Misplaced Pages

#710289

71-704: Theodoric called Strabo , son of Triarius , was a chieftain of the Thracian Goths (Thervingi, Bastarnae and Roxolane in Getea and Peuce island in the Danube delta); he had two brothers. The wife of the Alan general Aspar was his sister. Strabo had a wife, Sigilda , and a son called Recitach . He was a contemporary of the more famous Theodoric the Amal, who was a Moesian Goth of the royal Amal family , and who would become known as Theoderic

142-728: A Turkic language , the Bulgar language of the Oghuric branch. They preserved the military titles, organization, and customs of Eurasian steppes as well as pagan shamanism and belief in the sky deity Tangra . The Bulgars became semi-sedentary during the 7th century in the Pontic-Caspian steppe, establishing the polity of Old Great Bulgaria c. 630–635, which was defeated by the Khazar Empire in 668 AD. In 681, Khan Asparukh conquered Scythia Minor , opening access to Moesia , and established

213-723: A "mixed race" and "troublemakers". Peter A. Boodberg noted that the Buluoji in the Chinese sources were recorded as remnants of the Xiongnu confederation, and had strong Caucasian elements. Another theory linking the Bulgars to a Turkic people of Inner Asia has been put forward by Boris Simeonov , who identified them with the Pugu (僕骨; buk/buok kwət ; Buqut ), a Tiele and/or Toquz Oguz tribe. The Pugu were mentioned in Chinese sources from 103 BC up to

284-492: A 15,000-strong Roman army led by magister militum Aristus. In 502, Bulgars again devastated Thrace as reportedly there were no Roman soldiers to oppose them. In 528–529 they again invaded the region and defeated Roman generals Justin and Baduarius . However, the Gothic general Mundus offered allegiance to Emperor Justinian I (527–565) in 530, and managed to kill 5,000 Bulgars plundering Thrace. John Malalas recorded that in

355-661: A joint request to the Roman Emperor, in order to extend to the south the settlement territory of the Goths in Moesia. Zeno tried to divide the two Theodorics, bribing Amal, who refused to misally. The imperial army obtained some initial successes, however Zeno did not capitalize upon his victory, and allowed the Amal to move westward in Thrace, plundering the territories as he went. With the Amal far away, Strabo accepted an agreement with Zeno: Strabo

426-462: A military campaign against the cities of Thrace. Part of the Gothic army attacked Philippi (or Philippopolis ), while he led the remaining men to attack and occupy Arcadiopolis . When the Goths ran out of supplies, Strabo signed a peace with Leo (473); according to its terms the Byzantines were to pay an annual tribute of 2000 pounds of gold to the Goths, whose independence was recognized, and Strabo

497-720: A state of disorder", i.e. the "disturbers", was a more likely etymology for migrating nomads. According to Osman Karatay , if the "mixed" etymology relied on the westward migration of the Oğurs , meeting and merging with the Huns, north of the Black Sea, it was a faulty theory, since the Oghurs were documented in Europe as early as 463, while the Bulgars were not mentioned until 482 – an overly short time period for any such ethnogenesis to occur. However,

568-670: A stay in Avar territory left and settled in Italy, in Sepino , Bojano and Isernia . These Bulgars preserved their speech and identity until the late 8th century. The First Bulgarian Empire (681–1018) had a significant political influence in the Balkans. In the time of Tervel (700–721) the Bulgars helped Byzantines two times, in 705 the Emperor Justinian II to regain his throne, and 717–718 defeating

639-540: A strongly fortified camp. Strabo provoked the Amal, running in front of the Moesian Gothic camp and claiming that the leadership of the Amal had reduced the Goths to fighting each other, and only for the Roman gain, to have none of the wealth for which they had moved from their territories. With this speech recalling the common interest of the Goths, Strabo forced the Amal to ask for peace. The two Theodorics agreed to put forward

710-637: A topic of ongoing debate and controversy among scholars. The first clear mention and evidence of the Bulgars was in 480, when they served as the allies of the Byzantine Emperor Zeno (474–491) against the Ostrogoths . Anachronistic references about them can also be found in the 7th-century geography work Ashkharatsuyts by Anania Shirakatsi , where the Kup'i Bulgar , Duč'i Bulkar , Olxontor Błkar and immigrant Č'dar Bulkar tribes are mentioned as being in

