In the VI century. from the fragments of various tribes in Altai a new people was formed - the Turks. They were skilled metallurgists, creating magnificent cavalry in armor of steel plates, armed with long sabers and spears. The Turks themselves were few in number, but they came up with a special form of organization - el.
They accepted friendly tribes into it, provided them with equal rights with their clans, and with their help conquered others [33]. Thanks to this system, the Turkic state, the kaganate, gained impressive strength. By 555, Kagan Mugan seized the lands in the east up to the Yellow Sea. And his uncle Istemi-khan with a part of the Turkic warriors and allied tribes of the Teleses moved to the west. He defeated the kingdom of the Pechenegs, included the defeated in his army and entered Central Asia.
It was called Sogdiana. In the old days, the epithet "formidable" was added. But she splashed her valor in wars, in migrations, and turned into a "merry" Sogdiana. Once her harsh warriors overpowered the Persians, Macedonians, Romans. The great-great-great-grandchildren of these heroes built big cities, became farmers, artisans, servants, cooks, and resourceful merchants. And instead of horse avalanches, carpets, exquisite products of embossers and goldsmiths were sent to different countries. Once proud Sarmatians danced around campfires to the sound of bone pipes, energizing themselves before the battle. Now the melodies have changed, from the military dances they turned into sensual ones, and the great-great-great-granddaughters of queens and warriors were famous as erotic dancers. It was already considered not shameful, but profitable, they were sold for big money to Persia, China, India. And most importantly,caravan routes passed through Sogdiana, along which Chinese silk was transported to the west. It was worth its weight in gold, and not only for the sake of beauty. Silk clothing at that time was the only reliable way to protect yourself from lice, and Sogdian cities rowed profits on transit trade, servicing passing merchants.
But one of the local people retained their belligerence and fighting skills. The Var and Khioni tribes lived in the “swamp settlements” near the Aral Sea. They were also called Chionites, Varhonites, and in Europe they became known under the name of Avars [33, 36]. Like the rest of the population of the then Sogdiana, they were not Mongoloids, but Aryans: tall, blond and blue-eyed. Their heavy cavalry was no worse than that of the Turks, and they often fought. Living in the Aral Sea region, they repulsed the steppe inhabitants, their troops were hired by the Persian shahs against Byzantium. They met Istemi Khan with spears. The Avars lost in a bitter struggle, but did not want to submit and left. Under the leadership of Prince Bayan, they crossed the steppes, passed the Caspian Sea and appeared in the North Caucasus.
There were few of them, about 30 thousand, and at first they behaved like modest refugees. They asked for asylum from the Alanian king Sarosius. They expressed a desire, like him, to enter into an alliance with Byzantium. Sarosy entered their position, provided support, helped their embassy to get to Constantinople. There, representatives of an unknown tribe were received rather coolly. Nevertheless, they did not neglect, they presented gifts, traditional for the "barbarians", and in 558 they concluded an alliance against Persia. But … in the same 558, the embassy of the Turkic Kaganate arrived in Constantinople. And then he was greeted with open arms. The Byzantines were ready to get such a powerful ally by any means.
The Avars realized that because of them the emperor would not want to quarrel with Istemi Khan. But, as it turned out, this ancient people was smart, developed, and in cunning and deceit could give odds to the Byzantines themselves. Bayan clearly assessed the political alignment in the Black Sea region. He sent delegates not only to Constantinople, but secretly contacted the enemies of the empire - and suddenly attacked its allies. He attacked the Sabirs, they did not expect a blow at all and were defeated. Avars, not letting anyone come to their senses, rushed to the Uturgurs. Crushed them and broke through to the kuturgurs. And the Kuturgur king Zabergan accepted them as best friends. He had just received a lot from the antes, needed help. Oh, how handy he was 30 thousand experienced fighters!
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He really got help. Bayan was an excellent organizer, he reorganized the Bulgarian army around the armored Avar squads, and suggested winning decisions. Zabergan willingly followed his advice, yielded command. The messengers galloped to the Sklavins, the Lombards, inviting them to act together. And an offensive was launched against Antiya from the east, west, south. Mute evidence of the unfolding tragedies is the Pastoral settlement in the Cherkasy region, destroyed by the Avars and their allies.
After suffering several defeats, the ants entered into negotiations. Prince Mezenmir Idarovich himself went as an ambassador to the Kuturgurs and Avars. He offered to make peace, wanted to ransom the prisoners. But Zabergan suggested to Bayan: “This husband has acquired the greatest influence among the ants, he is able to resist any of his enemies. Therefore, you need to kill him, and then unhindered raids on foreign land”[77]. Bayan admitted that it was reasonable, but did not reckon with such "trifles" as the inviolability of ambassadors. Mezenmir was vilely killed, and Antiya was beheaded.
