Editing Pannonian Avars (section)

===Uar, Rouran and other Central Asian peoples===
{{Continental Asia in 500 CE|right|{{center|The Rouran Khaganate and contemporary Asian polities c. 500 CE}}||Map of Rouran.png||{{Annotation|0|0|[[File:Map of Rouran.png|300px]]}}}}  

According to some scholars, the Pannonian Avars originated from a confederation formed in the [[Aral Sea]] region, by the Uar (also known as the ''Ouar'', ''Warr'' or ''Var'') and the [[Xionites]].{{sfn|Gulyamov|1957}}{{page needed|date=August 2022}}{{sfn|Muratov|2008}} The Xionites had likely been speakers of [[Iranian languages|Iranian]] and/or [[Turkic languages|Turkic]] languages.{{sfn|Golden|2006|p=19}} The Hephthalites, affiliated previously to the Uar and Xionites, had remained in [[Central Asia|Central]] and northern [[South Asia]]. The Pannonian Avars were also known by names including ''Uarkhon'' or ''Varchonites''{{snd}}which may have been a [[portmanteau]] combining ''Var'' and ''Chunni''.

The 18th-century historian [[Joseph de Guignes]] postulates a link between the Avars of European history with the [[Rouran Khaganate]] of [[Inner Asia]] based on a coincidence between Tardan Khan's letter to Constantinople and events recorded in Chinese sources, notably the ''[[Book of Wei|Wei Shu]]'' and ''[[History of the Northern Dynasties|Bei Shi]]''.{{sfn|Harmatta|2001|pp=109–118}} Chinese sources state that [[Bumin Qaghan]], founder of the [[First Turkic Khaganate]], defeated the Rouran, some of whom fled and joined the [[Western Wei]]. Later, Bumin's successor [[Muqan Qaghan]] defeated the Hephthalites as well as the Turkic [[Tiele people|Tiele]]. Superficially these victories over the Tiele, Rouran and Hephthalites echo a narrative in the ''Theophylact'', boasting of Tardan's victories over the Hephthalites, Avars and Oghurs. However, the two series of events are not synonymous: the events of the latter took place during Tardan's rule, c. 580–599, whilst Chinese sources referring to the Turk defeat of the Rouran and other Central Asian peoples occurred 50 years earlier, at the founding of the First Turkic Khaganate. It is for this reason that the linguist [[János Harmatta]] rejected the identification of the Avars with the Rouran on this basis.

According to [[Edwin G. Pulleyblank]], the name Avar is the same as the prestigious name [[Wuhuan]] in the Chinese sources.{{sfn|Pulleyblank|1999|pp=35, 44}} Several historians, including Peter Benjamin Golden, suggest that the Avars are of Turkic origin, likely from the Oghur branch.{{sfn|Golden|1992}} Another theory suggests that some of the Avars were of [[Tungusic peoples|Tungusic]] origin.{{sfn|Helimski|2004|pp=59–72}} A study by Emil Heršak and Ana Silić (2002) suggests that the Avars were of heterogeneous origin, including mostly Turkic (Oghuric) and Mongolic groups. Later in Europe some Germanic and Slavic groups were assimilated into the Avars. Heršak and Silić concluded that their exact origin is unknown but stated that it is likely that the Avars were originally mainly composed of Turkic (Oghuric) tribes.{{sfn|Silić|Heršak|2002}}{{page needed|date=August 2022}}

Increasing evidence supports a relationship between the elite of the Pannonian Avars and the Inner Asian [[Rouran Khaganate]]; however it remains unclear to what extent the European Avars descent from the Rouran population. It is argued that the initial elite core of the Pannonian Avars spoke a [[Para-Mongolic languages|Para-Mongolic language]] (Serbi-Avar), which is a sister lineage to contemporary [[Mongolic languages]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gnecchi-Ruscone |first1=Guido Alberto |last2=Szécsényi-Nagy |first2=Anna |last3=Koncz |first3=István |last4=Csiky |first4=Gergely |last5=Rácz |first5=Zsófia |last6=Rohrlach |first6=A. B. |last7=Brandt |first7=Guido |last8=Rohland |first8=Nadin |last9=Csáky |first9=Veronika |last10=Cheronet |first10=Olivia |last11=Szeifert |first11=Bea |last12=Rácz |first12=Tibor Ákos |last13=Benedek |first13=András |last14=Bernert |first14=Zsolt |last15=Berta |first15=Norbert |date=14 April 2022 |title=Ancient genomes reveal origin and rapid trans-Eurasian migration of 7th century Avar elites |journal=Cell |volume=185 |issue=8 |pages=1402–1413.e21 |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2022.03.007 |pmid=35366416 |pmc=9042794 |issn=0092-8674 |quote=While we can conclude that the Rouran most likely called themselves Avars, to what extent the European Avars were descended from them has been debated (Dobrovits, 2003; Pohl, 2018). ... Striking genetic similarity between early Avar elites and the Rouran in Mongolia|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Shimunek, Andrew 2017">Shimunek, Andrew (2017). ''Languages of Ancient Southern Mongolia and North China: a Historical-Comparative Study of the Serbi or Xianbei Branch of the Serbi-Mongolic Language Family, with an Analysis of Northeastern Frontier Chinese and Old Tibetan Phonology''. [[Wiesbaden]]: Harrassowitz Verlag. {{ISBN|978-3-447-10855-3}}. [[OCLC (identifier)|OCLC]] 993110372.</ref>