781-599: Is considered as the indication of the confines of the Bulgar settlement. In the Balkans they merged with the Slavs and other autochthonous Romance and Greek speaking population, like the Thracians and Vlachs , becoming a political and military elite. However, the influence of the pre-Slavic population had relatively little influence on the Slavs and Bulgars, indicating their population was reduced in previous centuries. The hinterlands of

SECTION 10

#1732854741711

852-554: Is now under the sway of the Avars, having made an alliance with the local peoples". Kuber later led a revolt against the Avars and with his people moved as far as the region of Thessaloniki in Greek Macedonia . The fifth brother, reported by Nikephoros I and Theophanes, "settling in the five Ravennate cities became a subject of the Romans". This brother is believed to be Alcek , who after

923-464: Is placed between 650 and 663 AD. According to Nikephoros I, Kubrat instructed his five sons to "never separate their place of dwelling from one another, so that by being in concordance with one another, their power might thrive". Subsequent events proved Old Great Bulgaria to be only a loose tribal union, as there emerged a rivalry between the Khazars and the Bulgars over Turk patrimony and dominance in

994-671: Is recorded "in the country in which I live, there formerly lived the Vununtur (< Vunundur < Onoğundur). Our ancestors, the Khazars warred with them. The Vununtur were more numerous, as numerous as the sand by the sea, but they could not withstand the Khazars. They left their country and fled... until they reached the river called Duna ( Danube )". This migration and the foundation of the Danube Bulgaria (the First Bulgarian Empire )

1065-829: Is usually dated c. 681. The composition of the horde is unknown, and sources only mention tribal names Čakarar, Kubiar, Küriger, and clan names Dulo , Ukil/Vokil , Ermiyar, Ugain and Duar. The Onglos where Bulgars settled is considered northern Dobruja , secured to the West and North by Danube and its Delta , and bounded to the East by the Black Sea . They re-settled in North-Eastern Bulgaria, between Shumen and Varna , including Ludogorie plateau and southern Dobruja. The distribution of pre-Christian burial assemblages in Bulgaria and Romania

1136-455: The Bulgar ethnonym could be due to the dialect differentiations in their language. By the middle of the 6th century, the Bulgars momentarily fade from the sources and the Kutrigurs and Utigurs come to the front. Between 548 and 576, mostly due to Justinian I (527–565), through diplomatic persuasion and bribery the Kutrigurs and Utigurs were drawn into mutual warfare, decimating one another. In

1207-674: The Caspian Gates and to the sea, which are in the Hunnish lands. Beyond the gates live the Burgars (Bulgars), who have their language, and are people pagan and barbarian. They have towns. And the Alans – they have five towns... Avnagur (Aunagur, considered Onoğurs) are people, who live in tents Then he records 13 tribes, the wngwr ( Onogur ), wgr (Oğur), sbr ( Sabir ), bwrgr (Burğa, i.e. Bulgar), kwrtrgr (Kutriğurs), br (probably Vars , also known as

1278-616: The Gepids , according to Paul the Deacon. However, when Theoderic the Great with his Ostrogoths departed for Italy in 489, the Illyricum and Thrace were open for Bulgar raids. In 493, according to Marcellinus Comes , they defeated and killed magister militum Julian. In 499, they crossed the Danube and reached Thrace where on the banks of the river Tzurta (considered a tributary of Maritsa ) defeated

1349-741: The Hunni divided into two tribes: the Altziagiri (who trade and live next to Cherson ) and Saviri , while the Hunuguri (believed to be the Onoğurs) were notable for the marten skin trade. In the Middle Ages, marten skin was used as a substitute for minted money. The Syriac translation of Pseudo-Zacharias Rhetor 's Ecclesiastical History (c. 555) in Western Eurasia records: The land Bazgun... extends up to

1420-687: The Olxontor Błkar , and the 5th century History by Movses Khorenatsi, which includes an additional comment from a 9th-century writer about the colony of the Vłĕndur Bułkar. Marquart and Golden connected these forms with the Iġndr (*Uluġundur) of Ibn al-Kalbi (c. 820), the Vnndur (*Wunundur) of Hudud al-'Alam (982), the Wlndr (*Wulundur) of Al-Masudi (10th century) and Hungarian name for Belgrad Nándor Fejérvár ,

