Garam Éva szerk.: Between East and West - History of the peoples living in hungarian lands (Guide to the Archaeological Exhibition of the Hungarian National Museum; Budapest, 2005)

HALL 7 - The early Migration period: the Huns and the Germanic peoples (c. 420-568 A.D.) (Ágnes B. Tóth)

97. Reconstruction of a gilt helmet from Hungary. First half of the 6th century potters mastered the art of the potter's wheel during their sojourn in Pannónia. Their pottery shares many similarities with Gepidic wares. The Langobards occupied southern Pannónia following the treaty concluded around 535 with Justinian, the Byzantine Emperor. Since the Gepids transferred their royal seat to Sirmium in the eastern part of the Drava-Sava Interfluve at roughly the same time, the two peoples expanding in the same direction soon found themselves confronting each others as enemies. After a few minor clashes, the Langobards defeated the Gepids in 567 with the help of the Avars, their new allies arriving from the east. The next year, the Langobards (together with a part of the vanquished Gepids), packed their belongings and moved to Italy, where they established a long-lived kingdom. The Gepids remaining in the Carpathian Basin never recovered from the defeat and lost their former political independence. After the departure of the Langobards, the Carpathian Basin came under the rule of a population of eastern stock: the Avars.