|
The Pannonian Avars (also were called Obri in Ruthenian chronicles, Abaroi or Varchonitai in Byzantine sources)〔(Avars ) at the Encyclopedia of Ukraine〕 were a group of Eurasian nomads of the early Middle Ages of uncertain origins,〔: "... the Avars certainly contained peoples belonging to several different ethnolinguistic groups, so that attempts to identify them with one or another specific eastern people are misguided."〕〔: "The Juan-Juan state was undoubtedly multi-ethnic, but there is no definite evidence as to their language... Some scholars link the Central Asian Juan-Juan with the Avars who came to Europe in the mid-sixth century. According to widespread but unproven and probably unjustified opinion, the Avars spoke a language of the Turkic group."〕 who established the Avar Khaganate, which spanned the Pannonian Basin and considerable areas of Central and Eastern Europe from the late 6th to the early 9th century.〔Walter Pohl, ''Die Awaren: ein Steppenvolk im Mitteleuropa, 567–822 n. Chr'', C.H.Beck (2002), ISBN 978-3-406-48969-3, p. 26-29.〕 They were ruled by a khagan, who led a tight-knit entourage of professional warriors. Although the name ''Avar'' first appeared in the mid-5th century, the Pannonian Avars entered the historical scene in the mid-6th century, having formed as a mixed band of warriors in the Pontic-Caspian steppe who wished to escape the rule of the Göktürks who called them "Pseudo-Avars" and Varchonites. Avar linguistic affiliation is uncertain〔〔〔〔 and may be tentatively deduced from a variety of sources, betraying a variety of languages spoken by ruling and subject clans. Proposals by scholars include Oghur Turkic, 〔〔Róna-Tas, András. ''(and Europe in the Early Middle Ages )'' (1999) p 116.〕 Tungusic, Caucasian,〔 Mongolic〔 and Iranian. However, over time, Proto-Slavic became the lingua franca of the Avar Khaganate. ==Early literary sources== The earliest clear reference to the Avar ethnonym comes from Priscus the Rhetor (died after 472 AD). Priscus recounts that, c. 463, the Šaragurs, Onogurs and Ogurs were attacked by the Sabirs, who had been attacked by the Avars. In turn, the Avars had been driven off by people fleeing "man-eating griffins" coming from "the ocean" (''Priscus Fr 40''). Whilst Priscus' accounts provide some information about the ethno-political situation in the Don-Kuban-Volga region after the demise of the Huns, no unequivocal conclusions can be reached. In fact, Denis Sinor has argued that whoever the "Avars" referred to by Priscus were, they differed from the Avars who appear a century later, during the time of Justinian (who reigned from 527 to 565). The next author of late antiquity to discuss the Avars, Menander Protector in the 6th century, details Gokturk embassies in Constantinople in 565 and 568 AD. Each time, the Turks appear angered at the Byzantines for having made an alliance with the Avars, whom the Turks saw as their subjects and slaves. Turxanthos, a Turk prince, calls the Avars "Varchonites" and "escaped slaves of the Turks", who numbered "about 20 thousand" (''Menander Fr 43''). Many more, but somewhat confusing, details come from Theophylact Simocatta, who wrote c. 629, but detailed the final two decades of the 6th century. In particular, he claims to quote a triumph letter from the Turk lord Tamgan: According to the interpretation of Dobrovits and Nechaeva, the Turks insisted that the Avars were only pseudo-Avars, so as to boast that they were the only formidable power in the Eurasian steppe. The Gokturks claimed that the "real Avars" remained loyal subjects of the Turks, farther east.〔 Furthermore, Dobrovits has questioned the authenticity of Theophylact's account. As such, they have argued that Theophylact borrowed information from Menander's accounts of Byzantine-Turk negotiations to meet political needs of his time – i.e. to castigate and deride the Avars during a time of strained political relations between the Byzantines and Avars (coinciding with Emperor Maurice's north Balkan campaigns). By calling the Avars "Turkish slaves" and "pseudo-Avars", Theophylact undermined their political legitimacy.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pannonian Avars」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|