Following the 1984 R.C. Blockley translation, here are the mentions of the Slavs in the History of Menander the Guardsman. We present here only the passages describing the Slavs. Thus, for example, the mention of Usdibad the “Gepid leader” will require a separate examination (see Fragments 12, 5; 12, 6) (Ústí nad Labem anyone?).
Menander’s work remains in fragments from various sources such as the Suda (Σοῦδα), a 10th century Byzantine encyclopedia, the Excerpta of Constantine Porphyrogenitus and the so-called Greek Anthology. The “history” continues the History of Agathias Scholasticus of Myrina with Menander covering the years 558-582.
The city of Sirmium is now within Sremska Mitrovica in Serbia. The city of Singidunum is now Belgrade also in Serbia.
A different Menander
Fragment 20, 2
(between 576-578)
“… While time was passing and envoys of both states were engrossed in these discussions and the status of the war in the East remained unclear , in the fourth year of there gin of Tiberius Constantine Caesar it happened in Thrace that the nation of the Slavs to the number of 100,000 devastated Thrace and many other areas.”
Fragment 21
(576-578?)
“Greece was being plundered by the Slavs, and a succession of dangers was threatening there on all sides. [presumably the above mentioned Slavic invasion of Greece in 576-578] Since Tiberius did not have a force strong enough to resist even a part of the invaders (and certainly not the whole horde of them) and since he was unable to face them in battle because the Roman armies were occupied with the wards in the East, he sent an embassy to Baian the chief of the Avars. At the time he was not hostile towards the Romans, and, indeed, from the very beginning of Tiberius’ reign had wished to be friendly with our state. Tiberius, therefore, persuaded him to make war on the Slavs, so that all of those who were laying waste to Roman territory would be drawn back by the troubles at home, choosing rather to defend their own lands. They, they would cease to plunder Roman territory, preferring to fight for their own.”
“The Caesar, then, sent this embassy to him, and Baian agreed to his request. John, who at this time was governor of the isles and in charge of the cities of Illyricum, was sent to assist him.* He came to the land of Pannonia and transported Baian himself and the Avar forces to Roman territory, ferrying the multitude of barbarians in the so called ‘large transports.’ It is said that about sixty thousand armored horsemen were brought across to Roman territory. From there Baian crossed Illyricum, reached Sythia and prepared to recross the Danube in the so-called ‘double-sterned’ ships.** When he gained the far bank, he immediately put fire to the villages of the Slavs and laid waste their fields, driving and carrying off everything, since non of the barbarians there dared to face him, but took refuge in the thick undergrowth of the woods.”
*A.H.M. Jones has him as the quaestor exercitus (under whose control fell Moesia II, Scythia and the Aegean Isles) and praetorian prefect of Illyricum
** This is what Blockley says of this itinerary: ‘Contary to the view of Hauptmann and most scholars, I do not hunk that Menander meant to suggest that Baian crossed the Danube to Roman territory and then recrossed it. It is possible that Baian ha been established in Pannonia since about 571, and in the present passage Menander’s language when noting John’s arrival in Pannonia suggests that he had left Roman territory. Also it would seem a very foolish action to ferry the Avars across the Danube to an area which they were known to covet, when they could more safely and conveniently have been taken across from Dacia further down the river, were they not already in Pannonia. Thus, John probably ferriedBaian across the Save and then back across the Danube to attack the Slavs. (It is clear from the fragment that the bridges over the Save between Sirmium and Singidunum were down, as one would expect since the river was effectively the front line, Simrum being an isolated bridgehead supplied by water [on the possible existence of a bridge up river to Dalmatia see note 316 of the book]).’
