On the Greek Sources for the History of the Turks in the Sixth Century

C. A. Macartney

doi:10.1017/S0041977X00072451

On the Greek Sources for the History of the Turks in the Sixth Century

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 December 2009

C. A. Macartney

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In the following pages an attempt will be made to resolve certain obscurities in the references made by Byzantine writers to the Turki nations of Central and Western Asia in that period—the sixth century—when the two civilizations first came into contact. It is hoped thereby to throw additional light on the situation of the various Turki tribes at that date.

Type: Articles
Information: Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , June 1944 , pp. 266 - 275

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0041977X00072451 [Opens in a new window]
Copyright: Copyright © School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 1944

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^{page 266 note 1} Histoire générale des Huns, ii, p. 334.Google Scholar

^{page 266 note 2} Eranšahr, p. 53.

^{page 266 note 3} A Honfoglaló Magyarsá Kialakulása, pp. 100 ff.

^{page 266 note 4} Parker, , A Thousand Years of the Tartars, 2nd ed., p. 118.Google Scholar

^{page 266 note 5} ibid., p. 121. Németh, op. cit., p. 101, puts the date at A.D. 552.

^{page 266 note 6} G. Moravcsik, zur Geschichte der Onoguren, Ungarische Jahrbücher, Bd. X, Heft ½, pp. 55 ff., proves conclusively that the extract from Constantime is simply an abbreviation of that from Sudias

^{page 267 note 1} Exc. de Leg. Gent. fr. 1–8 (de Boor, pp. 442 ff.).

^{page 267 note 2} Theoph, . Chron., ed. de Boor, p. 239.Google Scholar

^{page 267 note 3} Phot. Bib, cod. 64

^{page 267 note 4} In just., 390 ff.

^{page 267 note 5} Menander, , Exc. de sent., pp. 354–5.Google Scholar

^{page 267 note 6} Exc. de Leg. Gent., fr. 7, p. 452

^{page 267 note 7} Exc. de leg. Rom., fr. 7, p. 192:

^{page 268 note 1} ibid., fr. 14, p. 205

^{page 268 note 2} Theoph. Sim. VII ec 7–9

^{page 268 note 3} Chavannes, , Documents sur less Toue-Kioue Occidentaux, p. 228.Google Scholar

^{page 268 note 4} A Thousand Years of the Tartars. p. 117

^{page 268 note 5} ibid., p. 121

^{page 268 note 6} Cit. Specht, , Études sur ľAsie Centrale, pp. 11, 12.Google Scholar

^{page 268 note 7} Marquart, , Eranšahr, p. 55.Google Scholar

^{page 269 note 1} Németh, op. cit. p. 110, quotes Bicurin, Sobraniej Svěděni for a great campaign waged by the Chinsese against the Juan-Juan, in A.D. 458

^{page 269 note 2} Professor Nemeth, indeed, argues (op. cit., pp. 107, 186 f.) that the whole operation took place much further east than has usually been supposed: that the Ogur tribes had previously been living on the Irtisch, the Savirs beyond them again, and that the result of the Avars' attack was that the Savirs moved only as far as the Irtisch, the Ogurs to the Volga. It is true that we find later traces of a Sibir kingdom on the Irtisch; true also that the “Ocean” referred to by Priscus is certainly not the Caspian but rather the distant ocean surrounding the world, and the ultimate causes of the great movement are conceived as lying very far to the East indeed. On the other hand, the Savirs appear, not long afterwards, north-eastward of the. Caucasus, and to explain this, Németh has to assume a further migration, of which we have no trace, of all orpart of the nation. It seems to me much more plausible to take the traditiońal view, which brings the Savirs on to the Volga and the Saraguri, Onoguri, and Ogors westward of it, i.e. to the Don district. There is, however, no reason to suppose that the whole of the Savirs were driven westward; part, perhaps the bulk of the nation, may well have remained behind on the Irtisch. Similarly, not all of the Ogur tribes will have been driven westward by the Savirs. Ofthe three nations mentioned by Priscus, only the Onogurs play anything of a part in later history. The Saraguri vanish from the scene almost immediately; the “Urogi” are not heard of again at all in any original source (since the list given by the so-called Zacharias Rhetor is a mere compilation from Priscus, Procopius, Menander, etc.), and even if we assume their identity with the Ogors Or Uigurs, these, too, are very unimportant as neighbours of the Empire during the next century. Clearly, therefore, these “gurs” were only a small fragment of the whole important and numerous nation.