At the same time, Zabergan proved to be a worthless politician, short-sighted and greedy. He saw the main gain only in the fact that now there is no need to fear for the rear. This means that nothing prevents from plundering rich prey. In 559 he raised his kuturgurs, attracted the Sklavins and led them to Byzantium. His army marched through Thrace, Macedonia, approached Constantinople. Emperor Justinian paid off with a large tribute. But at the same time he sent an embassy to the king of the Uturgurs, Sandlich. He fulfilled allied obligations. He set out with the army, met one of the hordes of Zabergan, who was returning home, interrupted it, and nobly returned the looted property to the Byzantines. The Kuturgurs became furious, and a bloody war broke out between the two Bulgarian kingdoms.
There were no winners, both sides suffered huge losses. And the fruits were reaped … by the Avars. They prudently did not interfere in the massacre, only "helped." But gradually, gradually, they crushed the weakened kuturgurs. The patrons, who received refugees, turned, in fact, into vassals of their guests. Bayan continued to attack the ants. Menander Protictor wrote that after the murder of Mezenmir, the Avars "ravaged the land of the Antes and did not stop enslaving, taking away and plundering." The Slavs took refuge in fortresses, it was difficult to take them, sieges and assaults cost the lives of many soldiers. But Bayan applied a new tactic - to burn the fields. Destroyed them one summer, the next, the ants began to starve. And Byzantium, for the sake of its allies, did not touch a finger. She needed them only as long as they were of benefit to the empire. Antam had to submit, they agreed to pay tribute.
In the Black Sea region, the Avars no longer had rivals, and in 567 Bayan, together with the Lombards, Bulgarians and Slavs, moved to Pannonia. Here they defeated another Byzantine friends, the kingdom of the Gepids. And after the victory, the Avars safely got rid of the Lombards. They did it in the same way as the Greeks - they seduced them to conquer Italy. The defeated Gepids were also sent with them. Italy had not yet moved away from the wars of the Byzantines and the Goths, lay in ruins. The Lombards easily captured the northern part of the country. They would have captured everything, but they too despised discipline. Several dukes fell away from the king, fought with each other, so Byzantium held the south and middle of Italy.
And the Avars, having got rid of their comrades-in-arms, remained full masters in Pannonia. Around Lake Balaton, they found conditions similar to their native swamps near the Aral Sea (the word Balaton just means "swamp"). They built 9 cities, similar to their Central Asian "swamp settlements" - the Germans called them "rings" (circles). They were surrounded by rings of earthen ramparts and palisades; rulers and warriors lived in the rings. From here the Avars ruled the subordinate tribes, tribute flocked here, and Bayan took the title of kagan - king over many peoples.
Meanwhile, the enemies of the Avars, the Turks, conquered Central Asia. However, they had to fight only with the Persians and the Pamir highlanders. And the inhabitants of Sogdiana figured that under the rule of the kagans they would be just wonderful - they would receive protection from any enemies, they would be able to trade throughout the immense power. It was not a pity to pay tribute for such benefits. The cities voluntarily opened the gates, and the Sogdian merchants, literate and experienced, immediately settled down quite well surrounded by the Turkic rulers. They became civil officials, financiers, diplomats. Transfer by embassies between Istemi Khan and Constantinople was resumed, a trade agreement and a military alliance were concluded.
And the Turks continued to move westward. In 570, their black banners with a golden wolf's head loomed on the banks of the Volga. Of course, the Uturgurs, Alans, Sabirs were not happy about the approach of other people's hordes. Warriors were gathered to stop the intruders. They also hoped for an ally Byzantium. After all, the Turks were her friends. So the emperor had to intervene, put pressure on them … Not at all! An alliance with the Turks seemed much more promising, and Constantinople easily betrayed the North Caucasian allies. What's the difference? All the same, they will fight for the interests of the empire, perhaps as part of the kaganate.
But one Caucasian people met the Turks in a friendly way. In the valleys of the Terek, Sulak and on the shores of the Caspian, the Khazars lived - the descendants of the Scythian tribe, which in time immemorial took refuge here from enemies. They became sedentary for a long time, cultivated grapes, gardened, and fished. But they also lost their former martial art. They were completely taken out by their neighbors, the Bulgarian tribe of Barsils and Sabirs. They pulled tribute, robbed, took away the women they liked, and the men were mobilized into carts and servants for their campaigns in Azerbaijan. And in the outbreak of the war, the Khazars began to help not the enslavers, but their enemies.
