How the capital of the great Roman Empire was besieged in the VI century

85
How the capital of the great Roman Empire was besieged in the VI century

Siege. Miniature from the Iliad Early XNUMXth c. National Library. Milan. Italy

New attempts to take New Rome


The new century for Byzantium or the Roman Empire began with the death of Emperor Zeno in 491 and the struggle for the throne of Constantinople between the Isaurian group and the Roman party. The protege of the latter, Silenciary Anastasius, ascended the throne. He was already 60 years old, which for this historical period was a very old age.

In 512, Anastasius completed the construction of the 42-kilometer Long Walls, which protected the capital from invasion from the north, blocking the territory from the Black Sea to the Sea of ​​​​Marmara. The distance between the wall of Anastasia and Theodosius, according to Procopius of Caesarea, was two days.



But the main problem turned out to be that the emperor was a Monophysite, and not an Orthodox Catholic. The Monophysites and Monothelites were the main ecclesiastical movements throughout the East: Syria, Mesopotamia, Palestine and Egypt. And Constantinople with the entire western part of the empire was Orthodox.

It is this movement in the Christian Church in the East that will eventually lead to the fall of the political power of the Roman Empire over these lands, but first things first.


Byzantine warrior of the XNUMXth century. Figure. Joint project of Osprey publishing house and Del Prado miniature company. Hood. A. McBride.

In 514, Vitalian, the son of Patrikiol, acted as the defender of Orthodoxy. Since 503, he commanded the corps of federates with the rank of committee of federates. Only an authoritative and experienced warrior could lead such a division of formidable riders of different tribes. So, at the beginning of the 470th century, he was commanded by a goth or mestizo Patrikiol, he was replaced by his son Vitalian (518s - XNUMX), a committee of federates who fought under his father in the Persian wars. The headquarters of the committee of federates was in the province of Scythia.
The master of the army of Thrace, Hypatius, nephew of Anastasius, reduced the salaries of the federates. For this, Vitaly raised an uprising, spreading the rumor that he was appointed master of the army of all Thrace. He received all the military money located in the fortified city on the Black Sea coast - Odessa (modern Varna, Bulgaria).


Reconstruction of a Byzantine town on the Black Sea coast in Bulgaria. St. Anastas. XNUMXth–XNUMXth centuries Byala. Bulgaria. Photo of the author.

Having gathered, according to Malala, 50 thousand soldiers, federates and mercenaries: the Huns, who returned their generic name, the Bulgarians, he moved to the capital under the slogan of defending Orthodoxy.

His army stood in Evdom (modern Bakirkoy) and approached the Golden Gate, which was nearby, 4 kilometers away. The emperor ordered copper crosses to be placed on the walls of the city with the inscriptions of the causes of the rebellion, made generous donations to the church, and placed a charter on the walls of St. Sophia Cathedral reporting on the situation with the Vitalian uprising. The negotiators from the emperor generously endowed the army and assured that no one oppresses the Orthodox faith.

As soon as Vitalian moved away from the city, his pursuit began. But at night he captured the master of the army of Thrace in Odessos (Varna, Bulgaria), and his ally the Hun Tarrach killed him with a dagger.

The emperor's army won in several skirmishes, there was already a holiday in the capital on this occasion, and in the meantime Vitalian with allied Huns surrounded the camp with the carts of the imperial army near Odessos. The shamans of the Huns conjured darkness in broad daylight, the Huns were able to break into the Roman camp, shooting bulls from bows, which brought confusion among the defenders. The entire army of the Romans fell, and the master of the army Hypatius was captured.

Now the path to the capital at Vitalian was free, and he already claimed the imperial throne: in addition to infantry and horsemen, the Danube flotilla of 200 ships that occupied the harbor on the Thracian shore of the Bosporus, 11 km from the capital.

The emperor again went to negotiations, he appointed Vitalian the master of the army of Thrace, issued 5 thousand pounds in gold, issued an edict on the right faith, and he sealed all this with an oath. But as soon as Vitalian moved away from Constantinople, the emperor again began hostilities in 516. For there is a law commanding kings, if necessary, to break their oath and lie.

Vitalian again moved his armies to the capital, he put the Bulgarians on the ships and is ready, perhaps as a landing or "marine infantry". His ground forces, mostly Bulgarians, made their base at Siki, a territory in the depths of the Golden Horn on the north side. Vitalian's fleet threatened Chrysopolis on the Asiatic side of the Bosporus. The fleet is located in the harbor of Sikov - Vitharia.

As only Malala reports, the defense of the city was entrusted to Marina, while the fleet was commanded by the committee of escubitors (escuvites) Justin, the future emperor and uncle of the future basileus Justinian the Great. At this time, the Athenian philosopher Prok happened to be in the capital, who gave Marina a “magic powder”, it had to be thrown at enemy ships. Most likely, it was a kind of "Greek fire".

The battle was started by the Byzantine fleet, in front of the Church of St. Thekla in Siki, that is, on the northern side of the Golden Horn. Malala reported:

At three o'clock in the afternoon there was a naval battle; [then] suddenly and simultaneously all the [participating in the battle] ships of the rebel Vitalian took up fire and went to the bottom of the strait along with those warriors from the Goths, Huns and Scythians that he had and who came with him. And Vitalian and those sailing on other ships, seeing that the [participating in the battle] ships suddenly took up fire, fled and returned to Anaplu. And the ex-prefect Marin, having sailed to Siki, pursued [all Vitalian's supporters] to the very [temple] of St. Mom and exterminated everyone he found in country estates and houses; when evening came, Marin and his army remained to guard this area.

This defeat was seen by the allies of the Huns, who rushed to flee from the capital, and Vitalian rushed after them. Thus ended his attempts to capture the city of Constantine. Later, under Emperor Justinian, he would become consul and die in the palace, perhaps someone took revenge on him for his pogroms committed during the siege of the capital.

Grand Master of War saves the capital


In the XNUMXth century nomads reached the outskirts of Constantinople more than once. It seemed that in the wake of success in Italy, the armed forces of the empire should only strengthen. But, alas, it was not so. The huge length of the Roman (Roman) border, limited military resources that did not correspond to these sizes, made the empire too vulnerable. And the appropriating economy, dominating the neighbors on the borders of the empire, required constant powerful defense.


