Are Avars Turks? Avars are the second Turkish tribe that was largely influential in European history after the Huns. Indeed, although the Avars did not have great leaders like Attila, they shook the middle and east of Europe and changed its ethnographic structure. Although they maintained their political existence between approximately 558-805, their cultural influence continued for centuries after their collapse.

Although there were many discussions about the origin of the Avars, it is now certain that they are Turks, not Mongols. Avars, who spread over a wide area from the north of the Caspian Sea to the interior of France, are mentioned as “Abares, Abaroi” in Byzantine sources, “Awares” in Latin sources, and “Aban, Obri, Obor” in Slavic sources. Byzantine historian Simokattes (7th century.

2nd quarter.) in 558, that the Mongol Juan-juans who came from Central Asia and settled on the eastern borders of the Byzantine Empire were the same as the Avars, the detection of a tribe named Var-guni (Barguni), similar to the name War-khun, living among the Mongol tribes, and the discovery of a Mongoloid human skeleton in the Avar graves in Hungary, caused this Turkish tribe to be considered to be of Mongolian origin.

In addition, there were those who claimed that the Avars were of Finno-Ugric or Oghur origin. In order to understand the origin of the Avars well, it is necessary to know the following points well: First of all, the Byzantine historian Priskos (mid-5th century) mentions an Avar tribe in Western Siberia between 461-465, a hundred years before the domination of the Mongolian Juan-juans in Central Asia was overthrown by the Gök Turks.

Another Byzantine historian, Zakharias rhetor (in the 550s), mentions an Avar (Abar) community in the west, before the Juan Juans were destroyed by the Gok-Turks. Also, Greek geographer Strabon, A.D. 1. “Abar-Noi” are mentioned in the work of the 16th century, and it is known that the name “Abaris” is mentioned mixed in Greek legends.

According to these records, it is clear that the Avars in question cannot have anything to do with the Mongolian Jauan-juans, who were destroyed by the Gokturks in 552 and were completely defeated and pushed to the west in 558. In fact, the Byzantine historian Simokattes, who reported that the Avars were the same as the Mongol Juan-juans, made a distinction between “Genuine Avar” and “Fake Avar” in his work.

According to this situation, the origin of the Avars can be explained as follows: This Turkish tribe is actually the War Khon (which actually exists and consists of two tribes called Hun), who lived between Western Turkestan, the North Caucasus and as neighbors of the Ogur Turks in the Don Itil tribes, and were mentioned as Avar in the work of the Byzantine historian Menandros. These, like the Huns and Gok-Turks, spoke the Y Turkish dialect.

Following the year 350, they left the Juan Juan administration to which they were affiliated and headed west, joining the Akhun (Ephthalite) state established in Western Turkestan, Afghanistan and Northern India. Later, the War and Khon tribal union, which came to the Caspian and Aral region, took the name Abar in accordance with the work they did (the word Abar means resisting, resisting according to Turkologist Gy.Nemeth).

In addition, the word Apar, which is mentioned as a tribal name in the Orkhon inscriptions, such as the names Sabar and Hazar, indicates the Avars in the west, since there were no juan-juans at this date (572). Apart from all these, when we look at the titles used by the Avars, it is seen that they are all Turkish and used by other Turkish states.

Bö-kalabur (cleric), Tudun, Kağan, Tarkan, Bağan, Apşyk, Yuğruş, Bayan (rich), Kansavci (prince), Kök-elçi, Solak-elçi, (Mergen, Kandık etc..). Also Austria, Hungary, Albania, Czechoslovakia, Southern Germany etc. In the excavations carried out in the graves of the Avars in these places, brachycephalic Turkish type skeletons were found at a very high rate.

The impact of Avar migrations on history
Since the Avar migration had important results in the history of Eastern and Central Europe, it is considered the second Turkish migration after the European Huns. Just like the Huns, the Avars changed the ethnographic structure of Europe at that time by taking many of the tribes they came into contact with from their first movements under their domination and by forcing some of them to migrate.

We see that before their migration, the Avars were in the Barköl region around 465 (as recorded in Priskos’ work). At this time, they were neighbors with the Ogur Turks living along the Don and Itil rivers. So they were located to the east of them. Just after 461, the Sabars abandoned their positions against the Avars and came towards the Caucasus, pushing the Ogurs from their positions in the west.

