Query: Near what river were the Avars originally based?
Context: It began gradually, but by the late 540s Slavic tribes were in Thrace and Illyrium, and had defeated an imperial army near Adrianople in 551. In the 560s the Avars began to expand from their base on the north bank of the Danube; by the end of the 6th century they were the dominant power in Central Europe and routinely able to force the eastern emperors to pay tribute. They remained a strong power until 796.