Elephant Diplomacy: A Disturbing Gift for the Khagan of the Avars

Byzantine historian Theophylact Simocatta reports that the khagan of the Avars asked Emperor Maurice for an elephant, but returned the gift as soon as he saw it. This episode serves an ideological purpose, since elephants were considered as intelligent animals and bowed in front of legitimate rulers, according to ancient authors. Theophylact (or rather his source) aims to stress that the Avars remained arrogant barbarians although they had captured the imperial city of Sirmium. Only an emperor could receive an elephant as a gift: the khagan tried to portray himself like a Roman ruler by asking for such an animal but then revealed his true nature by refusing it.