This is how A. McBride sees the Hun of the XNUMXth century. Figure. Joint project of Osprey publishing house and Del Prado miniature company.

Moreover, Byzantium and late Rome, just like China, agricultural civilizations, stood at the same stage of development, differing only in periods, like the ethnic groups attacking them, with rare exceptions (Slavs, Pechenegs). Therefore, the military threat was so serious, it could at one moment simply shift the top of the government to a foreign one, without changing the foundations of society, which happened to Byzantium later.

The emperors clearly understood these threats, but, I repeat, the size of the country only allowed to achieve a “positive balance” on the borders periodically, and not on a permanent basis.

“Since the Roman state,” says the author of “On Buildings” about Justinian I, “was invaded by barbarians from all sides, he strengthened it with a number of troops and strengthened its outskirts with the construction of fortresses.”

On December 14, 557, a powerful earthquake occurred in Constantinople, which, among other things, caused a huge amount of divination, divination from dreams and stars about the fate of the city, the masterpiece of the early Middle Ages and the largest Christian building until 1504 - St. Sophia were destroyed.

And the following year, a plague began in the city, which lasted from February to June. In addition to all the troubles, in addition to divination, an embassy of an unknown people, of a wonderful appearance - the Avars, arrived in Constantinople.

But trouble does not come alone.

Distance from the river. Danube to the capital of the Roman state - 1 km. The barbarians, Bulgarians, former Hunnic tribes and Slavs who invaded its territory more than once reached Thrace and even the Long Walls, but only in the winter of 500 did they reach Constantinople.

The army of the Huns-Kuturgurs and Slavs crossed the frozen Danube on ice, then their path lay through the Balkans, the provinces of Dacia and Thrace. So they went to the province of Europe.
The Kotrigurs defeated the frontier army, captured a huge crowd, creating violence everywhere, killing even babies. They reached the church of St. Stratonikos, which is 14-15 km from the capital.

The “long wall” of Anastasia was destroyed by an earthquake, so the kotrigurs or kutigurs (kuturgurs) ended up on the outskirts of Constantinople. The Huns laid siege to Thracian Chersonese in order to seize ships for a trip to the Asian coast to the Asian port of Avidos with rich customs. The leader with his own forces approached Constantinople, making his base the town of Melantida (modern Yarim-Burgas), which is between the Long Wall and Constantinople, 25–27 km from the Golden Gate.

It was their appearance that caused a terrible panic in the capital, the crowd constantly rushed about with shouts that the enemy was advancing, any loud sound excited her, the shopkeepers closed the shops at every rustle. Everyone imagined the horror of the siege, the famine, the destruction of the walls and the enemy troops.

The ease of their passage was due to the fact that there were practically no troops left in the Balkans, the war in Italy absorbed all resources. According to Agathias, there were 150 thousand warriors in the empire, scattered over numerous lands and borders.

Back in 551, the treasurer Narses, who had gathered troops for the war in Italy among the Heruli federates and regular troops, hid with them in Philippoly, waiting for the gangs of the Huns (Kotrigurs) to clear the way for him to Italy, while he himself humbly sat out in the fortress and did not spend his military forces on the Huns.

As the two authors who tell us about these events write, the problem was that Justinian, after extensive conquests and the return of Africa and Italy, lost interest in military affairs and began to concern himself only with the affairs of the church.

Of course, this is only one side of the problem. Its other side was the fact that the empire did not have the necessary resources for such extensive operations, as life showed: neither military nor financial. The military victories over the barbarians were followed by the robbery of the "liberated" territories by legal means, and this led to their falling away, especially since the opponents of the empire were numerous and, which is important in any war, had the initiative.


The back side of the wall of Theodosius. Istanbul. Turkey. Photo of the author.

Despite the numerous diagrams of the army structures of this period that we have in the scientific literature, it all came down to mercenarism.

If earlier in the theory of the territorial group of forces it was implied that the war was supposed to be waged by a representative army (in praesenti) with the support of a regional army (comitatus), now everything came down to recruiting expeditionary forces from both the presentation and the regional army. The situation will improve after the death of Justinian, but in the meantime, it was not the regiment that went to war, but the soldiers.

If earlier the army was made up of certain regiments, and earlier - legions, now the recruitment was individual. The "expeditionary army" included federates, and hired tribes, and catalog soldiers. Thus, the boundaries of the territories were exposed. In our case, the Danube border. So, Herman recruited an army from the Thracian regular cavalry for a campaign in Italy. In 544, the Illyrian cavalry left the army in Italy, as the Huns attacked their lands.

The ceremonial palace troops stepped in to guard Byzantium. Some Byzantine authors (Agathius and especially Procopius, himself a warrior and eyewitness of events) considered the schollaria and other ceremonial parts to be incompetent: beautifully dressed and beautifully armed, they were ready for parades, but not for wars. And that was already quite a long time ago. Although, for the sake of justice, it should be noted that these units were periodically replenished with skilled warriors. And many of them often participated in wars, personally or as part of separate units. However, as Procopius of Caesarea writes:

When it was proposed to send an army against Libya, Italy, or the Persians, he [Justinian] gave the order to prepare for the speech and the scholarii, although he knew very well that they were the least suitable for service in the field; and those, fearing that this might not happen, refused their salaries for the specified period. And the scholars had to experience this many times ...

Of course, Procopius in The Secret stories"exaggerates as much as possible, scolding Emperor Justinian, most likely, all capable soldiers from the guards were in the" expeditionary armies ", which we also know about.

And the remaining units in the capital, occupied by the defense of the troops, were described by Agathius of Mirinei:

Such terrible and greatest dangers seemed undoubted that on the walls, in Sikka and the so-called Golden Gates, lohags, taxiarchs and many warriors were indeed placed in order to courageously repel enemies if they attacked. In fact, however, they were incapable of combat and were not even sufficiently trained in military affairs, but were from those military units that were assigned to keep guards day and night, which are called scholarii.

But Theophanes the Byzantine, who lived much later than these events, reports that the walls were occupied by schols, protectors and dignitaries of the empire. There were also regular parts, arithms, in the city. They stood on the walls and guarded all the towers. In total, 7 thousand riders of the leader Zabergan came under the walls, the rest robbed other places in Greece. They devastated the fertile surroundings and easily blocked the city from land.

