Here are the Suav excerpts from “The Ecclesiastical History” of John, Bishop of Ephesus also known as John the Syrian or John the Syrian or John of Asia (circa 507 – circa 588), along with a few additional pieces on the Avars for interesting context. Note that these come from the third part of the book, the first two parts having been lost (the original started with Caesar’s time). Even the third part is missing a few chapters (the History ends roughly about 588). The original manuscript was in the convent of Saint Mary of Deipara in the desert of Scete and, having been discovered by one Doctor Cureton, it was then acquired by the British Museum. As a result of this fortuitous event, the Syriac original was published in 1853. Thereafter, in 1860 the English translation was published by R. Payne Smith (from whose edition the above facts also come). The work is contemporaneous with the events described in it and some later ones may he’d been added into the History in real time.

Book II, Chapter 30

Showing that as the churches of the orthodox were rooted up in the persecution by the Synodites, so shortly afterwards those which the Synodites themselves pos sessed were, similarly treated by a certain just sentence; the altars of the churches throughout all Thrace, and up to the city wall, being rooted out and stripped by the barbarians, and they fled from before the face of the barbarians

Nor did vengeance fall only upon individuals, but as the synodites had rooted up the churches of the orthodox during the persecution, so after a short time, by a righteous sentence, the altars of their churches throughout Thrace, and up to the very walls of the city, were rased to the ground by the barbarians. For it seemed good to the rulers in church and state, to overthrow the meeting-houses of the believers, and level their altars with the ground: but when a short time only had elapsed, a barbarous people, who from their unshorn hair are called Avars, invaded the country and marched up to the outer walls of Constantinople: and all the churches in Thrace were plundered by them and deso lated with the whole land, and the altars were stripped and overthrown, and the ciboria destroyed and plucked down, even to the very walls of the city. And many of them understood this just judgment, and said, “Lo, that which was unjustly done by men of our own party unto those who do not agree with us, in uprooting their churches, this has God done unto us in anger, and our churches also are rooted up and ruined.” And all men wondered thereat and praised God, Who requiteth every man according to his works.

Book III, Chapter 25

Concerning the trials occasioned by the numerous wars which surrounded king Tiberius from the time he was made Caesar

The merciful Tiberius during the whole time he was Caesar in Justin s lifetime, because of the king himself having fallen a prey to various maladies, was entirely occupied with the wars which surrounded him on all sides: for, besides the struggle with the Persians, he was constantly threatened in every direction by those other barbarian tribes which had risen up against the powerful empire of the Romans: and after the death of Justin, they pressed upon him with still greater violence, especially the accursed tribes of the Slavonians, and those who, from their long hair, are called Avars. For after he became sole ruler, they gave him neither rest nor breathing time, but constantly wars and rumours of war multiplied around him: so that many, both of the chiefs and the commonalty, used to express their sorrow for him, and say, “Verily the kingdom has fallen to his lot in a time of trial and in evil days; for day and night he is anxious, and full of care how best he can gather troops from every quarter, and send them to maintain these incessant wars.”

[Chapter 26 continues: It was this necessity which compelled Tiberius  to enlist under his banners a barbarian people from the west, called Goths, and who were followers of the doctrine of the wicked Arius. And on their departure for Persia, leaving their wives and children at Constantinople, they asked the king to set apart and assign for their use a church, in which during their absence their families who remained behind might assemble for worship….]

Book V, Chapter 19

Concerning Domitianus, metropolitan of the city of Me- litene, a relative of the king

One relative, however, needs more particular mention, namely, Domitian, metropolitan of Melitene. Already Maurice, when sent by Tiberius to the East with the title of count, had shewn his devotion to the interests of his family by making him bishop of Melitene in Cappadocia: and when, after spending a period of two years more or less in the East, he had returned to the capital, and been made king, immediately Domitian hastened to him, and became his counsellor and most intimate adviser, and the person who thought for him, and encouraged him in all the severe and painful difficulties with which he had to contend in the wars which pressed upon him on all sides, with the heathen and Magian people of the Persians, and the harbarous and savage tribes who came from the ends of the world, and are called Avars, and also with the Slavonians. And in all these difficulties the bishop of Melitene was the king’s comforter and counsellor, although he was still but a young man. He was however thoroughly imbued with the opinions of the council of Chalcedon and of Leo. The great and important matters then, which pressed upon the empire on all sides, he laid before the king, together with his advice; and he let him settle them as he chose, and so he continues to do to this day.

