by Alexander T. Ruttkay

In the introduction of my survey of the development of settlements and culture in the territory of the Slovak republic in the early Middle Ages I am going to point out territorial, cultural and historical criteria for a methodical approach to this issue from the point of view of archaeology. When following the development of the civilization, especially in the time preceding the 10th-11th century, the isolated classification based upon the boundaries of later or even modern states, or even upon the traditional term the Carpathian Basin – which is, from the geographical point of view, rather amorphous – proves insufficient. The cognitive possibilities of the involved scientific disciplines – from the point of view of archaeology this concerns facts concerning related cultural and historical connections – would be significantly broader, if the analysis and interpretation of the sources concerned a broader territory. I consider the Central-Danubian region to be a representative territory, even from the point of view of following the broadest interaction of the European civilization. It is an exactly determined territory, limited by the river-basin of the Danube and its tributaries in the area between the Austrian Krems and the Iron gate in Romania.

In the works of the scholars dealing with Slavic languages and recently also in the works of archaeologists - alongside critical attempts aimed at bringing accuracy into various opinions concerning the ethnical genesis of the Slavs – older opinions have been revived, as regards the primeval settlements of the Ancient Slavs in Central-Danubian region, i.e. also in the territory of Slovakia. The answer to these questions is expected to come from the archaeologists. In single cases, there are literally suggestions to re-evaluate, or to “re-classify”, arbitrarily, the material remnants of certain primeval cultures, even from the late Stone Age. The idea of material culture being a reflection of the existence of a certain distinctive ethnic community, proves irrelevant in the research of primeval civilizations in Central Europe. The identification of the allegedly unequivocal ancient Slavic elements or populations, as well as the possibility of an objective recognition of the origin of other, from the present point of view, relevant ethnic communities among the primeval cultures, is therefore, on the basis of the archaeological sources, beyond any scientific argumentation. The question of autochtonity, i.e. of the historical precedence cannot be treated from the point of view of archaeology within ethnic terms, but “only” in the broadest meaning as to the condition of civilization.

The archaeological research has made it possible to discover the ancient, geographically and culturally complicated, image of the development of Slovakia. Not only the lowlands, but also some regions of northern Slovakia, seem to have been inhabited and used for economic purposes since the Primeval Age. Our ancestors have ever since the genesis of the civilization, anonymously, but thoroughly, cultivated the country and delivered the idea of further development, supported by permanent contacts with the centres of civilization in the Mediterranean region, to the new populations coming into our area. In the last centuries preceding the threshold of the Common Era the ancient Celts settled in our area and after them some Germanic communities. These are the first ethnic groups – that are known by name – whose fate is partially reflected in written records. The Danube became the northern boundary of the Roman Empire and the inhabitants of “the Barbaricum” began to draw the attention of the ancient Roman authors. In a substantial part of the territory of Slovakia there was preserved a partial connection between the various stages of development, within the development in the ancient times. Among the new-coming ethnic groups there were usually preserved remnants of the older populations. “The ethnic substratum” was thus not merely a bearer of the continuation of the civilization, but in a certain sense, it was a partial bearer of the biological continuation, as well.

In the later Stone Age and Roman Age there can be found a proof of this “continuity” in the development of the culture of Púchov. In the late Roman Age there appear the probably first early Slavic communities in the territory of Slovakia. These were not numerous and they disappeared or they moved into other territories. The period of the great migration of nations changed the face of Europe in a substantial way. In the course of the 5th and the 6th century there were several new ethnic groups – their military units – that crossed the Central-Danubian region. They brought a lot of new impulses for cultural development. These temporary impulses, however, concerned, in a greater measure, only the lowland-parts of Slovakia. They do not form a sufficient basis for a reconstruction – not even a very rough one – of the development of the entire territory, that was gradually settled by those early Slavic communities that later formed the foundation of a permanent, continual Slavic settlement of the territory of Slovakia.

Habitational, economic and cultural development prior to the 9th century

The early Slavic era.

The departure of the Slavs from their original homeland in the river-basin of the Dnepr and the Bug represents a part of the history of the great migration of nations. Its original cause was a pressure exerted by other ethnic groups, but above all, a relative over-population in which – among other factors - the low-productive agriculture was reflected. The expansion took place in two main, historically differentiated, phases: a stream called Sclavine went westwards through southern Poland in the 5th century and a stream called Southern Antic reached the Balkan Peninsula in the 6th century. The Slavs got into contact with the autochtonous (genuine) population in all the new territories as well as with neighbouring ethnic groups. Their genuinely uniform culture was significantly enriched by a manifold interaction. New environment and new natural conditions brought about a change in their way of life as well as in their subsistence. Complicated processes of assimilation in their relations with other ethnic groups led to a gradual anthropological differentiation of the Slavs. In spite of this, there were still a lot of elements that they had in common: their language, genuine religious imagery, some signs connected with their material culture.

The territory of Slovakia did not belong, according to the present knowledge, to the core of the territory of early Slavs. At a very early stage, however, there were communities streaming from the territories north of the Carpathian mountains through the northern and eastern passes into our territory. Their culture supports to some extent the presumption that these communities were of Slavic origin. This concerns especially the later part of the settlement with the material culture from the Prešov region (end of the 3rd – beginning of the 5th century) that contains features similar to the culture of Kiev, i.e. a clearly Slavic culture from the Dnepr region. The growing amount of thick ceramics from the habitations in eastern Slovakia is similar to the Korchak type from the Ukraine. This shows the trend of transition to the geographically already spread ceramics of the Prague type that was a typical kind of ancient Slavic ceramics. A temporary presence of minor proto-Slavic groups can be presumed also in the second wave (the Hun-Gothic wave) of the migration of nations, that affected the territory of Slovakia in the first half of the 5th century.