1491-593: The Vulgares killed the Lombard king Agelmund. Scholars attribute this account to the Huns, Avars or some Bulgar groups who were probably carried away by the Huns to the Central Europe. The Lombards, led by their new king Laimicho, rose up and defeated the Bulgars with great slaughter, gaining great booty and confidence as they "became bolder in undertaking the toils of war." The defeated Bulgars then became subjects of

SECTION 20

#1732854741711

1562-474: The nndr (*Nandur) of Gardīzī (11th century) and *Wununtur in the letter by the Khazar King Joseph . All the forms show the phonetic changes typical of later Oğuric (prothetic v-). Scholars consider it unclear how this union came about, viewing it as a long process in which a number of different groups were merged. During that time, the Bulgars may have represented a large confederation including

1633-572: The "mixing" in question may have occurred before the Bulgars migrated from further east, and scholars such as Sanping Chen have noted analogous groups in Inner Asia , with phonologically similar names, who were frequently described in similar terms: during the 4th century, the Buluoji ( Middle Chinese b'uo-lak-kiei ), a component of the " Five Barbarian " groups in Ancient China, were portrayed as both

1704-485: The 13th century. The modern Volga Tatars , Bashkirs and Chuvash people claim to have originated from the Volga Bulgars. The etymology of the ethnonym Bulgar is not completely understood and difficult to trace back earlier than the 4th century AD. Since the work of Tomaschek (1873), it is generally said to be derived from Proto-Turkic root * bulga- ("to stir", "to mix"; "to become mixed"), which with

1775-519: The 5th and 7th centuries. They became known as nomadic equestrians in the Volga-Ural region , but some researchers trace Bulgar ethnic roots to Central Asia . During their westward migration across the Eurasian Steppe , the Bulgar tribes absorbed other tribal groups and cultural influences in a process of ethnogenesis, including Iranic , Finno-Ugric , and Hunnic tribes. The Bulgars spoke

1846-427: The 7th and 9th centuries, where they founded Volga Bulgaria , with Bolghar as its capital. According to Ahmad ibn Rustah (10th century), the Volga Bulgars were divided into three branches: "the first branch was called Bersula (Barsils), the second Esegel , and the third Bulgar". In 922 they accepted Islam as the official religion. They preserved their national identity well into the 13th century by repelling

1917-650: The 8th century AD, and later were situated among the eastern Tiele tribes, as one of the highest-ranking tribes after the Uyghurs . According to the Chronicle by Michael the Syrian , which comprises several historical events of different age into one story, three mythical Scythian brothers set out on a journey from the mountain Imaon ( Tian Shan ) in Asia and reached the river Tanais ( Don ),

1988-627: The Arabs during the siege of Constantinople. Sevar (738–753) was the last ruler from the Dulo clan, and the period until c. 768–772 was characterized by the Byzantino-Bulgar conflict and internal crisis. In the short period followed seven rulers from the Uokil and Ugain clan. Telerig (768–777) managed to establish a pacific policy with Byzantium, and restore imperial power. During the reign of Krum (803–814),

2059-623: The Armenian Ashkharatsuyts . The Olxontor Błkar is one of the variations used for the Onoğurs Bulgars, while others could be related to the ancient river names, such as the Kup'i Bulgar and the Kuban (Kuphis). The Duč'i could read Kuchi Bulkar and as such could be related to the Dnieper (Kocho). However, the Č'dar Bulkar location is unclear. Dimitrov theorized that the differences in

2130-711: The Avars), ksr ( Kasr ; possibly Akatziri ), srwrgwr ( Saragur ), dyrmr (unknown), b'grsyq ( Bagrasir , i.e. Barsil ), kwls (unknown), bdl (probably Abdali ), and ftlyt (Hephthalite) ... They are described in typical phrases reserved for nomads in the ethnographic literature of the period, as people who "live in tents, earn their living on the meat of livestock and fish, of wild animals and by their weapons (plunder)". Agathias (c. 579–582) wrote: ...all of them are called in general Scythians and Huns in particular according to their nation. Thus, some are Koutrigours or Outigours and yet others are Oultizurs and Bourougounds...