^{page 269 note 3} The accounts of this are not dated, but according to Ṫabarī, chosroes undertook his campaign against the Epthalites after his peace with Rome (A. D. 562) and after intervening campaigns against the Khazars and the Arabs (Ṫabarī, tr. Nōldeke, pp. 166–7).

^{page 269 note 4} Documents, pp. 250 f.

^{page 270 note 1} ibid., p. 229.

^{page 270 note 2} Op. cit., p. 105.

^{page 270 note 3} These are, of course, the true and not the false Avars; the point is missed by Fehér, Bulgarisch-Ungarische Beziehungen, p. 26.

^{page 270 note 4} Theoph. Sim., iii, 7, p. 284, ed. Bonn..

^{page 271 note 1} Procopius, D. B.persico, p. 16:.Google Scholar

^{page 271 note 2} Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies. vol. vi, part 4, pp. 945–6.Google Scholar

^{page 271 note 3} From a Chinese source quoted by Hirth, Ueber Wolga-Hunnen und Hiung-Nu (S.B. der k.b. Ak. der Wiss. zu München, phil hist. Kl., 1899, p. 248).

^{page 271 note 4} Ammianus Marcellinus, xvi, 9, 2, 4.

^{page 271 note 5} Priscus, fr. 41, cf. Marquart, Eranšahr, p. 58

^{page 271 note 6} See von Wesendonk, Kusan, Chioniten und Hepthaliten (Klio 26, pp. 366ff.)

^{page 271 note 7} Priscus, fr. 33, 37; Ps. Josh, Stylites c. 9

^{page 271 note 8} Stylites, loc. cit., refers specifically to the “Huns called Kushunawe”. Certainly many of the campaigns against the Huns described by him, by Zacharias Rhetor, etc., Must refer ot the northern frontier, not to the Epthalites, since the Persians could not have appealed to Rome for subsidies against the latter. Some of the Huns in question must, indeed, have been neither in Epthalite nor in Kušsan-Chinoite territory, but north of the Caucasus; but in view of the vagueness of our sources it is impossible to assign each reference to its proper subject.

^{page 272 note 1} Cf. Thophanes, and in particular Corippus loc. cit.

Quos contra ingratos defendimus, arma paramus?

Obstamus dominis, profugis damus ostia servis?

^{page 272 note 2} Theoph. Sim., i, 8, 5.

^{page 272 note 3} Marquat, , Eranšahr, pp. 50–2. Ṫabarī, tr. Nöldeke, p. 99.Google Scholar

^{page 273 note 1} Németh, for example, in his admirable work, ignores them altogether; he also goes slightly astray in his conclusions by accepting literally (apparently) Theophylactus' inventions on the origins of the pseudo-Avars.

^{page 273 note 2} Erasšahr, p. 52.

^{page 273 note 3} OP. cit., p. 103.

^{page 273 note 4} ibid.

^{page 273 note 5} Theoph. Sim., vii, c. 8.

^{page 273 note 6} Menander, , fr. 3, exc. de Leg. Gent., p. 443.Google Scholar

^{page 274 note 1} ibid., p. 458: .

^{page 274 note 2} I should not be surprised if turned out to be identical with the , the Cutigur leader mentioned by Agathias (Hist. V–10. etc.) and Menander, and to have some connection with Menander's .

^{page 274 note 3} Exc. de Leg. fr. 8, p. 453.

^{page 274 note 4} The Avar skulls examined in Hungary show a high proportion of purely Mongol types.

^{page 274 note 5} Loc. cit. 11277 ff.

Quern Persae timuere ferae, genibusque minantis.

Admovere manus, pacem et meruere precando.

Ni facerent, frustra celsis Babylonia muris.

Cincta foret, dominos Avares mine ferre parata.

Rupimus Euphratem, gelidos superavimus amnes⃜

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On the Greek Sources for the History of the Turks in the Sixth Century

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