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The Silesians () were a
tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...
of
West Slavs The West Slavs are Slavic peoples who speak the West Slavic languages. They separated from the common Slavic group around the 7th century, and established independent polities in Central Europe by the 8th to 9th centuries. The West Slavic langu ...
, specifically of the Lechitic/ Polish group, inhabiting territories of Lower Silesia, near Ślęża mountain and
ÅšlÄ™za The ÅšlÄ™za (; ) is a 78.6 km river in Lower Silesia, southern Poland, a left tributary of the Oder. It starts in the Niemcza Hills (), part of the Sudetes, Sudeten Sudeten Foreland, Foreland (''Przedgórze Sudeckie''), and flows near Mount ...
river, on both banks of the
Oder The Oder ( ; Czech and ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and its largest tributary the Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows through wes ...
, up to the area of modern city of
Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...
. They were the first permanent inhabitants of the site of Wrocław where they build a fort on Ostrów Tumski in the 9th century or earlier, which at the time was an island on the Oder.Wroclaw-life.com, Cathedral Isle
/ref> Their tribal name was derived from the name of the mountain and the river, which most likely came from the
old Polish The Old Polish language () was a period in the history of the Polish language between the 10th and the 16th centuries. It was followed by the Middle Polish language. The sources for the study of the Old Polish language are the data of the co ...
word ''Åšlagwa'', meaning "humid", which refers to the climate of the area. The name of the region in turn,
Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...
, comes from their language and tribal name.Jasienica, pg. 32 Along with the
Opolans Opolans (; ; ; ) were the West Slavs, West Slavic tribe that lived in the region of upper Odra (Poland), Odra. Their main settlement (Gord (archaeology), gord) was Opole. They were mentioned in the Bavarian Geographer, under the Latin name Opolini, ...
, the Ślężanie comprised one of the two major tribes in Silesia. They bordered the Dziadoszanie to their north. The Biezunczanie's territory lay to the west. Other, more minor, Silesian tribes of the time included the Golensizi, Trzebowianie (who might have actually been part of the Ślężanie), Bobrzanie (who were probably subjects of the Dziadoszanie) and the Głubczyce, further to the south. The '' Bavarian Geographer'', which refers to them as the Sleenzane, states that they had 15 settlements, or '' gords'' (''civitates''), and lists them as one of several tribes located in Silesia. The '' Prague charter'' (description of borders of the Prague bishopric) from 1086 refers to them with the alternative name of Zlasane. Thietmar's Chronicle, from the second decade of the 11th century, calls them the Silensi.Buko, pgs. 83-84 Their tribal name was known to the
Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...
and the Byzantines. The Ślężanie achieved a high degree of social organization and built fortified towns by the 8th century AD, if not earlier. Archeological finds of fortifications built by various Silesian tribes date back to as early as 4th century and evidence of continuous settlement in the area can be traced back to 1st century AD. A long fortified wall, strengthened by numerous moats, stretched from the present day town of Jelenia Góra to
Krosno Odrzańskie Krosno Odrzańskie () is a town in Lubusz Voivodeship in western Poland, on the east bank of Oder River, at the confluence with the Bóbr. With 11,319 inhabitants (2019) it is the capital of Krosno County, Lubusz Voivodeship, Krosno County. His ...
, and along both sides of the Bobr river. The existence of these sophisticated defenses suggests that the various Silesian tribes had to cooperate in their construction. Hence, it is possible that in the period between the 7th and 9th centuries, the Ślężanie were united in a loose confederation of Silesian tribes. However, the wall most likely served a solely defensive purpose, most likely as a bulwark against raiding parties of the neighboring
Polabian Slavs Polabian Slavs, also known as Elbe Slavs and more broadly as Wends, is a collective term applied to a number of Lechites, Lechitic (West Slavs, West Slavic) tribes who lived scattered along the Elbe river in what is today eastern Germany. The ...
as none of the Polish tribes yet shared direct borders with Germanic states at the time. From 990 AD on, after a series of short wars between
Mieszko I Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was Duchy of Poland (966–1025), Duke of Poland from 960 until his death in 992 and the founder of the first unified History of Poland, Polish state, the Civitas Schinesghe. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was t ...
of the
Piast dynasty The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented List of Polish monarchs, Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I of Poland, Mieszko I (–992). The Poland during the Piast dynasty, Piasts' royal rule in Pol ...
, first ruler of
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, and Boleslaus II, Duke of Bohemia of the
Přemyslid dynasty The Přemyslid dynasty or House of Přemysl (, , ) was a Bohemian royal dynasty that reigned in the Duchy of Bohemia and later Kingdom of Bohemia and Margraviate of Moravia (9th century–1306), as well as in parts of Poland (including Silesia ...
(who was Mieszko's brother in law), Silesia, and the Ślężanie, became part of the Polish state.Lerski, Wróbel and Kozicki, pg. 354 Over time, the Ślężanie, along with the other Silesian tribes, as well as the
Vistulans The Vistulans, or Vistulanians (), were an early medieval Lechitic tribe inhabiting the western part of modern Lesser Poland. Etymology Their name derives from the hydronym of the river Vistula, meaning "inhabitants of Vistula"; the region is m ...
, Pomeranians, Lendians,
Masovians Masovians, also spelled as Mazovians, and historically known as Masurians, is an ethnographic group of Polish people that originates from the region of Masovia, located mostly within borders of the Masovian Voivodeship, Poland. They speak the ...
and the Polans mixed and became part of the Polish state.Falk, pg. 546 The mountain Ślęża, and the neighboring peak of Sępia Góra ("Vulture Peak"), served as a sacred place where important religious ceremonies were held by the tribe. In fact, the religious importance of the location dates back to the sun-worshipping people of the
Lusatian culture The Lusatian culture existed in the later Bronze Age and early Iron Age (1300–500 ) in most of what is now Poland and parts of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, eastern Germany and western Ukraine. It covers the Periods Montelius III (e ...
, as early as 1300 B.C. It was used as a place of worship by various people who inhabited the area before the Ślężanie, for example, the
Silingi The Silings or Silingi (; – ) were a Germanic tribe, part of the larger Vandal group. The Silingi at one point lived in Silesia, and the names ''Silesia'' and ''Silingi'' may be related.Jerzy Strzelczyk, "Wandalowie i ich afrykańskie państw ...
(most likely a
Vandal The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vandal ...
tribe).Jasienica, pg. 35 The mountain Ślęża was also a place of pilgrimage for other Slavic tribes of that era. According to legend, the peak was created as a result of a battle between angels and demons, when after a struggle, the angels used the mountain to bury the entrance to
hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...
.Krzysztof Kucharski, "Menu dawnych Ślężan" (Menu of the old Ślężanie), ''Gazeta Wroclawska'', 13 August 2009, last accessed July 8, 2010

/ref>


See also

* List of Medieval Slavic tribes


Notes


References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Silesians History of Silesia West Slavic tribes Silesian tribes