But could Zabergan really threaten the gigantic Constantinople, the historical part of Istanbul today is a huge city, however, from Vlaherna, that is, the walls of Theodosius, to the tip of the Golden Horn, you can walk along it in about three hours?

To threaten the city, where there was a huge (by the standards of the early Middle Ages) population?

In a previous article on VO, I wrote about the threat to the New Rome by the Huns, it is obvious that the army of the leader Zabergan was seriously inferior in number to the horde of Attila. The Kotrigurs and, possibly, the Slavs acted in different directions.

But this is what happened near the small city of Kherson Thracian. Kotrigurs and, possibly, the Slavs, according to a number of researchers, are actively storming the walls. In doing so, they use ladders and various siege engines. Again we see that the nomad horsemen have siege weapons.

Moreover, in order to take the city, they resort to various tricks. Agathius of Mirinea reported that they decided to build rafts in order to go around the city tower by sea, which covered the city from the coast, and break into the city from the coast unprotected by the wall:

They collected a huge amount of reeds, the longest, strongest and widest, and, having sprinkled the stems and tied them with ropes and wool, they made a lot of rafts. From above, across, they laid straight wooden logs, like benches for rowers, but not everywhere, but only along the edges and in the middle. Having fastened them with the strongest knots, they connected and tied together as firmly as possible so that three or four formed one raft, having sufficient space for four rowers, and so that they were able to support the weight of the load placed there and did not sink due to insufficient size. In this way they built at least 150 rafts.

Again, a number of historians believe that only the Slavs could build rafts, but there is not a word about them in the reports, they are mentioned only when crossing the Danube, so the question remains open.

On the rafts there were 600 well-equipped warriors, the rafts were secretly lowered into the sea, and, “rowing clumsily”, the enemies moved towards the city. Several small ships or large boats with warriors advanced towards them. Some rafts fell into the sea current, and the soldiers then did not know what to do, some were attacked by the Romans: they pulled the rafts with hooks, and the besiegers went to the bottom. The Romans with trophies returned to Kherson.

It can be seen that the Huns were perfectly prepared for the siege, having various siege weapons and ladders.

Fortunately for the capital, the rest of the lot lived here, but enriched well on the last expedition to Italy, the great commander and patrician - 59-year-old Belisarius:

So, he again puts on the long-lost shell, and a helmet on his head, and returns to the habits he has learned from childhood, returns the memory of the past and calls on the former pep and valor.


Belisarius and Emperor Justinian. Fragment of a mosaic. San Vitalle. Ravenna. Italy.

City Dimas, city parties were also mobilized. Such parties were in all large cities where there were stadiums or hippodromes. I have already written about their role in the construction of the walls of Constantinople. They were formed from parties that supported one or another charioteer, becoming parties that defended the interests of their members and, later, their emperors.

Belisarius confiscated all the horses for the war, both in the palace and wherever they were: at the hippodrome, in charitable institutions and, of course, from private individuals. He had his own detachment of 300 oplites, his battle-tested veterans, with him. Whether it was his bukkelarii warriors or warriors who happened to be in the capital is not clear.

Belisarius armed all those gathered: both the violent youths of the city parties, and, apparently, the hippodrome parties always had their own armed detachments, and the peasants of the surrounding lands, devastated by the war and therefore full of revenge. He brought all this army outside the city and placed it in a camp with a moat. The commander began to make sorties, capturing and killing careless marauders.

Belisarius also resorted to trickery, for the army he ordered trees to be dragged along the road, thereby raising dust and creating the impression of a huge army. At night, he kindled fires in a large area around the camp - for the same purpose. The Huns, however, quickly revealed his tricks, but the very presence of the troops and the fact that the pompous guard was located on the walls frightened them.

The irritated army of Belisarius was thirsty for battle. He, probably, remembering the same situation before the battle on April 19, 531 in the parking lot in the city of Suron, when at the gathering the soldiers accused the generals of cowardice and forced them to fight, which ended in the defeat of the Romans at Kallinik (modern Er-Raqqa), turned to the militia . He explained the situation in detail and was able to convince them to act according to his plan.
The meaning of the battle was to neutralize the advantages of the Huns horsemen: to prevent them from firing, at the same time forcing them to fight in hand-to-hand combat.

In ambush, he placed 200 experienced spearmen and shieldmen, behind them were numerous, hastily armed peasants, whose goal was to make noise.
He himself stood in the center with his veterans and the rest of the militia. When 2 horsemen of Zabergan hit Belisarius, they were fired upon from the flanks from an ambush with spears and arrows, and the noise raised by the peasants with blows weapons about the shields led the formidable riders into confusion.

Then Belisarius's cavalry fell upon them:

Belisarius was the first to kill and put to flight many opponents.

Squeezed from the flanks, the kotrigurs lost, as the Roman commander had supposed, their advantage: they could not shoot, and the terrible noise did not allow them to correctly assess the situation. In order to avoid encirclement, a flight began, while the Huns did not even shoot back. And if it were not for the fatigue of the Roman horses, everyone would have died. They fled, having lost 400 horsemen, to their camp in Melantiada (modern Khoshkey region), and then in a hurry retreated to Decaton in the province of Thrace (modern Chorpu).

Sources report that Justinian, constantly jealous of Belisarius and seeing him as a threat to his throne, did not make him a triumph. Although it can be said that this triumph is not quite that triumph: the enemy with a small army was hardly driven away from the walls of Constantinople. How could such a triumph be compared with those awarded to Belisarius, who defeated the Vandals and the Goths and led their kings in a festive procession.

But the people welcomed the winner.

And the Kotrigurs, realizing that no one was pursuing them, reached Arcadiopol (modern Leliburgas) and stopped here until April 13, i.e. Easter. And Emperor Justinian I went with the townspeople to Silimvria, a city on the northern coast of the Sea of ​​Marmara, from which the "Long Walls" began, in order to restore them. He was there until August, and the Huns never left, waiting for tribute.

