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The particular characteristics, the material culture and the significance of the expansion of the Antes are often neglected when dealing with the history of the early Slavs, in which the most important role is played by the Sklaveni, namely the other early Slavic branch. The relations of Byzantium with the Antes constitute a link to the foreign policy of the empire during the 6th and early 7th centuries in the area of the Lower Danube, where Byzantium sought to prevent the descent and settlement of barbarian peoples south of the river.
In historiography, the Antes were regarded as the southern branch of the Eastern Slavs and ancestors either of some early Russian tribes and the Kievan Rus’ or the present-day Ukrainians. On the other hand, there was a widely-held view that the original core of the Antes was Iranian (a western Alanian tribe), while that concerning their German/Gothic origin was not particularly popular1. The area of their settlement is located by Jordanes between the rivers Dniester and Dnieper2, while Procopius states on the one hand that the Antes lived north of the Utigurs (who were settled above the See of Azov) and on the other hand that the Antes, along with the Sclaveni, had settled ‘‘on the northern bank of the Danube’’3.
The data on the area of the Antic settlement are complemented by the finds of the Penkovka culture, which extended our knowledge of the Antes, up to the mid-, or the late-, 8th century4. Almost in accordance with the testimonies of the written sources, the relevant finds came to light mainly in the forest-steppe zone of Ukraine, centered in the area between the Dniester and Dnieper rivers, as well as in the steppe zone between the cities of Zaporozhie and Dneperopetrovsk. To the east, the finds extend to the Donets and Orel rivers, and to the west to Prouth and the Lower Danube5.
As regards the Antes, it is generally believed that they were actually a political union of eastern Slavic tribes with mixed cultural features6, while some scholars made a distinction between the Antes, namely Western and Eastern. Initially, and taking into account Procopius’ testimonies, G. Vernadsky placed the former close to the Lower Danube (in the valleys of the Rivers Prouth, Dniester and southern Bug) and the latter north of the Azov Sea. On the other hand, H. Ditten, although he accepts the abode of the Eastern Antes north of the Kutrigurs and the Azov Sea, places the Western Antes (later federates of Byzantium) in Bessarabia, between the estuaries of the Danube and the Dnieper7.
Jordanes traces the historical presence of the Antes in the 4th century, mentioning the attacks of the Ostrogoths against them and the Sclaveni in c. 370 and 3758. The first Antic attack against Byzantium, which was repelled by the general of Thrace Germanos, most likely dates back to 518, in the reign of Justin I9. According to Procopius, during the early years of Justinian’s I reign, the entire area of the Balkans suffered devastating raids of the Sklaveni, the Antes and the nomadic peoples. Frequent raids by Bulgars, Antes and Sklaveni are also recorded by Jordanes10.
The barbarian invasions in the Lower Danube were temporarily repulsed by the magister militum per Thraciam Chilbudius (530-533), but after his death in battle, the Danube border was not a serious obstacle for the invaders11. Also important in the same period were the victories of the magister militum per Illyricum Mundus over the Slavs and the Kutrigurs12. However, as the repossession wars in the West and the frequent hostilities with the Sassanids did not allow the stay of the necessary forces in the Balkans, the Byzantine defensive tactic in the area relied on diplomacy as well as an extensive program of fortifications. With regard to the four Danubian provinces (First Moesia, Riparian Dacia, Second Moesia and Scythia Minor), Justinian repaired or built dozens of forts, even on the north bank of the river, in order to render the Danube frontier unapproachable13.
Crucial for the evolution of Byzantium’s relations with the Western Antes seems to have been an attack carried out by the latter in Thrace in 545/4614, as just after it Justinian concluded an alliance with them and settled the Antes as federates (foederati) north of the Lower Danube, in the area of the ancient city Tourris (likely Barboşi close to Roman Dinogetia)15. From the relevant passage of Procopius it is clear that, apart from the elimination of the Antic raids, Justinian’s main target was to render the Antes a barrier to the nomads’ attacks16. The Antic settlement was directly linked to the defense of the northern part of the Scythian limes and this area constituted a ‘‘sector of responsibility’’ for the Antes, both for the border Byzantine forts and the road network of Scythia Minor. More precisely, and according to the division of the Scythian limes into five subdivisions17, the Antic settlement was linked to the reinforcement of the fourth section, 60 km long, from Troesmis to Noviodunum18.
