Download The Slavs from the 6th to the 11th centuries

Lesson 4.
The Slavs from the 6th to the 11 th centuries
Learning tasks: by completing this unit of study, the student will be able to:
 Identify the main aspects of the Early Slavs history;
 Reveal the most important moments of the evolution of the Slavs
states between the 6th and the 11th centuries: The South Slavs
(Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria); The West Slavs (Samo's empire,
Great Moravia, The Czech State, The Polish Kingdom); The East
Slavs (Kievan Rus).
1. The Early Slavs
Besides the invasion of the Germanic tribes at the end of the Western
Roman Empire took place the "silent", unspectacular but very important
movement of the Slavs which included, in the late sixth century, an important
part of Europe. Their first habitat was a vast area between Dnieper and
Vistula. The Slavs movement began in the late sixth century, motivated by a
great demographic pressure. This movement has been made in several
directions:
 Towards the East, Northeast, Southeast. The Slavs penetrated slowly
amongst the Finno-Ugric and Turkish peoples in Don and Volga
regions. For many centuries, the Slavs slowly succeeded to banish or
to enslave the autochthonous populations.
 West. The movement of the Slavs followed that of the Germans. The
Slavs crept on South and West, replaced the Germans, and occupied
a vast territory which stretching from the Baltic Sea and the Elbe in
the northeast and to the Danube.
 South. The Slavs arrived at the borders of the Eastern Roman Empire
and they penetrated in the empire in the sixth century, during the
reign of Justinian (527-565). The Slavs expanded rapidly in the
Balkans, including Greece and the Aegean islands.
The migration of the Ugric and the Turkish peoples divided the huge
Slavic world. The Slavs were divided into three groups: the south, the west
and the east. Each group formed several Slavic peoples and Slavic
populations.
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Daniel Flaut, Introduction in Medieval History
2. The South Slavs
The penetration and the massive settlement of the Slavs south of the
Danube in the sixth century, a phenomenon that changed the ethnic structure
of the Balkans, is a crucial moment in the history of Southeast Europe. In
these circumstances the Romanized population of the Balkans was dislocated
from the territories on which they occupied and was pushed by migration of
the Slavs to the south and west of the Balkan Peninsula, while the space
occupied by the Greek population has been considerably narrowed. The Slavs
are assimilated by the administration of Constantinople as foederati but the
Byzantine Empire made efforts to bring them under a real domination. This
process was interrupted by the arrival of the Proto-Bulgarians.
a) Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia
The Slavic tribes that led to the formation of the Croatian and
Slovenian peoples arrived in mid-seventh century in the regions occupied by
them today, being attracted by the Byzantines and used as foederaţi against
the Avars in Pannonia.
Carantania was the first Slavic state in the Balkan Peninsula, formed in
the first half of the eighth century. It occupied approximately the current
territory of Slovenia. Carantania entered under the rule of Charlemagne.
Byzantium takes control over the Slavs from the Adriatic coast, Slavs who
later formed the Serbian people. The first state of the future Serbs was formed
in the mid-ninth century, under the leadership of the Prince Vlastimir (c. 830 c. 851). To resist to the Bulgarian pressures, Vlastimir accepted the Byzantine
suzerainty in 874 and Christianization in the Greek Orthodox rite. During the
Bulgarian-Byzantine confrontations, the Slavs from the former Yugoslavia
were under the Bulgarian influence or the Byzantine influence.
b) The Bulgarian State (7th -11th centuries)
Although today the Bulgarian people is mentioned among the South
Slavic peoples, the origin of the old Bulgarians (Proto-Bulgarians or Bulgars)
is totally different from that of the old Slavs. Proto-Bulgarians were in fifth
and sixth centuries in the North Caucasus, between the lower courses of the
Don and Volga rivers. They fell under the Avar dominion. Weakening of the
Avars power after 626 favored the formation of the Bulgar Khaganate (Old
Great Bulgaria) led by the Khan Kubrat, which stretched from the mouth of the
Don River to the Kuban plains. This great state collapsed under the blows of
the Khazars. A part of the Bulgars went to north along the Volga River,
forming Volga Bulgaria. In the early tenth century, Islam was adopted here as
the state religion. In 922-923, Abbasid Caliph al-Muqtadir of Baghdad
established relations with Volga Bulgaria and sent here qadis and teachers of
Islamic law. This state was destroyed in mid-thirteenth century by the
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Daniel Flaut, Introduction in Medieval History
Mongol invasion. Another group of the Bulgars went to the west to the
Danube mouths. In the mid seventh century, this group of Bulgars passed in
the Balkan Peninsula, through Dobrudja, under the leadership of Asparukh.
When arrived in the Balkans, the Bulgars had a superior political and
military structure compared with the Slavs on which they found here. But
their number was much smaller than the Slavs and therefore the assimilation
process of the Bulgars was irreversible. The Court of Constantinople
understood that the new Bulgarian state is very strong. The Byzantine
Emperor Constantine V (741-775) attempted to liquidate the Bulgarian state.
