The Antes, subordinate to the Huns, entered their "union". They were forced, voluntarily or forcibly, to participate in the campaigns of the Huns, although there is no direct mention of this in the sources. But there is indirect evidence: Priscus, the author of the 5th century, reported that his embassy to the ruler of the Huns Attila was treated to a drink named precisely by the Slavic word "honey", and Jordan wrote about Attila's funeral that "they (the" barbarians ") celebrate on his mound "stravu".
"Strava" is an outdated word, but it is found in almost all Slavic languages, meaning a joint meal, food, food, funeral commemoration, an analogue of "funeral". The presence of such words, found in the vocabulary of the "Huns", may indicate the presence of the Slavs in the army of the Huns.
After the death of Attila in 453, the state union, which was based on the power of the Huns, disintegrated:
And not otherwise could any Scythian tribe escape from the dominion of the Huns, as soon as with the arrival of Attila's death, desired for all tribes, as well as for the Romans. ("Getica" 253).
Associations like the Hunnic one are called “nomadic empires”, they usually exist for a short time, if there is no seizure of sedentary states with the subsequent settling of the dominant nomadic ethnic group on the land, for example, as was the case with the Turks, Bulgarians-Turks or Hungarians. (Klyashtorny S. G.)
For the Ants - Slavic tribes and clans, which were at an early stage of tribal organization, the process of their involvement in early state associations, at first the Goths, and then the Huns, had a positive meaning, since they, relatively speaking, had a "acquaintance" with other institutions of power …
Already in the IV century, the Antes had a single leader and elders, representatives of the tribes. The defeat carried out by the Huns to the population of the forest-steppe zone of Eastern Europe, and the subsequent defeat of the Antes from the Goths, caused a regression, which was reflected in the material culture of the Slavs. (Rybakov B. A.)
High-quality pottery earthenware is disappearing from everyday life, jewelry and blacksmith's craft are in decline, tools of labor and everyday life are not produced in workshops, but at home, which affects their quality. (Sedov V. V.)
This whole situation caused the degradation of social structures: the Antes, the unification of which began in the period of God, act at this time as separate tribes or clans, called a little later in the Balkans "Slavinia".
Social degradation can partially explain the regression that is observed in the newly emerging archaeological cultures associated with the Slavs, in comparison with the Chernyakhov culture.
The Slavs, relatively speaking, in the 5th-6th centuries were divided, on the eve and during their migration to the south, into sklaven (western branch), antes (eastern branch) and Veneti (northern branch). Jordan wrote about the situation with the settlement of the Slavs in the 6th century:
At their left slope [Alps - VE], descending to the north, starting from the birthplace of the Vistula River, a populous tribe of Venets is located in immense spaces. Although their names now change according to different clans and localities, they are still predominantly called Sklavens and Antes. (Shchukin M. B.)
The Antes lived between the Dniester and the Dnieper (Middle Dnieper and Left Bank). The Sklavins lived in the territory of central Europe, the Carpathians, modern Czech Republic, Volhynia and the upper reaches of the Powislya, the upper reaches of the Dnieper, up to the Kiev region. Venets - between the Oder and the Vistula, in Belarus and at the source of the Dnieper.
Archeologically, this corresponds: Penkovskaya culture - Antam, Prague-Korchak culture - Sklavens, Kolochinskaya, Sukovsko-Dziedzitskaya and Tushemlinsky cultures - Venets.
Of course, there are different opinions about these cultures. There are no special questions about antas and sklavins. But the correspondence to the Veneti - the Kolochin, and even more so the Sukovo-Dziedzica archaeological culture raises many questions.
Moreover, many researchers do not see the connection between the Przeworsk and Chernyakhov cultures, which we mentioned in previous articles, with the Penkov and Prague-Korchak cultures clearly defined as Slavic:
“Slavic cultures of the 8th-9th centuries. had even more in common with the Chernyakhov and Pshevor cultures than the early Slavic monuments of the 6th-7th centuries immediately following the last ones. (Shchukin M. B.)
