Research Information System
in: Reiternomaden in Europa – Hunnen, Awaren, Bulgaren, Ungarn, Daim Falko,Heher Domink, Editor, Schallaburg Kulturbetriebsges m.b.H., Vienna, pp.86-89, 2022
The Avar Khaganate was
essentially modelled on the Eurasian nomadic empires and can best be characterized
as an intricate network of different groups organised along kinship and ethnic
lines or on a regional, cultural and social basis, all integrated into a
federal-hierarchic organisation. Contemporaries commemorate the Kagan, who had
exclusive central power, and later other dignities who shared power with him (Tudun
and Yugurrush), but there is little mention of anything other than names
of dignity and brief references to wealth and a luxurious lifestyle. The
sources make no mention of the location of the Kagan’s centre or of where the
fortitied centre (hring) referred to in the 8th century Western sources
actually lay. In the absence of written sources, archeological research used
its own tools of the discipline to try to determine the Kagan’s seat and to
outline it on the basis of the richest Avar finds. Despite the fact that so far
neither a palace or other structure referring to the Kagan’s center, nor
certainly the grave of the Kagan has been found, but based on the concentration
of gold and silver ornamented weapons and prestige objects, the centre of Avar
power elite can be located in the area of Danube–Tisza Interfluve in the 7th
century. However, there are still several ideas about the location of the
earliest (6th century) and late Avar (8th century) center of power, but none of
them have been sufficiently substantiated so far.
Based on the twelve outstandingly
rich graves with weapons (so-called leader graves) found so far in the northern
part of the Danube-Tisza Interfluve, we can draw a relatively accurate picture
of the 7th-century Avar power elite (Fig. 1).
The Avar elite was of Inner Asian
origin; their skulls showed Mongoloid morphological traits. Their ethnic origin
is unclear, some think they are Heftalites (Central Asian Hun), others are Rourans
(who ruled the region of today’s Mongolia and North Chinea in the 4th-6th centuries
AD). Genetic studies in recent years support the latter idea.
The graves of rich men belonging
to the Avar power elite were dug in wet-swampy places far from their community.
These prestigious men were buried with gold earrings, decorated clothes, belts
adorned with gold mounts and sword with gold fittings. The symbols of power of
the richest (Bócsa, Kunbábony) were the cast gold pseudo-buckles (bucke-shaped
mount) decorating their belts, the sword decorated with triple -arched
suspension loops made of gold plate and the rython (drinking horn) made of gold
plate (Fig. 2). In addition, gold and silver vessels were placed into their
graves.
The by far still most magnificent
princely burial came to light in area known as Bábony on the outskirts of Kunszentmiklós
(County Bács-Kiskun). The man, who died between the ages of 60 and 70 – from
whose grave a gold object weighing nearly 2.4 kg was found – was buried in a bed
converted into a coffin decorated with gold plates. His shroud was also decorated
with gold foils and plates, and gold-clawed gloves and gold rings were put on
his hands. His dignity was expressed not only by his belts decorated with gold
mounts and weapons, but also by his golden bird-head stick and his gold-plated
whip.
In the social hierarchy the
highest-ranking leaders were followed by lower-ranking regional leaders, who
also wore a rank-bearing belt decorated with pressed pseudo-buckles or other
types of gold mounts (Fig. 3-4) embossed next to their swords with triple-arched
suspension loops made of silver or gold plate frame false buckles.
The Avar elite wished to resemble
Byzantium in appearance. Byzantine-style
belt ornaments appeared on their belts, but this was mostly superficial and
formal, preserving in many respects (e.g. wearing earrings, funeral customs)
their Central Asian nomadic traditions. That is, the Avar leadership was not
culturally transformed by Byzantine civilization.
Surrounded by the supposed leader
accommodation area drawn by the graves of the power elite, there are rich, also
armed graves that can be defined as burials of the military elite. The symbol
of their lower dignity was the sword decorated with P or D shaped loops made of
gold and silver (Fig. 5). Their graves are solitary (Szalkszentmárton) or
appear in smaller groups of family graves (Kunpeszér, Grave 3, Grave 8, Grave 9,
Grave 30/A, Fajsz-Garadomb, Grave C, Bačko Petrovo Selo-Čik, Grave 28, Mali
Iđoš, Grave 70 etc.). Based on the location of their burials, it is likely that
their task may have been to protect the most important strategic sites around
the center of power (along former roads and river crossings).
The concentric structure of the
center of power (the accommodation area of the power elite, surrounded by the
accommodation of the military elite and other armed communities) lasted until
the end of the 7th century. In the 8th century, according to the sources, the power
structure of the Khaganate was transformed, and other dignities appearing
besides the Kagan in all probability developed their own center of power.
However, the seat of Tudun located in the northern part of the Danube (Komarno
and its surround) and the alleged seat of Yugurrush in the vicinity of the
upper Tisza River (Hortobágy-Árkus district) require further research.