Avar Khaganate: Map & History
The Pannonian Avars or Carpathian Avars were a confederation of Eurasian nomads.
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The Pannonian Avars or Carpathian Avars were a confederation of Eurasian nomads. They were also known as the Obri in the chronicles of the Rus, the Abaroi or Varchonitai, or Pseudo-Avars in Byzantine sources, and the Apar to the Göktürks. They established the Avar Khaganate, centred in the Carpathian Basin, from the late-6th to the early-9th centuries. They exerted influence and control over surrounding areas in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe.
Modern Countries Once Part of Avar Khaganate
At its mapped extent, Avar Khaganate covered territory in 11 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
- Serbia569–805 CE · nearly all
- Moldova561–655 CE · nearly all
- Slovenia569–622 CE · nearly all
- Romania561–805 CE · most
- Hungary567–805 CE · most
- Bosnia and Herzegovina569–626 CE · most
- Ukraine561–655 CE · most
- Austria569–622 CE · a large part
- Croatia569–792 CE · a large part
- Bulgaria617–626 CE · a small part
- Russia561–655 CE · a small part
States and Provinces
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Avar Khaganate's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Avar Khaganate in Depth
History
In 557, the Avars sent an embassy to Constantinople, presumably from the northern Caucasus. This marked their first contact with the Byzantine Empire. In exchange for gold, they agreed to subjugate the "unruly gentes" on behalf of the Byzantines: subsequently they conquered and incorporated various nomadic tribes—Kutrigurs and Sabirs—and defeated the Antes.
Pohl 1998, p. 18: [...] the first thing the Avars did when they came near the Caucasus on their flight from Central Asia was to send an embassy to the aging emperor Justinian. That took place sometime in winter 558/59, and they struck the usual deal: the Avars were to fight for the Empire against unruly gentes and in turn would receive annual payments and other benefits.
Origins
The earliest clear reference to the Avar ethnonym comes from Priscus the Rhetor (420s–after 472), who recounts that in c. 463 the Šaragurs and Onogurs 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. 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 (r. 527–565).
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Pannonian Avars (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Avar Khaganate Map Over Time
Dated world maps on which Avar Khaganate appears, with the other states of the time.
Avar Khaganate Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 1,022,315 km² in 620 CE.
Avar Khaganate: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Avar Khaganate exist?
Avar Khaganate is dated to 561 CE – 805 CE, in the Early Middle Ages era.
How large was Avar Khaganate at its peak?
At its peak in 620 AD Avar Khaganate covered about 1,022,315 km².
How did the map of Avar Khaganate change over time?
Avar Khaganate appears on 2 dated world maps in the atlas, from 600 CE to 750 CE. Each shows its borders in that year next to the other states of the time.