2201-760: The Byzantine territory were for years occupied by many groups of Slavs. According to Theophanes, the Bulgars subjugated the so-called Seven Slavic tribes , of which the Severians were re-settled from the pass of Beregaba or Veregava, most likely the Rish Pass of the Balkan Mountains , to the East, while the other six tribes to the Southern and Western regions as far the boundary with the Pannonian Avars. Scholars consider that

Theodoric Strabo - Misplaced Pages Continue

2272-484: The Danubian Bulgaria – the First Bulgarian Empire , where the Bulgars became a political and military elite. They merged subsequently with established Byzantine populations , as well as with previously settled Slavic tribes , and were eventually Slavicized , thus becoming one of the ancestors of modern Bulgarians . The remaining Pontic Bulgars migrated in the 7th century to the Volga River , where they founded Volga Bulgaria ; they preserved their identity well into

2343-402: The Empire and prosperity during the time of Simeon I (893–927) is considered as the Bulgarian Golden Age . However, from the time of Peter I (927–969) their power declined. The Hungarians, Kievan Rus' Slavs, as well Pechenegs and Cumans held many raids into their territory, and so weakened were eventually conquered in 1018 by the Byzantine Empire. Bulgars had the typical culture of

2414-399: The Empire doubled its size, including new lands in Macedonia and Serbia . He also successfully repelled the invading force of the Byzantines, as well defeated the Pannonian Avars where additionally extended the Empire size. In 865, during the reign of Khan Boris I (852–889), the Bulgars accepted Christianity as the official religion, and Eastern Orthodoxy in 879. The greatest expansion of

2485-399: The Great . Around 459, he is attested as in friendly relationship with the Byzantine Empire , possibly one of the foederati , and receiving an annual subsidy from the Byzantines. In 471, the Alan Aspar, at the time magister militum of Emperor Leo I, was murdered by order of the emperor himself. Strabo, who was at the command of his people in Thrace, revolted to avenge his relative, but

2556-459: The Hunnic tribes, causing the migration, may have occurred there, but the Pontic–Caspian steppe seems a more likely location. Some scholars propose that the Bulgars may have been a branch or offshoot of the Huns or at least Huns seem to have been absorbed by the Onogur-Bulgars after Dengizich 's death. Hyun Jin Kim however, argues that the Huns continued under Ernak, becoming the Kutrigur and Utigur Hunno -Bulgars. These conclusions remain

2627-449: The Hunnic union were attacked by the Šarağurs, one of the first Oğuric Turkic tribes that entered the Ponto-Caspian steppes as the result of migrations set off in Inner Asia. According to Priscus , in 463 the representatives of Šarağur, Oğur and Onoğur came to the Emperor in Constantinople , and explained they had been driven out of their homeland by the Sabirs , who had been attacked by the Avars . This tangle of events indicates that

2698-406: The Imperial powers, for whom it was easier to deal with one ruler than several tribal chieftains. In nomadic society the tribes were political organizations based on kinship, with diffused power. Tribes developed according to the relation with sedentary states, and only managed to conquer them when had social cohesion. If the raiding by the nomads had negative effect on the economic development of

2769-413: The Kutrigurs and Utigurs to be two related, ancestral people, and prominent tribes in the later Bulgar union, but different from the Bulgars. Among many other theories regarding the etymology of Bulgar, the following have also had limited support. The origin of the early Bulgars is still unclear. Their homeland is believed to be situated in Kazakhstan and the North Caucasian steppes. Interaction with

2840-482: The Lombards and later migrated in Italy with their king Alboin . When the army of Ostrogoth chieftain Theodoric Strabo grew to 30,000-men strong, it was felt as a menace to Byzantine Emperor Zeno , who somehow managed to convince the Bulgars to attack the Thracian Goths. The Bulgars were eventually defeated by Strabo in 480/481. In 486 and 488 they fought against the Goths again, first as allies of Byzantium, according to Magnus Felix Ennodius , and later as allies of

