Primary Sources on the Avars

by pancakestache

Hey everyone, Not sure if this is the best place to ask this but thought I would give it a shot. I am looking for some primary sources on the Avar tribe, preferably from the 6th and 7th centuries. I have been able to find a lot of good scholarly articles but finding Roman or barbarian sources written during the time has proven to be a challenge. If anyone could recommend some good databases that would include useful primary sources or even specific documents, your help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

shlin28

The main sixth/seventh-century Greek sources for the Avars are fairly well-known and all have recent-ish English translations, so they should be a good place to start. Each also has an invaluable introductory essay to give you some context - these sources are quite difficult to work with and you definitely shouldn't take them at face value, so it's good to read the secondary sources as well. There aren't really databases for this sort of thing, but the articles you've been reading should be pointing you to these sources anyway!

  • Corippus - In Praise of Justin the Younger, translated by Averil Cameron in In laudem Iustini Augusti minoris in 1976 (describes the Avar embassy received by Justin II)
  • Menander the Guardsman - History, translated by Roger Blockley in 1985 (very good on the diplomatic aspects of Roman-Avar relations)
  • Theophylact Simocatta - History, translated by Michael and Mary Whitby in 1986 (covers the war in the Balkans between the Romans and the Avars, worth supplementing this with Michael Whitby's The Emperor Maurice and His Historian: Theophylact Simocatta on Persian and Balkan Warfare (1988))
  • Paschal Chronicle, translated by Michael and Mary Whitby in 1989 (covers the famous siege of Constantinople in 626)
Georgy_K_Zhukov

Hello there. Your question seems to be related to school work, so we just want to remind you, and any potential respondents, that our rules DO permit people to ask for help with their homework, so long as they are seeking clarification or resources, rather than the answer itself. This policy is further explained in this META Thread.

Additionally, while our users may be able to help you out here, we hope that you also will take the time to check out our six-part series, "Finding and Understanding Sources", which should hopefully prove to be helpful for you as you continue in your research.