A group of finding-places in eastern, as well as in some parts of central, southwestern and northern Slovakia (Potvorice, Siladice, Nitriansky Hrádok, Výèapy-Opatovce, Žilina, etc.), provides us with an evidence of a stronger Slavic stream in the second half of the 5th century that overwhelmed even the original ethic substratum. These finding-places belong to a large cultural region that spreads from southeastern Poland over the Ukraine down to northern Romania. The communities in Slovakia separated from the main stream of the Sclavines expanding westwards. Even if the ethnic character of the Prešov culture remains only an object of theoretical consideration in the long run and by no means represents an element of a habitational continuation, from the second half of the 5th century a settlement of a permanent character of Slavic communities in Slovakia can be considered incontestable.

The oldest stage of the Slavic settlement (prior to the 2nd third of the 7th century) we call the early Slavic era. A very low density of population prevails in this period. Its extent did not exceed 5% of the overall area. Small settlements were founded upon rivers. In some areas small groups of settlements originated. Extensive farming, especially cultivation of the soil acquired by burning forests combined with the keeping of cattle, hunting, fishing, bee-keeping, etc. was of a very low productivity. Cyclic agriculture required a partially itinerant way of life. The grow of the population was under these circumstances fairly slow at first. As regards the burying rite, cremation of the dead is typical, together with depositing of the ashes in urns or holes. Barrows were sometimes erected over the graves. In the recent years, traces of thin early Slavic settlements were found in some mountainous regions of Slovakia, as well (Žilina Basin, Zvolen Basin and Spiš). This fact can be an indication of prospector activities. The seeking and extraction of ore deposits was a necessary condition for subsequent development of metal-work manufacturing. The organization of the primitive Slavs was based on families. When necessary, however, e.g. in the period of the migration from their original homeland to new habitations, there was a need to activate larger groups on the basis of tribes or even tribal confederations. This, however, presupposes the existence of tribal chiefs and elders. Further development followed the direction of loosing of the original family ties. The primary organizational basis was most probably represented by a monogamous family.

Typical one-room dwelling places with square ground-plane with an oven in the corner correspond after all to this presumption. The growing density of small settlements in micro-regions supports the presumption of the growth of importance of neighbouring communities. Groups of settlements represented elements of territorial organization, but they were economic units, as well. It seems that already in the early Slavic era an integrity of Slavic settlement in the territory of Slovakia was formed. It is indirectly confirmed also by the scarcity of written evidence concerning the presence of Germanic bearers of the third stage of the migration of nations in the first half of the 6th century. Slavic-Avarian relations. In the 6th century there was another wave of immigration of Slavic population. It is likely to have been a part that separated from the stream of the Ants heading for the Balkan Peninsula. This stream did not concern Slovakia. It can be assumed that the migration of the new Slavic groups into the Carpathian Basin and partially also into the territory of Slovakia was connected with the arrival of new representants of the nomadic civilization – the Avars, who were of Turko-Tatar origin. In the year 568 they destroyed the domain of the Gepids in the Tisa region and forced the Longobards, who had their settlements in Transdanubia, to withdraw to Italy. They reached hegemony in the central parts of the Carpathian Basin. The destiny of a significant part of the Slavs in this area was up until the end of the 8th century directly connected with the development of the Avarian Kaganate. The interaction was not, however, a mere one-way effect. It wasn´t represented only by the - so often emphasized – subordinate position of the Slavs.

The Slavic-Avarian relations had different forms from both the regional and the chronological point of view. In the area of Moravia and Slovakia, where the core of the Great-Moravian Empire was to be formed in the later times, had these relations at least four stages. During the first stage (568-670) the attack of the Avars concerned the territories north of the Danube only marginally and no permanent military occupation took place. The main aim of the Avarian pressure was at this stage the Byzantine Empire. Occasional military expeditions north of the Danube were aimed at the acquisition of booty, or at providing regular tributes from the Slavs. The cultural influence of the new Slavic wave in the Avarian environment is manifested in the artistic handicraft products of the Èadjavnica-Martynovka culture. They represent artifacts connected with the Slavic Ants. In the territory of Slovakia such products can be found only later in the burial places in the 7th century. These burial places represent the evidence of the first expedition of the Avars that reached the fords at the Danube and at the Ipe¾ (Devínska Nová Ves, Holiare, Želovce). The mentioned products can be also found in the famous treasure of “a Byzantine merchant” from Zemiansky Vrbovok.

Prior to this, an important historical event had taken place in the Central Danubian region, though. In the year 623, during the rule of Samo, a Slavic tribal union of a wider range was formed. The Slavs from the area over the Danube freed themselves from the Avarian rule. Their territory drew the attention of the Western chronicles for a short time. We learn, too, that Samo succeeded in repelling the first attempts of the Frankish Empire that was trying to expand eastwards. Long disputes have taken place as regards the territorial extent and geographical position of the domain of Samo. As its origin is connected with the resistance against the Avarian attempts to reach hegemony, it seems logical that the core of this, historically oldest known organized Slavic unit of a higher rank, would lie close to the boundary of the Avarian Kaganate. Placing the domain of Samo and his seat Vogastisburg in the Czech lands or in southern Poland – thus quite far from the sphere of power of the Avarian Kaganate – seems inadequate. Theories placing Samo´s activities in the marginal spheres of the Avarian Kaganate or in its close neighborhood seem more realistic. The western part of Slovakia and southeastern Moravia with the adjoining part of Austria would be most likely to correspond to the historical position of the core of the “empire” of Samo.

It is suitable to mention another group of theories placing the domain of Samo in the territory of Carinthia. However, the origin of an organized Slavic unit in Carinthia is connected with other Slavic leaders - with Valluc in the time prior to the second half of the 7th century and with Borut in the 8th century. There is thus not enough evidence in the known historical sources that would support placing Samo´s domain into this territory. A possible explanation can be found in the manuscript of Paul the Deacon (8th century). The author mentions that the name Quarantanis (Carinthia) was sometimes used in a misinterpreted form denoting the ancient Roman settlement of Carnuntum and its surroundings near Hainburg. The alleged Carinthian trace of Samo and his seat Vogastisburg leads us with high probability again to the already mentioned northern and northwestern border-area of the Avarian Kaganate. Samo´s domain did not last long. It decayed shortly after the death of its authoritarian ruler in 658.

