Sign-In
Cart
The Shadow Khagans: The Rise, Reign, and Dissolution of the Avar Empire.
Paperback
Ancient History GeneralGeneral World HistoryRussian History
Publisher: Silverback Books
Published: Jun 15 2026
Pages: 554
Weight: 1.40
Height: 1.23 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.50
Language: English
The Shadow Khagans: The Rise, Reign, and Dissolution of the Avar Empire.
For two and a half centuries, a nomadic empire ruled the heart of Europe, extracting tribute from Constantinople, reshaping the demographic map of the Balkans, and building in the Carpathian Basin a political community of extraordinary sophistication. This was the Avar Khaganate: not the transient destructive horde of the Byzantine chronicles, but one of the early medieval world's most remarkable experiments in multi-ethnic empire-building.
The Shadow Khagans traces the full arc of the Avar story, from the catastrophic collapse of the Rouran Khaganate on the Mongolian plateau in the 550s CE, and the westward flight of survivors carrying the political memory of a destroyed empire, to the Khaganate's absorption into the Carolingian world after 800 CE. Drawing on the groundbreaking archaeogenomic research of the HistoGenes project, alongside Byzantine chronicles, Carolingian annals, and the material evidence of more than 70,000 excavated graves, this book reconstructs the internal life of the Avar state: its marriage networks and kinship structures, its artistic traditions and religious world, its military innovations and its diplomatic genius.
At the centre of the Avar story is a paradox that speaks to the deepest questions of human political life: how an elite that maintained its genetic distinctiveness for two and a half centuries simultaneously built a political world so inclusive that people of entirely different origins proudly called themselves Avars, and meant it.
Also in
Ancient History General
The Power of Place: Rulers and Their Palaces, Landscapes, Cities, and Holy Places
Rollason, David
Hardcover
The Golden Thread: A History of the Western Tradition, Volume I: The Ancient World and Christendom
Hankins, James
Guelzo, Allen C.
Hardcover
Story of the World, Vol. 1: History for the Classical Child: Ancient Times
Bauer, Susan Wise
Paperback
The Fall of Republics: A History from Ancient Carthage to the American Constitution
Madden, Thomas F.
Hardcover
The Far Edges of the Known World: Life Beyond the Borders of Ancient Civilization
Rees, Owen
Hardcover
The Mesopotamian Riddle: An Archaeologist, a Soldier, a Clergyman, and the Race to Decipher the World's Oldest Writing
Hammer, Joshua
Paperback
A Brief History of Japan: Samurai, Shogun and Zen: The Extraordinary Story of the Land of the Rising Sun
Clements, Jonathan
Paperback
The Shortest History of the Dinosaurs: The 230-Million-Year Story of Their Time on Earth
Black, Riley
Paperback
Fiber Craft Heritage: Easy-To-Learn Textile Techniques from the Stone Age to Today, with 52 Try-It Projects
Fischer, Doris
Hardcover
The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of the Modern World
Wisnom, Selena
Hardcover
Stone Lands: A Journey of Darkness and Light Through Britain's Ancient Places
Robertson, Fiona
Hardcover
Big Dinosaur Coloring Book: Dinosaur Gifts for 3 Year Olds - Paperback Coloring to
Coloring Funny, Family
Paperback
The History of the Ancient World: From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome
Bauer, Susan Wise
Hardcover
The Political and Strategic History of the World, Vol I: From Antiquity to the Caesars, 14 A.D.
Black, Conrad
Hardcover
Death by Astonishment: Confronting the Mystery of the World's Strangest Drug (the Dmt Book)
Gallimore, Andrew R.
Hardcover
Stories of the Stones: Imagining Prehistory in Britain, Ireland and Brittany
Robichaud, Paul
Hardcover
Mothers of Invention: A History of Creativity from the Greek Muses (Large Print Edition)
McTier, Moiya
Paperback
The Secret World of Denisovans: The Epic Story of the Ancient Cousins to Sapiens and Neanderthals
Savatier, François
Condemi, Silvana
Hardcover
Ancient and Medieval Siege Weapons: A Fully Illustrated Guide To Siege Weapons And Tactics
Nossov, Konstantin
Paperback
The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World
Anthony, David W.
Paperback
The Mesopotamian Riddle: An Archaeologist, a Soldier, a Clergyman, and the Race to Decipher the World's Oldest Writing
Hammer, Joshua
Hardcover
The Political and Strategic History of the World, Vol I: From Antiquity to the Caesars, 14 A.D.
