A. Madgearu-The Avars and Dobrudja

NPOEJ]EMHHA NPAEbJITAPCKATA UCTOPI/,jA 14KYJITYPA. TOM 4.2,2OO7

THE AVARS AND DOBRUDJA ALEXANDRU MADGEARU (BUCAREST) 0. The first topic of this paperis the shorttime presenceof theAvars in Dobrudja on the eveof their migrationto Pannonia.The secondoneconcernsthe consequences of the Avar inroads in ScythiaMinor in the light of the recentresearches.Finally, we will introducea problem somehowneglecteduntil norv: the Avar domination in Dobrudja in the first decadesof the 7s century. l. Dobrudja was the first Roman teritory where the Avars wished to settle down. In 563, the Avar envoys requestedthis to Justinian.The emperorpreferred to keep them as allies in the north-Danubianarea in order to prevent the inroads from the steppes.He had no reasonto accepttheir installationin the Empire, which would be not so effective like their presenceoutsidethe frontier.Besides,he founci out that the Avars intendedto attackfrom inside the ByzantineEmpire. The general Justinus-Boraides, commanderof quaesturaexercitus,receivedthe order to defend the fords of the Danubeand to keepthe Avars beyond(Stein 1949,s43-544; Vulpe. Barnea1968,430-4. l; Pohl 1988,4H5). The Empirecontinuedto give subsidia to the Avars (this shows that they were still a peace-keepinginstrument in the north-Danubianarea and a weaponagainstwesternenemieslike the Franks).This policy was changedby JustinII. who stoppedthe paymentsin November 565 - he abandonedthe unsureallianceswith the barbariansand by this reasonhe refusedthe military supportproposedby the Avars (Vulpe, Barnea 1968,431; Avenarius 1974, 6l-63; Pohl 1988, 4849). The following eventsare well-known: Baian has found anotherally, the Langobardking Alboin. He took part at the war againstthe Gepids in 567, a fact that has contributedinto a decisivemannerto the Langobardvictory (Wozniak 1979,153-156;Pohl 1988,70-74). TheophanesConfessorhasbriefly recordedthat theAvars"had comeasfugitives from their own country to Scythiaand Moesiaand sentenvoysto Justinianaskingto be admitted" (Theophanes,340),but he has compressedin this passagesome data from the chronicleof Evagrios,leavingasidethe way from caucasusby Crimea.He took from his sourcea shortenedversion of the events,which regardedthe coming of the Avars near the Danubeas a moving into the Danubianprovinces.This also explains the wrong year of 558 for this event. Another information recorded by the so-called "chronicle of Monemvasia" about the settlementof the Avars in Durostorumis without any value, becauseits authorhasdevelopedaccordingto his imaginationthe short relationfound in the chronicle of Theophanes. 263

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However, two passagessurvived from the lost work of Menander Protector are proving that the Avars lived indeedfor a certaintime in Dobrudja. The first one recordedthat the Langobard envoy sent to Baian for the alliance has said to him that "they (the Avars) will keep Scythia forever and so it will be easy for them to invade Thrace". Here, like in other placesfrom Menander,"Scythia" meansthe Roman province,Dobrudja (There is no proof for the interpretationput forward b1' Besevliev198l, l0l, that this Scyhia is the so-calledBugeac).It can be inferred that the Avars were already there. Another passageconcernsthe Avar siege of Sirmium in 568. Baian acceptedthe peace,but with the condition of some gifu that would offer him a compensation,because- as he stated* "he took nothing when he crossedthe river from Scythia" - (Menander, frg.24 andZT).We explain these words as a referenceto a crossingfrom Dobrudja to the northern bank of the Danube.This meansthat the Avars found a way to enter in Dobrudja after the refusal expressedby Justin II. The installationof the Avars in Dobrudja was previously sustainedby several historians.It seemsthat the first one was JohannPeisker(Peisker1913,435), followed by constantinDiculescu(Diculescu1922,156), by Ljudmil Hauptmann (Hauptmann1927-1928,152),andnext by RaduVulpe (Vutpe 1938,358)he dated the crossingof the Danubein 562. The problemwas also discussedby Tibor Nagr (Nagy 1946-1948,20id107)and JovanKovadevii (Kovadevid1973,333). other authorswho acceptedthe short Avar presencein Dobrudja are SamuelSzddeczkyKardoss, omeljan Pritsak, and Peter Golden (Szrideczky-Kardoss1980, 3r3: Pritsak 1983,365;Golden 1992, lll). Ion Barneawas probablyright when he affirmedthattheAvarscrossedthe Danubein Scythiain 566 (Vutpe 1968,431). However, in his basic rvork about the Avars, walter Pohl avoided the problem of the installationin Dobrudja.He said only that the Avars remainedon the Scythian sectorof the limes dxing the winter of 566-567 and that it is not known the wa1 took to Pannonia(Pohl 1988,60). we consider that the data given by Menander are enough_ to prove that the Avars lived in Dobrudja for a while. Most likely, this happenedwhen the army from Moesia Secundaand Scythia was sent to fight in the Langobard-Gepidicwar, in 566. JustinII helpedin this way cunimund,the king of the Gepids(he hopedthat they will give back Sirmium). The fact is confirmedby a leadsealthat belongedto a messagesentby Cunimund,found at Tomis (Barnea 1986,I l9-l2l). From Scythia. the Avars went to Pannonia,perhapsthrough Transylvania. 2.The archaeologicalresearches madein the last decadesin Dobrudjabroughr new evidencefor the destructionsthat can be ascribedto the Avar inroadsstartedin 584. The strategicplan of Baian was to annihilatethe Byzantinedefencealong the entire Lower Danubian frontier, from the Iron Gatesto Durostorum,and to forbid the advanceof the Byzantine army through the Iron Gatestoward the Avar power