Perhaps this conclusion is the answer to the question. The Hunnic defeat and the departure of the Goths to the south gave impetus to regression, the overcoming of which was achieved after a serious period of time for one part of the Slavs, and by moving to the Roman border for another part of them.
Although, on the other hand, we have continuity in housing and even in dishes (Pastoral settlement) with the Chernyakhov archaeological culture. (Sedov V. V.)
Do not lose sight of the arguments of ethnographers:
“Primitive societies, or those considered to be primitive, are governed by kinship ties, not economic relationships. If these societies were not subject to destruction from the outside, they could exist indefinitely. (K. Levi-Strauss)
From the point of view of the study and subsequent interpretation of archaeological sources, it seems that this issue will be open for a long time.
But written sources give us a lot of material on the history of the Slavs in the VI century.
The movement to the south or the migration wave of the Slavs, in the wake of many Germanic peoples, to the borders of the East Roman Empire began after 453, after the death of Attila and the internecine war of the tribes that were part of the Hunnic union.
On the Danube border
At the very end of the 5th century. The Proto-Bulgarians destroyed the forty-thousand-strong Komitat army of Illyricum, and other parts from here were transferred to the eastern border, which was more dangerous for the empire. Several wars that took place at the beginning of the 6th century completely exposed the northern border on the Danube.
Even the traditional “divide and rule” policy of attracting the Gepid tribes, the conquerors of the Huns, and the Eruls, who occupied the lands around the city of Singidon (present-day Belgrade, Serbia), did not help the Romans.
On the path beaten by the Germans and the Huns, Slavic tribes began to approach the borders of Byzantium. Their invasion in 517 had devastating consequences for the Romans in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula. They plundered Macedonia, the first and second, Old Epirus and reached Thermopylae.
One part of the Slavs moved to the Danube from the area of residence of the Antes, the other from Central Europe and the Carpathians. Procopius of Caesarea emphasized that the customs, religion and laws of the Ants and Sklavins are exactly the same.
On the left bank of the Danube, they settled along the borders of the provinces of Scythia (Antes), Lower Moesia, Dacia and Upper Moesia (Sklavins). West of the Slavs, beyond the Danube, in Pannonia, on the Sava River, the Danube bend and the lower Tisza, there were Gepids. Nearby, in the "Dacia coastal", were the Heruls, and later here, in the former Roman province of Norik (part of the modern territory of Austria and Slovenia), the Lombards migrated.
Ethnic monolithicity was alien to these territories, the Slavs massively settled on the lands controlled by the Germanic tribes, the remnants of the Thracians, Sarmatians and other Iranian-speaking nomads, as well as various groups of the Turkic nomadic population, also lived here. According to the Greek Procopius - "bestial tribes".
The subjects of Byzantium also lived here, on the lands of which newcomers from the north and east began to settle.
The subsequent history of the Slavs who settled in the Danube was associated both with Byzantium and with nomadic tribes who raided the territory of the empire.
The Slavs were at an early stage of the communal-clan formation, when spontaneous collectivism was the basis of society, this is what Procopius of Caesarea writes about this: “These tribes, Slavs and Antes, are not ruled by one person, but since ancient times they have lived in the rule of the people (democracy), and therefore they consider happiness and unhappiness in life to be a common matter”.
He also points out that the Slavs have the same laws and worship the supreme god of lightning:
"That only one god, the creator of lightning, is the ruler over all, and bulls are sacrificed to him and other sacred rites are performed."
The god of lightning or Perun - acts here as the supreme deity, but not yet the god of war. It is a mistake to identify him, relying on the material of Ancient Russia, exclusively with a retinue god. (Rybakov B. A.)
Perun, like Zeus, had different "functions" equated to different periods of the formation of society. From God, personifying lightning, through God - who controls thunder and lightning, to the god of the period of formation of "military democracy" - the god of war. (Losev A. F.)
From the moment the Slavs appeared on the Danube, their endless invasions into the borders of Byzantium began: "… the barbarians, Huns, Antes and Slavs, often making such transitions, caused irreparable harm to the Romans."
