The destruction of the Gepid kingdom in 567 established Avar dominance in the Carpathian Basin and prompted the Lombards to migrate into Italy.
Key Facts
- Treaty date
- 566, Lombard-Avar alliance formed
- Gepid king killed
- Cunimund, slain by Alboin
- Avar khagan
- Bayan I led Avar forces
- Byzantine acquisition
- Sirmium (modern Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia)
- Lombard consequence
- Lombards migrated to Italy, founding their kingdom
- Gepid survivors
- Absorbed by Avars, Lombards, or Byzantine Empire
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
In 566, Lombard king Alboin concluded a treaty with the Pannonian Avars, promising them Gepid lands in exchange for military cooperation. The Gepids, a Germanic people settled in the Carpathian Basin, had long been rivals of the Lombards, and Alboin sought to destroy them by leveraging Avar military power, which was then expanding into central Europe under khagan Bayan I.
In 567, the combined Avar and Lombard forces attacked the Gepids, resulting in the destruction of the Gepid kingdom. King Cunimund was killed personally by Alboin. The Avars took the primary role in the conquest, as confirmed by contemporary Byzantine sources, and subsequently occupied the territory known as Gepidia, establishing the Avar Khaganate in the region. The Byzantine Empire seized Sirmium during the conflict.
The Gepids ceased to exist as a distinct polity; survivors were absorbed by the Avars, Lombards, or fled to the Byzantine Empire. The Avars replaced the Gepids as the principal power threatening Byzantium along the Danube frontier. Disliking their new Avar neighbors, the Lombards departed for Italy, where they established the Kingdom of the Lombards.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
2 belligerents
Alboin, Bayan I.
Side B
1 belligerent
Cunimund.