But only after three centuries of fighting the Byzantines have success. Under
the Khan Krum the Horrible (805-814) the Bulgarians killed the Byzantine
Emperor Nikephoros I (802-811). In 864, under Boris I (or Boris-Mikhail) (852–
889), the Knyaz of the First Bulgarian Empire, the Bulgarians were
evangelized in the Orthodox rite. During the reign of his son, Simeon the Great
(893-927), the Bulgarian State reached maximum territorial limits, occupying
almost the whole Balkan Peninsula. During the reign of the Tsar Samuel (9971014) is reconstituted Bulgarian Empire. On July 29, 1014, the Bulgarians are
defeated by the Byzantine Emperor Basil II (or Basil the Porphyrogenitus). Also,
in 1018 Ohrid fell and the Bulgarian state disappears.
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3. The West Slavs
Their historical destiny was not different from that of the other groups
of Slavs. They occupy in the 5th and the 6 th centuries the region between the
Elbe, the Vistula, the Baltic Sea and the Carpathian Mountains.
a) Samo's empire
The first state of the West Slavs was established under the conditions of
the fight against the Avars domination, struggle led by the Frankish merchant
Samo. He ruled from 623 until his death in 658. This political entity has
included almost all the western Slavic tribes. In 631, in the Battle of
Wogastisburg, Samo successfully defended his realm against the Kingdom of
the Franks. In 658 Samo dies and his kingdom disappears.
b) Great Moravia
Liquidation of the Avar Khaganate from Pannonia facilitated the
Carolingian domination over the southern and the western Slavs, namely
over Slovaks and Moravians. After the death of Charlemagne (814), the
Moravian ruler Mojmir I (r. 820s/830s–846) created the early medieval state of
the Slavs (830). The boundaries of this state, which is known as "Great"
Moravia, included Moravia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia of today, and upper
valleys of the Elbe and Vistula rivers. Under the rule of Rastislav (846-870), the
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grandson of Mojmir I, the Moravian State is confronted with serious internal
difficulties, due to the tendencies of the great German feudal lords from
Bavaria to extend their political influence in Moravia, hidden influence in
religious garb. At first, the German kingdom manages to tip the balance in its
favor. Rastislav is overthrown by his nephew Svatopluk I (or Svatopluk the
Great) with the German feudal lords support (870). Soon between Svatopluk I
(870-894) and his protectors erupts a conflict in which Svatopluk emancipated
under the German suzerainty (870-871). At the beginning of the reign of
Mojmir II (894-before 907), from Great Moravia were detached the Czech and
the Serbo-Croatian regions, after which the remaining territory crumbles into
several independent principalities. In 906 the Magyars destroyed the political
center of Great Moravia, thus ending the existence of the Moravian Empire.
c) The Czech State
The Czech population detaches from Great Moravia in 895, following
the revolt led by brothers Spythnev and Vratislav from the Prémysl family
who put the bases of their own state. Principality known height of its power
under the reign of Boleslav I (or Boleslaus I the Cruel) (935-967), which
participates, as a vassal of the German king Otto I, in the great Battle of
Lechfeld (955). Also, under his rule the Czech State reaches its maximum
extent: Czech, Moravia, Silesia, Lusatia and other territories. Under his
successor, Boleslav II (967-999), the Czech State loses the Polish possessions
and fight with the German feudal lords.
d) Formation of the Polish Kingdom
The first Polish political personality, historically attested, is Mieszko I
(963-992), de facto creator of the Polish state. Mieszko I reject the attempts to
conquest of the German Margraves to the east of the Elbe and in 996 he put
his country in the cultural sphere of the Western Christianity. Under Bolesław
I Chrobry (or Boleslaw the Brave) (992-1025), the early Polish State achieves the
peak of its power. In 1000 Bolesław I obtained from the Holy Roman
Emperor Otto III and Pope Sylvester II the right to create an Archbishopric at
Gniezno and other three Bishoprics in Kraków, Wrocław and Kolobrzeg. In
1018, the Holy Roman Emperor Henry II concluded a treaty with Boleslaw I in
which recognizes to the Polish ruler the dominion over the provinces Lusatia
and Milsko. Seven years later, Boleslaw I takes the title of king.
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4. The East Slavs
Kievan Rus
The East Slavs inhabited especially the territory between the Lake
Ilmen and Oka river and the middle course of the Dnieper, where there were
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settlements of their tribes. The East Slavs were organized in numerous tribes
which crossed the plains of Eastern Europe. In the second half of the ninth
century, in Kievan Rus were two large urban centers, located along the route
from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea (so called "the trade route from the
Varangians to the Greeks"): Novgorod and Kiev. The reign of Knyaz Rurik of
Novgorod is surrounded by legend. His successor Oleg (879-912) reigned for
the first time in Novgorod, then went down on the Dnieper in Kiev after he
conquered in 882 Smolensk and Liubeci. The successor of Oleg was Igor I
(914-945) who made two expeditions against Byzantium in 941 and 944.