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centrefrom Pannonia.The downfall of the limes was certainly due to theseanactr but this processtook place during severaldecadesand it was not determind qrll by the barbarian inroads. The real cause of the death of the fortified settlerrcffi that composedthe limes was the general economic decline that affected almosr dl the peripheralprovinces in the secondhalf of the 6'hcentury and especialll'after the ninth decade.This would not meanthat the role played by the Avar and Slaric attacksshould be underestimated. We say that the end of the limes was a com@. processthat involved internal and externalcauses. In Dobrudja,the limes hasresistedmorethan the westernsectorsofthe Danubian frontier, even if the Avars settledtheir headquartersin the areanearTomis, in 5t6 and 598'. The secondeventis very significantfor the Avar strategy:they surrumded Tomis all the winter, being able to gatherso many suppliesfrom Scythiathat @' could offer a part of them to the Byzantine army during the truce.As remarkedHriso Dimitrov and Istv6n B6na,this meansthat all tlre province of Scythiacontributedto the supplies,becauseit was then underthe Avar domination(Dimitrov 1997,2*3A:. B6na2000,168). A chronologybasedon numismaticevidence(Madgearu 1997b,315-336) shows that the invasions from 593-598 destroyedthe limes west of Oescusand that this area entered under the Avar domination. Scythia Minor remainedfor a while in a beffer situation.If some frontier fortresseswere destroyedby the Slavs in 593 (Dinogetia, Troesmis),other settlementswere repairedor even remained not affected(Sacidava,Capidava,Halmyris, Tropaeum,Histria, Tomis, Callatis). Almost all the frontier siteswith final coins datedafter 598 are locatedin Dobrudja (Ostrov(Beroe):Barneaat all 2000,72 (years602-610);Capidava:Vertan,Custurea 1988-1989:380, nr. 1306(year 607-608);Noviodunum:Oberliinder-Tdrnoveanu 1996, 102,footnote 23 (years 61U-641);Halmyris: Opail l99l: 473, nr. 123 (-v-ear 612-613);Aegyssus: Oberltinder-Tdrnoveanu 1980: 163, nr. I (year 613-{ta); Nufhru: Mdnucu-Adame$teanu1995-1996: 288, footnote 9 (year 613{la); Axiopolis:Poenaru-Bordea 1989,'72,nr.208(year 613-614);Sacidava:Custurea at all 1999,355, nr. 2077 (year615-616);Carsium:Custurea1986,277,nr. 6 $rear 629-630).Besides,after 602,excludingDobrudja,only atNovaethe coin circulation continueduntil 612 (Dimitrov 1995,704).This meansthatlimes of Dobrudja was lessaffectedby the Avar and Slavic inroadsthan the westernpart of the Danubian limes.Life continued in cities like Halmyris, Histria, Tomis, even if their military function disappearedafter the wave of invasionsstartedin 576 (Madgearu2001, rFor 586, TheopltylactSimocatta,II. l0;for 598, idem,VII, l3-14. We can be sure that Tomis is the ciry from Dobrudja. gtefan (gtefan 1967,253-258) denied this, but from the contextofthe eventsresultsthathis interpretationcan not be sustained(Avenarius1974, 106;Velkov 1977,107;Pohl 1988,152,387).