The Slavic-Avarian relations entered--after the decay of Samo´s domain, and especially after the year 670-- into their third stage. The Avarian expansion, during the era of the second Kaganate, was aimed – after the unsuccessful confrontation with the Byzantine Empire – at northern territories. The Kaganate established gradually military control over significant parts of the Slovak lowlands. In this territory, we can speak of an ethnic and cultural symbiosis of a part of the Slavs from the territory north of the Danube and the Avars, which persisted until the end of the 8th century. The development followed two geo-political lines. In the territory whose northern border was formed by the approximate line Devín – Nitra – Levice - Košice was directly dominated by the Avarian rule. Typical of this territory are inhumation burial places (e.g. Devínska Nová Ves, Holiare, Hranièná nad Hornádom, Komárno, Nové Zámky, Šebastovce, Štúrovo, Valaliky-Všechsvätých, Želovcew, Žitavská Tôò). Cremation graves with the ceramics of the Prague type are very rare in this area (e.g. Devínska Nová Ves, Želovce). In inhumation burial places, significant members of the society were buried, together with their rich equipment, but above all, people of lower ranks of both Avarian and Slavic origin were buried in such graves.

The whole so-called Avarian culture did not belong to one ethnic group alone, but became a supra-ethnic phenomenon, a phenomenon connected with fashion as regards the material culture. Bronze or sometimes even gilded belt-buckles, produced at first as a press-product and then as a cast-product, jewels for women and ornamental parts of horse harnesses belonged to the rich ruling class. But the analysis of ornamental belt-platings, which are correctly considered to be a sign of the social position of important men shows that the ornamentation was almost always inspired by motives from the ancient Greek-Roman-Byzantine provinces. Thus, we're dealing with no eastern import, but with domestic production, with high-developed bronze metal-foundry.

The extraction of copper in the territory of Slovakia was undoubtedly connected with this fact. The Slavic-Avarian symbiosis in the southern part of Slovakia led gradually to the assimilation of the nomadic elements and to the transition of the Avarian population to a more settled way of life. The growing amount of permanent habitations is a clear sign of this development. As regards the types of habitations, there are no ethnic differences. North of the line of direct Avarian rule, there were habitations of a Slavic population whose habits (e.g. cremation burial rite with the erection of barrows) were different. Clothing elements typical of the “Avarian” environment appear sometimes even in this area. The historical development shows, however, clear signs of autonomy. The inhabited territory was expanding. In the second half of the 8th century it covered approximately 10-12% of the territory of Slovakia. Findings of agricultural tools (especially tools for ploughing), or even whole depots (e.g. Granary) are an evidence of a progress in agriculture. It is probable that the transition to the fallow-system was developing gradually and further development led to the application of the two-field system. The specialization of handicraft production developed further in the 8th century. The development of the extraction of iron ore prompted the expansion of smelting and blacksmith activities. The findings of material culture are an illustration of the flourishing handicrafts connected with wood-work and stone-work, pottery-production, bone-work, textile-production, etc.

In the 8th century, changes occurred in the social organization of the Slavic society. Avarian pressure was one of the reasons for the early decay of tribal organization among the Slavs who inhabited the territories north of the Danube. In the areas north of the direct sphere of influence of the Kaganate, the Avarian neighbourhood prompted a unification of the Slavs on a territorial basis. It was probably on the basis of the need to build up a military force and military unions that the ruling class of the Slavic society originated and was strengthened. The basis of the power of the new elite – the regional princes or the so-called vladykas – became the military suite. Growing productivity of agriculture and handicrafts enabled the rulers to get hold of some parts of the production. The sovereignty of the Slavic aristocracy in its relation with the Avars – in the western parts of Slovakia and in southern Moravia - is confirmed by e.g. the inclination towards Western European – Frankish - customs connected with military equipment. An interesting point is also the evidence of contacts with remote territories of eastern Europe and the Byzantine Empire (the treasure from Zemiansky Vrbovok has been mentioned already) that also confirm the economic prosperity of our territory.

The Principality of Nitra and Great Moravia

The semantic contents of the term “the Great Moravian state” is going through a significant change at present. It is important to emphasize though, that a number of sources, among which the archaeological sources have occupied a prominent position in the last fifty years, provides us with a sufficient amount of arguments against the untiring attempts to shift the geographical locality of Great Moravia and thereby erase it from the beginnings of the history of the Slavs living north of the Danube, i.e. also from the history of Slovakia. Contemporary scientific interests require a higher degree of exactness as regards the contents of the term “Great Moravia” itself. It is true that this name occurs for the first time in the famous treatise of Constantinus Porfyrogenetos from about the year 950. Other names that have been suggested for the state, whose creators were also the forefathers of today's Slovaks, seem novel, artificial and insufficiently complex. The adjective “Great” has in this connection at least a differentiating meaning. It defines the difference between the contemporary term and the term applied in the early Middle Ages.

Great Moravia denotes a broader territory including significant parts of today's Slovakia and therefore it is definitely not identical with the territory of the historical Moravia. To present a comparative situation, it is sufficient to mention that the Frankish Empire is not identical with either Germany or France, the Kiev-Russia with Russia or the Byzantine Empire with the modern Greece. The mentioned changes concern, however, also the interpretation of the meaning of the Great Moravian state from the point of view of modern history. Enforced modernity is not appropriate here. The formation and the development of Great Moravia can be, by no means, considered to be a direct, with arbitrary arguments supported, pre-image of modern state formation activities. The history of Great Moravia concerns a significant part of the Central-Danubian region, i.e. also the history of the territory of several modern states. From the point of view of Slovakia, similarly as in the case of Moravia, we're dealing with the beginnings of national history. Slovak historiography and archaeology were, in their scientific interests, too much concerned with the territory of Slovakia for a long time. We lack, for instance, a deeper analysis of the position of our territory in the context of the medieval Hungary. But there is still extensive research needed as regards the history of the Slavs within the whole Central Danubian region in the 9th – 10th century.