It was very useful for the Turks. They were far from their homes, they needed support in the local area, guides, spies, food, fodder, bases for the deployment of troops. They received everything they needed from the Khazars. Alans, Uturgurs and Sabirs were defeated. The Khazars were accepted into the ale system, and now, having gained omnipotent patrons, they have recouped their offenders. The Sabirs were hit so hard that they fled to Transcaucasia and became the Shah's citizenship. The Barsils darted in the opposite direction, trying to hide on the islands in the Volga delta. But the Khazars overtook them, finished them off, and the roles changed, the defeated had to serve the winners. And the Alans and Uturgurs recognized themselves as Turkic vassals.
Thus, the southern part of present-day Russia was divided between two kaganates. To the west of the Don lay the possessions of the Avar. To the east - Türkic. It was headed by Tobgo Kagan, and in order to manage the endless spaces from the Yellow to the Black Seas, they were divided into eight destinies. They were ruled by relatives of the kagan, khans from the Ashina dynasty - "wolves". The Türks in each domain were the aristocracy and the squads of the leaders, in the battles they acted as a shock force. But other peoples included in the el were considered equal.
For example, the Teles, who made up a significant part of the army, the Khazars and the Turks lived together, fought, and shared the spoils. They were even buried together, in the same cemeteries, although according to different rites. The Turks burned the dead, and if it was an important person, they killed 2–4 servants, horses, rams, and erected a monument with an inscription, where the deceased, as it were, talks about his exploits. The corpses buried the dead vertically, with a bow, sword and spear. A horse was buried with the leader, with a simple warrior - a slave, cheaper than a horse, she was forced to climb into the same vertical hole and her neck was twisted. And the Khazars were very afraid of the "walking dead", so they broke their heads and cut off their legs, and only then buried them in a decorous and decent manner - they were no longer dangerous [35]. Below these peoples in the state hierarchy were the conquered vassals. Even lower - "tats", simply tributaries.
The Avars were also skilled warriors. But, unlike the Turks, they did not lead their subjects into battle. They became the ruling caste in the kaganate. They retained the functions of chiefs, organizers, warders, punishers, and they adapted to fight by someone else's hands. German historians testify that they always used the Slavs in the leading echelons. And to Emperor Justin II, Bayan cynically declared: "I will send such people to the Roman land, whose loss will not be sensitive to me, even if they completely perish" - and sent 10 thousand Bulgarians on a raid. There was even talk of any equality with the Avars in the Kaganate. Those who voluntarily joined them, like the Sklavins and Kuturgurs, became, as it were, senior vassals. They retained relative independence, but had to obey the Avars, send troops at their orders. Below there were less full-fledged tribes and completely powerless. Some could always be pinned down with the help of others. And the Avars ascended to the top of the pyramid from many nations, who, in fact, conquered each other.
But there were enough of those who themselves climbed into citizenship. Some Slavs turned to the kagan, promised to recognize his power if they helped to seize this or that region. Well, Bayan helped, sent his vassals. Avars knew how to be flexible. Could encourage someone, donate foreign lands. The tribes that lived far from the center of their power were difficult to reach with an armed hand, and they were flirted with, lured with gifts, prey in joint wars. But the closest neighbors - the Slavs of the Czech Republic, Moravia, Western Ukraine, fell into complete captivity. They were forced to work for themselves, were forcibly driven to war. The Slavs began to leave for Byzantium. In 578 the first large party of refugees crossed the border - about 100 thousand people, in 581 the second followed [144].
The Avars also terrorized neighboring countries. As soon as they settled in Pannonia, raids fell on Burgundy, Thuringia, Silesia, on the lands of the Slavs along the Elbe, Oder, Vistula. King of the Franks, Sigbert of Australasia, was defeated and captured. And Byzantium had a very difficult time. Previously, the Slavs and Bulgarians invaded separately. Someone was bought off, someone was beaten off, someone will leave himself. Now the kagan directed and coordinated these operations. And in the north there were no more allies to use against the attackers. Naval strikes were added to the land strikes. Squadrons of Slavic boats appeared in the Aegean and Adriatic seas, flew into coastal cities. Bayan liked it, he decided to create his own fleet. He turned to the king of the Lombards, Agiulf, to send experienced shipbuilders from Italy, and a Slavic naval base arose in Dubrovnik.