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207-217). Recent researchesltave shown, for instance, that Tropaeum (recorded by TheopylactSimocattaI. 8. l0 among the fortressesdestroyedduring the Avar campaignof 586) continuedto be peopledat leastuntil the first decadeof the 7d century@ogdan-Cltlniciu, Poenaru-Bordea 200l, 85-95). At Halmyris (Murighiol, Tulcea county), the end of trre lls level can be associatedwith a destruction between 577 and 587. The wesrern gare was not restoredand the Episcopal church was pillaged. The town suruived in quite good conditions,but it lost the military function. Coins dated up to 613 werc found in the last level (zahariadel99l,3ll-317; suceveanu2003, and not yet published researchesof the team conductedby Mihail Zahariade'1.Adifferent situation can be obseryedat Capidava.This fortresswas plunderedduring the first wave of the Avar and Slavic invasions(576-5S7). Sometimeafter this event, a smaller fortresswith earthenwalls was built in the south-westerncorner.The revival of the coin currency at Capidavaaround 588 could be relatedwith this restoration.This small forlress continuedto be usedfor a certaintime during the 7e century (unlike Halmyris, the military survived).The most recentcoin found at Capidavawas issuedin 6071608. No otherfire was identifiedduring the 7,hcentury(Covacefl98g-19g9, l9t-195; Vertan,Custurea1988-1989,380,nr. 1306Opriq2001,53-55). Theseferv examplesare showing that the beginning of the 7n century was a quite peacefulperiod in Dobrudja. It was the time when the Danubian army wils transferredto the Persianfront and when a peacetreat5rwas concludedwith the Avars,in 604 (Theophanes 420;Lilie 1985,l8; pohl l9gg,23g; whittow 1996, 74)' The coin circulation displaysa certainrevival in Dobrudja between 603-607. which reflectsthe recovery of the trade in the new peacefulconditions.The cities locatedon the seashorc(Histria, Tomis, Callatis,Akres) or near the DanubeDelta (Halmyris, Argamum) preservedtheir better economic situation and some urban features,becausethe maritime contactswere not affectedby the barbarianinroads. There are no proofs in Dobrudja for destructionsdatedaround 614, on the Danube or in the inner cities like Tomis, Tropaeum,Histria, and Argamum. The extinction of the cities was in most casesnot violent, but a result of the disappearance of the relationswith the Empire. The greatAvar and Slavic invasionsof 614426 did not affect too much the citiesfi'om Dobrudja,becauseitwas much moreusefulto exploit them tlranto pillage them. Those invasions were focused on the important towns that could provide a large booty of luxury goods - JustinianaPrima, Naissus,Serdica,Thessaloniki (Popovii 1975, 489497), while the smaller ciries were left in peace as sources of usual supplies.The Avars were interestedto preservethe population,because their economy way of life dependedto the tribute exemptedfrom the conquered people able to provide agricultural productsand other stuff- we already saw this for

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the siegeof 598 (Pohl 1988, 192-193).ln thesecircumstances,the seashorecities from Dobrudja were a significantsourceof supplies,becausethey kept commercial relationswith the rest of the empireuntil the beginningof the 7mcentury. 3. The whole easternpart of the Balkan Peninsulaenteredunder the Avar dominationuntil 626, rvhenthe great siegeof Constantinoplewas repelledby the Byzantine army and navy. If the Avar domination in Dobrudja can be inferred from this generalsituation,we haveto identif, its archaeologicalevidence.Suchevidence can be providedby the bucklesof Pripatype. when ten yearsagoI publisheda paperaboutthesebuckles(Madgearu 1993,17lI 83. SeealsoMadgearu1997a,44, 63, I 18, I 51, 154,I 55) in Dobrudjawereknown only the piecesfrom Histria andJurilovca(the bucklefrom Kaliakrawas publishedin the sameyear). The firct one was found in a building dated in the 7s century located in the "Temple" sectorof the city (Pippidi at all 196l,233,fig. s/2). The second comesfrom an inhumationgraveorientedwith the skull toward East,whoseinventory included an amowheadand a knife. The funeral ritual and the inventory are showing thatthe gravebelongedto a barbarianwarrior (Coja 1977,166-167). This type of buckles,usedin the first third or in the first half of the 7.hcentury, has developedfrom the Salona-Histriatype. The difference betweenthese types consistsin the stylizatedbidheads appliedon the both sidesof the buckle.The P6pa buckleswere found especiallyin the early Avar and late Gepid cemeteries,in many casesin associationwith weapons.They were piecesof military equipment,usedfor the attachmentof a bag to the belt (uenze 1966,11, l4g-152, 165-166,179-l g0; Varsik 1992,80; Garam2001, l 09-l I I ). A new bronze buckle of "P6pa" type was found during the archaeological researchesfulfilled in 2003 at Halmyris (Murighiol). The piece is almost entirely preserved(only the nail is missing).Unfortunately,the buckle has no archaeologicalcontext (it was found in the grass level). Its length is 37 mm; the distancebetween the ends of the stylizated bird heads is 39 mm; the breadth of the transversalpan is 13 mm; the ticknessis 2 mm. unlike most other pieces,it doesnot have small circles (eyes)on the birdheads(fig. l ). Three of the four p6pa type buckles found until now in Dobrudja are concentratedin its northem part, into a small area.This can not be a coincidence.All the bucklesfound in Dobrudja camefrom siteswhere the Byzantinecoins continuedto penetrateuntil circa 614 (fig. 2) (The last coins are: 612-613 (Halmyris - see: Zahariadelg9l, 3l l-3 l7; Suceveanuat all 2003, and not yet publishedresearchesofthe team conductedby Mihail zahariade); 613-614 (Argamum - Iacob at all 2001,203-213): 6134t4 (Akres- Parushev1991,3 l). I sustainedin my previous study that thesebuckles were made by craftsmenof Byzantine origin in Pannonia,for their Avar masters.This type was in my view a combination between a Byzantine model (the Salona-Histriatype) and the buckles 267

