] Salan, Salanus or Zalan ( Bulgarian language, Bulgarian and Serbian

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...

: Салан or Залан; ; ) was, according to the Gesta Hungarorum, a local Bulgarian voivod (

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

) who ruled in the 9th century between

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 ...

and Tisa rivers in the south and the Carpathians in the north. The capital of his voivodship (duchy) was

Titel Titel ( sr-Cyrl, Тител, ) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town of Titel has a population of 4,522, while the population of the municipality of Titel is 13,984 (2022 ...

. The exact border of his duchy is not clear: according to some sources, his duchy included present-day northern

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, much of present-day central

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, present-day eastern

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

and part of present-day western

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and northern

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, while according to other sources, his duchy included only present-day Bačka/Bácska region of

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

and

. His name comes from the toponym Szalánkemén (archaically ''Zoloncaman'', today Stari Slankamen).

History

According to Gesta Hungarorum, Salan (Salanus) was an Orthodox vassal of the Byzantine Empire or of the Bulgarian

tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

. Serbian historian Dr Aleksa Ivić supposes that Salan was a Slavic king. The chronicle states that he was a descendant of the Bulgarian Khan, who conquered the territory up to the borders of Russia and Poland after the death of

Attila the Hun Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central and East ...

. At the time of the Hungarian conquest (after 896), Hungarians attacked Salan's voivodship and Bulgarians led by the tsar

Simeon Simeon () is a given name, from the Hebrew (Biblical Hebrew, Biblical ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ''Šimʿôn''), usually transliterated in English as Shimon. In Greek, it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Sy ...

came to the aid of voivod Salan. Even the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

Emperor sent auxiliary troops against the

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

. The Hungarians defeated a united Bulgarian and Byzantine army led by Salan in the early 10th century on the plains of Alpár and the voivodship of Salan fell under Hungarian rule.

Sources

The main historical source about Duke Salan is a historical chronicle known as Gesta Hungarorum, written by Magister P., notary of Hungarian King Bela in the late 12th century. Gesta Hungarorum, however, is not considered to be a fully reliable source, thus the existence of Salan is questionable. However, the 10th century Lombard chronicler, Liudprand, also wrote about a Hungarian victory over the Bulgarians and the Byzantines in the early 10th century and other sources also mention that the area between Danube and Tisa was under Bulgarian rule, which confirm some claims from Gesta Hungarorum regarding the story about Salan.

Appearances in popular media

Duke Salan appears as a playable character in the video game Crusader Kings III in the 9th-century start date.

References

Literature

* Marko Jovanov, ''Devet vekova od pomena imena Titela'', Titelski letopis, Titel, 2001. * Dr Aleksa Ivić, ''Istorija Srba u Vojvodini'', Novi Sad, 1929. * Prof.dr Radmilo Petrović, ''Vojvodina'', Beograd, 2003.

External links