Slavic settlement of the Eastern Alps

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The settlement of the Eastern Alps region by early Slavs took place during the 6th to 8th centuries. It is part of the southward expansion of the early Slavs which would result in the characterization of the South Slavic group, and would ultimately result in the ethnogenesis of present-day Slovenes. The Eastern Alpine territories concerned comprise modern-day

Carinthia, Styria, East Tyrol, Lower Austria and Upper Austria
).

Historical background

Main articles:
Slavic migrations to Southeastern Europe

The

homeland began in roughly the late 6th to early 7th century,[1] as Germanic peoples started moving into the territory of the Roman Empire. The migrations were stimulated by the arrival of Huns into Eastern Europe. The Germanic peoples subsequently fought for control over territories in the eastern part of the disintegrating Roman Empire. Slavic tribes were part of various tribal alliances with the Germanic (Lombards, Gepids) and Eurasian (Avar, Bulgar) peoples.[2]

Evidence

The prevailing view on the Slavic settlement of the Eastern Alps is based mostly on evidence deduced from archeological remains (many of which have been discovered due to the extensive highway constructions in post-1991

Pannonian Slavs.[7]

Phases of the settlement

Borders of the Slav territories under the King Samo's rule in 631

The first phase of Slavic settlement in the Eastern Alps region is dated around the year 550 and originated in the area of modern-day Moravia (i.e., the West Slavic speaking branch).[8] From there, Slavic peoples moved southward into the territory of the former Roman province of Noricum (modern-day Upper and Lower Austria regions). Subsequently, they progressed along the valleys of Alpine rivers towards the Karawanks range and towards the settlement of Poetovio (modern-day Ptuj), where the decline of the local diocese is recorded before 577.

The second phase of Slavic settlement came from the south and took place after the

Pannonian plain (which they had conquered by 582) and the adjacent Eastern Alps region. The Slavic-Avar progress towards the Eastern Alps is traceable on the basis of synodal records of the Aquileian metropolitan church which speak of the decline of ancient dioceses (Emona, Celeia, Poetovio, Aguntum, Teurnia, Virunum, Scarabantia) in the respective area.[3][8][9] In 588 the Slavs reached the area of the Upper Sava River and in 591 they arrived to the Upper Drava region where they soon fought with the Bavarians who were led by king Tassilo I. In 592 the Bavarians won, but in 595 the Slavic-Avar army gained victory and thus consolidated the boundary between the Frankish and Avar territories. Between 599 and 600 the Slavs pushed through Istria and the Karst region towards Italy.[2]

Driven by

Isonzo and Vipava, where they entered in the eighth century. In this area they had already appeared during the Slavic-Avar raids of early 600. Finally there were raids and clashes caused by Slavic bands in the valleys of rivers Torre and Natisone up to 720.[10] The attempt by Slavs to penetrate violently westward probably ended after they had been defeated by the Lombards at Lauriana, in 720. Subsequently, Slavic settlers were invited by the patriarchs of Aquileia to repopulate the areas of Middle and Lower Friuli to the river Livenza, devastated by the Magyar incursions.[10]

Avar domination over the Slavs persisted until mid 620s. In 623 the Slavs, led by Frankish merchant

Frankish Empire
in 745.

Slavs and the original population

After settling in the Eastern Alps region, Slavs subsequently subjugated the original

Novigrad). Many natives were enslaved by the Slavs (an old Slavic term for slaves was krščenik, meaning a Christian, as the natives were Christians), some, however, assimilated with Slavs.[8]

Slavs referred to the Romanised aborigines as

Vlahi or Lahi. Certain place names in modern-day Slovenia, such as Laško, Laški rovt, Lahovče, and others, bear witness to this. Also, a number of river names in modern-day Slovenia, like Sava, Drava, Soča
, as well as the geographic name Carniola (Slovenian Kranjska) were adopted from the Romanised aborigines.

See also

References

  1. ^ Kazanski, Michel (2020). "Archaeology of the Slavic Migrations". Encyclopedia of Slavic Languages and Linguistics Online. BRILL. p. 13
  2. ^
    COBISS 23545442
  3. ^
    COBISS 774611
  4. ^ Paulus Diaconus, "Historia Langobardorum," IV 7, 10.
  5. ^ Gregorius Registrum Epistolarum 2, IX, 154; X, 15.
  6. ^ Sedov 2013, p. 388.
  7. ^ Sedov 2013, p. 389.
  8. ^
    COBISS 111715072
  9. ^ Peter Štih. "Slovenska zgodovina: Od prazgodovinskih kultur do konca srednjega veka. [Slovenian history: From prehistoric cultures to late Middle Ages] "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-19. Retrieved 2008-06-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ^ a b "Il popolamento slavo a cura di Giuseppe Paludo (PDF)" (PDF).

Sources

External links
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