nths later, Bonus allowed an Avar embassy to cross Byzantine areas towards Constantinople. The negotiations at the capital failed. Justin II reprimanded Bonus for granting protection to an embassy that had clearly unacceptable demands. His message to Bonus also warned the general to prepare for renewed hostilities. In 569/570, Tiberius II Constantine, the comes excubitorum, instructed Bonus to guard the river crossings of the Danube once more. His subsequent activities are unknown.
The 10th-century Suda lexicon preserves another fragment of Menander Protector concerning Bonus, though its context is left unclear. The passage has Bonus warning his men that the Avars use battle cries and the beating of the drums to unnerve their enemies. He instructs his forces to answer with battle cries of their own.
The "Suda On Line" project translates the relevant passage (E, 2310): "The Avars in their battle-charge wanted to raise a confused and fierce noise, and along with their yelling to make a thud on their drums, so that the din would be raised so much that it would astonish and terrify the Roman army. Since Bonos knew this in advance, he forewarned the soldiers, so that they would not be dumbfounded by the melee, but imitating in advance what was going to happen, to be accustomed to what was to come by the similarity even before the event, and when they perceived the beating of the drums, they themselves would beat in return with their shields and shout the war-song and sing a paean and make a thump on the water-pots (which were made of wood)."
The Byzantines secured peace with the Avars through the payment of an annual tribute, which by 578 had risen to some 80,000 solidi.
|Eastern Roman Soldiers|
The Second Attack on Sirmium (580 - 582 AD)
In 580 began the second attack on Sirmium. The problem is this is yet another major Byzantine military campaign with nearly zero historical information available. Even Edward Gibbon's massive "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" spends only a few sentences on the subject with no meaningful detail.
We need to fill in the huge historical gaps using logic and our knowledge of other campaigns.
Was the city of Sirmium Important? - The actions of both the Romans and the Avars prove the city was very important. In two campaigns the Avars targeted the city first for conquest. The second campaign lasted nearly three years indicating a political and military will to make the capture of the city a priority as a key to the future conquest of the Balkans.
For the Romans, Sirmium had been an important regional and Imperial capital for centuries. An Imperial Palace complex had been built there and a Hippodrome constructed for public entertainment. The importance of the city is indicated that the Roman commander refused to surrender the city to the enemy for nearly three years until instructed to do so by the Emperor.
|Roman Urban Militia|
Modern reconstruction of 6th century urban
militiaman. His blue tunic marks him as
a member of the “Blues Circus Fraction”.
The double head eagle though appeared
after the 14th century.
Thanks to Koryvantes
Certainly the Avars felt they had to take the city before trying to advance deeper into the Balkans. The Avars could not move south with a major Roman garrison intact in their rear.
What Forces Were Involved? - There are no records of the numbers of troops involved. We do know that the Emperor shipped regiments from the Balkans to the eastern front to fight in the Persian War. Historians claim the city did not have enough provisions or an "effective" garrison . . . whatever that might mean.
But the truth of the events has the city garrison, perhaps with the help of a drafted militia, standing against the Avars for nearly three years. So there were enough soldiers at hand to man the walls and protect the city.
The Avars would have needed a significantly larger force than the Romans in order to maintain a siege. I suspect their force would fluctuate over the months and years, but at least several thousand would be on hand to keep the Romans trapped inside.
Was The 