A special lack of evaluation is perceptible in connection with the situation in Transdanubia – Pannonia. It is not just the question of our territory's domain of Pribina's family in the area of Blatnohrad (Zalavár). It is equally important to take into consideration the existence of other territorial units in our territory – Slavic principalities that were in various measure dependent on the Frankish Empire. The archaeological research in Transdanubia has in the recent years discovered extraordinary findings that confirm a high and relatively uniform level of material culture and social development of the Slavic population in the 9th century in the Central Danubian region. These are indications of the beginnings of a crystallization – in the 10th century definitely interrupted, though – of a major Slavic ethnic community. State formation process, expansion and disintegration. The economic and social changes were at the end of the 8th century reflected in the formation of a multi-functional centres of administration, production and military activities – fortified settlements. The oldest fortified settlements in Slovakia, and especially those which are connected with a concentration of production (e.g. Nitra-Martinský vrch, Pobedim and Majcichov, Spišské Tomášovce, Zemplín) are a premonition of the beginnings of a state formation process. This was accelerated by the definite decay of the Avarian rule that was caused to a great extent by the Frankish ruler Charles the Great in 790. Transdanubia – the ancient Pannonia - came under the rule of the Franks.

The Slavs from the territories north of the Danube, who had been undoubtedly allies of the Franks during the attack against the Avars, seized, after the defeat of the Avars, southwestern Slovakia and came into a direct contact with the Frankish domain at the Danube. This progress might have been represented by the fortified settlement at Mužla-Èenkov. There could have been a connection between the neighbour-relationship and the Frankish efforts to extend their influence to the north of the Danube on one hand and the invitation of the Slavic representants to the Frankish imperial rallies in the first quarter of the 9th century on the other hand. In this period, a gradual co-integration of the cultural development in western, but also in northern, Slovakia with the development in the southeastern part of Moravia is manifested. This process is reflected in the origin of the artistic handicraft style of Blatnica-Mikulèice in the first half of the 9th century. Domestic aesthetic criteria following the tradition from the 8th century were enriched by the contributions from Frankish, but also from Irish-Scottish territories. This style was typical of the ruling class. It is illustrated by rich inhumation graves with barrows in northern Slovakia and especially by the famous “grave of a ruler” in Blatnica in Turiec. In various localities from this period there is evidence of “means of payment”, the so-called axe-hrivnas which are proofs of a development of a sort of currency. Simultaneously with the cultural and aesthetic influence, the Christian religion is brought into the area from the West. Missionary activities were, since the second half of the 8th century, carried out by Frankish, Irish-Scottish and, according to the records, also by Italian missionaries.

Within the process of integration, there are two main powers to be seen clearly in the first quarter of the 9th century – the Moravian Principality and the Principality of Nitra. The boundary between them, however, did not necessarily follow the Morava river. They are rather neighbouring territories whose axes were represented by the flows of the Morava and the Nitra or – even if this can be proved only in the case of Nitra – they are connected with the name of the ruler's seat. A key-position, or even a prominent position, of Nitra is probable because of its closer relations with its Frankish neighbours. The consecration of a new church of Prince Pribina in Nitra, carried out by the Salzburg archbishop Adalram in 828 is in consent with this presumption. But already the attack of the Moravian prince Mojmír in 833 put an end to the rule of Pribina in Nitra. This forceful interference finished the process of state formation among the Slavs living north of the Danube – the Great Moravian state was formed. The Principality of Nitra retained a significant position within this state and Nitra was one of the fortified towns and centres of the ruling power as well as of the organization of the Church. The union of these two principalities represented the peak of a struggle for power which brought about the defeat of other minor Slavic organized units that had been formed in the pre-Great Moravian era. Some of them had been defeated before the union and some of them were defeated after it. The process of seizure of power and the liquidation of older settlements can be followed in western and northern Slovakia. Several fortified settlements (e.g. Pobedim, Divina, Vyšehradné, the older stage of the fortified settlement in Spišské Tomášovce) ceased to exist prior to the second half of the 9th century. It is quite natural that the military expansion of the Mojmír clan was not accepted by the subject population without any resistance in all the territories. The process of unification was connected with economic aspects as well – the shift eastwards and the shift into mountainous areas was most probably aimed at regions with sources of raw materials.

The period of the rule of Mojmír I. (until 846) was characteristic of an inner expansion and of strengthening of the princely power, especially in the core-territory of Great Moravia. A dominant part of Moravia together with the adjoining part of Austria, north of the Danube, and western Slovakia up to the Spiš Basin, as well as the northern part of Hungary, down to the territory of the Matra and the Beech Hills (Bukové hory) belonged to this unit. During the whole Great Moravian era there were elements of dubble-organization preserved as to the genuine Moravian Principality and the Principality of Nitra. This, however, does not affect the fact that the Great Moravian state was shared by all the Slavs living in the mentioned territories. A part of them was, however, assimilated in later periods. The assumption of a possible crystallization of a Great Moravian already ethnic unity shall be considered only a hypothesis. The contemporary state of information prompts us to a different opinion, though. From the ethnic basis of the Great Moravian, Slavs in the territory of Moravia and Slovakia, the medieval Moravian (Moravians) and Slovak (Slovaks) nationalities originated gradually in the complicated process of ethnic genesis within the early medieval Czech state and Hungarian state.

The political history of Great Moravia is known mostly on the basis of the Frankish written records. The events are presented from the point of view of Frankish geo-political interests and therefore they should be read critically. The amount of information is, however, small and selective. They represent just “the tip of the iceberg” as regards the real course of the events. But combined with sources of different origins, including preserved Old Slavonic sources, they can create a basis for a periodization of the political development in relation to Europe. Frankish interference, which was clearly manifested in connection with the deposition of Mojmír already, expanded during the rule of Rastislav (846-870). In the year 855 a series of military expeditions against Great Moravia started. Alongside a fairly successful military defense a diplomatic counter-offensive of Rastislav seemed natural. His successful attempt to contract a strategic alliance with the Byzantine Empire, that was a real superpower in Europe at that time, had a revolutionary and a constant cultural and historical significance.

