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International Conference KNOWLEDGE-BASED ORGANIZATION Vol. XXIV No 1 2018 EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL SECURITY DIMENSIONS OF EARLY SLAVIC STATHOODS IN THE TERRITORY OF SLOVAKIA Juraj ŠIMKO Armed Forces Academy of General Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia [email protected] Abstract: The article deals with basic characteriristic of external and internal security of first slavic tribes settled in Middle Europe. It describes struggle against external enemies which were Avarian nomadic tribes in the 7th century. It also describes defense against East Francia in the 9th century, importance of fortificated settlements. It characterizes warrior groups as main element of defence. Third part focuses on basic elements of Gret Moravian´s internal security such as law codex named “Law codex for people”. Keywords: Early slavic states, Great Moravia, Slavic tribes, Avars, Charlemagne, duke Svätopluk, early slavic law, slavic expansion. 1. Introduction historical sources, on the contrary, attest to This article indicates the dimensions of the the fact that the Slavs in the very beginning development of the external and internal of their existence in the geopolitical space security of our Slavic ancestors. It is based of the Middle Europe were active on research and an analysis of available participants of the processes leading to the written sources [1]. As it is a rather broad formation of state services, which we and wide topic, it is focused on the brief cannot call peaceful in any case. Slavs, that approach and characteristics of the studied were settled in the territory of today's subject. Despite of the extensive Slovakia, have become political archaeological research of Slavic settlement competitors of the surrounding state units, in the Slovak Republic area, the issue of whereby they were defending their way of securing the internal and external security life, customs, traditions, facilities of of the first Slavic state services deserves production and territory. more detailed processing. In addition to archaeological material Even today, Slovak society has to deal with pointing to a different culture of the newly the spreading myths of our Slavic arrived population, the contemporary ancestor’s nature, which depict the Slavs as written sources of the Nations retain the a dovelike nation, reaching for the weapon migratory current to which the Slavs have only at the time of the greatest threat. gone beyond. It follows, that the Slavs However, these are kind of the inhabited today's Slovak territory in the first romanticized ideas of tendentious authors half of the 6th century [2], at which the from the period of Slovak national revival sources of the previous 5th century do not (in 19th century). Researches based on mention Slavs by the descriptive DOI: 10.1515/kbo-2018-0032 © 2015. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License. 215 movements of different ethnicities in this upper base union in the middle Danube, area, that excludes the ancestry of the Slavs known as Samo's Empire. in our territory. Written sources, such as Fredegar's The settlement of the Slavic ethnicity in the Chronicle, inform us about the forms of neighbourhood of the Germanic tribes domination among Avaris and Slavs. They represented not only a new cultural element describe how Avars exploited the local stream, but also the formation of political- Slavic population, forcibly adopted military interactions accompanying the agricultural products, and also Avarian efforts of territorial expansion. In terms of warriors forced coexistence with Slavic them, the nomadic Avars start to penetrate women. From these forced relations came a to the Carpathian fold at the end of the 6th layer of population that was not accepted century and they try to put the local either by the Slavs and the Avars as well, as population under their control, which they were mix blooded. These mix blooded complicates the ethnic relations in this people were outside of the traditional region even more. This confirms that the family alliances, they were disinherited, and character of threads and challenges only military service was possible option affecting security, is derived from the wider for them. They fought in the toughest international context. This is characterized places, mostly as so-called befulci (subman, by the instability and uncertainty of the rightless warriors). Thus, an organized layer overall processes and the complaints of the of warriors grew up in the middle of the factors. [3] Slavic Peasant Society [4]. However, the origin of the Avarian Avarian violence resulted in the outbreak of khaganate did not affect all the Slavs. Only rebellion against Avarian domination, and the Slavs living on the northern edge of the its main military force, was the already avaricious domain were submitted. To the mentioned group of the warriors. The north of Avarian dominance, the density Franconian merchant Sam, who was a