Avar Craftsmen

The graves of the Avar warriors in the Carpathian basin hold belt sets, jewellery, weapons and harness of a high standard.^[1] The finds show craftsmen at work for a steppe khaganate better than the written sources do.

Attribution

The archaeological material provides rich evidence about the handicrafts of the Avar period, but it is often hard to tell whether the objects are Avar work. When an object does not correspond to the types found elsewhere, scholars associate it with the Avars: Avar belts, weapons, brooches and pottery.^[2] The question is who made the typical Avar belt fittings, weapons and jewellery. Considerable Byzantine influence on Avar culture is now acknowledged, and technical analyses of Avar jewellery have strengthened it. Many pieces that lay with noble Avars as grave goods betray the traditions of Byzantine craftsmanship.^[2] This does not mean that Avar craftsmen could not produce high quality.^[2]

Few pieces can be shown to be direct Byzantine imports. Much Avar goldwork follows Byzantine techniques, but not at the level that a workshop in Constantinople could have reached, at least until the end of the seventh century. The goldwork in the Avar realm was nevertheless superior to the golden objects found elsewhere in eastern Europe.^[3] The treasure of Nagyszentmiklós was put together over about 150 years.^[3] It unites pieces of exceptional quality, and it stands apart from the other Avar objects of the eighth century.^[3]

The goldsmiths

The craft of the goldsmith became conspicuous only in the seventh century. It is unlikely that the artisans came with their skills from Central Asia or were already in Pannonia when the Avars arrived.^[3] Avar goldsmiths were buried with their tools, which is unusual among the contemporary cultures of eastern Europe. About twenty such graves are known. Some of the goldsmiths lay with weapons and horses.^[3]

The goldsmith’s grave at Kunszentmárton, from the first half of the seventh century, held press forms, casting moulds and matrices, some of the Byzantine type, for the belt fittings and jewellery that were then in fashion. It also held tongs, hammers, punches, casting spoons and bellows, and a precision scale with a set of Byzantine weights.^[3] The goldsmiths made things in Avar taste, with mostly Byzantine techniques.^[3] Analyses of the late Avar bronze belt fittings show that several casting techniques were in use, and that the Avar realm had sophisticated casters.^[4] Work in glass and stone also produced remarkable pieces.^[3]

The source of the metal remains unclear. A belt set of the late Avar period weighed almost ten ounces, and where the bronze for such massive fittings came from is not known. It was common to reuse old metal. The late Avar bronze casting presupposes a certain division of labour across regions.^[5] The belt fittings are spread over the whole Carpathian basin. The Avars were probably supplied by customized production and not by manufacture for a larger market.^[5]

Craftsmen from outside

The khagan did not rely on his own craftsmen alone. Menander reports that Avar envoys at Constantinople bought what they needed, clothing and arms, and that the emperor then secretly ordered his general to take the arms from them on their way home.^[6] The weapon finds show that the Avars appreciated Byzantine craftsmanship or took Byzantine weapons as models, and the exchange between nomad and Byzantine weaponsmiths has not been studied enough.^[7]

Two sources say that the khagan had specialists brought in. According to the Syriac historian John of Ephesus, Byzantine mechanics and architects were meant to build a palace and baths for Baian, though he forced them to build a bridge across the Danube instead.^[3] A note to the passage says that it reproduces what people said in Constantinople and partly contradicts Menander.^[8] The Lombard king Agilulf, with whom the khagan was on friendly terms, gave him craftsmen to build ships.^[3] Such technical help was a common gift between rulers. Skilled craftsmen could also be held captive at court.^[3]

Roman prisoners and their descendants formed a productive class in the Avar realm. The Miracles of Saint Demetrius tell that they were not allowed to leave the realm, had to pay tribute and kept their own communities. The value of the account is debated.^[2]

The status of the smith

The status of the smith was conspicuous but ambivalent in steppe societies. The descent of the Göktürks was traced back to smiths, and the Rouran khagan rejected a Göktürk marriage proposal because of this origin.^[5] The title tarkhan, which is attested among the late Avars, recalls the smith Tarkhan of an old legend.^[5] The goldsmith’s grave of Kunszentmárton shows that a smith could also be a warrior of rank.^[5] The Turkic side of the story is told in Göktürk Ironworking.

Open points

The Avar sources name the khagan’s demands for craftsmen and the gifts that met them. They do not name a single Avar craftsman.

References

^ Pohl 2018, p. 247–248
^ a b c d Pohl 2018, p. 247
^ a b c d e f g h i j k Pohl 2018, p. 248
^ Pohl 2018, p. 248–249
^ a b c d e Pohl 2018, p. 249
^ Menander Protector; Blockley 1985, fr. 5.4, p. 53
^ Pohl 2018, p. 214
^ Pohl 2018, p. 482

Sources

Menander Protector

Literature

Walter Pohl, The Avars: A Steppe Empire in Central Europe, 567–822 (2018)
R. C. Blockley, The History of Menander the Guardsman: Introductory Essay, Text, Translation, and Historiographical Notes (1985)