Of the steppe tribes-The Avars. Their first settlement in Transylvania

Eastern Europe is a region that can't be placed under a single sign or criteria. One can not talk about a single religion or a single ethnicity, or even a single history. The East is a mosaic of different cultures, people and stories, which must be logically and systematically approached.

We shall examine the history of the steppe tribes first, as a starting point. Their migration from the steppes of Asia into the steppes of modern-day Russia and beyond.

The Avars

The Avars were a steppe tribe of uncertain ethnic origin, due to the fact that they were, as many other tribes, a confederation of different ethnic groups, most likely of turkic, ugric or even hunnic descent.

The area settled by the Avars: Transylvania and the Pannonian Plain

~560 A.D. The Avars arrive in Europe

Their appearance in Europe dates back to the mid-6th century, when they first arrived in the northern parts of the Caucasus. The reason behind their migration was the encroaching power of the turkic tribes in Central Asia, a theme that will be recurrent in the following centuries:

A rising power in the East -> Smaller tribes and groups migrate to the West

From the Caucasus they swiftly moved into the area around the Black Sea, known as Scythia. The Byzantine Emperor Justinian refused to allow them to settle the area south of the Danube, in what is now Bulgaria and Dobruja.

The next years of their existence in Scythia were marked by desperate attempts to find a suitable, defensible area to settle. Their Turkic enemies were approaching from the East with threats of war and destruction, which prompted the Avars to circle the Carpathian Mountains, clashing with the Franks on the Elbe. Once more they tried, this time by force, to cross the Danube, but failed. At this point in time they were unable to find a passage into Transylvania due to the dense woodlands and mountains that barred them passage.

Only after fruitful diplomacy with the Langobards and a war against the Gepids were the Avars able to find a passage into Transylvania, most likely through the Red Tower pass.

Thus began the almost 2 century-long period during which Transylvania was settled by these steppe people. This period would end with the arrival of the Slavs during the 8th century.

More about Avar-ruled Transylvania and the decline of their power in the next article.