Book VI, Chapter 24

Concerning a base people who are called Avars 

While the Romans were waging war in the east with the Persians, in the west they were suffering almost greater miseries from the inroads of an abominable people, who, from their long hair, are called Avars. Their first appear ance in the Roman territories was in the days of king Justinian, who received their ambassadors with great honour, and made them rich presents of gold and silver and dresses and girdles and saddles ornamented with gold; and sent also similar presents by their hands to their chiefs. And not only were they astonished at his bountifulness, but also quickly sent other ambassadors, whom he treated with equal munificence. And often on various pretexts they sent embassies, and he gave presents to them all, and sent them away loaded with gifts, imagining that by their means he should subdue all his enemies. And this continued until the murmuring against him grew general on the part both of the senate and the people; for they said, “He is stripping the whole kingdom, and giving it to barbarians.” And when Justinian departed from this world, and Justin, his sister’s son, reigned in his stead, a troop of them had just come, to be loaded as usual with presents, and go their way. And after a few days they had an audience with Justin, and said to him, “Give us as he used to give us who is dead; and send us away to our king.” But Justin, having been one of those who were vexed and grumbled at the amount which these barbarians received, and carried out of the kingdom, answered them, “Never again shall ye be loaded at the expense of this kingdom, and go your way without doing us any service: for from me ye shall receive nothing.” And when the Avars began to threaten, he grew angry, and said, “Do you dead dogs dare to threaten the Roman realm? Learn that I will shave off those locks of yours, and then cut off your heads.” And at his command they were seized and hurried on board some boats, and turned out of the city, and taken across the strait, and imprisoned in Chalcedon. And as their number was fully three hundred men, a force was posted there to guard them, together with some of the royal bodyguard. And at the end of six months he loosed them and sent them away, with threats, that should he ever set eyes upon any of them again, either at the capital or in any part of his dominions, their lives should answer for it. And thus they were terrified at him, and kept quiet, and did not shew themselves for a long time: but filially, they sent ambassadors to him to ask for friendship and make submission, and to say, that whatever he commanded them, they would do. And accordingly all his days they continued to be his friends. And as they were a powerful people, and rapidly grew in wealth and import ance by the conquest and plunder of many of the northern tribes, they finally carried their arms so far as to fall upon another powerful people, called the Gepidae, who dwelt upon the banks of the great river, the Danube; and them they conquered, and took possession, of their territories, and dwelt there, and spread themselves in the rich lands which they had occupied far and wide. Still professing to be friends, they sent ambassadors to Justin, and cunningly asked him, in the name of their king, to send artificers and masons to build him a palace and a bath. And on their arrival there, they built him a palace and a bath; and as soon as both buildings were completed, they requested to be sent away to their homes: but now at length he shewed his treachery, and revealed the guile that was in his heart, and seized them, and drew his sword, saying, “Unless you build a bridge by your art over the Danube, that we may pass over whenever we wish, there shall not one of you live, for I will immediately cut off your heads.” And when he pressed them, they said to him, “Who could possibly build a bridge over a river as wide as a sea? And even if we could do so, it would be injurious to the Roman state, and the king would put us to death. Whether therefore we die, or whether we live, we cannot do what you ask.” But upon this answer, he had two of them immediately beheaded: and the rest, terrified at the sight of their execution, promised that if he would give orders for as many large timber trees as possible to be brought, they would make a bridge to save their lives. And upon this, a numerous body of men were sent out to cut down the tallest and largest trees: and urged on by the fear of being slain by the sword, they planned and executed a very strong bridge. And when king Justin had reigned thirteen years, he departed from this world, and the victorious Tiberius, who had for four years been associated with him in the government as Csesar, succeeded him as sole emperor. And as this bridge was the cause of no little annoyance both to himself and the whole state, he endeavoured in the third year after the death of Justin, by all the means in his power, to cut it away, and at the time was not able: for they occupied it, and fixed their habitations there, and further demanded of him the surrender of the city of Sirmium, on this bank of the river, for them to settle in; and threatened, that in case of refusal, they would commence a war with him, and devastate the Roman territories. But he would not submit to abandon to them so important a city: and thereupon they began to assemble, and watch for an opportunity of stirring up a war. And they also made another bridge, as was said, a thing unheard of before, but which they con trived to erect, as being bent upon mischief.