The arrival of the missionaries from Salonika (Solun) – St. Constantine-Cyril and Methodius was of great importance not only for the continuing Christianization of the Slavs. It gave rise to the domestic organization of the Church on both high and low level and temporarily it also slowed down the infiltration of the Frankish politically motivated Church aspirations in Great Moravia. However, the codification of the Slavonic Church language and its introduction into liturgical practice had a much greater significance. The Slavonic script, literature, translations and schools, although there was only a short time for them to reach some maturity in Great Moravia, became the very basis of the Slavonic literature and were continued in the whole Slavic world.

The struggle connected with the Church jurisdiction was continued also during the reign of the strong Prince Svätopluk I. (870-894). Even though the Pope confirmed Methodius as the Moravian archbishop in 880, the Frankish clergy started to gain a stronger position gradually. This trend was clearly manifested immediately after the death of Methodius in 885, when the institutions connected with the activities of the brothers, especially those connected with Methodius, ceased to exist gradually, whereby the bishop of the newly founded diocese of Nitra – Wiching – contributed actively to this development. The orientation of Svätopluk´s foreign policy reflects a great inner expansion of the country. Great Moravia underwent a transition from a position of a mere defense against the Franks to its own military actions aimed at expansion. There were destructive military expeditions to Transdanubia with a relatively permanent occupation of the strategic areas bordering to the Pilis mountains, as well as the taking of the Slavic territories in the Czech lands, the Sorbian territories in Lusatia and the Visla Principality in southern Poland. Expeditions into the Tisa region, where Great Moravia reached the Bulgarian sphere of interest, were probably connected with the efforts to get hold of the salt-resources in this area.

The territorial annexations were of temporary duration. It was beyond the possibilities of the princely power and the organization of the society to preserve territories of such a great extent. During the reign of Svätopluk it was practically his military power that ensured stability. After his death in 894 the annexed territories seceded from Great Moravia. In certain cases they became - as we can see it in the case of the attitudes of the Slavic princes in the Czech lands that became Frankish allies against Great Moravia temporarily – external threats to Great Moravia. At the end of the 9th century it was undergoing an obvious inner crisis, a decay of the central princely power. In the records it is reflected e.g. in the case of the dispute between the sons of Svätopluk Mojmír II. and Svätopluk II. The division of Great Moravia into smaller parts, which from the historical point of view meant its total decay, was under these circumstances a natural consequence.

The date of the battle of Bratislava in 907 is generally considered to be a date when Great Moravia did not exist anymore. A certain precaution shall be maintained in this matter, since the information about the victory of the Old Magyars in the battle near Bresalauspurc where there is no mention of the participation of the Great Moravian army was preserved with the exact localization of the battle only in later transcripts. Attention should be also paid to a source that was discovered not so long ago that concerns the declarations of the Old Magyars that were taken captive in Spain in 942. They mention, among other facts, the country – town “Morabiya” neighbouring to their settlements in the Carpathian Basin. Economy and society. The internal economic and social development is reflected in the political history of Great Moravia. Its main features can be reconstructed mainly on the basis of archaeological sources. The territory of Slovakia appears as an economically, socially and culturally fully equivalent part of the Great Moravian state compared to the Moravian part. The populated area as well as the density of the settlements were experiencing a significant growth. It was especially in the lowlands that the density increased. But the settlements, following river valleys, started to reach the basins situated in the mountains, as well – e.g. Liptov, Lower Orava and Spiš – and compact enclaves of settlements were formed here. Almost 20% of the total territory of Slovakia were populated in the 9th century.

The growth of the population was accelerated by changes in the mode and organization of production. Findings of ploughing and other agricultural equipment, as well as their range of appliance and their shape, suggest that there was a rise in productivity as regards the cultivation of soil. In the cultivation of soil the two-field system started to be applied alongside the fallow system. The yield acquired by means of this system was three times higher than the yield attained while using older irregular systems of sowing. The growing of fruits and grape-growing started to develop. The cultivation of flax was the basis of a broad range of production of textiles. As regards the breeding of animals, the breeding of cattle and pigs predominated, as well as the breeding of sheep and goats, as regards poultry, hens and geese predominated.

As regards the so-called “booty-aimed” forms of subsistence – these include hunting, fishing and bee-keeping - they played only a supplementary role. The amount of meat from the animals acquired by hunting did not cover more than 3-4% of the overall – by no means frequent – consumption of meat. The breeding of horses was connected with the riding activities of the upper class and their military suites. The horses were used, to a lesser extent, also as draught-horses or as means of transport in connection with long-distance commercial activities. Another factor of the economic potential was the extraction of raw materials. The extraction took place probably in the areas with a greater number of deposits of iron ore (e.g. also in the lowlands – the so-called swamp ores). The analysis of final products suggests, however, that deposits of silver, copper, tin, lead and zinc were found in our area, as well. Silicon minerals were extracted to be used in glass-works. In the Hron region, there is evidence of extraction of volcanic minerals for the production of millstones. Great Moravian architecture was connected, just like the building of fortifications, with the rise in the consumption of limestone, whereby limestone resources were used for the production of lime, too. The most needed article of consumption, however, was wood. The extension of settlements, expansion of the areas used for agriculture and extraction of minerals led to significant changes of the landscape, and especially to the shrinking of woods. Wood was a basic raw material used in daily activities. Around the Váh river there are indications, prior to the 9th century, of the transportation of the wood from the mountainous parts of the river basin, i.e. of rafting activities. Great amounts of wood were needed e.g. in connection with the construction of fortified settlements and habitations, but permanent supply of wood was tied to a great range of handicrafts, as well (e.g. blacksmith's works, tar-works, etc.).

