The Avars, also sometimes known as the Pannonian Avars, were an alliance of several nomadic tribe of mounted warriors from the Eurasian steppe. The Avars arrived in Pannonia in 568 AD, where they met with and challenged the Byzantine Empire in a series of conflicts known as the Avar–Byzantine wars. They were eventually defeated by Charlemagne in a series of campaigns in the 790s and early 800s.
Avaric arrows could be fired up to 1500 feet. According to some historians, the Avars introduced important military technology to Europe – for example, an iron stirrup, which allowed the soldiers on horseback to be more secure and steady in the saddle. They also used a composite bow, with skilled Avar riders at full gallop which could shoot up to twenty arrows a minute.