Book VI, Chapter 25

Concerning the people of the Slavonians, and the de vastations which they committed in Thrace, in the third year of the reign of the serene king Tiberius

That same year, being the third after the death of king Justin, was famous also for the invasion of an accursed people, called Slavonians, who overran the whole of Greece, and the country of the Thessalonians, and all Thrace, and captured the cities, and took numerous forts, and devas tated and burnt, and reduced the people to sla very, and made themselves masters of the whole country, and settled in it by main force, and dwelt in it as though it had been their own with out fear. And four years have now elapsed, and still, because the king is engaged in the war with the Persians, and has sent all his forces to the East, they live at their ease in the land, and dwell in it, and spread themselves far and wide as far as God permits them, and ravage and burn and take captive. And to such an extent do they carry their ravages, that they have even ridden up to the outer wall of the city, and driven away all the king s herds of horses, many thousands in number, and whatever else they could find. And even to this day, being the year 895 [A. D. 584], they still encamp and dwell there, and live in peace in the Roman territories, free from anxiety and fear, and lead captive and slay and burn: and they have grown rich in gold and silver, and herds of horses, and arms, and have learnt to fight better than the Romans, though at first they were but rude savages, who did not venture to shew themselves outside the woods and the coverts of the trees; and as for arms, they did not even know what they were, with the exception of two or three javelins or darts.

[Chapter 26 continues: But to return to the warbetween the Romans and Persians in the East…]

Book VI, Chapter 30

Concerning Sirmium, a great city in the kingdom of the Gepidae, which the Avars took by violence

From the east our historian now returns to the west, and details some particulars of the capture of Sirmium, which he describes as the inevitable consequence of the Avars having now obtained two bridges over the Danube. For gathering in great numbers, and occupying the country round, with threats of war and devastation against the Roman territories, they sent to king Tiberius, saying, “If you would have us for friends, give us Sirmium for us to inhabit with your consent: for if not, we will take it without your consent, and be your enemies.” But the king put them off with words and various promises, as he was altogether unwilling to give the city up to them; and meanwhile he sent secretly an embassy to the Lombards, and other tribes, in the hope of hiring them, and bringing them upon the Avars in the rear. And when they pressed their request upon him, he determined, in order not to let them know his plans, to send unto them Narses, the great Spatharius of the kingdom, to confer with them, and waste time. He supplied him, therefore, liberally with gold, besides what Narses took of his own, and gave him secret orders not to travel rapidly on his journey thither; and should the Lombards come, he was to put himself at their head, and fall upon them, and, if possible, utterly destroy them: while to them he sent this message, “Lo, we have appointed the illustrious Narses, our Spatharius, to come and confer with you, and conclude with you a peace.”

[Chapter 31 continues: The illustrious Narses accordingly started from the capital with great pomp, taking with him a considerable army, and a large sum in gold, and dresses of various materials….]

Book VI, Chapter 32

In consequence of Narses death, Sirmium had to be yielded up to the barbarians. For as the Lombards, on whom Tiberius depended for making a diversion in its favour, did not appear, he was compelled to send to the Avars another ambassador in the person of the prefect of the praetorian guards, named Callistrus. And on his arrival he made over to them the city, considering that it was a more prudent course than for it to be captured by war and violence; for it had already endured for two years the extremity of famine, and after eating their cattle and beasts of burden, they had finally been compelled to feed upon cats and other such things, and had suffered privations no less hitter than those which the Scripture describes as having happened at Samaria. People speak also of the compassion shown by the barbarians to the inhabitants, on seeing the pitiable condition to which they were reduced by famine, and which well deserves the admiration of Christians, whose conduct too frequently it condemns; because they do not show kindness to their fellow servants, nor pity those of their own flesh. For when, upon entering the city, they saw the mortal misery of the people, they had compassion upon them, and gave them bread to eat and wine to drink. But when, after the emptiness of hunger, endured for a period so protracted as two years, they seized upon the food and ate it greedily, many immediately fell down suddenly dead. Finally, the survivors had to depart from the city, and the barbarians took possession of it, and dwelt there.