Here we have different information. Agathius says that the emperor paid a huge ransom, which infuriated the townspeople, it seemed low to them that the enemy was not only not completely defeated, but also received a huge reward. But Theophanes the Byzantine reports that Justinian sent Justin's nephew to build two-tier ships and meet the retreating enemy at the Danube crossing. This was not part of the plans of Zabergan, who hastily crossed the Danube.


Hun of the XNUMXth century: Kotrigur, Utigur or Savir. Author's reconstruction. Onions: finds of the XNUMXth century from the city of Engels. Sword - Artsybashevo, Ryazan region and Kamut, North Caucasus. Axe: XNUMXth–XNUMXth centuries Hasaut. North Caucasus. Belt set. XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries Agai burial ground. Buckle. XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries Shipovo on the river. Ural. Kazakhstan. Appearance: Fresco. Afrasiab. XNUMXth century, Tashtyk clay masks. Minusinsk pit.

But, continues Agathius, this situation angered the Utigurs of Sandilh, who was a federate of the empire, and he did not like that the enemy was paid in gold.

Justinian cunningly informed him that the gold destined for Sandilhu had been taken by the kotrigurs. Then the Utigurs, not waiting for the return of their enemies from the campaign, ravaged their camps, taking their children and wives as slaves. And then, having met the army of the Kotrigurs, they entered into a war with them, which lasted for a long time and led to the fall of the forces of both Hunnic tribes on the eve of a new steppe threat - the Avars.

Thus, at the end of the glorious era of Justinian, the New Rome itself came under extreme threat.

To be continued ...
Our news channels

Subscribe and stay up to date with the latest news and the most important events of the day.

85 comments
Information
Dear reader, to leave comments on the publication, you must sign in.
  1. 0
    23 June 2022 05: 02
    unknown people, wonderful appearance - Avar

    No one still knows what appearance the Avars had. And just like the Huns ... Why wonderful?
    1. +1
      23 June 2022 06: 16
      In the Armenian chronicle there is a description of the Turkic khan, there is a phrase, the place for the beard was ugly naked, any appearance that is not typical for this area is wonderful, or even monstrous.
      1. +1
        23 June 2022 07: 39
        In the Armenian chronicle there is a description of the Turkic khan

        The Armenians suffered greatly from the Avars and Khazars, and therefore they describe them as monsters. Remember Soviet films, posters and articles, where the Germans were presented as vile monsters and fiends of hell ...
    2. +4
      23 June 2022 08: 31
      Why don't they know?
      Here is the avar

      Too lazy to look for Huns.
      They wore braids and specific lamellar armor. Skulls are often deformed (there are no traces of information on the reconstruction)
      Europeans have already met all the features separately, but the combination could be new
      1. 0
        23 June 2022 08: 44
        Why don't they know?

        Were they blue-eyed blondes or brown-eyed brunettes? What was their skin pigmentation? Epicanthus? It's impossible to tell from skulls...
        1. +4
          23 June 2022 08: 59
          It is important? After all, we know a lot.
          And we don't know the average size of pisyun yet. Presumably very small. Therefore, aggressive campaigns are hypercompensation and canalization of aggression.
          Seriously, you need to look for DNA decoding. The eye color range is determined by DNA with decent accuracy.
          But if the analysis was carried out, then the emphasis was most likely placed on the search for the homeland of the Avars and Huns. DNA allows us to draw some conclusions in this regard.
          1. 0
            23 June 2022 10: 40
            And we still don't know the average size of pisyun

            If you please, take an interest in the size of the pisyuns of the Avars yourself ...
            1. +4
              23 June 2022 11: 37
              It's just hard to take it seriously
              Were they blue-eyed blondes or brown-eyed brunettes?

              Looking for Aryans among the classical Mongoloids?
        2. +6
          23 June 2022 10: 46
          Were they blue-eyed blondes or brown-eyed brunettes?

          The fact that they were not blue-eyed blondes is obvious.
          The Byzantines would have written about it.
          This Gumilyovism (yes, ask me Lev Nikolayevich), about some blue-eyed tall blondes in the depths of Eurasia, is a little annoying.
          This region was inhabited exclusively by the Mongolian race by the period under consideration and later: no blue-eyed.
          What was their skin pigmentation? Epicanthus? It's impossible to tell from skulls...

          It is not possible to determine this, but for the history of mankind, taking into account racial differences, the key is the definition of the social factor, not blood.
          We know examples from ethnography when their own children were killed and 10-12 years old were taken from other tribes.
          hi
          1. 0
            23 June 2022 10: 56
            This Gumilyovism (Yes, ask me Lev Nikolaevich)

            Gumilyovshchina - sounds like "Yezhovshchina". Why do you dislike him so much?
            1. +9
              23 June 2022 11: 48
              A bit of history: when I was writing my dissertation, according to L.N. Gumilyov, whom I had a chance to personally see, I went through rather severely.
              My supervisor, Igor Yakovlevich Froyanov, told me: soften it up, life has already beaten him up, don’t do it like that ..
              I did just that, and I remember those words to this day.
              Therefore, of course, I "do not dislike Gumilyov", but many of his erroneous and often unscientific judgments, in particular on anthropological types, seriously harm today. For example, about the Jurgens, I had an article about them here on VO.
              They do harm, because they create unnecessary constructions about "blue-eyed blondes under two meters tall" who lived in the depths of Asia.
              And from here to nonsense, that everyone and everything came from the Slavs not far.
              And the second, pernicious conclusion is Eurasianism. Sounds like Afrofrancia, for example. Hence the "turn to the East" and some strange search for the fact that Russia is an Asian country with an Asian system of government. Gumilev did not say this, but he gave rise to such nonsense.
              I will definitely write an article about this.
              hi
              1. -3
                23 June 2022 12: 10
                My supervisor, Igor Yakovlevich Froyanov, told me:

                Do you know how many such “Froyanovs” are at each university department? But let's not talk about it...
                1. +7
                  23 June 2022 16: 07
                  Forgive me this Luminman ov as dirt, all the more hiding behind a pseudonym, and Igor Yakovlevich Froyanov is an outstanding Soviet and Russian historian, without whose works, all the ranting about "anthropology" and
                  the history of our state would be just dust.
                  When writing nonsense, they would have looked at least at Wikipedia in order to understand where the Lumpinmans are and where the Froyanovs are.
                  1. -2
                    23 June 2022 16: 23
                    When you write nonsense...
                    ... to understand where the Lumpinmans are and where the Froyanovs are

                    Based on your praises, I determined Froyanov's place under the moon. Yes, yours too...
          2. +5
            23 June 2022 11: 49
            This Gumilyovism (yes, ask me Lev Nikolayevich), about some blue-eyed tall blondes in the depths of Eurasia, is a little annoying.