Kandik, who came to Istanbul, talked at length to the Byzantines about the power of the Avars and that no tribe could stand against them. At that time, the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, who was in trouble with the Ogurs who suddenly invaded Thrace by making conquests in the Balkans and Dalmatia, wanted to get help from the Avars. He sent his own squire, Valentinos, to the Avars as an ambassador. Later, an agreement was made between the Avars and Byzantium.

According to this agreement, Byzantium would send gifts to the Avars every year, and in return, the Avars would fight against the enemies of Byzantium. However, since the Byzantines suspected Avar attacks, they tried to protect themselves against possible Avar attacks by creating a barrier of Ant and Slavic tribes. However, in 562, the Avars, who easily distributed this set, came to the Danube region and settled in this region.

Ants and Slavs also came under Avar rule. Avars in Central Europe and the Balkans
As we said above, the Avars who settled in the Danube region made raids from here to the interior of Europe and as far as Gaul. Undoubtedly, Mrs. Hakan, who was the leader, played a major role in the success of these raids. In 562, Bayan Hakan sent an envoy to Emperor Justinian and asked the Avars to settle in Byzantine territory.

Since such an incident had previously occurred with the Visigoths in 378, they rejected the Avars’ request; However, they did not mistreat the Avar ambassador. According to legend, the Byzantine government learned from the Avar ambassador named Okunim that the main intention of the Avars was to attack Byzantium. Three years later, there was a change in the Byzantine throne, and Justinian was replaced by Justinian.

When the new emperor hesitated to send the gift (tax), the Avars attacked the Byzantine lands under the leadership of Bayan Hakan and captured the middle parts of the Carpathian mountains. The Avars then made an agreement with the Longobards, one of the Germanic tribes west of the Danube River, and occupied the homelands of the Gepid tribe in eastern Hungary. However, the Longobards, who did not like the Avars, went to Pannonia in 568.

In this way, the Avars dominated the plains of Western Hungary, which were left empty. Meanwhile, they also defeated the Frankish king Siegebert, who tried to stand against the Avar raids. As a result of the expansion movements of these Avars, important Byzantine border cities such as Sirmium (Eszek) and Signidunum (Belgrade) fell into the hands of the Avars after a long siege in 582. Thus, the way to the Balkans was opened to the Avars.

Bayan Hakan, who took action in 592 (597 according to L.Rasony), advanced as far as Çorlu and terrified Istanbul. The borders of the Avar country now extended from the Don River to Gaul, from the North Slavic regions to Italy. During this period, the Avar Khanate became the most powerful state in Europe, and the Avar army became the strongest army.

Although this army was mainly Avar, it was also supported by Slavic and Germanic masses. Thanks to this army, the Avars always kept the main trade cities and markets of Central Europe and the Balkans under control. Towards the last years of Ms. Hakan’s life, we see that the Settings were weakened for a short time.

In particular, since the force allocated by the Byzantine Empire for the Sassanids was left empty after the war ended, the Byzantine army, which became stronger under the command of Priskos, crossed the Danube in 601 and defeated the A-vars along the Tisa river. It is known that four sons of Bayan Hakan died in this war and that Mrs. Hakan did not live long and died in 602.

It is claimed that Bayan Hakan was not a figure of Attila’s stature, that he did not have a large-scale goal, and that he was also deprived of the sense of culture that rose above the ordinary level. The new minister who ascended to the Avar throne after Bayan Hakan first marched towards Italy and defeated the Langobards. The Avars had already entered Pannonia by taking advantage of the migration of the Langobards from Pannonia to Italy.

In 616, the Avar Khan captured and plundered the city of Friul. The same Khan set a trap for the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius in Thrace Ereğli in 613, but the emperor escaped from this trap. In 626, the Avars made an agreement with the Sassanids and besieged Istanbul together. Sassanid general Shahvaraz established his headquarters in Kadıköy, at the entrance of the Bosphorus, after crossing Anatolia.

The Avars also took action from Thrace and came to the foot of the walls of Istanbul. Byzantine emperor Heraclius was even considering escaping to Carthage. However, he later went to the Caucasus to ask for help from the Caspian Turks. The defense of Istanbul was left to Patriarch Sergios and Patricuis Bonos. Meanwhile, the Byzantine naval fleet was navigating the Bosphorus and preventing the Avars and Sassanids from acting jointly.