Black, Conrad
Paperback
Impossible Monsters: Dinosaurs, Darwin, and the Battle Between Science and Religion
Taylor, Michael
Paperback
Magicians of the Gods: Updated and Expanded Edition - Sequel to the International Bestseller Fingerprints of the Gods
Hancock, Graham
Paperback
Slaving States: From West Africa to the Ancient Mediterranean
Fentress, Elizabeth
Rabinowitz, Adam
Hardcover
The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of the Modern World
Wisnom, Selena
Paperback
World History: A Visual Journey From The Dawn Of Civilization To The 21st Century
Alive, History Brought
Paperback
Japanese Legends: Samurai, Spirits, Myths & the Sacred Stories of Japan
Alive, History Brought
Hardcover
The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World
Anthony, David W.
Paperback
The Secret World of Denisovans: The Epic Story of the Ancient Cousins to Sapiens and Neanderthals
Condemi, Silvana
Savatier, François
Paperback
Road to Valor: A True Story of WWII Italy, the Nazis, and the Cyclist Who Inspired a Nation
McConnon, Aili
McConnon, Andres
Paperback
Popol Vuh: The Sacred Book of the Ancient Quiche Maya Volume 29
Morley, Sylvanus G.
Goetz, Delia
Paperback
The First Fossil Hunters: Dinosaurs, Mammoths, and Myth in Greek and Roman Times
Mayor, Adrienne
Paperback
Celtic History and Mythology Explained: Ancient Legends, Heroic Tales, and the Battles that Forged a People
Torbert, Sidney K.
Paperback
The Codes of Hammurabi and Moses with Copious Comments, Index, and Bible References
W. W. Davies Ph. D., Ph. D.
W. W. Davies Ph. D.
Paperback
An Illustrated Guide to Samurai History and Culture: From the Age of Musashi to Contemporary Pop Culture
Blair, Gavin
Hardcover
Christians Reading Classics: An Introduction to Greco-Roman Classics from Homer to Boethius
Williams, Nadya
Paperback
In Search of Ancient Ireland: The Origins of the Irish from Neolithic Times to the Coming of the English
McCaffrey, Carmel
Eaton, Leo
Paperback
Mesoamerican History: A Captivating Guide to Four Ancient Civilizations that Existed in Mexico - The Olmec, Zapotec, Maya and Aztec Civilization
History, Captivating
Hardcover
The Ethiopian Bible History: oldest and most complete known book in the world (Canons and Books)
Benedict, Beauty
Paperback
Mythology of Mesopotamia: Fascinating Insights, Myths, Stories & History From The World's Most Ancient Civilization. Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, P
Brought Alive, History
Hardcover
Mythology of Mesopotamia: Fascinating Insights, Myths, Stories & History From The World's Most Ancient Civilization. Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, P
Brought Alive, History
Paperback
Nineveh and Its Remains: With an account of a visit to the Chaldæan Christians of Kurdistan, and the Yezidis, or devil-worshippers; and an enqu
Layard, Austen Henry
Paperback
...and forgive them their debts: Lending, Foreclosure and Redemption From Bronze Age Finance to the Jubilee Year
Hudson, Michael
Paperback
The Stoicism Book of Quotes: Over 200 Inspirational Quotations from the Greatest Stoic Philosophers
Benas, Nick
Yasenka, Kortney
Hardcover
The Aztec Empire: An Enthralling Overview of the History of the Aztecs, Starting with the Settlement in the Valley of Mexico
History, Enthralling
Hardcover
Foundations of Chinese Civilization: The Yellow Emperor to the Han Dynasty (2697 BCE - 220 CE)
Liu, Jing
Paperback
...and Forgive Them Their Debts: Lending, Foreclosure and Redemption from Bronze Age Finance to the Jubilee Year
Hudson, Michael
Hardcover
Return of the Fallen Ones: Nephilim Histories, the Antediluvian World, Anunnaki Chronology and the Coming Cataclysm
Breshears, Jason M.
Paperback
1st Century Radical: The Shadowy Origins of the Man who Became Known as Jesus Christ
Jacques, Michael Calum
Paperback
Celtic Mythology: A Complete Guide to Celtic Mythology, Celtic Gods, and Celtic Folklore
Walsh, Andrew
Hardcover
When God Had a Wife: The Fall and Rise of the Sacred Feminine in the Judeo-Christian Tradition
Picknett, Lynn
Prince, Clive
Paperback
Ancient Warfare Illustrated Atlas: Strategies, Tactics & Combat Skills
Jestice, Phyllis G.
Anglim, Simon
Rice, Rob S.
Hardcover
Tokyo: A Biography: Disasters, Destruction and Renewal: The Story of an Indomitable City
Mansfield, Stephen
Paperback
Christian Paideia (Vol. I): A History of Christian Education to 500 AD (From Athens to the Church Fathers)
Welter, Brian
Paperback
Africana Philosophy from Ancient Egypt to the Nineteenth Century: A History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps, Volume 7
Jeffers, Chike
Adamson, Peter
Hardcover