Chatzon

Chatzon (Greek: Χάτζων, died in 615) was a Slavic chieftain (έξαρχος Σκλαβίνων, "exarch of the Sclaveni" in the Greek sources) who, according to Book II of the Miracles of Saint Demetrius, led a coalition of Slavic tribes to attack the Byzantine city of Thessalonica in 615. The Slavs with their families encambed before the city walls and even launched an attack by sea, but the latter failed due to a storm (attributed by the Byzantines to the intervention of Saint Demetrius) which sunk many of the Slavs' longboats, after which the siege was abandoned. Chatzon himself was allowed to enter the city during negotiations shortly after; however, the urban mob rioted at the instigation of the mothers of those slain during the siege and killed him, despite the city leaders' attempts to hide him. After this, the Slavs asked for the help of the Avars, resulting in the month-long siege of the city in 617/618.

Sources

• Christophilopoulou, Aikaterini (2006). Βυζαντινή Αυτοκρατορία, Νεώτερος Ελληνισμός, Τόμος Γ' (in Greek). Athens: Herodotos. pp. 25–26. ISBN 960-8256-55-0. 
• Fine, John Van Antwerp (1991), The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century, University of Michigan Press, p. 41, ISBN 978-0-472-08149-3 
• Pohl, Walter (1988). Die Awaren. Ein Steppenvolk in Mitteleuropa 567–822 n. Chr. (in German). Munich: Verlag C.H. Beck. p. 241. ISBN 3-406-33330-3.