2911-462: The North Caucasian-Kuban steppes. An obscure reference to Ziezi ex quo Vulgares , with Ziezi being an offspring of Biblical Shem , is in the Chronography of 354 . According to D. Dimitrov, the 5th-century History of Armenia by Movses Khorenatsi speaks about two migrations of the Bulgars, from Caucasus to Armenia . The first migration is mentioned in the association with the campaign of Armenian ruler Valarshak (probably Varazdat ) to

Theodoric Strabo - Misplaced Pages Continue

2982-453: The Ostrogoths, are believed to be the Bulgars. In 515, Bulgar mercenaries were listed along with others from the Goths, Scythians and Hunnic tribes as part of the Vitalian army. In 539, two Hunnic "kinglets" defeated two Roman generals during the raid into Scythia Minor and Moesia . A Roman army led by magister militum Ascum and Constantiolus intercepted and defeated them in Thrace; however, another raiding party ambushed and captured

3053-404: The Oultizurs and Bourougounds were known up to the time of the Emperor Leo (457–474) and the Romans of that time and appeared to have been strong. We, however, in this day, neither know them, nor, I think, will we. Perhaps, they have perished or perhaps they have moved off to very far place. According to D. Dimitrov, scholars partially managed to identify and locate the Bulgar groups mentioned in

3124-402: The Oğuric tribes are related to the Ting-ling and Tiele people . It seems that Kutrigurs and Unigurs arrived with the initial waves of Oğuric peoples entering the Pontic steppes. The Bulgars were not mentioned in 463. The account by Paul the Deacon in his History of the Lombards (8th century) says that at the beginning of the 5th century in the North-Western slopes of the Carpathians

3195-416: The Pontic–Caspian steppe. Some historians consider the war an extension of the Western Turks struggle, between the Nushibi tribes and Ashina clan , who led the Khazars, and the Duolu/Tu-lu tribes, which some scholars associated with the Dulo clan , from which Kubrat and many Bulgar rulers originated. The Khazars were ultimately victorious and parts of the Bulgar union broke up. It is unclear whether

3266-433: The Sasanian–Avar alliance. With his uncle Organa in 619, Kubrat had been baptized in Constantinople. He founded the Old Great Bulgaria ( Magna Bulgaria ), also known as Onoğundur–Bulğars state, or Patria Onoguria in the Ravenna Cosmography . Little is known about Kubrat's activities. It is considered that Onogur Bulgars remained the only steppe tribes in good relations with the Byzantines. His date of death

3337-424: The absence of any source recording the Slavic resistance to the invasion was because it was in their interest to be liberated from the Byzantine taxation. It is considered that the Slavic tribal organization was left intact, and paid tribute to the ruling Bulgars. According to Nikephoros I and Theophanes, an unnamed fourth brother, believed to be Kuber , "having crossed the river Ister, resides in Pannonia, which

3408-400: The battle a Bulgar warlord was captured. In 535, magister militum Sittas defeated the Bulgar army at the river Yantra . Ennodius, Jordanes and Procopius identified the Bulgars with the Huns in a 6th-century literary topos , in which Ennodius referred to a captured Bulgar horse as " equum Huniscum ". In 505, the alleged 10,000 Hun horsemen in the Sabinian army, which was defeated by

3479-405: The brothers' parting ways was caused by the internal conflicts or strong Khazar pressure. The latter is considered more likely. The Bulgars led by the first two brothers Batbayan and Kotrag remained in the Pontic steppe zone, where they were known as Black Bulgars by Byzantine and Rus sources, and became Khazar vassals. The Bulgars led by Kotrag migrated to the middle Volga region during

3550-435: The consonant suffix -r implies a noun meaning "mixed". Other scholars have added that bulğa might also imply "stir", "disturb", "confuse" and Talat Tekin interpreted Bulgar as the verb form "mixing" (i.e. rather than the adjective "mixed"). Both Gyula Németh and Peter Benjamin Golden initially advocated the "mixed race" theory, but later, like Paul Pelliot , considered that "to incite", "rebel", or "to produce

3621-496: The country of the Alans called Barsalia , which would be later inhabited by the Bulgars and the Pugurs ( Puguraje ). The names Onoğur and Bulgar were linked by later Byzantine sources for reasons that are unclear. Tekin derived -gur from the Altaic suffix -gir . Generally, modern scholars consider the terms oğuz or oğur , as generic terms for Turkic tribal confederations , to be derived from Turkic *og/uq , meaning "kinship or being akin to". The terms initially were not