There are approximately 20 branches among specialized handicrafts in the 9th century. There are handicrafts connected with daily usage (pottery, textiles, goldsmith's trade), branches producing tools and other equipment connected with production (iron metallurgy and blacksmith's works, production of millstones, tar-works, etc.), or there are branches that are connected with construction activities (stone-cutting activities, burning lime, a part of the handicrafts working with wood, etc.). Attention should be paid to some specialized production activities. The quality as to the technological and aesthetic aspect reached a very high level in these branches (e.g. goldsmith's trade and production of arms). The production concentrated, even more than in other cases, on the upper classes with the prince at its top. This included the magnates, the aristocracy connected with the court and a numerous military suite. Apart from the members of the older family aristocracy, suite members from among free citizens, it was composed of foreign professional fighters, as well. A military suite represented a permanent military power and only in the case of emergency – especially when defense was needed – greater range of free citizens was mobilized. Free citizens formed a specific level of the society, a significantly inferior class was the class of serfs, servants and a small class of slaves.

The development of production and a distinct social differentiation connected with the origin of the ruling class is reflected in the rise of centres of habitation and production, the so-called fortified towns. The most important of them is Nitra. Recently the structure of habitation in agglomerated areas became more obvious. The centre of power was situated, already in the 9th century, directly on the top of the castle-hill. Almost nine-hectare-area was surrounded by a well-built fortification. Within the fortified area there have been found remnants of formerly inhabited buildings as well as buildings used for agricultural purposes, together with remnants of a remarkable Christian church and graves with significant findings from the 9th century. In the place of the other two fortified settlements that existed in Nitra in the 9th century (Vàšok in the historical core of the town and Martinský vrch pod Zoborom) there is evidence of other Christian ecclesiastical buildings that were constructed already in the 9th century. Around the fortified settlements in Nitra, similarly as in other Great Moravian centres of power in the territory of Slovakia (e.g. Bratislava, Devín, Bojnice, Spišské Tomášovce, Zemplín, and possibly Muž¾a-Èenkov) there arose enclaves with higher density of population. Within the fortified area there was a particular area where the seat of the prince and the court was situated together with the area surrounding the castle, where there was a settlement of predominantly non-agrarian character. In the broader surroundings there was a network of settlements of peasants and craftsmen. The surplus of the diversified production was consumed almost exclusively by the ruling class which inhibited the origin of an internal market. The Great Moravian centres were linked with some branches of long-distance communications. By means of transitional commerce foreign products from different parts of Europe found their way into the Great Moravian courts.

The so-called fortified towns were in many ways predecessors of the later towns. They were centres of military, administrative and economic life. Gradually, not later than the beginning of Rastislav´s era, there arose other forms of settlements, as well – magnates´ estates. At first they represented centres of princely military and economic control in the micro region. In other cases they were connected exclusively with an economic role (e.g. the extraction of iron ore near a magnate's estate in Nitrianska Blatnica). In other instances are magnates' estates an evidence of an effort to create centres of regional administration, together with the stabilization of the “prince's loyal men” by awarding them certain territories for partial usage. We encounter in this case the origin of the oldest private seats - magnates' estates (Moravany nad Váhom-Ducové).

The character of the social differentiation reached such a stage of development that in the central parts of the Great Moravian state in the second half of the 9th century it is possible to see clear elements of an early feudal organization of relations in the field of production as well as in the society. This process is to a great extent reflected also in the material culture. Among the dwelling-places of the members of the ruling class there can be found log-cabins with several rooms, as well as Christian churches made of stone (Nitra, Bratislava, Devín, Ducové, Nitrianska Blatnica). Ordinary free citizens live at this time still in small settlements. Rectangular one-room dwelling-places, whose size was 10-16 m2, were constructed on the level of the terrain or with a slightly deepened ground. Log-cabins prevail. As regards burial rites, inhumation burial rite and burying in flat burial places prevailed (e.g. Bojnièky, Èajakovce, Dolný Peter, Hurbanovo, Ipe¾ský Sokolec, Ladice, Lipová-Ondrochov, Michal nad Žitavou, Smolenice, Trnovec nad Váhom, ve¾ký Grob, Závada). Only a small conservative portion of the population was burried in graves with barrows at this time (e.g. Skalica). Cremation graves can be found in this period only in southeastern Slovakia (Topo¾ovka). A new kind of burial place is a cemetery next to a Christian church.

The difference between culture of the courts and the so-called popular culture is reflected in the development of the artistic handicraft production. Approximately in the half of the 9th century the fashionable style of Blatnica-Mikulèice ceased to exist. Goldsmith's works and metal-foundries formed various groups with different technologies of production and different aesthetics of approach. Regional differences lost their importance and the social status and the requirements of the consumers became dominant. The luxurious part of the Great Moravian goldsmith´s works designed for the courtiers is represented by the so-called Veligrad style with legible influences from the Byzantine, Italian, Frankish, Eastern European and possibly also Scandinavian territories. Another part of the production followed the development in the Carpathian Basin, i. e. the jeweler´s works of the Danubian type from the 8th century. The evidence of it is e.g. a group of products of the so-called Nitra type.

The external and internal causes of the destruction.

 In spite of successful economic expansion, whose achievements were also reflected in the military expeditions aimed at expansion during the reign of Svätopluk, in the late 9th century a deep crisis of Great Moravia in its whole measure is obvious. On the basis of a confrontation of both written and material sources this crisis must have had several centres. There were still elements of double organization (the Moravian Principality and the Principality of Nitra). The development of the different parts of the territory was not balanced (e.g. the princely class and the class of magnates were becoming feudalized, the communities of free citizens, the conflicts between the followers of the Christianity and the genuine pagan religion). Lack of unity in the organization of the economy (specialization of production, which resulted in a narrow focus on the ruling class inhibited the development of the internal market). Clear signs of a crisis appeared directly within the ruling class. There was struggle for power among the members of Mojmír family, but especially the there was the growing power of the magnates that was based upon the ownership of the ground as well as upon their own military suites.

