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Antes (people)
Encyclopedia
The Antes or Antae were an ancient Slavic-Iranian tribal union in Eastern Europe who lived north of the lower Danube and the Black Sea
(on the territory of modern Moldova and Ukraine) in the 6th and 7th century AD and who are associated with the archaeological Penkovka culture
.
The word Antes is considered by some linguists to be an Iranic name. They suggest that the Antes were one of the Sarmato-Alanic tribes
that in the 4th century inhabited the region between the Caucasus and Ukrainian steppes, perhaps between the Prut and lower Dneister rivers in what is now modern Moldova and southwestern Ukraine. With time, their center of power shifted northward into what is now western and central Ukraine. In the fifth and sixth centuries they settled in Volhynia
and subsequently in the middle Dnieper region near the present-day city of Kiev
. As they moved north from the open steppe to the forest steppe, they mixed with Slavic tribes. They organised the Slavic tribes and the name Antes came to be used for the mixed Slavo-Alanic body. Eventually they were completely absorbed by the Slavs, but the name was preserved. A comparable theory exists for other Slavic tribes, namely Serbs and Croats.
The Antes had evolved into a powerful tribal unit. The 6th century Byzantine historian Jordanes
described them as the “bravest of these people dwelling in the curve of the Sea of Pontus (Black Sea
), spread from the Dniester
to the Dnieper”. An Antean "King" called Boz is mentioned. The Antes were involved in conflicts with the Goths
, who had migrated to the Ukrainian steppe from Scandinavia. Possibly subject to the Goths, they provided the Slavic elements found in the multi-ethnic Chernyakhov culture
. The apogee of Antean power occurred in the 5th century. As the Goths were defeated by the Huns
, and the Huns subsequently shifted to the Pannonian basin
, the Antes filled the resulting power vacuum.
Some scholars, such as Francis Dvornik
, suggest that the Antean tribal league evolved into the first Slavic state (Slavs ruled by Antes, who from ethnic point of view were Sarmatian upper class ); or even an empire stretching from to the Oder river in the west to the Donets in the east. On the western extent of the Antean territory, they mingled with the Romanized autochthons on the Danube and Prut basins (in southern and eastern Romania and northern Bulgaria), forming the Ipoteşti-Cândeşti culture characterized by a fusion of Slavic and Byzantine elements.
The first documented raid on Byzantine territory was in 518 AD. From then on, the Byzantines engaged the Antes as allies (foederati), paying them stipends and even giving them an abandoned imperial city called Turris somewhere north of the Ister (Danube). A detachment of Antean soldiers fought for the Byzantines in Italy against the Ostrogoths. Engaged in conflicts with Cutrigurs
and other Sclavenes, their territory was then 'devastated' by Avar attacks in the 590s. They were last mentioned in 602 AD, after which the Antean union disappears from history. It is likely that many Anteans were subjugated by the Avars and served as soldiers for the qagan, whilst others fled across the Danube into imperial Moesia
. Both, independently and under Avar control, the people of the 'Antean nation' became dispersed throughout much of central and southeastern Europe. Bulgarian scholar Vasil Zlatarski theorizes that the Severians
, Teverians
and Ulichians
are 'successor' polities. Thus the Antes are often held to be the linguistic ancestors of the Bulgarians and Macedonians, as well as East Slavs.
. Remnants of their settlements have been found by archaeologists, who have attributed the Pen’kovka culture to the Antes. However, this position has recently been challenged by Florin Curta, who challenges the dating of such settlements, placing them well after the extinction of the Antean political entity.
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
(on the territory of modern Moldova and Ukraine) in the 6th and 7th century AD and who are associated with the archaeological Penkovka culture
Penkovka culture
The Penkovka culture is an archaeological culture dating from about the fifth to seventh/eights centuries CE, named after Penkovka , not far from Vinnytsia....
.
Historiography
Procopius and Jordanes mention the Antes as one of three major groups of Slavic people, who inhabited the left (north) bank of the lower Danube. They remarked that they looked and sounded 'identical' (i.e. very similar) to the Sclavanoi, who dwelt along the middle Danube.The word Antes is considered by some linguists to be an Iranic name. They suggest that the Antes were one of the Sarmato-Alanic tribes
Sarmatians
The Iron Age Sarmatians were an Iranian people in Classical Antiquity, flourishing from about the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD....
that in the 4th century inhabited the region between the Caucasus and Ukrainian steppes, perhaps between the Prut and lower Dneister rivers in what is now modern Moldova and southwestern Ukraine. With time, their center of power shifted northward into what is now western and central Ukraine. In the fifth and sixth centuries they settled in Volhynia
Volhynia
Volhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Southern Bug River, to the north of Galicia and Podolia; the region is named for the former city of Volyn or Velyn, said to have been located on the Southern Bug River, whose name may come...
and subsequently in the middle Dnieper region near the present-day city of Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
. As they moved north from the open steppe to the forest steppe, they mixed with Slavic tribes. They organised the Slavic tribes and the name Antes came to be used for the mixed Slavo-Alanic body. Eventually they were completely absorbed by the Slavs, but the name was preserved. A comparable theory exists for other Slavic tribes, namely Serbs and Croats.
