After the collapse of Old Great Bulgaria, some of the Bulgars, led by Alzeco, thought to be a son of Kubrat, settled in the lands of the Longobard Kingdom. Paul the Deacon places a settlement in his history of the migration of the Bulgars in the area of the Duchy of Benevento. Under the leadership of Alzeco, the Bulgars (called "Vulgars" by Paul) came to Italy in Benevento, where they settled in the Molise region.[1]
Alciocus
The earlier Khagan called Alciocus who was the leader of Bulgar hordes of the Avar Khanganate, is also known. The main source for these events is the medieval chronicle of Fredegar. In 623 Samo led a rebellion against the Pannonian Avars. Alciocus fled with 9,000 Bulgars to Bavaria where he asked the Frankish kingDagobert I for a piece of land to settle in. The king at first allowed them some land, but one night he ordered his army to slaughter the Bulgars. Only 700 out of 9,000 survived the slaughter and fled for protection to Valuk king of the Wends.[2]
After the departure of Alciocus, Kubrat established peace between the Avars and Byzantium in 632.
Human graves of a steppe-nomadic character as well as horse burials datable to the second half of the eighth century attest to the presence of Pannonian peoples in the Molise and Campania.[4][5] In the lifetime of Paul the Deacon, he recorded that the descendants of these "Vulgars" still spoke their original language, as well as Latin.
Alzeco as Alciocus
Researchers have, in the past, claimed one identification of both historical figures.[6] They have suggested that Alzeco might be identified with the Bulgar leader Alciocus of the Fredegar chronicle. This notion, however, must surmount a significant chronological contradiction, and it is possible that this was a title rather than a personal name.[7][8][9]
In any case, it seems more likely that the "Vulgares" that settled in the Molise are more likely to refer to the men of Alciocus, as most of the tombs excavated at Campochiaro can be dated around the middle of the 7th century, with some being certainly earlier or later. This would indicate a settlement in the area some time before the reign of Romuald as Duke in Benevento and Grimoald as king in Pavia. Furthermore, this is supported by the fact that the Longobards had no control of the Ravennate lands until the second half of the 8th century, meaning that Grimoald would have been unable to settle them in this area without Byzantine approval, which would be strange as Costans II was in the midst of a disastrous Italian campaign against the Southern Longobards.
It is very probable that Paul the Deacon confused the settlement of Alzeco/Alciocus in the Molise after his flight from Dagobert I with another event about 50 years later, specifically the settlement of one of Kubrat's/Kurt's unnamed sons around Ravenna, most likely as a form of protection against the Longobards for the nominally Byzantine Exarchate. The name of the leader of this group is completely unknown, although the settlement may have been known thanks to Byzantine records in the Exarchate.[10]
Sources
Dillon, John B. "Bulgars". Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia, ed. Christopher Kleinhenz. London: Routledge, 2004.
D'Amico, Vincenzo. I Bulgari trasmigrati in Italia nei secoli VI e VII dell’era volgare e loro speciale diffusione nel Sannio. Campobasso, 1933..
Paulus Diaconus, Historia Langobardorum, Book IV
Bòna, Istvàn, (2000) Gli Àvari. Un popolo d'oriente nell'Europa dell'Alto Medioevo - In: L'oro degli Avari. Popolo delle steppe in Europa S. 10
^Daniel Ziemann, Vom Wandervolk zur Grossmacht: die Entstehung Bulgariens im frühen Mittelalter (7.-9. Jahrhundert), Böhlau Verlag Köln Weimar, 2007, ISBN3412091065, p. 133.
^[1] The Cambridge Medieval History Series volumes 1-5, Plantagenet Publishing.
^[2] Panos Sophoulis, Byzantium and Bulgaria, 775-831, Volume 16 of East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 450-1450, BRILL, 2011, ISBN9004206957 p. 108.
^Gli Àvari. Un popolo d'oriente nell'Europa dell'Alto Medioevo
Bóna, István. (2000) - In: L'oro degli Avari. Popolo delle steppe in Europa S. 10