The destruction of Great Moravia seems to be, above all, the result of a process of disintegration, i.e. a decomposition of an organized unit – the core of the territory – and a rise of minor territorial units. The attack of the Old Magyars wasn‘t probably faced by a unified force anymore. The territory of Slovakia in the 10th – 11th century.

The Duchy of Nitra.

The different parts of the territorial core of Great Moravia experienced different developments. Moravia itself became a territory in the sphere of power of the Czech state, but it retained some independence until the second half of the 11th century. The Old Magyar military suites occupied at the end of the first quarter of the 10th century the strategic centres in the southern parts of Slovakia. Prior to the second half of the 10th century greater groups of the ordinary Old Magyar population moved into the area. They often occupied especially those enclaves of the Danubian Lowlands that had been formerly more thinly populated. The signs of their presence in the area are small burial places or rare inhumation graves, at first with a typically nomadic material culture of the eastern European or even oriental origin (elements of the so-called “Leved-industry”). They settled, however, only in approximately ? of those areas in Slovakia that had been populated already in the 9th century and it concerned only the southern lowlands that were often moist, swampy and more suitable for seasonal pasture.

 In the 10th century represented the Old Magyars in the southern territories a growth of the population in the range of approximately 8-10% compared to the genuine Slavic inhabitants of the territories. The research in the field of burial places provides us with the evidence that in the 10th century the continuity of the older Slavic settlement was mostly preserved and only a small portion of the population moved slightly northwards. Elements of an organizational connection were possible probably also because of the fact that a part of the Slavic aristocracy in the Central Danubian region – i.e. also in southern Slovakia – got accustomed to the new conditions and took part in the military expeditions of the Old Magyars that were directed into various parts of Europe and were aimed at the acquisition of booty. Since the last third of the 10th century the early Hungarian ruler Stephen I. relied apparently upon the help from a part of the Slavic magnates in the process of unification and suppression of the resistance of the conservative parts of the Old Magyar family aristocracy (the fortified settlement at Bína). In the process of building up the early Hungarian system of craft-colonies in the 11th century the skills of the Slavic population in the field of handicrafts were used as well as the remnants of the production infrastructure situated around the former Great Moravian centres that functioned continually during the era of the Hungarian state. The network of craft-colonies was formed on the basis of huge shifts of the population. This development might have also contributed to the fact that the Slavic population in Transdanubia and to a great extent in the southern parts of Slovakia, too, got assimilated quite rapidly and almost completely. Co-existence and gradual assimilation in the ethnically mixed southwestern Slovakia is reflected in e.g. several stages of development of the material culture, provided on the basis of the research of inhumation burial places.

The originally parallel development of the cultures of the Slovak and the Old Magyar populations was integrated in the burial places containing products of the so-called Belobrdo style into a qualitatively new cultural phenomenon. The evidence of this development can be seen e.g. in the results of the research concerning the early medieval burial place in Èakajovce that includes elements from several stages of development. Despite a temporary decline, since the 11th century some of the Great Moravian centres became the seats of the early Hungarian counties (Nitra, Bratislava, Starý Tekov, Zemplín). Nitra became even a seat of a very important institution of the Hungarian system of successors to the throne – a frontier duchy – and therefore we are going to focus on Nitra to a relatively great extent.

The information about Nitra in the time from the 9th till the 12th century is characterized by a limited amount of available records. Therefore the main task concerns the archaeological research, so that it may produce – in an interdisciplinary cooperation with esp. historians and architects – a picture of the settlement as well as of the changes of its structure. At the first sight, it may seem that there is a huge basis of sources available. The list of archaeological “points,” proving the settlement of the municipal area from the 10th till the 13th century, contains 61 units. This number itself does not tell us much about the structure and quality of the settlement, or about its changes. It proves, however – in comparison with the Great Moravian era – that the density of the settlement was continually increasing and covered a smaller area. The original three fortified settlements were under new circumstances reduced to two, whose importance was on increase already in the 9th century: the castle-hill and Vàšok. A smaller core of the settlement was formed, which was the actual “municipal” area.

The settlements in the surroundings experienced a separate development. This archaeological scheme – defined general trend of development – can be confronted with the preserved written records. There was an important tradition of being a seat of a prince, connected with a certain territory. It was not just the fact that Nitra was the seat of a frontier duchy, one third of the kingdom, administered by the members of the ruling dynasty – “the successors to the throne”. It was above all the territorial integrity of the Principality of Nitra, which on the basis of historical sources (e.g. occupation by the Polish ruler Boleslav the Brave in the early 11th century, but also the practically identical territory administered by the archbishop of Esztergom/Ostrihom in the 11th century that followed even older Church jurisdiction) corresponds, with certain deviations, to the territory of Slovakia.

Another fact that seems to be undoubted is the continuing existence of the monastery at Zobor, which is connected with two saints from the first third of the 11th century – Svorad-Andrewand Benedict - as well as with two Zobor documents stemming from 1111 and 1113. There is an important mention of the chapter, of the local school and of the restoring of the diocese probably already in the late 11th century. From the point of view of the topography of Nitra, it is necessary to evaluate objectively the statement of the notary of King Belo III. (the so-called Anonyma) together with his biased chronicle stemming from the late 12th century that is, within the historical research, treated with very little confidence.

There is an interesting motif presented by him in the foreword to “Gesta hungarorum”: he wants to recount to the reader “how the things happened”, since to know one's own history “from untruthful legends of the villagers, or from the shallow songs of those who joke, like in a dream,…. is utterly unsuitable and…..lacks dignity”. It is obvious that we encounter in this case an old example of an attempt of creating a biased official history in an arbitrary way together with an attempt to suppress the still vital tradition concerning the events from the era of the arrival of the Old Magyars in central Europe at the threshold of the 10th century. The author, however, in his effort to support the credibility of his statements, makes use of his own topographical knowledge as well as the generally accepted tradition concerning several towns and castles. An example of such a procedure is the description of the conquest of Nitra by the Old Magyars. Reminiscences of later events are reflected here – of the military expansion of the early Hungarian state, several decades after the disintegration of the united principality of Svätopluk. According to the mentioned text the access to Nitra was from the east possible only after crossing a river. The fight connected with this crossing of the river lasted three days, allegedly, and only after this hid the defenders behind the walls of the town of Nitra (!). In the following part of the text it is stated that the assailants started to attack the town of Nitra in all possible ways” and then “entered the town.”