and extension of Slavic settlement and also foreigner, joined the rebellion, and was its economic strength expanded. There was chosen as a king due to the successful a breakdown of the Slavic society's tribal struggle of the Slavs. His empire became an establishment, even though they were important power-political element in the gradually taking over the model of a Carpathian fold in the years 623-658. company organization typical for Western Samo´s empire military force has grown so Europe, more precisely the Franconian much that the Serbian tribes of Dervan´s Empire. It is interesting, that during this princedom, and Czechs as well, have been process, Slavs, who gained their position in joined to it as cobelligerents. For the first the Carpathian fold before the Avaric time in the history of the Slavs settled in arrival, militarily helped Avaric to establish our territory, we can talk about the the khaganate. They actively participated in successful military actions by which main the Avarian-Byzantine wars or in the aim was the security of their own Avarian conflicts against the Franconian generations as well as expansion of their Empire. domain. In addition to the temporary elimination [5] 2. The Dimensions of the Development of of the Avarian threat over the Danubian the External Security among the Slavs in Slavs, this over based system had to face the Pre-Great Moravian Period further external threats. The rise of the Avarian despotism and intolerance caused a military potential of the Slavs and their wave of averse among the conquered Slavs. territorial expansion have come to against The result was the beginning of a Slavic to the Franconian Empire. In the year 631, the Franconian military struggle against 216 Samo's reign is marked, which the Slavs beginning of the 9th century, proved to be a managed to break off (the famous battle at vigorous element. Paradoxically, avarian Wogastisburg), and in the following period oppression and interference of the they carried out robber rides to Franconian Empire did not cause its neighbouring Thuringia. Although we do not extinction; on the contrary, in our area, in have reports about the detailed way in which these dimensions, stronger alliances are we can defend ourselves against external created, opening up into the first nucleus of threats, it is possible to assume a level of state system. military organization based on reports of military missions to neighbouring regions, 3. Dimensions of the Development of providing not only defences but also attacks. External Security of Slavs in the Great There is a legitimate presumption that Sam Moravian Period could create a military group, high-quality In the process of gradual assimilation of the armed forces, that formed the core of his avarian ethnics in the Carpathian area and a military force [6]. stronger effort to expand of the Franconian After Samo's death, his empire collapsed Empire to the east, the Moravian and and the influence of the Avarian khaganate Nitrian princedom gradually came to the intensified. In the last quarter of the 7th forefront. The power of the counties of century, a certain Slavic and Avarian course depended on their military power as symbiosis was manifested, while the Slavic the main attribute of the external and society was able to maintain its autonomous internal security of the territorial unit. In position [7]. Gradual Avarian assimilation our environment, hillforts have begun to be was only one of the manifestations of built, with numerous functions related to development. On the other side, the strong production, trade, defence and to the pressure was on the Avarian khaganate by organization of political power. From these the Franconian Empire. In the years 791- settlements, the Slavic leaders of the most 796, Avars suffered severe defeats in the powerful governing layer could gradually battles among Charlemagne´s armies, and consolidate their territory and strengthen Avarian power in the Carpathian area was their power. rapidly being weaken. The latest report The Middle Age timeliness of the written about Avars comes from the year 822. sources records a total of sixty-five military This development was mainly used by the events related to the great Moravia. There Slavs, who gradually occupied the avarian are six references to internal divisions, positions. Against the background of the sixteen references to the military expansion demise of the Avaris' estates, preconditions of Great Moravia, twenty-three to the were created for the state-law process of the defence of their own territory and eleven to over-Danubian Slavs and Moravians. the truce [9]. This calculation is definitely The growing military power of the Slavs, not definitive, it is assumed that not every coupled with the gradual liquidation of the event has been recorded by the author, or Avaric domination, was a pretext for the only a portion of the surviving sources are military engagement of Karl the Great in available from a number of irretrievably the battles among the Slavs.