[and now back to Menander]
“The Avar attack on the Slavs arose not only out of the embassy from the Caesar and the desire of Baian to return a favour to the Romans in exchange for the great generosity which the Caesar had shown to him, but also because Baian was hostile to them out of a personal grievance. For the leader of these Avars had sent to Daurentius and the chiefs of his people ordering them to obey the commands of the Avars and to be numbered amongst their tributaries. Dauritas and his fellow chiefs replied, ‘What man has been born, what man is warmed by the rays of the sun who shall make our might his subject? Others do not conquer our land, we conquer theirs. And so it shall always be for us, as long as there are wards and weapons.’ Thus boasted the Slavs, and the Avard replied with a like arrogance. After this came abuse and insults, and because they were barbarians with their haughty and stubborn spirits, a shouting match developed. The Slavs were so unable to restrain their rage that they slew the envoys who had come to them, and Baian received a report of these doings from others. As a result he nursed his grievance for a long time and kept his hatred concealed, angered that hey had no become his subjects not to mention that he had suffered an irreparable wrong at their hands. Moreover, thinking both to win favour with Caesar and that he would find the land full of gold, since the Roman Empire had long been plundered by the Slavs, whose own land has never been raided by any other people at all…”
Fragment 25, 1
(circa 579)
” When in this year Baian as usual sent Targitius [Targitios] to the Emperor to receive the agreed payment [which was 80,000 nomismata per year] and when Targitius had returned to him with the gold and the merchandise which he had bought with some of the money, then the Khagan of there Avars, without seeking an excuse or a pretext or even troubling to invest a false charge against the Romans, suddenly with a most barbarous lack of shame brokee the treaty which he had made with Tiberois immediately after he had become Caesar. With his whole army he came to the Save between Sirmium and Singidunum and began to bridge the river, having as his object the city of Sirmium, which he wished to capture. Fearing that he would be prevented from bridging the river by the Romans who were guarding SIngidunum and being wary of their long expertise and skill with the ships that sailed on the river, he wished to complete his undertaking before his designs became known. Therefore, he brought together on the Danube in Upper Pannonia many huge ships and he built large troop-translports not according to shipwrights’ standards but from what was available ton the spot. He loaded them with many soldiers and oarsmen, who rowed not in rhythm but in a barbarously uncoordinated manner, and sent the vessels en masse down the river, while he with the whole army marched by way of the island of Sirmium and breached the river Save.”
“The Romans in these cities were thrown into consternation, and, when they realised what the aim was, the general at Singidunum, whose name was Sethus, sent to the Khagan and asked him what his purpose was in coming to the river Save while there was a firm peace and friendship between him and the Romans. He also said that if he tried to bridge the river absolutely without the Emperor’s permission he would not stand idly by. The Khagan replied that he wished to build the bridge not with any designs against the Romnas, but in order to attach the Slavs. When he and crossed the river and reached, he would again cross the Danube agains the Slavs if the Roman Emperor had a large number of vessels ready for him for the crossing. He pointed out that he and done this earlier to please the Roman Emperor and had freed and returned to the Romans many tens of thousands of captives from Roman territory who were in slavery amongst the Slavs. Now, he said, he had been injured by the Slavs who had refused to pay him the yearly tribute due from them and had killed the Avar envoys sent to them.*** For these reasons he had come to the Save. To this end he told Sethus to receive envoys from him and send them on to the Emperor in order that they might ask him to make ready the vessels on the Danube for the Khagan since he intends to cross over to attack the Slavs. He said that he was ready to swear the oaths that were the strongest amongst the Romans and the Avars that he was not planning any harm to the Romans or the city of Sirmium but that he wished to consort a bridge for an attack upon the Slavic nation.”
*** see above
“These assurances were believed neither by Sethus nor by the Romans in Singidnum. However, they did not consider that they had an adequate force since they had few soldiers available and many of the swift warships were absent because the movement of the Avars had happened suddenly and nepxpectedly. Movereover, the Khagan was beginning to threaten and aver that he himself was abiding by the terms of the peace with the Romans and that he would not cease to work on the bridge since he was proceeding against the Slavs, the enemies of both himself and the Romans. Furthermore, if any Roman dared to hurl one weapon against those working to build the bridge, they should be clear that they were the first to break the treaty and since as a result whey would have provoked the Avar nation to war, they could not complain at whatever the Roman Empire sufferered at their hands.”
“Having these fears, the authorities in Singidunum asked Baian to swear the oaths. He immediately drew his sword and swore the oaths of the Avars, invoking against himself and the whole Avar nation the sanction that, if he planned to build the bridge over the Save out of any design against the Romans, he and the whole Avar tribe should be destroyed by the sword, heaven above and God in the heavens should send fire against them, the mountains and the forests around fall upon them and the river Save overflow its banks and drown them. Thus were the barbarian oaths sworn by the Khagan. ‘Now,’ he said, ‘I wish to swear the Roman oaths,’ and he also asked what they held to be a sure and binding guarantee that if one who swore bu it broke his oath, he would not escape the wrath of God. The archbishop of Singidunum, through those who were acting as intermediaries, immediately proferred him the holy books. He, most treacherously concealing his intent, stood up from his throne, pretended to receive the books with great fear and reverence. threw himself on the ground and most fervently swore by the God who had spoken the words on the holy parchment that nothing of what he had said was a lie. Thereupon Sethus received his envoys and sent them off to the Emperor Tiberius in the capital.”
