Origin of Avar People Avar people established a powerful
state in the Central Europe between the Frank Kingdom and the Byzantine Empire upon the
support of the Turkish groups such as the ancient Hun and Sabar residuals and Oguz
(Bulgarian) people, etc. They established dominion over various Germanic and particularly
the crowded Slav tribes. Therefore, the Avar people had directed the course of the policy
of Europe for nearly 250 years (558-805). The subject matter about the origin of Avar
people has been one of the issues that caused great trouble for the historians and the
linguists. It cannot be stated that there is a common opinion of the experts formed about
this issue. However, the Turkish identity of the founders of the European Avar Khanate
become much more definite as the researches are carried out on a much more extensive
basis.
The Byzantine
historian Th. Simokattes (2nd quarter of the 7th century) had stated that a group composed
of nearly 20 thousands of people immigrated to the west pursuant to the abolition of the
Ju-an-Juan State in Mongolia (in the beginning of the 4th century- 552/555) by the
Gok-Turk State. This statement caused the establishment of a relation between the group
that sent an envoy from the eastern borders of the Byzantine in the year of 558 and
applied for allowance and residential lands for settlement and the groups that oriented
from the Central Asia towards the west and then to the central regions of Europe. The
general and mistaken consideration of the Juan-Juan as "Avar" and mostly
"Asian Avar People" reinforced this opinion of relevance.
On the other hand,
since Juan-Juan people were considered as Mongolians, it was natural that the European
Avar people were of the same race. In the end of the previous century, a trible named as
Var-guni (Bar-guni) was determined to exist in Mongolia that reminded the European Avar
People. In addition, it was stated that the human skeletons that were excavated from the
tombs pertaining to the Avar era in Hungary were mostly Mongoloid. Furthermore, the
allegation stating that Bayan that was the name of Avar Ruler was a Mongolian word
reinforced this conviction.
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