Antes (people)
The Antes, or Antae, were an early East Slavic tribal polity of the 6th century CE. They lived on the lower Danube River, in the northwestern Black Sea region, and in the regions around the Don River. They are commonly associated with the archaeological Penkovka culture. First mentioned in the historical record in 518, the Antes invaded the Diocese of Thrace sometime between 533 and 545. Shortly thereafter, they became Byzantine foederati and received gold payments and a fort somewhere north of the Danube at a strategically-important location to prevent hostile barbarians from invading Roman lands. Thus from 545 to the 580s, Antean soldiers fought in various Byzantine campaigns. The Pannonian Avars attacked the Antes at the beginning of the 7th century, when the Antes disappeared as a people.