            In its purest form. It grows from his article "The Dinlin problem", the "Caucasoid" nature of the Polovtsy is allegedly rooted from the same place. Everyone wants Aryan ancestors. Modern Turks are no exception.
            1. +1
              23 June 2022 12: 02
              1. "Caucasian" Polovtsian roots supposedly from the same place
              2. Everyone wants Aryan ancestors. Modern Turks are no exception.

              1. Polovtsy - Caucasoids. There are half of them in Hungary. The other half is from some kind of Kazakh zhuz. Rather, they are their descendants.

              2. The Turks know that they are from Altai and they do not pretend to any "Aryan"
              1. +4
                23 June 2022 12: 12
                Polovtsy - Caucasians

                Spread already here the work of anthropologists. Polovtsy Mongoloids. And Caucasoid, mixed features were already acquired due to contacts with the Slavs.
                There are half of them in Hungary. The other half is from some kind of Kazakh zhuz. Rather, they are their descendants.

                In Hungary, the most common haplogroup R1a is the Slavic superstratum in all its glory.
                Actually Asian genes according to haplogroups among Hungarians are sparse
                A study estimating possible Inner Asian admixture among nearly 500 Hungarians based on paternal lineages only, estimated it at 5.1% in Hungary, at 7.4 in Székelys and at 6.3% at Csángós.[74]

                The Turks know that they are from Altai and they do not pretend to any "Aryan"

                As far as I can tell, some Turks are flattered to have mixed Ashin and Iranian nomadic ancestry. .
                1. 0
                  23 June 2022 12: 19
                  In Hungary, the most common haplogroup R1a is the Slavic superstratum.

                  R1a - rather, Eastern and Central European, and not Slavic at all. It can be found very far in the East, for example, in Khakassia and even in Manchuria...

                  As far as I can tell, some Turks are flattered to be of mixed origin.

                  I do not mean at all the personalities who claim that all mankind came from the Turks wink
                  1. +3
                    23 June 2022 12: 23
                    We are talking about the subclade R1a-M458, and this
                    mainly Slavic SNP

                    According to Wikipedia.
                    There is also
                    R1a-Z280 is also a Balto-Slavic marker
                    Who would have thought that in the center of the historical Slavic area there are Slavs in commercial quantities laughing
                    PS
                    I do not mean at all the personalities who claim that all mankind came from the Turks

                    It seemed to me that I saw folk history in your posts. Perhaps a false alarm, but I can’t comment without knowing what it’s about.
    3. +5
      23 June 2022 10: 37
      No one still knows what appearance the Avars had. And just like the Huns ... Why wonderful?

      The unusualness of their appearance was described by several Byzantine authors. Among them is a contemporary and witness of the first embassy Koripp.
      If they all wrote that the appearance was unusual, then it was different from the already familiar appearance of the Huns.
      Moreover, the fashion for "Hunnic" clothes was in Constantinople in the 30-40s. VI century, as written by Procopius of Caesarea.
      hi
      1. 0
        23 June 2022 10: 43
        the fashion for "Hunnic" clothes was in Constantinople in the 30-40s. VI

        I don't mean clothes, but an anthropological type.
        1. +5
          23 June 2022 11: 39
          People evaluate the foreigner as a whole.
          I certainly understood what YOU were talking about anthropology.
          hi
  2. +6
    23 June 2022 05: 51
    But trouble does not come alone.
    "Trouble has come, open the gates" .. There were rare periods when the Byzantines lived behind closed gates .. Mostly with the gates wide open.
    1. +1
      23 June 2022 10: 04
      The crisis of Western, Roman civilization.
      Agony lasted for another 700 years in Byzantium
      1. 0
        23 June 2022 10: 49
        Agony lasted for another 700 years in Byzantium

        Why agony? She had troubles at the beginning of her existence and towards the end - after the sack of Constantinople by the crusaders. And so - quite an Empire, no worse than any other ....
        1. 0
          23 June 2022 16: 37
          There was no native nation.
          Multi-vector.
  3. +5
    23 June 2022 06: 04
    I was interested in how the shamans realized darkness in broad daylight.
    1. +6
      23 June 2022 06: 34
      hi laughing As usual, carelessness, and in order to justify it, all sorts of tales are used, such as how shamans caught up with the darkness in broad daylight. Napoleon, winter prevented, but Batu did not .. smile
      1. +7
        23 June 2022 09: 44
        Napoleon did not have shamans, Batu did.
        Draw your own conclusions)
        1. +8
          23 June 2022 10: 25
          Napoleon did not have shamans, Batu did.
          Draw your own conclusions)

          good
        2. +7
          23 June 2022 10: 26
          Napoleon didn't have shamans

          Denis, are you talking about the next article? wink drinks
          The topic of the article is not mine, but the style is very good. Nicely. My thanks to Edward. hi
          1. +4
            23 June 2022 13: 32
            With the syllable, Edward is always all right. And not only with him. good

            Hi, Nikolay! drinks
        3. +5
          23 June 2022 13: 28
          Denis hi , You want to say that Napoleon had no political workers?!
          Well, if so, then the sad result of his campaign in Russia is understandable. wink drinks
          1. +7
            23 June 2022 13: 43
            Why are you all so clueless.
            Not a single political worker can replace a shaman. Hitler didn't succeed either.
            Who conquered the Slavs?
            Goths, Huns, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Avars, Mongols. Everyone had shamans. Certainly or presumably. Here is the key to the story.
            If you want to conquer the Slavs, call the shamans.
            But now the shamans are on our side.
            Political scientist announced the conduct of a shamanic rite for Putin: “It inspired him very much”

            Khakassian shamans performed a sacrificial ceremony to the Spirit of War in order to ask him for an early completion of the special operation in Ukraine. And at the same time find out how long it can last.