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Fig. I

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4= Fig.2. P6patype bucklesin Dobrudja: I - Histria, 2 - Jurilovka, 3 - Kaliakra, 4 - Murighiol 268

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l6

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Fig. 3. ThePdpatypeof buckles andtheBilgelfbeln that havestylizatedbirdheads.Unlike other contemporarytypesof buckles(Salona-Histria,G6tir, Syracusa),the Pdpatype buckleswere not discovered until now in the Westernregions of the "Byzantine Commonwealth" (fig. 3). As sc know, 28 pieceswere found until now. Their repertory is given in the annex. Basedon the discoveryof some piecesin Asia Minor and Crimea,MechfriH Schulze-Ddrrlamm has recently argued that the Pripa type of buckles was created in the Byzantine workshops (Schulze-Ddrrlamm 2002,224-226). Asimilar opinian wasexpressedbyAnna Haralambieva(Haralambieva1997,20).Indeed,the presence of somebucklesin temitoriesthat were not underAvar dominationcan suggest$is interpretation, but there is still another possibility. James Russell supposeddur the buckle found at Anemurium in Asia Minor can testiff a trade with buckles of Barbarianorigin in the empire (Russell 1982,144).We should also remark that dl the P6pa type buckles found outside the Avar qanatewere discovered near the seain or near harbours, in north-easternBulgaria, Dobrudja, Crimea and Asia Minor (with the exception of the piece from lran). In this light, the concentrationof tlrese bucklesin the north-Danubianareadominatedby theAvars(Pannonia,Transylvania 269

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Wallachia)continuesto be an argumentfor the genesisof this type in the workshops masteredby the Avars and for the export in the Byzantine Empiie. The pieces founa in Crimea can also be relatedto the Avars, becauseit is known that the north-pontic area continued to be under Avar domination until the rebellion of Kuvrat in 635 (Sziideczky-Kardoss 1975,27r-272;B6lintt9g0-1981, 137;pohl l9gg,2z3). Even if we admit that the P6patypes of buckleswere producedin the Byzantine Empire, it is obvious that they were made especiallyfor barbarians,as their spreading area is clearly showing. It could be supposedthat thesebucklescame in Dobrudja with the wariors of the Avar confederacywho exertedthe dominationover the zurviving cities. All the buckleswere found in or near such cities. The Avar domination, if existed, it was exertedby warriors who collectedthe tribute.All thesecities are harbours.It is not excludedthat the Avars tried to gain control over severalpoints suitablefor seaat-

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Fig. 4. Gold and silver coins: I -Agighiol, 2-Gala,ti,3 l Isaccea,4- Istria, 5 - Lunca, 6 - Niculilel, 7 - ValeaTeilor 270

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tacks fulfilled by the Slavs who fought in their confederacy- these Slavs took part with their small boats at the great siege of Constantinoplein626, as we find out from the chronicle of rheophanes confessor (Theophanes, 447). At Histria was also found a Nagyhars6nytype buckle,the single of its kind in Dobrudja.This type is without any doubt of Pannonianorigin (petre 1965,75,fig. 5/l . For this type, see Ibler 1992, 140-145; Garam z00l,93-94). This secondbuckle confirms the Avar presenceat Histria in the first decadesof the 7n century whatever it was its form. Of course,the evidencefor this Avar control is scarce,but it can be compared with the situation encounteredat corinth, where several 7n century graves with weaponsand bucklesof Pics type (of pannonianorigin) were found (Ivison 1996, I | 7-l 18. For the Pdcstype, seeIbler 1992, 135-13g).Those buckles were pieces of military equipment(tike the p6pa buckles).Becausethe weaponsare not usually presentin the Byzantine graves,it seemsthat thesefuneral finds from Corinth belongedto some barbarianwarriors - the swords have analogies in the Gepid cemeteriesfrom Pannonia,while a ceramicjar belongsto the so-calledrisa type (Stefanovidova 1977, 127; yida, v