Although the presence of Antes mercenaries was already apparent in 536/3719, it seems that the above-mentioned treaty widened their recruitment into the Byzantine army. In 546/47 a contingent of 300 Antes took part in military operations against the Ostrogoths in Lucania20, while, according to Agathias, certain Antes had significant posts during the Byzantine-Persian war in Lazica (554-556), such as the brigadier Dabragezas and his son Leontios21. After the treaty of 545/46, the sources make no reference to the Antes until 558/62, when the latter were subjugated along with nomadic peoples (the Sabirs Huns, the Zaloi and the Utigurs) to the Avars22. The sources again make reference to the Antes at the beginning of the reign of Maurice, probably in 584. According to Michael Syrus, ‘‘the Romans called on the people of the Antes, who attacked the land of the Sklaveni, overwhelmed and pillaged it. They gathered up their belongings and burned them. Their country lay west of the river called the Danube’’23. In the autumn of 602, while the Byzantine army carried out military operations in the Slavic regions north of the Lower Danube, the Avars, under the leadership of Apsikh, marched against the allies of Byzantium Antes24. The relevant testimony contains the final reference to Antes in the sources, and it is generally accepted that the Avars’ campaign led to the dissolution of the Antic hegemony, although Simocatta does not mention the outcome of the confrontation.
Justinian attributed to himself the title Anticus thanks to the successes of Chilbudius. The title appears for the first time in the Introduction of the Constitutiones in 533 and then, during the era of Justinian, between 533-542 and 551/52-56525. Apart from Justinian’s legal work, the references to the title up to 565 can also be observed in other sources, such as the Council of Constantinople of 553, the Chronicon Paschale, the Historia Langobardorum of Paulus Diaconus as well as on two inscriptions. A very peculiar find, not precisely dated, came to light in a grave attributed to a military officer of Germanic origin at Kesztely-Fenékpuszta-Pusztaszentegyháza, namely a gold buckle with the inscription ΑΝΤΙΚΟΣ. According to G. Kiss, the owner of the belt took part in the campaign of the Avars against the Antes in 602 and it is actually a piece of war loot26. If so, that find is related to a not usual present of the Byzantine emperor to the federates Antes, with an inscription declaring political relations, however for the new owner of the buckle was just a decorative motif.
According to G. Rösch, Justinian’s triumphal titles are divided into two groups: the first includes ‘‘Germanic’’ titles brought by his predecessors (Alamanicus, Gothicus, Germanicus, Francicus) and the second titles due to military success during his reign (Anticus, Alanicus, Vandalicus, Africanus). The acceptance of the first group is ascribed to an ambitious political program of Justinian, which aimed to place all the barbarian peoples in the former western part of the Empire under the power of Constantinople. However, in the year 533 a similar political program of Justinian might also concern the second group of titles, regarding the successful military operations for the repossession of Northwestern Africa (533-534). Furthermore, the title Anticus in the second group makes clear the emperor’s intention to extend Byzantine influence to the northern bank of the Lower Danube27.
In this area, the Antes became part of Justinian’s ‘‘barbarian’’ policy in order to secure the northern boundaries of the Empire. Their rapprochement with the treaty of 545/46 was part of a wider framework of alliances in the Caucasus, the Black Sea and the Danube, regions that were subjected mostly to the attacks of the nomadic peoples. Understanding that because of conflicts with the Goths and Sassanids sufficient forces could not remain in the Balkans or the Crimea, Justinian created new alliances in the afore-said three interdependent regions, exercising at the same time ‘‘cultural diplomacy’’ through the missionary work28. Consequently, in the case of Antes, their reference to Justinian’s entitlement after 545/46 does not actually concern a defeated or subjugated people, but federates who had specific duties and a sector of responsibility within the overall defense plan at the northern border of the Empire.
Despite the limited information about the Antes after 545/46, the title Anticus is retained by Justinian’s successors. Initially under Justin II (565-578) it can be observed in two Novellae of the years 57029 and 57130, while there are more testimonies under Tiberius (578-582), despite his short reign (two Novellae31 and one inscription32). The title also appears in a letter sent by Maurice (582-602) to Childebert of Austrasia in 58533. The use of the title after 565 raises reasonable questions about its significance and the historical circumstances that obviously justified it. In this respect, it could not be accepted that the title Anticus passed to Justinian’s successors is merely an imitation of the latter’s titles, or that it made sense only as a manifestation of military successes against the Antes34. In our opinion, its use is an indication of the continuous overlordship of Byzantium over the Antes who defended the Scythian limes, and the maintenance of the federates’ relationship that emerged with the treaty of 545/46.
