Ebook (pdf)
The ancient Roman Empire and its medieval successor, the Christian Eastern Roman Empire, fought wars with various tribal alliances of steppe origin for almost 1500 years. The Sarmatians, the Huns, the Bulgars, the Sabirs, the Avars, the Pechenegs, the Cumans and the Hungarians were among Constantinople’s most formidable and unpredictable opponents, as evidenced by the fact that the two monumental wall systems of the Eastern Roman Empire, the defensive lines of Emperor Theodosius II and Anastasius, were each built against a steppe people, the Huns and the Bulgars respectively. The book presents the history of the Eastern Roman–Hunnic, Eastern Roman–Bulgar and Eastern Roman–Sabir diplomatic and armed conflicts between 375 and 568. For example, the monograph brings to life the legendary campaign of the Huns in 447, as a result of which the Eastern Roman Empire was forced to pay Attila, the Hunnic ruler, about two tons of gold in compensation immediately. We can also read about the clash between the rebellious counter-emperor of Hunnic-Bulgar origin, Vitalian and another Hunnic-Bulgar Eastern Roman general, Alathar, which resulted in 60,000 deaths in 514. This event was even mentioned in Simon Kézai’s Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum and the Hungarian Chronica Picta 7-800 years after the legendary battle. We also learn who Boa Regissa was, the Sabir Hunnic chieftainess, the ally of Emperor Iustinian, who defeated 20,000 Caucasian Hunnic horsemen fighting on the side of the Persian King of Kings in the 520s. The monograph also portrays the brilliant Eastern Roman military commander, Flavius Belisarius, whose exceptional tactical thinking enabled him in 559 to defeat with only 300 veterans Zabergan’s 7,000 Kutrigur Bulgar horsemen who were approaching Constantinople. This book, based on a huge source base, reveals to the reader a chain of little-known events that had a great impact on the future destiny of Europe and also helps us to see more clearly the transformation of the ancient world into medieval Europe.