            Checkmate Russophobia tongue
            1. +7
              23 June 2022 13: 52
              Khakass shamans performed a ritual of sacrifice to the Spirit of War,


              Well, now everything is kirdyk to adversaries! laughing

          2. +4
            23 June 2022 16: 06
            Greetings Comrades hi Eduard published a good article. For the photo of tin soldiers - many thanks from me personally. I saw this series live, if memory serves, there are fifty of them, an excellent set good !
            1. +6
              23 June 2022 16: 14
              I saw this series live, if memory serves, there are fifty of them, an excellent set

              Yes, El Prado tried both with and without Osprey, plus: price quality, this rarely happens)
              hi
              1. +5
                23 June 2022 16: 25
                The guys from Del Prado in general Well done! There are miniatures for almost any budget, from simple to elite collectible coloring. My Son and I have more than two hundred miniatures of this manufacturer, so we are now looking at Rome and the Barbarians Yes
            2. +4
              23 June 2022 16: 52
              "One soldier in the world lived,
              Handsome and brave.
              But he was a child's toy
              After all, there was a paper soldier. "(C)



              Hi Aleksey! smile
              1. +2
                23 June 2022 17: 00



                Greetings Konstantin! How many such paper fighters were cut out in childhood fellow it was difficult to buy good soldiers, not like modern children crying now it’s only a question of the budget, all you hear is “Dad, let’s put some money in the piggy bank” crying
                1. +2
                  23 June 2022 17: 06
                  And my son somehow immediately became interested in models. He himself drew, painted and glued ships, cannons and tanks out of paper. smile Although there were enough purchased self-adhesive models in the house, he wanted his own "invention". So for every DR and New Years, I always got a new present. good
                  1. +4
                    23 June 2022 17: 12
                    We are also trying to color ourselves, to the level of Del Prado - obviously we are not up to it request I'll come home, throw off a couple of pictures of my own coloring.
                    In general, it is a fascinating activity, to find literature to find out how it should look, to pick up a miniature and colors, and the process itself is entertaining. I try my best to develop this hobby.
                    1. +3
                      23 June 2022 18: 29
                      . I try my best to develop this hobby.

                      Everything is correct, otherwise it is impossible. smile
                      1. +2
                        23 June 2022 22: 21

                        Well, somehow it turns out like this, they painted 54 mm themselves, this is one of the first almost two years ago, then my son was 8 years old. In fact, a very difficult job, no matter how many brushes I bought - we can’t do jewelry strokes recourse but we try fellow
                      2. +2
                        23 June 2022 22: 47
                        Excellent work, this one can take a place in the home collection. good
                        And the brushes can be wrapped with a thin thread, thus giving the desired length and thickness of the bristles, although it will be quite difficult to do this with such small ones.
                        Have you tried thin alcohol markers?
                      3. +2
                        23 June 2022 22: 54
                        We work only with acrylic paints, only hardcore bully !!!
                        In fact, they tried so many things ... and even bought a special tool, but I lack talent and perseverance, my Son - age! By the way, we decided to try to cast a miniature ourselves. A friend donated an old jewelry foundry, let's start working with precious metals laughing
                      4. +2
                        23 June 2022 23: 15
                        A friend donated an old jewelry foundry, let's start working with precious metals

                        And this is a completely different level! Good luck! Imagine, Peter's silver grenadier! Faberge is resting. good
                      5. +4
                        23 June 2022 22: 35

                        His later "independent" work Yes
                    2. +3
                      23 June 2022 21: 28
                      Alex,
                      super theme.
                      About 15 years ago, I myself decided to return to my childhood, to collect soldiers. All this has already gone far ... thanks to Moscow, a stable community of collectors and manufacturers is being formed!
                      hi
        4. +2
          23 June 2022 17: 50
          So the shamans of Batu, they brought snow for themselves, conjured frosts? laughing
      2. 0
        24 June 2022 19: 47
        Napoleon, winter prevented, but Batu did not ..
        Just for the Mongols, accustomed to the winters of the Gobi Desert, our winter is generally a resort. A little cooler than "Indian summer" wassat
        With Napoleon, the situation is reversed.
    2. +6
      23 June 2022 11: 32
      Quote from Korsar4
      I was interested in how the shamans realized darkness in broad daylight.

