| Keywords |
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| ID |
5439 |
| Text |
Historia (continuatio Agathiae) (557 - 582) Menander, the Guardsman |
| Quotation |
Ὅτι ἐπεὶ οἱ ἄρχοντες Ἀντῶν ἀθλίως διετέθησαν καὶ παρὰ τὴν σφῶν αὐτῶν ἐλπίδα ἐπεπτώκεσαν, αὐτίκα οἱ Ἄβαροι ἔκειρόν τε τὴν γῆν καὶ ἐληίζοντο τὴν χώραν. πιεζόμενοι δ’ οὖν ταῖς τῶν πολεμίων ἐπιδρομαῖς οἱ Ἄνται ἐπρεσβεύσαντο ὡς αὐτούς, Μεζάμηρον τὸν Ἰδαριζίου Κελαγάστου ἀδελφὸν ἐπὶ τὴν πρεσβείαν χειροτονήσαντες, ἐδέοντό τε πρίασθαι τῶν τινας τοῦ οἰκείου φύλου δοριαλώτων. καὶ τοίνυν Μεζάμηρος ὁ πρεσβευτής, στωμύλος τε ὢν καὶ ὑψαγόρας, ὡς Ἀβάροις ἀφικόμενος ἀπέρριψε ῥήματα ὑπερήφανά τε καὶ θρασύτερά πως. ταῦτα τοι ὁ Κοτράγηρος ἐκεῖνος, ὁ τοῖς Ἀβάροις ἐπιτήδειος, ὁ κατὰ Ἀντῶν τὰ ἔχθιστα βουλευσάμενος, ἐπεὶ ὁ Μεζάμηρος ὑψηλότερον ἢ κατὰ πρεσβευτὴν διελέγετο, εἶπεν ὡς τὸν Χαγάνον· οὗτος ὁ ἀνὴρ μεγίστην ἐσότι περιβέβληται δύναμιν ἐν Ἄνταις οὗός τε πέφυκε κατὰ τῶν ὁπωσοῦν αὐτῷ πολεμίων ἀντιτάττεσθαι. δεῖ τοιγαροῦν ἀποκτανθῆναι τοῦτον καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν ἀδεῶς ἐπιδραμεῖσθαι τὴν ἀλλοτρίαν. τούτῳ πεισθέντες οἱ Ἄβαροι, παρωσάμενοι τήν τῶν πρέσβεων αἰδῶ ἐν οὐδενί τε λόγῳ θέμενοι τὴν δίκην ἀναιροῦσι τὸν Μεζάμηρον. ἐξ ἐκείνου πλέον ἢ πρότερον ἔτεμνον τὴν γῆν τῶν Ἀντῶν καὶ οὐκ ἀνίεσαν ἁνδραποδιζόμενοι ἄγοντές τε καὶ φέροντες. |
| Translation |
When the leaders of the Antae had failed miserably and had been thwarted in their hopes, the Avars ravaged and plundered their land. Since they were hard pressed by the enemy incursions, the Antae sent an embassy to them, appointing as ambassador Mezamer the son of Idariz and brother of Kelagast, and they asked him to ransom some of their own tribe who had been taken captive. The envoy Mezamer was a loudmouthed braggart and when he came to the Avars he spoke arrogantly and very rashly. Therefore, that Kutrigur who was a friend of the Avars and had very hostile designs against the Antae, when he heard Mezamer speaking more arrogantly than was proper for an envoy, said to the Khagan, “This man is the most powerful of all amongst the Antae and is able to resist any of his enemies whomsoever. Kill him, and then you will be able to overrun the enemy’s land without fear.” Persuaded by this the Avars killed Mezamer, setting at nought the immunity of ambassadors and taking no account of the law. Thereafter they ravaged the land of the Antae even more than before, carrying off prisoners and plunder without respite. |
| Summary |
Having suffered from previous Avar attacks, the Antes elect Mezamir as an ambassador to the Avars in hopes of negotiating the release of some captives. Mezamir, however, acts arrogantly on his mission and the Avars, disregarding the rules of diplomacy, kill him at the instigation of a Kutrigur. As a result, the Antes have to face even more Avar attacks than previously. |
| Quotation source |
Fr. 5.3 (pp. 50-51) |
| Temporal Coverage |
559 - 561 |
| Associated use case(s) |
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| Comment |
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