The subjugation of the Antes to the Avars was temporary, as in 562 the Avars moved to the Lower Danube35 and in 568 established their own khaganate in the Carpathian Basin. The Antes’ exemption from Avar control again rendered them allies of Byzantium. Although the sources do not quote any common military operation between the Byzantines and the Antes against the Sklaveni or the Avars, the time of the reappearance of the Anticus’ title could lead to tenable assumptions about the renewal of the alliance of 545/46 on the occasion of the Avar attacks.
Looking back at the Byzantine-Avar conflicts, we observe that the use of the title Anticus by Justin II in 570 and 571 coincides with the Avars’ attack in Thrace in 570 and the victory of the Byzantines36, while under Tiberius with the fall of Sirmium in 58237. Maurice also renewed the alliance with the Antes at the beginning of his reign, and the Anticus’ title in 585 is related both to the Antes’ attack on the Sklaveni (see above), but also to the Avar offensiveness at that time. In the summer of 584, the Avars attacked and captured the cities of Singidunum, Viminacium (Kostolac) and Augustae (Ogost) in the estuaries of the Morava river and continued their march to the outskirts of Anchialos38, while in 585, following the road along the Danube, they invaded the north-western Balkans and occupied, among others, Tropeum and Zaldapa in Scythia Minor39. The Avars entered this province again in 58640 and 59841. Because of the Avar and Slavic attacks on the border towns of the Danube, it is obvious that the Byzantines had to keep sufficient troops there. Particularly after the fall of Sirmium to the Avars in 582, the Antes appeared to have become of great importance to the Byzantines, who tried to exploit the alliance with them. Also, the prevalence of the Antes over the Sklaveni in 584 shows that their power remained reckonable. With this in mind, the use of the title Anticus by Justinian’s successors suggests the continuation of the ‘‘political program’’ that the latter initiated in order to defend the Scythian limes42.
Did the Avar attack in 602 bring about the end of the Antic hegemony and the role it had in the Byzantine foreign policy? A crucial issue for the answer is the significance of Anticus in the entitlement of Emperor Heraclius in 61243, as rightly addressed by G. Litavrin and V. Sedov. The two Russian scholars accept that the alliance between Byzantium and the Antes in 545/46 was preserved until 612, as the title Anticus continued to be in use44. The survival of the title until the era of Heraclius seems to contradict the view that the Avar assault on the western Antes in 602 led to the dissolution of their hegemony.
In November 602, Maurice ordered operations and that the army should remain in the area of the Slavs north of the Lower Danube, resulting in the army’s rebelling and the rise of Phocas to the Byzantine throne45. Several researchers in the past considered the overthrow of Maurice as a benchmark for the immediate collapse of the limes in the Lower Danube. However, this ‘‘traditional’’ position has now been revised and the prevailing view is that the collapse of the Byzantine border was gradual. As for the Scythian limes, its decline dates back to c. 614/15, while the coastal cities of Scythia Minor survived longer46. The weakness of Byzantium to allocate sufficient forces to the Danubian limes not only after 602 but also during Maurice’s 10-year campaigns in the Balkans (592-602) could lead to the hypothesis that Byzantium still had under its influence and trusted the Antes with the defense of the northern part of the Scythian limes.
The last mention of the title Anticus at the beginning of Heraclius’ reign is probably connected with the collapse of the Scythian limes (the last section of the entire limes of the Lower Danube) and the dissolution of the hegemony of the western Antes, centered likely around the ancient city of Turris. However, the same cannot be said for the Eastern Antes, as the Penkovka culture continued to survive for about a century. Because of the apparent nomadic influences on Penkovka, various assumptions have been made, such as that the Antes continued to live under the rule of the so-called ‘‘Great Bulgaria’’47 or the Khazar khaganate48. In any case, the downfall of the Scythian limes, which coincides in time with the elimination of the title Anticus, brought the end of Justinian’s strategic plan regarding the protection of the northeastern Danubian frontier, a plan that led the emperor to conclude the alliance with the Antes in 545/4649.
