Ardagast | |
|---|---|
| Years active | 584-597 |
Ardagast or Radogost [1] [2] ( Ancient Greek: Ἀρδάγαστος Ardagastos; Cyrillic: Ардагаст; fl. 584–597 [3]) was a 6th-century South Slavic chieftain under King Musokios of the Antes.
Etymology
The name may derive from Slavic rada – "council" or "rad" – "eager" and gostiti or hostit – "to host", meaning "the one who hosts the council" or "eager to host – hospitable". It could have been a personal name, or an acquired title designating the leader or chieftain of a council, assembly, or veche. Ardagast is an old Slavic unmetathised form.
Historical records
Menander Protector writes about Ardagast in his works, and the Strategikon of Maurice (late 6th century) makes mention of him. [2] The Strategikon spends an entire an entire chapter to the "Slavs" (Sclavenes), who in their eyes had a different form of social and political organization to that of the Avars. Some scholars think this may have been an umbrella term for a number of groups living north of the Danube, who could neither be called "Huns" or "Avars". [4]
Military campaigns
Ardagast may have led the Slavs who plundered Greece in 577. [3][ failed verification]
After the Avar Khagan Bayan I and the Byzantine Emperor Emperor Maurice concluded a treaty in 584, Ardagast raided Thrace, penetrating as far as the Long Wall. The Slavs suffered defeats only twice: at the Erginia river near the Long Walls (583) and in the Ansinon neighbourhood of Hadrianople at the hands of Comentiolus. The Slavs were later driven out of the Astica region. [5]
The raid in Thrace in 585 [6] prompted Emperor Maurice to deal with the Slavs – sending an army under commander-in-chief Priscus and infantry commander Gentzon to cross the Danube at Dorostolon (present-day Silistra) and to carry out a surprise attack on the Slavs in their own territory (as the Slavs had long been pillaging the Byzantine Empire). [7] The Byzantine army arrived at the Slavic camp at midnight, surprising the Slavs, who fled in confusion; Ardagast fell on a tree stump and was almost captured, but luckily he was near a river and eluded the attackers. [7] Ardagast may have used a primitive snorkel, fashioned from a reed, to hide in the river for an extended period of time; this technique is mentioned in the Strategikon of Maurice. [8]
Priscus sent his lieutenant Alexander across the Helibakion ( Ialomiţa River) to find Slavs who were hiding in the woods and swamps, they failed to burn out the people hiding there, but a Gepid Christian who was associated with the Slavs deserted and revealed a secret passage. The Byzantine army then easily captured the Slavs, who according to the Gepid, were spies sent by King Musokios, who just heard about the attack on Ardagast. [9]
References
- ^ DERKSEN, RICK. "NOTES ON THE SLAVIC METATHESIS OF LIQUIDS". In: Studies in Slavic and General Linguistics 34 (2008): 41 (footnote nr. 5). Accessed June 1, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40997581.
- ^ a b Relations between the autochthonous population and the migratory populations on the territory of Romania: a collection of studies, p. 198
- ^ a b History of the Later Roman Empire from Arcadius to Irene, p. 144
- ^ Curta, Florin (2019). Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages (500-1300) (2 Vols). Boston: BRILL. p. 48. ISBN 978-90-04-39519-0. OCLC 1111434007.
-
^
Bury, John Bagnell (1889).
History of the Later Roman Empire from Arcadius to Irene. Cosimo classics history. Vol. 2. Cosimo, Inc. (published 2008). p. 119.
ISBN
978-1-60520-405-5. Retrieved 2015-04-01.
The barbarians were driven from Astica, as the region was called which extends between Hadrianople and Philippopolis, and the captives were rescued from their hands.
- ^ Balkan studies: biannual publication of the Institute for Balkan Studies, Volume 37, p. 48
- ^ a b History of the Later Roman Empire from Arcadius to Irene, p. 128
-
^
Vernadsky, George (1943).
Ancient Russia. A History of Russia. Vol. 1. Yale University Press (published 1964). p. 186.
ISBN
9780300010060. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
Ardagast himself barely escaped captivity by plunging into the water. Possibly he saved himself by a device described in Mauricius' Strategicon. According to this treatise the Slavs could spend hours in water, keeping reeds in their mouths through which they breathed.
- ^ History of the Later Roman Empire from Arcadius to Irene, p. 129