The siege was not successful due to lack of a navy. The Avars retreated under difficult conditions. This failure led to the loss of influence and prestige of the Avar Khanate. Shortly afterwards, in 630, the Avar khan died. After his death, the Bulgarians, who were subject to the Avars, revolted, claiming that their leader Kubrat should be the khanate. Although this rebellion was suppressed by the Avars, the northern part of the Balkans passed to the Bulgarians.

This event was followed by the abandonment of some places to other tribes. The Danube-Sava region was left to the Croats and Slovenes, and the Bohemia area was left to the ancestors of the Czechs. After that, the Avars, trapped in a circle of rivals in the Hungarian plain, continued their existence throughout the 7th and 8th centuries. However, in 791, the Frankish emperor Charlemagne, during his campaign against the Avars, advanced as far as the confluence of the Danube and the Raab waters.

In 796, his son Pepin captured the Avar capital in Central Hungary. A ruler named Theodore, who became a Christian since 805, can be seen at the head of the Avars, who are now rapidly disappearing from history. These last Avars settled between Carnantum and Sabana under the leadership of Theodore and disappeared from history. Meanwhile, another person from the Avars named Tudun rebelled against the Franks in 795, but was unsuccessful.

In 803, a chieftain named Zodan also surrendered to the Franks. The Place of Avars in Eastern European History
The Avars, who dominated Central Europe and the Balkans for about 250 years between 558 and 805, made raids from the front of Istanbul to the Frankish and Germanic lands in the west. It is quite natural that the Avars, who spread and ruled over such a wide area, had a great influence in this region.

Thanks to the Avars, the ethnic structure of Eastern Europe changed; Longobards migrated to Italy; Slavs were brought from the north and settled in the Vistula, Danube and Bohemia basin. In fact, the reason for the migration of the Slavs was that the Avars learned from the Avars how to do agriculture and live in an orderly society when they settled down to meet their agricultural needs.

As Syrian Bishop Johannes said, “Slavs, who could not go out of the forests in the past, got used to disciplined warfare thanks to the Avars and acquired horses, herds, silver and gold. In short, as a result of the systematic migration of the Slavic communities by the Avars, the ethnic foundations of today’s Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and Poland were laid.

Although the main core of the Avar army was the Turks, foreign tribes were also used as auxiliary forces. For example, in 600, the Byzantine commander Priskos took 17,200 captives from the Avars. Only 3 thousand of them were Turks, 4000 of the remaining were Gepids and 7000 were Slavs.

In 603, when the Longobard king Ailulf asked for help from the Avars for the occupation of Cremona and Mantua, the Avar khan sent Slavic troops under the command of his own commanders. In addition, we can say that the Avars taught the Slavs in military terms. In fact, Slavs were used as infantry forces in the Avar army.

The fact that the word Avar is mentioned as “Obor” in all Slavic languages, meaning giant, is another evidence confirming what we said above. Some words regarding political organization in Slavic have been transferred from Turkish (such as Boyar). According to L.Rasony, old Turkish religious influences also passed on to Slavic beliefs. In addition, the Slavs VIII.

It is explained that although they were weaker against the Germans in the centuries, they could only reach the Elbe River with the help of the Avars to the Slavs. Avar influences are also seen in Croatians from other tribes. Among the military titles of the Croats, titles such as “Ban” (Baga in Turkic, Bagan in Avar language, also found in Bulgarians and Hungarians), “Boyar” (Boyla, Danube Bulgarian State, etc.) were passed down from the Avars.

In addition, the names of the cities of Navorino (Poyloşaslı Avarino) in Greece and Antivari (Bar, formerly Çivi Avarorum) in Albania are their traces in Europe. We see that the Avars were also very rich in gold. In the Firtos find around Küküllö, dating back to the Avars in 599, there were 3 thousand ready-to-manufacture Byzantine gold pieces along with other sets.

The chronicles of that time record that when the Avar capital was captured by the Frankish king Pepin in 796, the Franks took very rich treasures to the west. The Prostovats gold treasure in Albania belongs to the Avars. Moreover, although it was claimed that the gold treasure in Nagy Szentmiklos belonged to the Avars, Nemeth Gy. It was revealed that the writing in these works belonged to the Pechenegs.

