Reiternomaden des Schwarzmeerraums (Kutriguren und Utiguren) und Byzantinische Diplomatie im 6. Jahrhundert

Abstract

The article shows how mid-6th century Byzantine governments tried to exercise an indirect control over the steppe region stretching from the banks of the Danube to the north of the Black Sea by means of diplomacy. This area is a traditional living environment of horse-nomadic groups. The Byzantine government did not simply practise a “balance of powers” policy between the large nomadic groups in the area — like the Kutrigurs and Utigurs, both mentioned by Procopius of Caesarea and Agathias of Myrina — but held a network of contacts right across these larger entities. The specific political and economic conditions of the 6th century obviated the rise of another “nomadic empire”.