Baiounitai

 ( Sclaveni ) 

The Baiounitai () or Vayunites (, , Вајонити, војници) were a Sclaveni (South Slavs) tribe which settled the region of Macedonia at the end of 6th century. The Baiounitai initially settled in the region west of Thessalonica. They belonged to a group of Slavic tribes that unsuccessfully tried to capture the city at the beginning of the 7th century, after which they are believed to have migrated to the northern part of the region of Epirus, between Ioannina in Greece and Himarë in Albania.

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History In the 6th century many Slavic tribes populated the wider region around the Byzantine Empire city of Thessalonica. In ca. 614–616 the Baiounitai are mentioned in the Miracles of Saint Demetrius as one of them. Their territory was on the western side of Thessalonica. The territory inhabited by the Baiounitai formed a Sclavinia.

(2025). 9789989624476, Institut za nacionalna istorija. . ISBN 9789989624476

In ca. 614–616 the Baiounitai and other neighbouring Slavic tribes united under a leader named Chatzon and besieged the city. Forces composed of many different Slavic tribes attacked the city with trying to break through the city walls, while their small and manoeuvrable dugouts attacked the city from the sea. Their efforts failed and Chatzon was killed after entering the city to negotiate. After this failure to capture Thessalonica, many members of the defeated Slavic tribes moved further from the city. According to some, the Baiounitai moved from Macedonia to the territory of Epirus, and settled the region north of Ioannina.

Some connect the region of Thesprotia, known as Vagenetia up until the 1270s,

Ljubomir Maksimović (1988). 9789025609689, A.M. Hakkert. . ISBN 9789025609689

to the tribe.

(2025). 9780754665625, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. . ISBN 9780754665625

(2013). 9781782971023, Oxbow Books. . ISBN 9781782971023

Two personal seals of of Vagenetia have been found, that of spatharios Theodoros dated to the 7th or 8th century, and that of protospatharios Hilarion dated to the late 9th and early 10th century. Similar toponyms like Viyanite or Viyantije survived until the 16th century when they were replaced with the name Delvinë which also became an official name of the Ottoman sanjak of Delvina.

(2025). 9781842171585, Oxbow Books for the Butrint Foundation. . ISBN 9781842171585

The territory around the river Aoös (or Vjosë, today in southern Albania) was probably also named after this tribe."Становништво словенског поријекла у Албанији" – Зборник радова са међународног научног скупа одржаног на Цетињу 21, 22. и 23. јуна 1990. Драгољуб С. Петровић, "Хетерогеност становништва детерминанта сложености решења политичког статуса албанског простора"  –

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Annotations

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Sources

• (2025). 9788683751303, Дом и школа. . ISBN 9788683751303
• Florin Curta (2025). 9781139428880, Cambridge University Press. . ISBN 9781139428880
• (1998). 9780860548942, Archaeopress. . ISBN 9780860548942

Categories: Sclaveni, Medieval Epirus, Medieval Macedonia, Slavic Tribes In Macedonia, Medieval History Of Albania, Thesprotia

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