Translator’s Interlude:

Of the remaining thirteen chapters of the book but a fragment exists, and it contains little more than is told us in the headings, all of which are still extant. From them we learn that an embassy was sent to Maurice, now emperor of the Romans, to sue for peace; and that he in return sent an ambassador to the Persian court, which was followed by a second embassy to Constantinople. The fortieth chapter contained a statement of the mutual losses sustained by the two states of Rome and Persia during the ruinous wars occasioned by the weak policy of Justin: and this was succeeded by an account of the rise and subsequent decline of the kingdom of the Roman Arabs, occasioned possibly to some extent by the defection of several of their leading princes to the Persians. Next, there was the capture of some famous Marzbans, who were sent as prisoners of war to the capital. The forty-fourth chapter detailed the history of another war, waged probably with the Persians in the third year (of Maurice), and of the victory which God gave the Romans. The next three treated of the base, barbarian, long-haired people called Avars, who invaded Thrace, captured many cities, and numerous forts, and carried terror and alarm to the very walls of Constantinople, at a time, when, says our historian, we ourselves were there. The forty-eighth chapter gave an account of the manner in which the land was taken possession of, and wasted by the Slavonians: and the forty-ninth, and last, recorded the destruction of the city of Anchialus, and described the warm baths there.

It seems plain that these chapters were penned one by one as the events themselves occurred, and probably they were brought to an abrupt conclusion by the death of the good old man who wrote them. Little did he foresee that the prudent and victorious Maurice, together with his sons, and among them that Theodosius, whose birth in the purple, after so long a series of childless sovereigns, he had so rejoiced in, would perish by the hand of the executioner: and that the daughter of Tiberius, the one emperor whose name no stain or spot denies, would be dragged, with her children, amidst the apathy of the populace, to the same cruel fate. Scarcely too could he have foreseen, that before many years had elapsed the Avars would lay siege to the capital itself; while across the strait, the hosts of an other Khosrun encamped within the walls of Chalcedon, and, fresh from the conquests of Syria and Asia, would insult the city which still called itself by the proud name of Eastern Rome. And behind there was a yet darker hour: for the two empires, which had so long struggled for the mastery of the world, were about to fall before a kingdom and a creed which were but just struggling into existence.

[the chapter headings are as follows:]

• Book VI, Chapter 45 – Concerning the base people of the barbarians, who from their long hair are called Avars
• Book VI, Chapter 46 – Showing that the Avars made an expedition, and captured numerous important cities and forts
• Book VI, Chapter 48 – Concerning the capture and laying waste of the land of the Slavonians

Saint Pancras or Pancratius of Taormina (γιος Παγκράτιος, Hagios Pankratios; Latin: Sanctus Pancratius) was an early Christian martyr. According to legend, he was born in Antioch (Cilicia) he may have met Jesus and later supposedly met Peter by whom and was deployed to Sicily to become the first bishop of Taormina (ancient Tauromenion/Tauromenium). He was killed there by the locals who opposed his mission (apparently by stoning). 

The “Life of Saint Pancratius of Taormina” is an early 8th century work that recounts the martyr. It is curious that it is written as if Pancratius were an 8th century figure. Specifically, the author places Pancratius within the author’s geopolitical reality – the Arab threat to Sicily. The author was a late 7th early 8th century write, perhaps named Evagrius.

The only critical edition of this work was published by Cynthia Jean Stallman solely in Greek back in 1986 as her doctoral thesis. Very few people knew that the work contains a mention of Suavs.

