Slovakia History: Difference between revisions

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The first inhabitants of Slovakia were Celtic and, later, Germanic tribes. From probably the sixth century A.D. on, Slavic peoples settled into the region in several waves of migration. By the seventh century the Slavs had fallen prey to the Avars, a nomadic Turko-Tartar tribe. In 624 Samo, a Frankish merchant, succeeded in uniting the Slavic people of the region and led them into battle against the savage Avars. Samo defeated the Avars and established the first Slavic state near the central Danube. Samo’s kingdom disintegrated after his death in 658. The Avars regained control of the area until they were driven out by Charlemagne’s Frankish armies in 799. In the 830s a Slavic state called the Great Moravian Empire arose on the northern bank of the Danube. It extended over the territory of present-day Slovakia and Moravia. The independence of Great Moravia was threatened not only by German military power, but also by the missionary activity of the German priests. At the request of the Great Moravian prince, Rastislav, the Byzantine Empire in 863 sent missionaries Constantine (later known as Cyril) and Methodius who introduced a Slavic liturgy. After the death of Methodius in 885 Slovak priests were expelled and replaced by German priests effectively ensuring the dominance of Roman-Catholicism in the region. In 894 the German King Arnulf called in the Magyars (Hungarians) to help in his struggles against Moravia. In the early 900s Great Moravia fell into obscurity and by the year 1001 Slovakia was under the control of the Magyars. From 1001 A.D. to 1918 Slovakia was dominated by the Magyars. Following the Turkish defeat of Hungary in 1526, Slovakia came under Habsburg rule but the Magyar land owners still held their position of power over the Slovak peasants. Under the dual monarchy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, established in 1867, the Slovaks remained under Hungarian dominance.  

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