      I also thought about this. smile
      The easiest way is to assume a solar eclipse, but it is too obvious, and therefore banal and boring. I don't even want to check, but I have to. In what year did the shamans allegedly conjure? In 514?
      We look at what, when and where there were eclipses at this time.
      https://www.secl.ru/eclipse_catalog/saros/92.html
      So, 501, 519 and 537 years. The nearest - 519 - took place in the southern hemisphere. Not suitable. Cross out.
      Therefore, a solar eclipse could not be the cause of darkness.
      What other options might there be?
      "A leaden cloud gathered over the sky"?
      Once, in the year of the attacks in 1987, we were sitting in a classroom in a lesson and suddenly it got dark ... In fact, it became impossible to write and read until the teacher turned on the light. It was so dark for a couple of minutes, then brightened. It was at the beginning of October at about 12 o'clock. Could something similar, but much more abruptly, happen in 514 on the shores of the Black Sea? Well... probably... Theoretically...
      But the question arises: why did such an effect make an impression on one side, but not on the other? It turns out that some knew that darkness would come, while for others this event came as a surprise. The conclusion is a natural disaster, as the cause of such darkness is extremely unlikely.
      Mass poisoning of the Byzantine contingent, accompanied by a temporary loss of vision? This is what they had to eat so that all at once (well, or at least most of them) would go blind at the same time? And the opponents, in addition to this, were ready ... Methyl alcohol? I imagine a picture: the whole camp at the command "Well, for the emperor!" it rolls over a hundred of methyl alcohol and after a while it gets dark in everyone’s eyes, as a result, “the enemy enters the city, sparing no prisoners” ... In my opinion, it’s very stretched, even if we assume that the Romans had alcohol.
      Did the rebels release thick smoke on the emperor's troops? Basically, some kind of chemistry? I think that it would have been written in the chronicle - smoke, everyone saw it, everyone knew it, they could distinguish it, for example, from fog. And then "darkness" ... Also unlikely.
      What other options?
      Did the Romans screw up the beginning of the attack and, in order to justify themselves, invented some kind of darkness? Did the chroniclers believe? Well, you have to really want to believe it ...
      There is another option that the chronicler had in mind something else, and not specifically "darkness".
      I would like to appeal to connoisseurs of biblical texts: was there something similar? "Egyptian darkness" somehow does not fit the situation very well, but maybe there is something more similar in plot among the biblical parables?
      1. +6
        23 June 2022 12: 09
        Maybe it shouldn't be complicated? Everything is simpler. "There was no horseshoe - the horse was lame. The horse was lame - the commander was killed, the cavalry was defeated, the army flees, the enemy enters the city of prisoners without sparing, Because there was no nail in the forge" (c) ... The fact that there was no horseshoe, like it’s prosaic .. It’s better to let the darkness in.. laughing
        1. +4
          23 June 2022 12: 58
          So you are a supporter of the version that "darkness" is just a fiction to justify defeat? After the "eclipse", which could not be, this is probably the second most obvious explanation. I attribute it to the category "the chronicler made a mistake (lied, conscientiously mistaken, etc.)". The simplest and most trouble-free option, when one evidence of the source enters into a logical contradiction with others. To give such explanations, in my opinion, is also boring. It is much more interesting to try to link the available information into one internally consistent hypothesis (version), in order to then take care of finding evidence to confirm it.
          And to trust one testimony from a source and not trust another just because it does not fit with your (my, uncle's or aunt's) common sense, in my opinion, is wrong. If you want to criticize the source, provide evidence in the form of analogies, extrapolations, perhaps some nuances of a linguistic nature, etc., evidence that your opponents could explore and evaluate. smile
          I just remembered an interesting moment here.
          During the Battle of Legnica between the Mongols and the Poles in 1241, the Mongols allegedly used a smoke screen, which caused confusion among the Poles. Here the Huns, there the Mongols ... Maybe it's true, both of them used some kind of "Chinese chemistry"?
          Well, now we have to turn to connoisseurs of Chinese history: colleagues, does anyone know about the use of combat fumes or gases in medieval China? So that these were not single unique cases, but could we talk about their systematic application?
          1. +4
            23 June 2022 13: 08
            If you noticed, then darkness was let in, exclusively over the camp of the Byzantines, therefore, it makes no sense to talk about an eclipse, it shines here, but it doesn’t shine here, here the sun or the moon burned out, but not here. But the use of "chemistry" is quite possible. There is no smoke without fire. As in our case.
            1. +4
              23 June 2022 16: 12
              I wanted to add a little, is such a natural phenomenon possible?
              I think it’s quite possible, I wrote in a series of articles about China about the same situation in the 15th century: nothing over the Mongol army, but a black cloud over the Chinese.
              Here it is mono to talk about the perception of subsequent events by those who described it, or the witnesses lied, everyone has the right to consider this.
              But often the source does not give us other interpretations.
              And this has to be dealt with.
              hi
            2. +3
              23 June 2022 17: 12
              Do you even consider mass poisoning in the emperor's camp as a hypothesis? smile
              But this happened in the history of the Middle Ages, I think, much more often than the use of military chemistry on the battlefield ... smile Until today, I thought that the "chemical" attack of the Mongols on Legnica was generally unique, the only case and did not take this news seriously, or rather, kept it on the far shelf of my attic ... And combat diarrhea mowed down entire armies, and in some places, I think, and it still mows down ... Well, it’s not combat diarrhea, but poisoning with some garbage, Sergey (Korsar4), I think it will even tell us what in the camp and the Romans could darken everyone’s eyes at once. What herb or fungus had to be put into the cauldron of brew to achieve such an effect...
      2. +2
        23 June 2022 15: 56
        Good afternoon!
        "The shamans conjured" - I also immediately thought about the eclipse, but since it was not there, then most likely the chronicler (chronicler) came up with an excuse - like "it became dark, and they attacked and killed everyone" - contrary to common sense! laughing
        There's more about bulls. Now this is more real.
        They fired at the camp with "some" incendiary shells, and the bulls got excited and, taking advantage of this, the Huns won. drinks
        1. +2
          23 June 2022 17: 31
          Greetings, Alexander.
          And again we begin: "The chronicler invented, the chronicler made a mistake ..."
          During my life, I have investigated more than a dozen, maybe a hundred criminal cases on grave and especially grave crimes, half of which were committed in conditions of non-obviousness. Among many other things, I also realized that if you brush aside facts that do not fit into the built version of the crime event, such as “the witness made a mistake”, “accident”, “coincidence”, then you will never get to the bottom of the truth. Moreover, the more at first there are such “inconsistencies” in the case that need to be linked, the easier it will then be to create a single consistent version from them and the easier it is to collect evidence.
          Therefore, "the chronicler came up with an excuse" is boring for me. It was not the chronicler who came up with an excuse - it was we who came up with it so as not to bother ourselves with looking for another solution. After all, this search may require - God forbid! - efforts, time, intellectual energy... The answer to one question will give rise to two new ones, and so on ad infinitum...
          My main version on this issue - the chronicler put it allegorically. His contemporaries understood him correctly, but the descendants could not, because they are in a different cultural space. It is necessary to study the Bible and the works of the Church Fathers, then, I think, we will be able to fully understand what the chronicler wanted to say with his phrase about "shamans" (Priests? Sorcerers? How correct is our translation?) And "darkness" or "darkness" ...
          1. +2
            23 June 2022 18: 31
            Good evening already!
            I agree with the translation. The translators could have misunderstood something and the meaning of the words could have changed.
            But I'm not a fan of complicating things. Everything is much easier.
            The fact is important to me. There was a fight, yes. Victory for, say, the Huns. And how the "chronicer" described it - that's another matter. Naturally, each side wants to present "their own" from the best side, even if they lost.
            I wonder what the Huns would write about this battle. laughing
      3. +3
        23 June 2022 19: 32
        There is a version about the "darkness of Egypt" that these are the consequences of the eruption of the Santorini volcano. But it wasn't likely to happen all at once.
      4. +1
        27 June 2022 16: 47
        Quote: Trilobite Master
        Methyl alcohol? I imagine a picture: the whole camp at the command "Well, for the emperor!" it rolls over a hundred of methyl alcohol and after a while it gets dark in everyone’s eyes, as a result, “the enemy enters the city, sparing no prisoners” ... In my opinion, it’s very stretched, even if we assume that the Romans had alcohol.

