The Moravians ( Old Slavic self-designation ''Moravljane'', , ) were a West Slavic tribe in the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

. Although it is not known exactly when the Moravian tribe was founded, Czech historian

Dušan Třeštík Dušan Třeštík (1 August 1933 – 23 August 2007) was a Czech historian. He specialized in medieval history ( Dark Ages (500–1000)) of the Czech lands and theory of history. Třeštík was born in 1933 in Sobědruhy, now a part of the city ...

claimed that the tribe was formed between the turn of the 6th century to the 7th century, around the same time as the other Slavic tribes. In the 9th century Moravians settled mainly around the historic region of

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

and Nitrans in Western Slovakia, but moravians also in parts of

Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...

(up to the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

) The first known mention of the Moravians was in the

Annales Regni Francorum The ''Royal Frankish Annals'' (Latin: ''Annales regni Francorum''), also called the ''Annales Laurissenses maiores'' ('Greater Lorsch Annals'), are a series of annals composed in Latin in Carolingian Francia, recording year-by-year the state of ...

in 822 AD. The tribe was located by the

Bavarian Geographer The epithet "Bavarian Geographer" () is the conventional name for the anonymous author of a short Latin medieval text containing a list of the tribes in Central and Eastern Europe, headed . The name "Bavarian Geographer" was first bestowed (in its ...

(as ''Marharii'') Nitran tribe as Merehani between the tribe of the Bohemians and the tribe of the

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

. In the 9th century Moravians gain control over neighbouring Nitra and founded the realm of

Great Moravia Great Moravia (; , ''Meghálī Moravía''; ; ; , ), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavic to emerge in the area of Central Europe, possibly including territories which are today part of the Czech Repub ...

, ruled by the Mojmír dynasty until the 10th century. After the breakup of the Moravian realm the Moravian and Nitran tribey were divided between the

Duchy of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia, also later referred to in English as the Czech Duchy, (Old Czech: ) was a monarchy and a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire in Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages, Early and High M ...

and

Principality of Hungary The Grand Principality of Hungary or Duchy of Hungary (: "Hungarian Grand Principality", ) was the earliest documented Hungarian state in the Carpathian Basin, established in 895 or 896, following the 9th century Magyar invasion of the Carpath ...

. The Moravians were assimilated by the Czechs and presently identify as

Czechs The Czechs (, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common Bohemia ...

(see

Moravians (ethnic group) Moravians ( or colloquially , outdated ) are a West Slavic ethnic group from the Moravia region of the Czech Republic, who speak the Moravian dialects of Czech or Common Czech or a mixed form of both. Along with the Silesians of the Czec ...

). The modern nation of the

Slovaks The Slovaks ( (historical Sloveni ), singular: ''Slovák'' (historical: ''Sloven'' ), feminine: ''Slovenka'' , plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history ...

was formed out of Nitran tribe within the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

References

Sources

* (German) * Lubomír E. Havlík: ''Svatopluk Veliký, král Moravanů a Slovanů'' vatopluk the Great. King of the Moravians and Slavs Jota, Brno 1994, . (Czech) * (Czech) * (Czech) * Dušan Třeštík: ''Vznik Velké Moravy. Moravané, Čechové a střední Evropa v letech 791–871'' he Founding of Great Moravia. Moravians, Czechs and Middle Europe in the years 791–871 Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, o.O. 2010, (Czech) * {{Slavic ethnic groups (VII-XII century) Medieval history of Slovakia West Slavic tribes

See also

References

Sources