 The existence of the Duchy of Nitra is an evidence of the tradition of the Principality of Nitra from the pre-Hungarian era. It follows, after all, also from the recent research achievements concerning the castle of Nitra. The powerful fortification from the 9th century seems not have been destroyed by a sudden attack in the early 10th century. It is even probable that it was repaired during the 10th century, or it was possibly made even higher with a technology corresponding to the original methods of its construction. It is only in the 11th century that the original fortification from the Great Moravian era is destroyed. Directly in its original place there was built a new early Hungarian fortification – after the adjustment of the terrain – made of wood and soil, which again surrounded the whole area of today's Upper town. There are remains of several mundane stone buildings as well as indications of another church that have their origin in the 11th century. Maybe already at the threshold of the 12th century there was a new fortification built, still surrounding, however, the area of the old fortified settlement. This time it was already a bulwark made of stone and mortar. This archaeological evidence can be supplemented by the information on the striking of coins in Nitra by the local dukes (dux) Belo (1048-1060) and Gejza (10641074).

The compact Slovak settlement at Nitra in the 10th century, whose structure had not been affected in a significant way, is proved not only by the continuity of the development of the agglomeration around the castle closely connected with the adjoining colonies, but also by several burial places. In the disputes with the ruling representants of the dynasty were the dukes of Nitra able to use the potential of the territory administered by them. An example of this procedure is the initiative of duke Gejza, after 1064. He had close relations with Nitra and he tried to revive and support the tradition connected with the holy life of the hermits Svorad-Andrew and Benedict, no later than in the first third of the 11th century, in the area surrounding the Abbey of Zobor. The initiative concerning the canonization of Svorad and Benedict, which did not take place until some time before 1083, shall be examined from several aspects. One of them is certainly the effort to strengthen the authority of the duke and his seat in Nitra. A duke´s seat in the terms of those times would be incomplete without a full Church structure and Nitra suggested optimal conditions as to this aspect. Ever since the second half of the 11th century the interest to revive the local diocese grew stronger. The cult of Svorad and Benedict contributed to the growth of the authority of the place where the hermits lived, undoubtedly – the monastery at Zobor and the newly formed branch of the Abbey of Zobor – Skalka near Trenèín.

I have made an allusion to a possible political motivation of the duke of Nitra, Gejza, who, a little later, in the year 1074 after tough fights with Samuel, became the Hungarian king. The formation of political and military alternatives by Gejza, from the point of view of the Duke of Nitra, is illustrated e.g. by the fact that in the decisive coalition-battle against Samuel at Mogyorod in 1074, he relied upon the military units from Nitra that were under his direct command. The foundation of the Benedictine monastery at Hronský Beòadik in 1075 is closely connected with the activities of Gejza, who had, at that time, already ascended the royal throne. The placing of the relics of St. Svorad in the church situated in the castle of Nitra and the supplementing of the patron saint of the church - St. Emeram – by two new local saints corresponded to the interest to promote and revive the importance of the seat of the duke. It might have been a help when restoring the diocese of Nitra, too.

In spite of certain future aspirations of the dukes of Nitra that were indirectly connected with the issue of the canonization of Svorad and Benedict, these plans could not have been fulfilled since the institution of the duchy ceased to exist in the early 12th century. North of the primary Old Magyar occupation, the development of the local organizational structures persisted in the 10th century. It is necessary to take into account the geographically differentiated Old Magyar neighbourhood, in the first half of the 10th century the ties with the White-Croatian Principality in the Visla region and in Silesia and later the territorial expansion of the Czech and Polish states. The rise of minor territorial units ruled by representatives of the Old Slavic aristocracy could correspond to the process of disintegration in the late Great Moravian era. A similar development can be also presumed in the whole of eastern Slovakia, where we do not encounter permanent Magyar, or early Hungarian, interference until the early 11th century (e.g. Zemplín). The character of Slavic – Old Magyar relations in the 10th century can be generally described as antagonistic. In concrete cases, however, there is evidence of military solutions (e.g. the fortified settlements in the area of the so-called Slovenská brána/Slovak Gate in the Hron region), payment of tributes (esp. in the form of metals) as a pledge for securing peace and finally occasional military alliance. The settlements, agriculture and handicraft production seem to be fluently following the Great Moravian era, in this area. Material culture contains signs of rusticalization. Elements of the Old Magyar culture appear only rarely.

In the northern and eastern parts of Slovakia there are signs of contacts with Polish and Baltic territories, as well as with Kiev-Russia. When, after the Polish-Hungarian treaty in the year 1018, a systematic expansion of the Hungarian kingdom northwards was initiated and the occupation of the territory of Slovakia did not reach its final limit on the tops of the Carpathians until the late 11th century, there elapsed almost 200 years since the northern-most parts of Slovakia experienced the destruction of the united Great Moravia. Genuine elements, stemming from the 9th century, had in the meantime ceased to exist or they had been transformed, but there had been formed new elements on the basis of internal development and external influences. However, even some of the local Slavic centres stemming from the era after the destruction of Great Moravia had been transformed into the centres of counties (e.g. the castle of Trenèín, the castle of Spiš).

The period of the 10th and 11th century represents a significant part of the older history of the Slovak nation. From the point of view of the ethnic genesis of the Slovak nation is the primary basis represented by the continuity of a compact Slavic settlement stemming from the pre-Hungarian era with its ability of absorption and integration of numerous minor ethnic groups that settled in the area for various reasons.