Sviatoslav I Igorevich (957-972), the son of Igor, participated in numerous
campaigns. He attacked the Volga Bulgaria and destroyed their capital,
Bulgar. Around the year 960, Sviatoslav I began a large expedition against the
Khazars, after that the Khazar State ceased to exist. In 971, the Byzantine
Emperor Ioan I Tzimiskes defeated the army of Sviatoslav I at Silistra, forcing
him to give up all Russian conquests in the Balkans. On the way to Kiev, in
the region of the Dnieper cataracts, Sviatoslav I was killed by Pechenegs at the
instigation of the Byzantines.
After several years of fratricidal struggles (977-980), on the throne of
Kiev followed Vladimir Sviatoslavich the Great (980-1015). He fought hard
battles with Boleslaw I, the ruler of Poland. In 988-989, Vladimir Sviatoslavich
accepted to convert Kievan Rus to orthodox Christianity, a European event of
great significance. After the death of Vladimir Sviatoslavich, in 1015, for four
years, Russia has been torn apart by fierce battles for the throne. In 1019
Yaroslav I (or Yaroslav the Wise) removes his opponents and became Grand
Prince of Kiev (1019-1054). He made great efforts to maintain the unity of
Kievan Rus. Yaroslav I fought with all those princes who sought to remove
the primacy of Kiev, such as the princes of Polotsk and the Tmutacaran.
After the death of Yaroslav I, followed a period (1054-1113) during
which there have been many princes, descendants of him. They could not
maintain the supremacy of Kiev, which was gradually replaced by local
separatism of the different principalities, which led to the outbreak of wars.
Vladimir II Monomakh, Prince of Pereyaslav, managed to restore the unity of
the state for a while. He fought against the Cumans and kept the balance in
relations with the boyars. In 1113, Sviatopolk II Iziaslavich died and the Kievan
populace revolted. They summoned Vladimir, the Prince of Pereyaslav, to the
Kiev. He entered in the capital to the great delight of the crowd and became
Grand Prince of Kievan Rus (1113–1125).
After the death of Vladimir II Monomakh (1125), Kievan Rus entered
for several centuries in a period of feudal fragmentation.
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Daniel Flaut, Introduction in Medieval History
Homework
Elaborate an essay with the title: The Diplomacy of Sviatoslav I of Kiev
References:
 Chertkov, A. D., Opisanie voin velikago kniazya Svyatoslava Igorevicha, Moscow,
1843.
 Cross, S. H., and O. P. Sherbowitz-Wetzor, The Russian Primary Chronicle:
Laurentian Text, Cambridge, Mass., Medieval Academy of America, 1953.
 Dunlop, D. M., History of the Jewish Khazars, Princeton University Press, 1954.
 Franklin, Simon and Jonathan, Shepard, The Emergence of Rus 750-1200,
London Longman, 1996.
 Hanak, Walter K., The Infamous Svjatoslav: Master of Duplicity in War and
Peace?, in Miller, Timothy S., Nesbitt, John, Peace and War in Byzantium: Essays
in Honor of George T. Dennis, S.J., The Catholic University of America Press,
1995.
 Kendrick, Thomas D., A History of the Vikings, Courier Dover Publications,
2004.
 Sakharov, Andrey, The Diplomacy of Svyatoslav, Moscow, Nauka, 1982.
 Subtelny, Orest, Ukraine: A History, Toronto, University of Toronto Press,
1988.
Bibliography:
 Barford, Paul M., The Early Slavs: Culture and Society in Early Medieval Eastern
Europe, Cornell University Press, 2001.
 Brezeanu, Stelian, De la populaţia romanizată la vlahii balcanici, in “Revista de
istorie ’’, XXIX, 1976, p. 211-222.
 Ćirković, Sima M., The Serbs, Wiley-Blackwell, 2004.
 Christian, David, A History of Russia, Mongolia and Central Asia, Blackwell,
1999.
 Cronica lui Nestor, traducere de Popa Lisseanu, Ed. Bucovina, Bucureşti, 1935
(Izvoarele istoriei Românilor, VII).
 Fine, John Van Antwerp, The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the
Sixth to he Late Twelfth Century, Michigan, The University of Michigan Press,
1991.
 Graus, F., L’empire de Grande Moravie, Praga, 1963.
 Manolescu, Radu (ed.), Istoria medie universală, Ed. Didactică şi Pedagogică,
Bucureşti, 1980, p. 84-100.
 Ostrogorsky, G., Geschichte des byzantinischen Staates, München, 1963.
 Oto, Luthar (ed.), The Land Between: A history of Slovenia, Frankfurt am Main,
Peter Lang, 2008.
 Runciman, Steven, A history of the First Bulgarian Empire, London, G. Bell &
Sons, 1930.
 Vernadsky, G. V., The Origins of Russia, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1959.
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Daniel Flaut, Introduction in Medieval History
 Vlasto, A. P., The Entry of the Slavs into Christendom: An Introduction to the
Medieval History of the Slavs, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1970.
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