Byzantine historians record only major incursions, not paying attention to minor clashes: "Although now," says contemporary Jordan about the Slavs, "due to our sins, they are raging everywhere." And Procopius of Caesarea in his accusatory pamphlet on Emperor Justinian I directly wrote that the Antes and Sklavins, though together with the Huns, plundered all of Europe to the ground.
In 527, a large army of Antes crossed the Danube and met with the troops of Master Herman, a relative of Emperor Justinian I. The Roman troops completely destroyed the Antes, and the glory of the formidable warrior Herman thundered throughout the barbarian world of Transdanubia. This victory made it possible for Justinian to add "Antsky" to his title.
Nevertheless, in the 30s the Antes actively invaded the territory of Thrace. In response to the intensified attacks of the Slavs, Basileus Justinian entrusted his squire Khilbudiy with the protection of the Danube border near the capital. There is an opinion that Khilbudiy was a genus of Ant. (Vernadsky G. V.)
He, holding the high post of master of the army of Thrace, for three years made several successful punitive operations across the Danube, thereby securing the province of Thrace.
At the same time, an attempt was made to attract the Slavs to the protection of the borders, an attempt was unsuccessful, due to the lack of leaders among the ants with whom it would be possible to agree. This fact indicates that the Ants had not yet formed a tribal union here, and "each clan" lived independently. Which, by the way, did not prevent them from acting together in the event of a military threat. So Khilbudiy, who recklessly crossed the Danube with a small detachment, was forced to engage in open combat with the superior forces of the Antes and died in this battle. From that time on, the border again became available for invasions, moreover, the Slavs began to settle in the province of Scythia, at the mouth of the Danube.
At the same time, the raids of the nomads continued, and in 540 the Huns reached the outskirts of Byzantium and took the Thracian Chersonesos by storm. Here it was the first time that nomads took a large imperial city. In the same period, there were clashes between the Sklavins and the Antes, the latter were defeated. Emperor Justinian proposed to the Antam to protect the border in the area of the abandoned city of Turris, built by Troyan on the left bank of the Danube. Some researchers assume that the treaty did not take place, others believe that, on the contrary, by this very thing Byzantium secured itself for a while: there were no campaigns of the Huns and Antes for several years. At the same time, in Italy, the commander Belisarius has a whole arithma of ants (300 soldiers) who successfully fight against the Goths.
But the attacks of the Sklavens intensified: in 547 they invaded Illyricum and reached the city of Dyrrachia on the Adriatic coast (modern. Durres, Albania). The master of troops in Illyria, having here 15 thousand soldiers gathered for Italy, did not dare to repulse the enemies. Two years later, in 549, there was a new invasion of the Slavs by the forces of only three thousand people: some of them went to Illyria, and some to the capital.
The commander-in-chief of all the forces of the empire in this area, the master of Thrace and Illyria, entered into battle with one of the detachments of the Slavs and was defeated, his army, which outnumbered the Slavs, fled.
The candidate Asbad, an officer of the emperor's bodyguard unit, spoke out against the Slavs. He commanded a detachment of cadre (catalog) horsemen from the city of Tsurul (Corlu - Eastern Thrace, Turkey), excellent riders, but the Slavs also put them to flight, and from the captive Asbad they cut the straps from the back and burned him at the stake. Then they began to devastate Thrace and Illyria, committing all sorts of atrocities, torture and violence. In Thrace, they stormed the seaside town of Toper. In it, 15 thousand men were killed, and children and women were taken into slavery. With the captured property, prisoners, bulls and small livestock, the soldiers returned freely across the Danube.
In 550 the Slavs moved to Thessalonica, but having learned that in Sardik (modern Sofia, Bulgaria) the legendary commander Herman was gathering troops for Italy, they turned to Dalmatia to spend the winter there. Herman did not pursue them. The Slavs, who had already had a collision with him, decided not to tempt fate. Soon Herman died suddenly, and the Slavs began their campaign again. There were rumors, as Procopius of Caesarea wrote, that they were bribed by the king of the Italian Goths, Totila.