        This version seemed to me the closest to the truth: drinks
    3. +5
      23 June 2022 13: 34
      Method of persuasion by zombie mass consciousness of the clientele? wassat

      Sergey, good afternoon. smile
      1. +1
        23 June 2022 19: 35
        Hi Konstantin! I don't really believe in mass obscuration. However, if they are afraid of the "Great and Terrible", then he can do what he wants.
        1. +2
          23 June 2022 19: 56
          The crowd is generally a terrible thing, and if it is still obsessed with some idea ...
          "Bravely, comrades, keep up!" (c)
          1. +2
            23 June 2022 20: 27
            Mass singing also contributes to the realization of ideas. However, I love to sing. The people around are protesting.
            1. +1
              23 June 2022 20: 30
              The people around are protesting.

              I was also always asked not to sing, but I have not tried for a long time. They left, you know, in childhood alone in the zoo, so a herd of bears went over the ears. laughing
              1. +1
                23 June 2022 21: 19
                Always manages to find a new victim. However, children up to a certain age are also able to endure it.
                1. +2
                  23 June 2022 21: 35
                  It's like Lom sang songs "to himself" to Captain Vrungel. laughing

                  1. +1
                    23 June 2022 22: 09
                    On this ship, I still prefer the role of captain. However, Lom's assistant is indispensable, even though he does not speak foreign languages. And Fuchs will find himself.
                    1. +1
                      23 June 2022 22: 51
                      And I really liked the dashing couple of brave guys in the cartoon "We are the Gun Bandit". laughing

                      1. +1
                        23 June 2022 23: 03
                        "And spit on the laws" (c). How can you not like this?
                      2. +1
                        23 June 2022 23: 13
                        Looked straight into the depths of the soul! And, most importantly, it's so much fun. laughing
                      3. +1
                        23 June 2022 23: 23
                        There are different forms of protest. And nothing worse than official lies. Unless, of course, close to collide.
                      4. +1
                        23 June 2022 23: 40
                        I somehow collided, but immediately gave a turn from the gate, reasoned that it was better to sit on buckwheat porridge and ride the subway than "to take a steam bath in a camp lift, or Fox has no change in a suit." And I don't regret it.
                      5. +1
                        23 June 2022 23: 46
                        There is an anecdote about a cat and "buckwheat". And the metro and trains are not so bad.

                        Although working without days off, like a Basurman, has its drawbacks.
                      6. +1
                        24 June 2022 02: 17
                        But I don't remember the joke. request
                      7. +1
                        24 June 2022 06: 06
                        The owner feeds the cat buckwheat. On the first day the cat ate, on the second day he approaches the cup:
                        - Fi, buckwheat...
                        Leaves. For the next one:
                        - Fi, buckwheat again ...
                        Leaves. On the fourth day is suitable:
                        - O! Buckwheat!!!
                      8. +1
                        24 June 2022 16: 17
                        It's strange, I haven't heard it before.
  4. +3
    23 June 2022 08: 07
    Again, a number of historians believe that only the Slavs could build rafts, but there is not a word about them in the reports, they are mentioned only when crossing the Danube, so the question remains open.
    Of course, open, having specialists in the manufacture of siege engines in their ranks, were there really no specialists in the manufacture of rafts, and not necessarily these specialists could be Slavs. All the same, to lean on, the devil knows where, to overcome so many water barriers, then you yourself will become a specialist.
  5. +1
    23 June 2022 15: 11
    Good afternoon, colleagues, Edward. I got bored in a few days. It was not up to the site, the "girlfriend" is sick, but now there is an opportunity to communicate.
    Colleagues, I'm sorry that's off topic. Today died Yura Shatunov, soloist: "Tender May".
    It was the "voice of the era". Epoch tragic and beautiful.
    1. 0
      23 June 2022 18: 17
      Quote: Astra wild2
      It was the "voice of the era". Epoch tragic and beautiful.

      Not loud? Not? laughing
      22! bully
      1. 0
        24 June 2022 02: 21
        "For someone, a mare is a bride" (c) laughing
    2. 0
      24 June 2022 02: 19
      Yura Shatunov, soloist: "Tender May".
      It was the "voice of the era".

      Yeah, seriously? I would have never thought that this bleating could be called a voice. Especially the "epoch".
  6. 0
    25 July 2022 21: 06
    There were internecine wars in Constantinople. We will refer the rulers of Mauritius and Heraclius to the popular part, but Phokias is a protege of the Romans, just like Justinian with Belisarius. This may indicate that the Romans have nothing to do with the construction of Constantinople. And simply with the help of conspiracies and murders they came to power.

"Right Sector" (banned in Russia), "Ukrainian Insurgent Army" (UPA) (banned in Russia), ISIS (banned in Russia), "Jabhat Fatah al-Sham" formerly "Jabhat al-Nusra" (banned in Russia) , Taliban (banned in Russia), Al-Qaeda (banned in Russia), Anti-Corruption Foundation (banned in Russia), Navalny Headquarters (banned in Russia), Facebook (banned in Russia), Instagram (banned in Russia), Meta (banned in Russia), Misanthropic Division (banned in Russia), Azov (banned in Russia), Muslim Brotherhood (banned in Russia), Aum Shinrikyo (banned in Russia), AUE (banned in Russia), UNA-UNSO (banned in Russia), Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People (banned in Russia), Legion “Freedom of Russia” (armed formation, recognized as terrorist in the Russian Federation and banned)

“Non-profit organizations, unregistered public associations or individuals performing the functions of a foreign agent,” as well as media outlets performing the functions of a foreign agent: “Medusa”; "Voice of America"; "Realities"; "Present time"; "Radio Freedom"; Ponomarev; Savitskaya; Markelov; Kamalyagin; Apakhonchich; Makarevich; Dud; Gordon; Zhdanov; Medvedev; Fedorov; "Owl"; "Alliance of Doctors"; "RKK" "Levada Center"; "Memorial"; "Voice"; "Person and law"; "Rain"; "Mediazone"; "Deutsche Welle"; QMS "Caucasian Knot"; "Insider"; "New Newspaper"