The style and technique in this material belong to the Avars, and the stamps belong to the Turkish Bulgarians. One of the most important works that have survived from the Avars is the “Avar Çifte Kavalı”. It is the only musical instrument that has survived from the migrations of these tribes to our time. Just as the weapons and war tactics of the European Huns set an example for the European armies of that period, the weapons and tactics of the Avars were accepted as an example and adopted by the Europeans of their time.

Since the Avars were from the steppes, they were skilled in cavalry and archery. They wore the quiver, which stored the arrows, on the right side of their waist belt, and the bow, in another case, on their left belt. The Avar bow was made of several pieces. Bone sheets presented on the inside were also found in Hunhar tombs. The Avar sword is straight or curved. It was the Avars who brought the stirrup to Europe. Avar stirrups are circular in shape.

Avar martial art also influenced the Byzantines. Byzantine emperor Heraclius was able to win against the Sassanids only after organizing his army according to the Avar method. That is, in this period, the Byzantine army was completely similar to the Avars in terms of clothing and weapons. In addition, this mentioned emperor talks in detail about the war techniques of the Avar army and the clothing of his soldiers in his e-series called “Tactica”.

Avars placed their dead in the grave with the face facing east. The grave floor slopes from head to foot. They would first wrap the bodies of influential figures in leather and put them in a sarcophagus and bury them. They put food in containers on the graves for the journey to the afterlife; When the horseman died, they would bury his horse with him.

Avar Art
Avars who settled in Central Europe created a new culture unique to them in Hungary and other Central European countries. Avar art had two main features: It was influenced by the Hun ruins in Southern Russia and had an animal style with Central Asian characteristics. Although Avar art had many characteristics of Hun art, there were still many differences between them.

For example, while geometric ornaments were dominant in Hun art, animal style was dominant in Avar art. There is a great similarity between the Avar art style of this age and the art style of other Turks. For example, the Avar finds in Hungary and the finds from the place called Katan in the Altai belonging to the Gök-Turks show great similarities.

This is especially the case with belt ends decorated with animal motifs, bone bow parts, three- or two-cornered arrows, bits, stirrups, harnesses, etc. It is seen in archaeological findings such as. Finding sites such as these, named “Koçkar” in the Tanrı Mountains, “Nainte-Sumi” in Orhun, and “Perm” on the banks of the Kama River, show great similarities with the Avar finds in Hungary.

After capturing some cities in Hungary, the Avars began to settle in the cities; The best example of this is the city of Mogentina. The finds belonging to the Avars in Hungary can be listed as follows:
1- Szent-Endre (602-610),
2- Pusztatotti (669-670),
3- Blowjob (613-614),
4- Kuriagota,
5- Koszthely. The metal casting technique of the Avars is a technique unique to the Avars.

Because the casting technique that dominated Europe until then was in the form of plate or sheet metal. The Avar technique was an animal style technique originating entirely from Central Asia. The things to be cast were carved into trees beforehand, and the casts were shaped according to the molds made with these trees. It is possible to examine Avar works of art in two groups:
1- Strap Ornaments; Ornaments, mostly attached to straps with hinges, had a large place in Avar art.

As we said before, the origin of the decorations was based on Central Asia. Germanic belt tips, which were much more primitive than Avar belt tips, were unadorned and consisted of simple tin plates. However, Avar works consisted of animals and plants. While geometric decoration was not found in Germanic art, flowers and ivy branches constituted the essence of Avar art.

2- Buckles; The parts of the Avar buckles attached to the belt were decorated with plain animal motifs, and plant motifs were arranged in the form of rinsos. Sometimes ornaments were created by combining leaves side by side. The main animal motifs were creatures with horse bodies and bird heads, griffins, lions and legendary animals.

The buckles are divided into three parts in terms of shape: Avar buckles, which are distinguished by the front part of their circumference being too flat, the periphery being too high, and being angular, originate from Central Asia and Southern Russia.
In fact, the spread of Avar culture is much wider and extends to Moravia, Germany and even France of the Merovingian age. Prof.Dr. Ahmet TAŞAĞIL