Gentile- und Reichsadel am östlichen Rand des Karolingischen Reiches

At the eastern border of the Carolingian Empire two different groups of elite emerged. When referred to, the individuals in one of the groups were called either by personal names, or by the name of the area they governed; individuals in the other group were called by the name of their people. Members of the first group administered the territorial units of the central area of the former Avar Khaganate just like the Carolingian chief officials and royal vassals in the interior of the Empire. The members of the second group were (indirect) allies of the Avars and had their own tribal prince and gentile nobles. The administrative centres of the Carolingian province Pannoniae developed in synchrony with the inner centres of the Empire, while the centres of power outside the Empire had their own special settlement structures showing a conglomerate of the courts of the tribal nobility.