|
Description
|
Four case studies focus on the descriptions of the steppe peoples in Europe between c. 300 and c. 1000, of the Huns, Avars and early Hungarians, written by their contemporaries. For studies of identity formation, steppe peoples provide a particularly interesting material because of their high mobility and political volatility. Since mobility is a defining feature of steppe nomads, their localization and presentation on a map presents a challenge to historians. To make the frequent shifts of peoples, polities and cultural flows in the steppe and the adjacent areas visible, spatial coverages have been created that allow to trace shifts in time or differing perceptions of the location of peoples by different observers. The four case studies examine sources from different focal points: 1. the point of view of authors writing about the steppe peoples in the Eastern Roman Empire around 550; 2. a broader overview from the early 5th to the early 9th century; 3. the view from the "West", from Latin sources written between the early 5th and the 10th century; 4. the stereotypes about steppe peoples (esp. ‘Turci’) in the Cosmography of Aethicus Ister and the Cosmographer of Ravenna.
|