The Antes had evolved into a powerful tribal unit. The 6th century Byzantine historian Jordanes
Jordanes
Jordanes, also written Jordanis or Jornandes, was a 6th century Roman bureaucrat, who turned his hand to history later in life....
described them as the “bravest of these people dwelling in the curve of the Sea of Pontus (Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
), spread from the Dniester
Dniester
The Dniester is a river in Eastern Europe. It runs through Ukraine and Moldova and separates most of Moldova's territory from the breakaway de facto state of Transnistria.-Names:...
to the Dnieper”. An Antean "King" called Boz is mentioned. The Antes were involved in conflicts with the Goths
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
, who had migrated to the Ukrainian steppe from Scandinavia. Possibly subject to the Goths, they provided the Slavic elements found in the multi-ethnic Chernyakhov culture
Chernyakhov culture
The Sântana de Mureș–Chernyakhiv culture is the name given to an archaeological culture which flourished between the 2nd and 5th centuries in a wide area of Eastern Europe, specifically in what today constitutes Ukraine, Romania, Moldova, and parts of Belarus...
. The apogee of Antean power occurred in the 5th century. As the Goths were defeated by the Huns
Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...
, and the Huns subsequently shifted to the Pannonian basin
Pannonia
Pannonia was an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....
, the Antes filled the resulting power vacuum.
Some scholars, such as Francis Dvornik
Francis Dvornik
Francis Dvornik , in Czech František Dvorník, was a priest and academic, and one of the leading twentieth-century experts on Slavic and Byzantine history, and on relations between the churches of Rome and Constantinople.-Career:Dvornik taught at Charles University in Prague, the Collège de France,...
, suggest that the Antean tribal league evolved into the first Slavic state (Slavs ruled by Antes, who from ethnic point of view were Sarmatian upper class ); or even an empire stretching from to the Oder river in the west to the Donets in the east. On the western extent of the Antean territory, they mingled with the Romanized autochthons on the Danube and Prut basins (in southern and eastern Romania and northern Bulgaria), forming the Ipoteşti-Cândeşti culture characterized by a fusion of Slavic and Byzantine elements.
The first documented raid on Byzantine territory was in 518 AD. From then on, the Byzantines engaged the Antes as allies (foederati), paying them stipends and even giving them an abandoned imperial city called Turris somewhere north of the Ister (Danube). A detachment of Antean soldiers fought for the Byzantines in Italy against the Ostrogoths. Engaged in conflicts with Cutrigurs
Bulgars
The Bulgars were a semi-nomadic who flourished in the Pontic Steppe and the Volga basin in the 7th century.The Bulgars emerge after the collapse of the Hunnic Empire in the 5th century....
and other Sclavenes, their territory was then 'devastated' by Avar attacks in the 590s. They were last mentioned in 602 AD, after which the Antean union disappears from history. It is likely that many Anteans were subjugated by the Avars and served as soldiers for the qagan, whilst others fled across the Danube into imperial Moesia
Moesia
Moesia was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans, along the south bank of the Danube River. It included territories of modern-day Southern Serbia , Northern Republic of Macedonia, Northern Bulgaria, Romanian Dobrudja, Southern Moldova, and Budjak .-History:In ancient...
. Both, independently and under Avar control, the people of the 'Antean nation' became dispersed throughout much of central and southeastern Europe. Bulgarian scholar Vasil Zlatarski theorizes that the Severians
Severians
The Severians or Severyans or Siverians were a tribe or tribal union of early East Slavs occupying areas to the east of the middle Dnieper river around the rivers Desna, Sejm and Sula on the territory of the archaeological Romny culture....
, Teverians
East Slavs
The East Slavs are Slavic peoples speaking East Slavic languages. Formerly the main population of the medieval state of Kievan Rus, by the seventeenth century they evolved into the Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian peoples.-Sources:...
and Ulichians
East Slavs
The East Slavs are Slavic peoples speaking East Slavic languages. Formerly the main population of the medieval state of Kievan Rus, by the seventeenth century they evolved into the Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian peoples.-Sources:...
are 'successor' polities. Thus the Antes are often held to be the linguistic ancestors of the Bulgarians and Macedonians, as well as East Slavs.
Lifestyle
A sedentary settlement consisting of numerous villages came into being, with cattle breeding and agriculture being the primary occupation, living in typical semi-subterranean dwellings. They practiced bi-ritual flat burials. They were involved in trade on a local scale, but also at an 'international' level- reaching Roman and Byzantine markets. They established several hillforts, known as horodyshcha, where artisans produced pottery and metalwares. Among the most important fortified trade centers were Volyn and KievKiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
. Remnants of their settlements have been found by archaeologists, who have attributed the Pen’kovka culture to the Antes. However, this position has recently been challenged by Florin Curta, who challenges the dating of such settlements, placing them well after the extinction of the Antean political entity.