Truth or Fiction: Bohumila Zástěrová’s Contribution to the Perception of Early Slavs and Other Barbarians in Byzantine Sources: A Tribute to the Author on the Occasion of Her 110^th Birth Anniversary.

The article focuses on Bohumila Zástěrová’s significant contributions to the study of early Slavs and other barbarian groups as depicted in Byzantine sources. Zástěrová, a prominent Czechoslovak Byzantinist, critically examined how ancient ethnographic topoi influenced Byzantine portrayals, emphasizing the need to distinguish between literary stereotypes and historical reality. Her research, including the landmark monograph *Les Avares et les Slaves dans la Tactique de Maurice*, argued that despite the presence of classical motifs, Byzantine descriptions often contained authentic elements and required nuanced, case-by-case evaluation. She also integrated archaeological and comparative studies to deepen understanding of these early medieval peoples, thereby shaping ongoing scholarly debates on the reliability of Byzantine ethnographic accounts.