Florin Curta was aware of Stallman’s work and did bring it up in his “The Making of the Slavs” book and in some of his other works (Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, The Slavic Lingua Franca). Specifically, Curta discussed a passage wherein a Sicilian warlord (called Bonifatius) captures some prisoners on an expedition to “the regions of Dyrachium and Athens. Upon returning to Sicily, he was confronted by Saint Pancratius, who claimed that his prisoners looked like Christians. Bonifatius assured him they were Avars who were to be distributed among his soldiers in order to be baptized, and were to be taught Greek and Latin, the languages in use at that time in Taormina. Through the intermediary of a translator, the prisoners eventually declared that they worshipped fire, water, and their own swords…” Curta then goes on to say: “[T]he translator employed to interrogate the Avar prisoners may well have been a member of a Slav community from Syracuse mentioned in another passage…” (Curta, Southeastern Europe).

Since in 2018, Stallman, now as Stallman-Pacitti, actually published (under the title “The Life of Saint Pankratios of Taormina”) her thesis as an edition of the work with an English translation (as part of the excellent series Byzantina Australiensia), here is her translation of the relevant portion of the text:

“…are settled near the provinces of Durazzo and Athens.’ When Boniphatios had said these words, as the Saint had not yet answered, they were silent. When the day was over, the city officials locked up. At dawn all the officers gathered before Boniphatios and said to him, ‘We request your Worthiness, illustrious Consul and Founder, and we ask Saint Pankratios, that the army be dismissed to their own quarters.’ Then Boniphatios said, ‘As you are loyal, your request is fulfilled.’ Immediately the trumpet gave the signal, and the army went across for the levy, and he divided the spoils for them, both gold and silver, and all the prisoners, telling them each to take care of as many souls as he received as his share, that they might receive holy baptism. Then he brought an interpreter and said to them, ‘We are Christians and confess Christ. If you too learn Greek and Latin, we will make you Christians.’

(This was because speech was in the two languages in the Taorminans’ city. They had captured many people in battle from many different nations, but for practical purposes their speech was in the two languages, as those under Tauros’ command had driven out the warriors of the Persians and the fierce Macedonians, and all the nations and kingdoms, which obviously turned out to have never had the strength to plunder the governorship of the Taorminans’ city, but they all watched for their chance, especially while Tauros, noble and courageous, was alive.)

Men from among the prisoners said through interpreters, ‘Never, sirs, have we seen things such as we saw in battle, and see now.’ The Saint said to them through an interpreter, ‘Men, tell us the great things which you have seen, and let us tell you the Word of the mighty God.’ The men said to the Saint through an interpreter, ‘We are of the Avar nation, and we venerate gods in the likeness of every sort of quadruped, fire and water and our swords. But in battle we saw everything in your midst flashing like light, and we were astonished and sent to the temples of our gods and collected the gods we considered most reliable, assuredly, to fight with us, and when we had put them before us, and they too had seen the state of the battle, and the shining lights which preceded and shone in front of the battle, straightway they dissolved and became like wax which has smelt fire and like mud in water.’

The prisoners said all this. The Saint said to them through an interpreter, ‘Does your mind’s eye intend that you be baptized and become Christians?’ The men as if with one voice said, ‘Please make us Christians!’ The Saint said to Boniphatios, ‘My child, let us baptize them, so that death may not by some mischance steal their souls, despite their declaring their intention, on the day when the Lord will demand a register of each of the shepherds, and producing a register corresponding to our list, will pass sentence on us.'”

Although Curta did not focus on it – his intent was to show that the Avars may have spoken and, perhaps, in fact contributed to the rapid spread of Suavic – the mention of a Suavic settlement on Sicily near Syracuse is interesting. So what does that other passage say? The author (Evagrius?) speaks of a Suavic village or huts.

Here is that piece along with Stallman’s footnote from her thesis. The below translation is, again, from the Stallman-Pacitti 2018 edition:

