federation of eastern Slavic nomadic tribes known by the 3rd century AD, dwelling in southern Russia between the Dnieper and Dniester rivers. A powerful people with highly developed agriculture, handicrafts, and ironwork, the Antae fought the Goths, who were fleeing westward from the Huns in the 4th century. In the early 6th century they joined in Slavic raids against the Byzantine Empire but were nearly annihilated by the Avars, who passed through their lands c. 560. Information about the Antae was recorded by the Gothic historian Jordanes (6th century) and Byzantine historians, including Procopius of Caesarea (6th century).