SECTION 50

#1732854741711

3692-413: The end, the Kutrigurs were overwhelmed by the Avars, while the Utigurs came under the rule of the Western Turks. The Oğurs and Onoğurs, in the 6th- and 7th-century sources, were mentioned mostly in connection with the Avar and Turk conquest of Western Eurasia. From the 8th century, the Byzantine sources often mention the Onoğurs in close connection with the Bulgars. Agathon (early 8th century) wrote about

3763-500: The ethnonym Bulgar as a "spreading" adjective . Golden considered the origin of the Kutrigurs and Utigurs to be obscure and their relationship to the Onogurs and Bulgars – who lived in similar areas at the same time – as unclear. He noted, however, an implication that the Kutrigurs and Utigurs were related to the Šarağur ( šara oğur , shara oghur ; "white oğhurs"), and that according to Procopius these were Hunnish tribal unions, of partly Cimmerian descent. Karatay considered

3834-546: The first Mongol attacks in 1223. They were eventually subdued by the Mongols in 1237. They gradually lost their identity after 1431 when their towns and region were captured by the Russians. The third and most famous son, Asparukh , according to Nikephoros I: crossed the river Danapros and Danastros, lived in the locale around the Ister, having occupied a place suitable for settlement, called in their language ογγλον (ogglon; Slav. o(n)gl , "angle", "corner"; Turk. agyl , "yard" )... The people having been divided and scattered,

3905-462: The lands "named Basen by the ancients... and which were afterwards populated by immigrants of the vh' ndur Bulgar Vund, after whose name they (the lands) were named Vanand ". The second migration took place during the time of the ruler Arshak III , when "great disturbances occurred in the range of the great Caucasus mountain, in the land of the Bulgars, many of whom migrated and came to our lands and settled south of Kokh". Both migrations are dated to

3976-406: The nation of Onoğurs Bulğars. Nikephoros I (early 9th century) noted that Kubrat was the lord of the Onoğundurs ; his contemporary Theophanes referred to them as Onoğundur–Bulğars . Constantine VII (mid-10th century) remarked that the Bulğars formerly called themselves Onoğundurs . This association was previously mirrored in Armenian sources, such as the Ashkharatsuyts , which refers to

4047-435: The nomadic equestrians of Central Asia, who migrated seasonally in pursuit of good pastures, as well attraction to economic and cultural interaction with sedentary societies. Being in contact with sedentary cultures, they began mastering the crafts of blacksmithing , pottery , and carpentry . The politically dominant tribe or clan usually gave its name to the tribal confederation. Such confederations were often encouraged by

4118-476: The remnants of Onoğurs, Utigurs and Kutrigurs among others. The Turk rule weakened sometime after 600, allowing the Avars to reestablish the control over the region. As the Western Turkic Khaganate declined, finally collapsing in the middle of the 7th century, it was against Avar rule that the Bulgars, recorded as Onoğundur–Bulğars , reappeared. They revolted under their leader Kubrat (c. 635), who seems to have been prepared by Heraclius (610–641) against

4189-531: The same, as oq/ogsiz meant "arrow", while oğul meant "offspring, child, son", oğuš/uğuš was "tribe, clan", and the verb oğša-/oqša meant "to be like, resemble". There also appears to be an etymological association between the Bulgars and the preceding Kutrigur ( Kuturgur > Quturğur > *Toqur(o)ğur < toqur ; "nine" in Proto-Bulgar; toquz in Common Turkic) and Utigur ( Uturgur > Uturğur < utur/otur ; "thirty" in Proto-Bulgar; otuz in Common Turkic) – as 'Oğur (Oghur) tribes, with

4260-426: The second half of the 4th century AD. The "disturbances" which caused them are believed to be the expansion of the Huns in the East-European steppes. Dimitrov recorded that the toponyms of the Bolha and Vorotan rivers, tributaries of the Aras river, are known as Bolgaru-chaj and Vanand-chaj , and could confirm the Bulgar settlement of Armenia. Around 463 AD, the Akatziroi and other tribes that had been part of

