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 8 AND CORRIDOR - The Avar period (567/568-804 A.D.) (Éva Garam)

99. Gold pseudo-buckle from the plundered grave at Tépe. M id-7 th century ransom for prisoners, in addition to the gifts given to the Avar envoys, the booty seized during the campaigns and various commodities acquired through trade. The "golden age" of the Avars lasted until 626, when the khagan's army suffered a crushing defeat under the walls of Constantinople. The allied peoples, the Slavs and the eastern Bulgars revolted against them. The defeat and the uprising weakened the Avar Empire politically, while the lack of the gold tribute dealt an economic blow. THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL HERITAGE OF THE EARLY AVAR PERIOD la-b. EARLY AVAR SOCIETY According to Byzantine and Frankish chroniclers, the Avars had a single king. From 562, the supreme ruler of pyramidal Avar society was a khagan named Bayan. The supreme power of the khagan's dynasty can be traced until 670. The chronicles have preserved the titles of the most important Avar dignitaries: khagan, yugurrus, tarkhan and khatun. The khagan's seat probably lay in southern Transdanubia after the consolidation of their settlement. In the first third of the 7th century, the royal seat was transferred to the DanubeTisza Interfluve, a rather sparsely populated area. The 7th century princely burials and the nobleman's graves all came to light in this area. The grave found at Bocsa in 1935 was the burial of a very high-ranking prince, who stood a few rungs under the khagan. The solitary grave contained both insignia of rank and the deceased's personal possessions: earrings, finger-rings, belts decorated with round mounts and pseudo-buckles, a sword with golden fittings, a quiver, a silver jug, a gold cup and a drinking horn (Fig. 98). Silver and gold finds from a burial, perhaps the grave of a khagan, came to light at Tépe in Hajdú-Bihar county. The grave had been robbed in antiquity, and one of the looters apparently hid his share of the loot separately. The sumptuous gold pseudo-buckle (Fig. 99), the gold mounts of a narrow-bladed sword and the fragment of a Byzantine silver plate (whose original size is shown by its reconstruction) reflect the high rank of the deceased. 2. THE EASTERN HERITAGE Weapons and horse-harness Similarly to the weapons, the Avars' horse harness - which played an essential role in their long migration, in their warfare and in their pastoralist lifestyle - too retained its eastern characteristics during the early Avar period. On the testimony of the Byzantine sources, the core of the Avars' highly efficient army was formed by a heavy cavalry outfitted with iron helmets and scale armour made in the Persian style. Warriors used their long, double-edged swords (Fig. 100) and lances in close combat. The use of stirrups (introduced to Europe by this people), the excellent reflex