinbetween 567 and 568 · Western and Central Europevia Avars
- Lombard invasion of Italy2 April 568 – 572 · Western and Central Europevia Byzantine Empire
- Early Slavic cultures: Prague-Korchak, Penkovka and Kolochinc. 450 – c. 700 · Eastern Europevia Antes
- Avar–Persian siege of Constantinople29 June – 7 August 626 · Balkans and Anatoliavia Avars
Adjacent events in the thread
- Kyi, Shchek and Khoryv: the legendary founding of Kyivbetween 500 and 700 · Eastern Europe
- Rise of the Khazar Khaganatebetween 630 and 650 – c. 670 · Eastern Europe
Meanwhile in the world
Other regions, within 25 years of this event
Western and Central Europe
Balkans and Anatolia
- Avar–Persian siege of Constantinople29 June – 7 August 626
The same period
Sources
- Wikipedia (English): Antes people
- Wikipedia (Russian): Анты
- The History of Theophylact Simocatta / Transl. M. and M. Whitby. — Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1986. — VIII.5.13.
- Curta F. The Making of the Slavs: History and Archaeology of the Lower Danube Region, c. 500–700. — Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.