And on top of that, the Avars did not forget about their past cooperation with Persia. They restored ties with her, and the Byzantines began to smash with joint efforts. Emperor Tiberius was forced to conclude a humiliating peace with both powers. Shah ceded a number of territories, the kagan agreed to pay a tribute of 80 thousand gold. But at the same time, the Greeks got … a new terrible enemy. Out of habit, they did what they thought was necessary, regardless of the "barbaric" allies. However, such an ally as the Turkic Kaganate did not allow itself to be ignored. He was outraged by the separate peace, regarded it as treachery, and declared war. The troops of the appanage khan of the North Caucasus, Buri, and the ruler of the Lower Volga and the Urals, Turksanf, entered the Crimea, captured Panticapaeum and Feodosia. In 582, they made a campaign in Abkhazia and Georgia, dependent on Byzantium, drove away the population whom they could catch. But they realized that there were too many prisoners, there was nowhere to sell them. On the way back, everyone was cut, the roads of the Caucasus were covered with 300 thousand decaying corpses.
And the Avars did not intend to observe the peace bought at such a price. They presented an ultimatum to increase the tribute and seized new areas. Bayan behaved absurd and capricious. Upon learning that there was a menagerie in Constantinople, he demanded that an elephant be sent to him. When the animal was brought to Pannonia with incredible difficulties, he suddenly announced that he had changed his mind - let the elephant be sent back, and the golden throne sent. He could give the Byzantines a thousand of their captives with a grand gesture, he spared the city of Ankhial (Burgas) for the fact that the local healing waters helped his beloved wife. And another time he had 12 thousand stolen peasants, townspeople, their wives and children. The Greeks did not have enough money for the appointed ransom, they asked for a price cut. In response, the kagan, without batting an eye, ordered all the prisoners to be killed.
But only a few years have passed and the situation has changed dramatically. The Türkic Kaganate of incredible size turned out to be little viable. In 584, Kagan Tobgo died, fierce feuds broke out, and the state split into two Kaganates, Western and Eastern, the border between them passed through Altai. They were at enmity with each other, and for the ruler of the Western Kaganate Kara-Churin, the war with the Greeks turned out to be an unnecessary burden. His headquarters was located in Central Asia, he was helped and financed by Sogdian merchants, they took key positions at the court. And for them it was important not to deal with the Byzantines, but to trade through the Black Sea ports.
At this time, Mauritius, a military man to the core, ascended to the imperial throne, with his goal of saving the country from its enemies who were tormenting it. He happily reconciled with Kara-Churin, the Turks returned the captured part of the Crimea to him. In 589 the armies of Byzantium and the Kaganate moved to Persia. She had to fight back on several fronts, setbacks and military hardships caused confusion. Shah Hormizd was overthrown and killed. His heir Khosroi Parviz had nowhere to run. He fled to his sworn enemies in Constantinople. This was a real gift for the emperor. He helped the prince to cope with the rebels, return to the throne, and for this the Shah recognized his dependence on Mauritius, declared him "adoptive father."
The Persian threat was dealt with in the best possible way, and the determined emperor tried to eliminate the Avar one. He transferred all his forces to the Balkans. He planned to crush the kaganate in parts, first to withdraw his vassals from the game. Avarov assured that he had nothing against them, he only wanted to punish the Slavs. But the kagan was also on his mind. The Antes managed to recover from the blows they had suffered, and the Sklavins have now become significantly stronger, their princes behaved more and more independently. The Avar ruler calculated that it would indeed be beneficial for him if the Byzantines and Slavs would grind each other down. Therefore, he pretended to succumb to the cunning of Mauritius, condescendingly allowed to attack his subjects.
In 592, the army of the best Byzantine commander Priscus crossed the border, captured and ravaged the city of Prince Ardagast. The Slavic Tsar Muzokiy gathered a large army, but through a spy who knew the Slavic language, Priscus learned of his approach. On the Danube, he intercepted and destroyed a Slavic flotilla of 150 boats ^ and then with a sudden night attack fell upon the camp of Muzokiy and took it prisoner. The kagan reacted calmly to the Byzantine successes. He only demanded that he be given half of the booty and prisoners. But the Slavs got angry, organized themselves, responded with counterattacks. The Greeks still managed to defeat the prince Peyragast, but in 597 on the river. In Jalomice, the army of the brother of the Emperor Peter was completely defeated.
