Great Moravia: Map & History

History

The earliest possible reference to Slavic tribes living in the valley of the northern Morava river was made by the Byzantine historian Procopius. He wrote of a group of Germanic Heruli who "passed through the territory of all of the Sclavenes" while moving towards Denmark in 512. Archaeological sites have yielded hand-made ceramics, and closely analogous objects in southern Poland and western Ukraine appeared at the confluence of the northern Morava River and the Middle Danube, dated to around 550.

Large territories in the Pannonian Basin were conquered after 568 by the nomadic Avars who had arrived from the Eurasian Steppes. The Slavs were forced to pay tribute to the Avars and to participate in their raids against the Byzantine Empire, the Franks and the Lombards.

Economy

The large 9th-century fortresses unearthed at Mikulčice and other places were located in the wider region of the confluence of the rivers Morava and Danube. Two important trade routes crossed this region in this period, the Danube and the ancient Amber Road, implying that these settlements, all lying on rivers, were important centres of commerce. Finds of tools, raw materials and semi-manufactured goods show that quarters inhabited by craftsmen also existed in these settlements. The large fortresses were surrounded by a number of small villages where the locals were engaged in agriculture. They cultivated wheat, barley, millet and other cereals, and farmed cattle, pigs, sheep and horse.

Culture

The views on Great Moravian sacral architecture changed dramatically during the second half of the 20th century. At first, researchers assumed it to be limited to simple wooden churches like those known from the German environment in dating from the 7th to 8th centuries. These wooden churches were suitable for initial missionary activities due to the easy availability of materials, quick construction and no need for consecration. This opinion was refined in 1949 after excavations in Staré Město. From the 1960s, stone churches have also been excavated in Slovakia. As of 2014, more than 25 sacral buildings have been safely identified in the core territory of Great Moravia (Moravia and Western Slovakia).

Legacy

Great Moravian centres (e.g., Bratislava (Pozsony, Pressburg), Nitra (Nyitra), Tekov (Bars) and Zemplín (Zemplén)) retained their functions after the fall of Great Moravia, although the identification of Bratislava, Tekov and Zemplín as Great Moravian castles are not generally accepted. Several sources suggest that Hungarian rulers followed the contemporary German or Bulgar patents when they established the new administrative system in their kingdom, or they introduced a new system.