How Bayan Used an Ally to Win a Homeland

The Challenge

The Avars arrived on the edge of Europe in the late 550s as refugees from the Göktürk expansion, with no homeland of their own. Under Bayan, who became khagan around 562, they needed land, and the rich Carpathian Basin was held by the Gepids, with the Lombards as their rivals next door.

The Approach

• Allied with the Lombard king Alboin against the Gepids in 567, on terms that gave the Avars a large share of the spoils and of Gepid land
• Destroyed the Gepid kingdom together with the Lombards
• When the Lombards left for Italy in 568, took over their lands as well and became masters of the whole basin
• Built on that base, taking the Byzantine city of Sirmium in 582 after a long siege and extracting large annual tribute from Constantinople

The Impact

The Carpathian Basin became the Avar heartland for more than two centuries. From there the Avars dominated the Slavs of central Europe, pressed the Byzantine Balkans and, in 626, besieged Constantinople itself.

The Lesson for Leaders

In an alliance, know what you want to own when it ends. Bayan joined a partner whose goal was to defeat a rival; his own goal was the land. When the partner moved on, he was positioned to take everything.