And here the Avars intervened. With the Slavs and Kuturgurs, they broke into the empire, destroyed the troops sent against them, took a number of cities, besieged Constantinople, and Mauritius managed to buy peace only by increasing the tribute. But he considered it only a temporary respite. From the failures, the emperor drew the proper conclusions - that it was necessary to beat the Avars themselves. Prepared better, and in 601 the army of Priscus suddenly, without declaring war, pounced on the kaganate. She won two victories, captivated 3 thousand Avars and many Slavs with Bulgarians. And another Byzantine corps, under the command of Goodwin, marched north. Old diplomatic methods were also used. Again they remembered about the ants, started negotiations with them. They were inspired by the defeats of the Avars, threw off foreign power and, together with Goodwin, began to destroy the Sklavins.
The end came to the kaganat. And yet Byzantium was unable to destroy it. It could not for one single reason - it is rotten through and through. The ailments inherited from Rome corroded and eroded her, and by the 7th century. Constantinople managed to become a semblance of the same Rome with tangle of intrigues, corrupted aristocracy, crowds of spoiled rabble. All this trash boasted of the name of "Romans", received handouts from emperors and nobles, thirsty for entertainment.
Unless there were no gladiatorial fights. They were replaced by chariot races, the whole capital was divided into parties of fans, "green" and "blue". Mauritius defeated the Persians and Avars - the capital did not give a damn about that. But the war demanded to tighten the belts, increase taxes, abandon expensive spectacles, and for this they hated the emperor. And the army still consisted of mercenaries. They grabbed the booty, eager to screw it up. When Mauritius ordered the offensive to continue to finish off the kaganate, the legions mutinied. They proclaimed a certain Phoca emperor and turned to Constantinople. The capital also revolted. Mauritius was captured, his family was executed in front of him, and then himself.
And the Avars, balancing a hair's breadth from death, suddenly found themselves at the pinnacle of success. Foque had to end the war, for this he agreed to increase the tribute to 200 thousand gold. The Sklavins were weakened in the battles with the Byzantines and the Antes, the kaganate finally took them under control. Well, the ants had to pay for the fact that they believed in an alliance with Byzantium. The Avars punished them in the most severe way. In the 602-609 years. their lands were so devastated that from that time the name of the Antes disappeared forever from the pages of history.
But then, in 605–620, there was a massive resettlement of the Slavs to the Balkans. Spilled over into whole tribes. Some came to an agreement with the Byzantine authorities, asked for land for settlement. Others seized vacant areas without any permission. Greek chronicles report that "the Slavs began to settle in the lands of the empire without fear." Part of the Lusatians went to the south - they became Serbs. Croats used to live in Galicia - there remained "White Croats", and the rest went to the Balkans. Among the Slavs who poured into Greece, the Byzantines mentioned glades, northerners, Drevlyans, Smolnyans, Krivichi.
They also moved in other directions, as long as they were far from the Avars. Another part of the Krivichi who lived in the upper reaches of the Neman left their native lands and moved north. Baltic tribes lived on the Western Dvina and to the east of it. They stopped the Krivichi, and they settled down the Polota River. But over time, the Slavs defeated the Balts. Those who remained on Polot became Polotsk, and the Krivichi broke through to Lake Pskov and the upper reaches of the Dnieper.
The Liakhs, the ancestors of the Poles, also got a lot from the Avars. Two large parties split off from them and headed east. One of them, under the leadership of the leader Radim, settled in the Middle Dnieper region, and a tribe of Radimichs arose on the Sozh River. Another was headed by Vyatko, she got to the Desna and called herself Vyatichi. The Slovenian tribe was also divided. Some went south - the Slovenes. Two branches were formed in Central Europe, Slovaks and Slovins. And some of the Slovenes and Rus set out to look for a new homeland in the north, and reached Ladoga.
The legend about this was preserved in the “Mazurin Chronicler”: “Since their birth, Slaven and Rus have been absent from Eksinopont (the Black Sea) and from their kind, and the universe is wandering around the countries, like the winged eagles flying over the desert, many, looking for a place in the village, and in in many places they are rested, and nowhere have I found a village for myself "- and finally, after 14 years of wandering, Slaven founded a city" what is now called Veliky Novgorod. " This legend has some resemblance to the story of the brothers Slavena and Scythian from the Joachim Chronicle. But the similarity is purely superficial. After all, Slaven and Scythian "many lands about the Black Sea and on the Danube conquered themselves." And Slaven and Rus are exiles, “separated from Exinopont” and do not know where to get in. The time of their resettlement is confirmed by a Byzantine coin found in Ladoga. It dates back to 617. This is the time of the death of Antiya.
V. E. SHAMBAROV