Those detachments of the Slavs who overwintered in Dalmatia were joined by new ones who crossed the Danube, and with all their might they began to devastate the province of Europe near Constantinople itself. The threat of the capital forced to gather significant forces of the Romans, who were led by a number of Byzantine generals, under the command of the palace eunuch Scholastic. The troops met in Thrace at Adrianople, five days' journey from the capital. The Slavs decided to take an open battle with the Byzantine army, but in order to lull the enemy's vigilance, they were in no hurry to fight while dissatisfaction with the indecision of the commanders was growing in the ranks of the Romans: the stratiotic soldiers reproached them for cowardice and unwillingness to start a battle. And the commanders, fearing a mutiny, were forced to yield.
The army of the Slavs was located on a hill and the Romans were forced to strike upward, which exhausted them. After that, the Slavs went on the offensive and completely defeated the enemy's army, capturing even the banner of one of the generals - Constantine. After that, they freely plundered the rich area of Astika (the modern region of Plovdiv, Bulgaria). On the way back, one of their detachments was attacked by the Byzantines, who saved many people from slavery, and also returned the banner of Constantine, but, despite this, the bulk of the Slavs returned across the Danube with booty.
Slaves among the Slavs in the 6th - 7th centuries
Numerous testimonies of Byzantine authors tell us that the Sklavins and Antes, in the course of their raids and campaigns on the Byzantine Empire, were enriched not only with booty, but also with slaves. Procopius of Caesarea writes that more than twenty myriads of Romans, that is, 200,000 people, died and were enslaved.
And Menander reports that Boyan, who fought with the Sklavins, returned many myriads of prisoners from slavery. Among the Slavs, only foreigners became slaves, fellow tribesmen could not be slaves: prisoners of war were the main source of slaves. So, once, during the war between the Sklavins and the Antes, the Sklavin took into slavery a certain young man Khilbudia, after the establishment of peace, he was ransomed by the Ant, having learned that he was his tribesman.
The captured captives were not the property of individual warriors or leaders, but of the entire tribe, already on the lands of the Slavs, they were divided by lot between clans. So, the ant, who bought the young man Khilbudia, whose name was the same as that of the missing commander of the Romans, tried to return him for ransom to Constantinople, but the tribesmen who learned about this, decided that this was the business of the whole people, and demanded that the issue be resolved with a pseudo - a general for the benefit of all.
The captured women and children adapted within the framework of family groups, and the men were in slavery for a certain, exact time, after which they were offered a choice: either to buy off and go home, or to remain free and friends. Thus, the former slave became a full member of society, he could have property, marry, and even more so, take part in military undertakings. Adult slaves compensated for the loss of warriors and participated in battles along with free ones. Researchers define this stage as “primitive slavery”. (Froyanov I. Ya.)
Along with robberies, the most important "income item" for the Slavs was the return of prisoners for ransom, especially since the Byzantine state paid increased attention to this, allocating significant amounts.
Sources and Literature:
Jordan. About the origin and deeds of the Getae. Translated by E. Ch. Skrzhinsky. SPb., 1997.
Procopius of Caesarea War with the Goths / Translated by S. P. Kondratyev. T. I. M., 1996.
Strategicon of Mauritius / Translation and comments by V. V. Kuchma. S-Pb., 2003.
Kulakovsky Y. History of Byzantium (395-518) SPb., 2003.
Lovmyanskiy G. Religion of the Slavs and its decline (VI-XII). Translation by M. V. Kovalkova. SPb., 2003.
Rybakov B. A. Paganism of Ancient Rus. M., 1988.
Sedov V. V. Slavs. Old Russian people. Historical and archaeological research. M., 2005.
Froyanov I. Ya. Slavery and tributary among the Eastern Slavs (6th - 10th centuries). SPb., 1996.
Khazanov A. M. Decomposition of the primitive communal system and the emergence of a class society // Primitive society. The main problems of development. / Resp. Ed. A. I. Pershits. M., 1975.
Shchukin M. B. The birth of the Slavs. STRATUM: STRUCTURES AND DISASTERS. Collection of Symbolic Indo-European History. SPb., 1997.