“…καὶ καταπηδήσαντα τὰ πλήθη συνἐτριφαν τὰ εἴδωλα καὶ ὲπίστενσαν τῷ Χριστῷ. ὲλθόντες οὖν, τἐκνον μου, ὲν τῇ θεκτίστῳ  κολυμβήθρᾳ, ἐβάπτισα ἅπαντας εὶς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ άγίου πνεὐματος. οὕτως λοιπόν, τέκνον μου Εύάγρίε, ή πόλιςἅπασα ἐπίστενσε τῷ Χριστῷ, καὶ ἐγένετο μία ποίμνη, εἷς ποιμήν. ἔτι δὲ ὀλίγον ἦν ἐμπνέων ὁ διάβολος κατὰ τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ ποίμνης καὶ λαβὼν ὀλιγοστοὺς ἐκ τῶν Ἰουδαίων καὶ Μοντανῶν, ἀπελθόντ€ς ἔθαψαν ὄπου καὶ τὰτῶν Σκλάβων ἔκειντο σκηνώματα, ἃ καὶ εγράψαντο οί ίστοριογράφοι, καὶ ἀπελθόντες ἐποίησαν θυσία πονηρὰν ἐν τοις τάφοίς, οἶς καὶ ἤθελον πόλιν καὶ ναὸν οὶκοδομῆσαι. σκεψάμενοι οὗν τοῦ ἐγχειρῆσαι, ἦλθέν μοι ἐκ θείας ἀποκαλύψεως τοῦ πελθεῖν ἐκεῖσε, καὶ ἐπιβὰς τῇ ἰδίᾳ ἡλικίᾳ ἀπῆλθον, καὶ τοὺς λεγεῶνας τῶν ἀκαθάρτων δαιμόνων τῇ χάριτι Χριστοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἀληθινοῦ κυρίον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ ὄντος ἐν ἀρχῆ ἐν πατρὶ ἅμα τῷ ἁγίῳ πνεύματι, ἀπήλασα ἐκ τοῦ τοπον, καὶ ὁλαὸς ἦν σχολάζων ἀεννάως…”

“… And the multitudes jumped down and shattered the idols and believed in Christ. Then they came, my child, to the font built by God and I baptized them all in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit. So, then, Evagrios my child, the whole city believed in Christ, and there was one flock and one shepherd. For a little while longer, the Devil was inspiring trouble for Christ’s flock, and took a small number of the Jews and Montanists*, and they went off and conducted a burial where the huts of the Slavs, which historians have described, were situated, and they went off and performed an evil sacrifice in the tombs to those for whom they also wanted to build a city and temple. As they were considering the undertaking, the idea of going there came to me from divine revelation, and I went off on foot, and drove legions of unclean demons from the place by the grace of Christ God, our true Lord Jesus Christ, Who was in the beginning in the Father together with the Holy Spirit, and the whole populace devoted itself constantly to the teachings pour Lord Jesus Christ and the holy apostles through us the least of His servants.”

[* note: The Montanists were followers of Montanus – a Phrygian Christian whose claim to fame was being – literally – the mouthpiece of God. His followers experienced similar delusions.]

Thus, as of the early 8th century there were records – already mentioned by “historians” – of Suavs living near Syracuse, Sicily. How old have these settlements been? Who were those Suavs? Were they Adriatic raiders? Did they come with the Arabs? The Byzantines? Even earlier, with the Vandals? Or earlier yet?

Remember too that when Suavs invaded Greece, the people of Monemvasia were said to have fled to Sicily (see here). The place they settled was supposed to be Demna (or Demenna), generally identified with the ancient city of Aluntium or Haluntium (Alunzio).  That place is the NE of Sicily. Syracuse is on the SE side. Taormina lies somewhat in between. See below for a picture.

If you wanted to try to find Suavic names in the area, you would not find many but you would find some suggestive towns such as these near Syracuse:

• Plemmirio
• Ognina

Or the near Taormina and southwards:

• Spisone – similar to Spisz?
• Letojanni
• Pali
• Ognina
• Monte Gorna plus Lavinaio
• Ragalna

South of Syracuse:

• Ragusa – like the former name for Dubrovnik
• Ispica
• Modica – in Latin this was Motyca – the town was known as Muòrica in Sicilian and may have been settled (by the Sicels?) already a millennium BC
• Michelica
• Zappulla

Most of these, have, no doubt, nothing to do with Suavs. And yet they are rather curious. All of them appear on the East side of Sicily.

Note that Stallman herself began to question the possibility of the existence of a Suavic settlement near Syracuse. The 2018 published edition states the following:

But clearly she was not thinking of the above toponyms.