“While the envoys were still on the road to the imperial city and the Emperor was still to hear the news, the Khagan meanwhile did not relax his efforts but with all zeal and a large workforce (for thee whole Avar army, as it were, joined in the work) continued to build the bridge over the river, wishing the bridge to be completed before the Emperor should learn of his plan and attempt to stop what he was doing.”
Fragment 25, 2
(circa 579)
“The envoys of the Avars reached the capital and asked the Emperor to make read the shops for the Khagan and the Avar army which would cross the Danube to attack the Slavs. They said that the Khagan, enthused with friendship towards him was building a bridge on the river Save and wished to destroy the Slavs, the common enemies of himself and the Romans. Then they delivered their message, immediately the Emperor realised clearly the aim and intent of the Khagan, that he was building the bridge because he wished to take Sirmium and wanted to cut off the transportation of supplies so that the might starve the city into surrender. [Trusting in the peace treaty with the Avars, Tiberius had not laid up adequate supplies in the city.] The Emperor did not have an army available – I do not mean and army capable of opposing the Avar horde, since he lacked even a tiny force – because all the military units were occupied with the war against the Persians in Armenia and Mesopotamia. He, therefore, pretended that he did not recognize what the Khagan was planning and said that he too was eager that they attack the Slavs, who were causing much damage to the Roman Empire. However, this was not a good time fro the Avars to make an attack, since the Turks were encamped at Cherson and they would quickly hear of the Avars crossed the Danube. IT would be better if they withdrew and postponed their assault. He himself would shortly learn the intentions of the Turks and where they proposed to attack, and he would pass on this information to the Khagan.”
“The Avar envoy was aware that this story had been purposely put together by the Emperor, who hoped by confronting them with fear of the Turks to diver them from their object. They envoy, who was the major advocate continually urging war with the Romans, seemed to go along and agreed to refer the whole matter to the Khagan. He departed the capital with many gifts for what he promised to do. But it happened that while he was crossing Illyricum with his small Roman escort he was killed by Slavs who were raiding the area.”
“Only a few days had passed when suddenly another envoy from the Khagan, whose name was Solakh, arrived at the capital. When he was granted an audience with the Emperor he declared boldly and with a complete lack of shame, ‘I think it is a waste of words to inform you that the river Save has now been cut by a bridge. To inform those who know if what is very clear to them merely brings blame upon the speaker. Since in future food or any other assistance cannot be brought to the city of Sirmium by river, there is no strategy which will protect the Romans there unless a Roman army comes large enough to drive the Avar army away by force and break the bridge. The Emperor ought not make war upon the Avars and the Khagan of the Avars over one worthless city (or rather’a jar’, which is the expression he used), but should withdraw from it unharmed all the soldiers and civilian occupants other with all of their movables and leave the city stripped and deserted for the Khagan. The Khagan fears at present the Romans are pretending to adhere to the peace treaty only until they settle the war with the Persians. When they have settled that, then they will throw their whole army against the Avars, having Sirmium as a very suitable bridgehead agains them and being separated by no river or any other obstacle. For it is clear and most obvious that, at a time when there was a secs peace between the Emperor and the Avars, he did not surround the city of Sirmium with such strong walls for their benefit.'”
“The envoy continued that the Khagan was satisfied with the gifts sent each year to him by the Emperor; for gold, silver and silken clothes were valuable commodities. However, since life was more valuable and desirable that all of these, he had been worrying about this and reflecting that many of the peoples who before times had come to this land had first been enticed with such gifts by the Romans, who in e need had attacked and destroyed them utterly. Therefore, he would not abandon his attempt for gifts under threats or through any other pressure at all, until he had taken the city of Sirmium and was in possession of the whole isle of Sirmium, which, as a former possession of the Gepids, most justly belonged to him. since they had been conquered by the Avars, with the result that what had been theirs rightly belonged to him rather than to the Romans.”
“This declaration caused consternation and threw the mind of the Emperor into a terrible turmoil of anger and grief. Nevertheless, as best he could, he summoned the appropriate words and replied, ‘It is clear to every single person that the Khagan has outflanked us not through force or bravery of his troops or through wisdom, but by scorning the treaty of peace and God by whom he swore. But, I think, his treater will bring him no more gains. I should rather betroth to him one of m two daughters than willingly surrender the city of Sirmium. Even if he should take it by force, I, while awaiting the retribution of God whim he has so insulted, shall bnever consent to abandon any part of the Roman state.'”
“With these words he dismissed the embassy and prepare to defend the city as best he could under the circumstances. Since, as I have already said, he did not have even a small army, he sent out generals, counts and tribunes, some through Illyricum, some through Dalmatia, to hold they city with the aid of garrison troops.”
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