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The dates for Samo's rule are based on Fredegar, who says that he went to the Slavs in the fortieth year of
First Siege of Constantinople in 626.[2] The Avars first arrived in the Pannonian Basin and subdued the local Slavs in the 560s. Samo may have been one of the merchants who supplied arms to the Slavs for their frequent revolts. Whether he became king during a revolt of 623–24 or during one that inevitably followed the Avar defeat in 626, he definitely took advantage of the latter to solidify his position.[2] A string of victories over the Avars proved his utilitas (usefulness) to his subjects and secured his election as rex (king).[3] Samo went on to secure his throne by marriage into the major Wendish families, wedding at least twelve women and fathering twenty-two sons and fifteen daughters.[4]
Each year, the Huns [Avars] came to the Slavs, to spend the winter with them; then they took the wives and daughters of the Slavs and slept with them, and among the other mistreatments [already mentioned] the Slavs were also forced to pay levies to the Huns. But the sons of the Huns, who were [then] raised with the wives and daughters of these Wends [Slavs] could not finally endure this oppression anymore and refused obedience to the Huns and began, as already mentioned, a rebellion. When now the Wendish army went against the Huns, the [aforementioned] merchant Samo accompanied the same. And so the Samo’s bravery proved itself in wonderful ways and a huge mass of Huns fell to the sword of the Wends.
The most well-documented event of Samo's career was his victory over the Frankish royal army under
Latin castrum Vogastisburg), an unidentified location meaning "fortress/castle of Vogast." The majority of the besieging armies were slaughtered, while the rest of the troops fled, leaving weapons and other equipment lying on the ground. In the aftermath of the Wendish victory, Samo invaded Frankish Thuringia several times and undertook looting raids there.[6] The Sorbian prince Dervan abandoned the Franks and "placed himself and his people under Samo's realm".[7]
In 641, the rebellious
duke of Thuringia, Radulf, sought an alliance with Samo against his sovereign, Sigebert III.[2] Samo also maintained long-distance trade relationships.[4] On his death, however, his title was not inherited by his sons.[7] Ultimately, Samo can be credited with forging a Wendish identity by speaking on behalf of the community that recognised his authority.[8]
Main sources
The main source of written information on Samo and his empire is the
King of the Franks
) put on Slavic clothes before entering his castle.
All other sources for Samo are derived from Fredegar and are much more recent. The
Gesta Dagoberti I regis Francorum ("Deeds of King Dagobert I of the Franks") was written in the first third of the 9th century. The Conversio Bagoariorum et Carantanorum ("Conversion of the Bavarians and Karantanians") from Salzburg
(the Bavarian ecclesiastic centre), written in 871–72, is a very tendentious source, as its name suggests. According mainly to the Conversio, Samo was a Karantanian merchant.
The sources Fredegar used to compile his Wendish account are unknown. A few scholars have attacked the entire account as fictitious, but Fredegar displays a critical attitude and a knowledge of detail that suggest otherwise.
Old German root felhan, falh, fulgum and Middle Germanbevelhen.[10] Fredegar appears to have envisaged the Wends as a military unit of the Avar host. He probably based his account on "native" Wendish accounts.[10] Fredegar records the story of the origo gentis (origin of the people) of the Wends. The Wends were Slavs, but Samo was the only king of the Wends, at least according to Fredegar.[10]
It has also been suggested that Fredegar's sources may have been the reports of Christian missionaries, especially disciples of
Abbey of Luxeuil.[10] If this is correct, it may explain why he is remarkably free of typical stereotypes of heathen Slavs, and why he was familiar with the Wends as a specifically pagan nation.[10]
Popular literature
Few written works have their storyline taking place during Samo's Empire. One of them is the 2018 book Fire Worshipers, by Vladimír Olej.[11]