For a detailed discussion of the Avar/Suav issues you can look to Stallman’s thesis (pages 268 -288).

What of Curta’s arguments regarding the Avars’ Suavic lingua franca?

He goes on to say in his article:

“That Saint Pancratius needs a translator to understand why the prisoners say indicates that the language they speak is neither Greek nor Latin. What language is it then? It is hard to believe that, given the unfamiliarity of Pancratius with things Avar, speakers of the Avar language were readily available in Taormina circa 700 to serve as interpreters. But there certainly were Slavs (presumably speaking Slavic) in the neighborhood, as Evagrius mentions the little huts in the vicinity of Syracuse. The translator employed to interrogate the Avar prisoners may well have been a member of the Slavic community near Syracuse, and if he spoke Slavic, the Avars must have spoken that language as well. The Life of Saint Pancratius thus indicates that whatever that language might have been, the Avars spoke the language of the Slavs. It is important to note at this point that the Avars in question are not from the qaganate properly speaking, but from territories beyond its southern periphery, in the Balkans. Is it possible therefore that the Avars may have contributed to the linguistic spread of Slavic, assuming that that was the language in use songs Slavs?”

It is easy to see that this is quite a bit of a house of cards. The translator may have been Slavic or may not have been Suavic. For example, he could have been another Avar. He may have come from a local community or from somewhere else. Perhaps from a prior or another raid. The language that was used may have been not Suavic but Avar. Or for that matter some other language still (just not Latin or Greek, presumably).  Further, there is nothing linking the two passages.

Also, importantly, the author states:

“where the huts of the Slavs, which historians have described, were situated”

This suggests that, at least as of the time of the author’s time, the huts had not been there already for quite some time. Of course, he refers to earlier events but those events would still have been within his lifetime. One hardly would have needed historians to keep a memory of a Suavic settlement alive if we are talking about a temporal distance of only a few decades or even a century. Assuming the Life was written in the early 800s it would have been separated from the first assault by Arabs on Sicily (in 652) by a little over century and a half.  Any Avar wars would push this date back to the second half of the 6th century. Thus, while it is possible that this Sicilian Avar-Suavic connection existed, that conclusion is hardly preordained based on the above passage.

(Further, if we accept Curta’s the possibility of a Suavic village existing on Sicily prior to the arrival of these Avars, this raises another question. How far back in time prior to the Avars could we place such a settlement. The mention of the warlord Bonifatius may suggest a memory of the Count Boniface who fought nearby in Africa against the Vandals but the Vandals did not take Sicily until 468, many years after the African war against Boniface. Of course, we could also take the author literally and push his Avars and Suavs back to the days of the real Pancratius. On some strange names, see above).

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Vasmer’s classic “The Suavs in Greece” (Die Slawen in Griechenland) has an interesting section on the island of Crete. He lists the different Suavic settlements on Crete including the following:

• Βάλτος
• Βούργαρο
• Γαβρανοῦ
• Γαράζο
• Ζαγουριάνοι
• Λαγκές
• Μοῦντρος
• Πλεμενιανά
• οδοβάνι
• Σκλαβοδοχώρι
• Σκλαβοδιάκου
• Σκλάβοι
• Σκλαβοπούλα
• Σφινάρι
• Τοπόλια
• Χαρβάτα
• Χουδέται

There follows an interesting statement by Vasmer that it’s worth quoting in full:

“Not all of the the Suavic names found on this island, am I able to explain through a late and random settlement of the Suavs [on Crete]. Some of these names must have an older date. With respect to the area around Herakleion already Rangavis (III 573) while discussing the name  Σκλαβεροχώρι could not suppress making the remark that here we must be dealing with an older group of settlers that came over from the main land. Later Šišmanov (Bálgarski Prěgled IV Number. 3 p. 89 ff.) sought to support this view further by referring to a wider number of names. Whether these names originated with the Suavic pirates whose attack on Crete was described in the above mentioned historical testimony, cannot be established with certainty…”

The reference here is to the attack on Crete in 623 described in the Syrian Miscellaneous Chronicle which Vasmer attributes to Thomas Presbyter of Emesa (Homs). The 623 reference could certainly have been of Thomas’ authorship.

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