Slavic peoples came to the territory of the Black Sea in the third millennium BC. Very quickly they populated vast lands. Where did they come from, who were our ancestors? When did the first Slavic states appear? We will deal with these issues.
Background
After the Slavic peoples settled in their own territories and began to form states in the first millennium BC, little was known about them. Historians and research scientists, based on a wealth of evidence, believe that our ancestors have mastered quite large lands, including the Balkans and Eastern Europe.
The official information about the tribes transformed into the first Slavic states is considered to be records from the seventh century after the birth of Christ. These large-scale formations were remembered in connection with the fact that other peoples appeared in the nearby territories trying to supplant them.
The formation of Slavic states: a table of theories of origin
Although many scientists have developed this issue, their opinions are by and large similar. There are only three theories that describe how the first East Slavic states came about. Consider them in more detail, and also find out who most actively supported and developed these doctrines:
Slavic, she is anti-Norman | Norman | Centrist |
The followers of the theory are sure that the old Russian state was formed without the Vikings | The Slavs agreed to the help of the Varangians, and they created their power | The country originated with the help of our ancestors and Normans. |
Fishermen, Lomonosov | Karamzin, Miller | Yurganov, Katsva, modern historians |
Itself
Get to know the most common doctrine. As many as 80% of modern historians agree that the formation of Slavic states began with the power of Samo. She was a great union of several tribes. Created in order to be able to jointly defend themselves against all kinds of enemies who claimed fertile land. The union had another function, less harmless. The tribes, which were called the Power of Samo, planned general raids on scattered settlements.
It included tribes that lived on the territory of modern:
Moravian
Serbs
Chekhov
Slovaks
Croats.
The center of this association was a city called Vysehrad. He stood on the river Morave. This proto-state received its name on behalf of the leader. Itself managed to unite under its command once scattered tribes.
The leader ruled for thirty years, from the year 623 starting to 658. He managed to achieve tremendous results. Combine completely different tribes into one state. But it turned out that the entire power itself was bound only by the charisma of the leader himself. The moment the leader died, and it ceased to exist.
Bulgarian kingdom
The formation of Slavic states is a rather long process. In it there were stops, intervals, a return to the original state. After the Power itself disintegrated in 658, there was a lull. It was interrupted in 681, when the first mention of the Bulgarian kingdom.
Like the previous education, it was a kind of union in which militant tribes united. Such an alliance was beneficial to them for the seizure of new territories. In the Bulgarian kingdom were tribes of Slavs and Turks. From such a symbiosis already in the tenth century arises the nationality of the Bulgarians.
The highest development of the kingdom falls on the 8th – 9th centuries. Then the Slavs become the dominant ethnic group in these territories. Culture, literature, architecture are developing. The Bulgarian kingdom is actively fighting against Byzantium.
The emergence of Slavic states was very unprofitable for her. The Byzantine Empire flourished and moved its possessions inland, but suddenly stumbled into stiff resistance.
During the heyday of the Kingdom, Simeon was its ruler. He managed to conquer the territory to the Black Sea and create the capital in Preslav.
After the king was gone, subjects began to wage battles within the state. Everyone wanted to capture better and more territory for their tribe.
In 1014, the end of the Bulgarian kingdom came. Weakened by internal battles, he was easily conquered by the army of the Byzantine emperor. Vasily the Second, having won, blinded 15,000 soldiers. In 1021, the capital of the Bulgarian kingdom Srem was captured. Then the state was gone.
Moravia
The next in the time frame in which the formation of the Slavic states took place was Great Moravia. The power arose as an attempt to defend itself against enemy attacks by German tribes in the ninth century. At the same time, violent feudalization began to occur in Europe. Many small farmers tried to escape to Moravia and, together with the local population, organize worthy resistance to the chivalrous nobility. Scattered tribes once entered into an alliance.
During Svyatopolk, the state included: Pannonia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Lesser Poland. Like the previous Slavic powers, Moravia did not have a central government. Most of the territories included in the union remained with their leader or king. The capital was the city of Velehrad.
In 863, the first Christians arrived in Moravia with Cyril and Methodius. They had a strong influence on the formation of writing in this state and on all Slavic associations.
Moravia flourished during the life and rule of Svyatopolk. When the lord died, the state came to an end with him. This feature is inherent in all the ancient formations of the Slavs. The Magyars attacked the former Moravian territories, and after them the nomads. Slovakia separated to Hungary, and the Czech Republic began an independent existence.
Kievan Rus
The formation of the Slavic states took place in several periods. Kievan Rus was the most powerful of the pre-Christian countries. It included eastern Slavs. They united in a separate state in the 8-9th century. The center of Kievan Rus was located in the city of Kiev. A detailed history of the creation of the power was described by the chronicler Nestor in The Tale of Bygone Years.
The country survived the advent of Christianity, the collapse of the Byzantine Empire, the raids of nomadic peoples, including the Mongols led by Genghis Khan. In 1054, it included all the tribes of the Eastern Slavs. Kievan Rus disintegrated in 1132.
Formation of Slavic states: Slavs resettlement table
According to the territories they occupied, the Slavs were divided into western, eastern and southern. Separate ethnic groups were later formed from them, with their own language, culture, and traditions. Slavic states arose as an association of small tribes, which eventually divided into:
Eastern | Western | Southern |
Russians | Slovaks | Serbs |
Belarusians | Czech | Bulgarians |
Ukrainians | Poles | Croats |
| Tribes of Pomerania | Tribes from the Balkans |
As you can see, the Slavic peoples for more than a thousand years have been moving towards the formation of their own, independent states. This path was thorny, could be interrupted many times, however this did not happen. Now our ancestors could be proud of us, because the modern powers have finally achieved independence and recognition from their neighbors.