4331-429: The tribe of the Khazars, from within Berulia ( Bessarabia ), which neighbors with Sarmatia, attacked them with impunity. They overran all the lands lying behind the Pontos Euxeinos and penetrated to the sea. After this, having made Bayan a subject, they forced him to pay tribute. Asparukh, according to the Pseudo –Zacharias Rhetor, "fled from the Khazars out of the Bulgarian mountains". In the Khazar ruler Joseph's letter

SECTION 60

#1732854741711

4402-451: The two Roman generals. In 539 and 540, Procopius reported a powerful Hunnic army crossed the Danube, devastated Illyricum and reached up to the Anastasian Wall . Such large distances covered in a short time indicate they were horsemen. Jordanes described, in his work Getica (551), the Pontic steppe beyond the Akatziri, above the Pontic Sea, as the habitat of the Bulgari , "whom the evils of our sins have made famous". In this region,

4473-401: Was a member of the Amali dynasty . At least by the Battle of Nedao , Triarius had withdrawn his support from Valamir , who was his relative and the king of the Ostrogoths . Triarius joined the Eastern Roman army , where he rose to a prominent position. His sister was married to the powerful general Aspar . Triarius was the father of Theodoric Strabo . Triarius probably died in the 450s, and

4544-425: Was at the time marshal of Theoderic the Great. Some years later, Strabo dies before an imminent battle with Theoderic the Great, when the litter carrying him spills him on the tip of a soldier's spear. Though Strabo did actually die at the speartip of his own soldier, the specific manner of his amputations and death were inventions of the author. Triarius Triarius was a Gothic nobleman and soldier. He

4615-437: Was defeated by the Byzantine generals Zeno and Basiliscus, who were both later emperors. However, Strabo was able to set three conditions to end his unrest: receiving the properties left as legacy by Aspar, being allowed to settle his Goths in Thrace, and being raised to the rank of magister militum . Since Leo had rejected the requests, offering the rank of magister militum only in exchange of an oath of loyalty, Strabo started

4686-406: Was forced to return to Greece. On his way back, during an encampment at Stabulum Diomedis , near Philippi in Thrace, he was trying to break in an unruly horse, when he fell onto a spear hung before a tent or hanging from a wagon and died. In the novel Raptor by Gary Jennings , Strabo is a major character. In the book, the fictional Strabo has his limbs amputated by the main character, Thorn, who

4757-448: Was hiding further conspiracies, and obtained that the Byzantine senate and army declare Strabo a public enemy. The plan of Zeno was to have the two Theoderics attack each other. He sent the Amal against Strabo, with the promise of a huge Roman force as renforcement (478). When Theoderic the Amal arrived through the mountains at Mount Soundis , he did not find the Roman renforcement army he expected, but Theoderic Strabo's army instead, in

4828-419: Was succeeded by his son as leader of the Thracian Goths . This biographical article about the military of the Byzantine Empire is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Bulgars The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians ) were Turkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region between

4899-484: Was to be given back his wealth, money to pay 13,000 soldiers, the command of two palatinae units, and the title once more of magister militum . However, the army of Theodoric Strabo, 30,000-men strong was still a menace for Zeno, who convinced the Bulgars to attack the Thracian Goths in their own base. Strabo defeated the Bulgars in 480/481, and moved towards Constantinople, but he had to deal with problems with his own men, so he could not capitalize upon his victory and

4970-513: Was to obtain the rank of magister militum . At the death of Leo (January 474), Strabo rebelled against the newly appointed Emperor Zeno. He killed Heraclius, the magister militum per Thracias , despite the payment of a ransom, probably because Heraclius was involved in the murder of Aspar. The support of Strabo was fundamental for the overthrowing of Zeno and the rise of Basiliscus to the Byzantine throne (475), so Basiliscus confirmed him magister militum and gave him other honours. However, Strabo

5041-471: Was very upset when Basiliscus appointed his nephew Armatus magister militum praesentialis , because he despised him. When Zeno returned to Constantinople in 476 and defeated Basiliscus, Strabo is not reported to defend the city. In 476/477, Zeno allied himself with Strabo's rival, Theodoric the Amal, and ordered him to attack Strabo. Strabo sent an embassy to the Byzantine emperor, offering peace and blaming Theodoric Amal. Zeno understood that this offering

#710289