623 - 658: Samo’s Empire

658 - late 8^th c.: An obscure period

late 8^th c. - 833: Nitrian Principality, Moravian Principality and the fall of the Avars

833 - 907: Great Moravia and the Balaton principality

907 - 1030: Between Great Moravia, (?)Bohemia, Poland and Historic Hungary

It was located in present-day Moravia, Slovakia and Lower Austria (probably also western Bohemia, Sorbia at the Elbe (631), and temporarily the Slavs in Carinthia). Samo, a Frankish merchant, was the first Slav ruler (king) in history known by name:

623: Samo is made king of the Slavs after a successful insurrection of the Slavs (archeological findings suggest that at Bratislava-Devín) against Avar rule in this region.

c. 629: St. Armand, a Belgian apostle and Benedict monk, is a religious missionary for the Slavs living above the Danube (the first one known by name in Slovakia).

631: Battle at Wogastisburg (an unknown castle): Samo defeats the Frankish king Dagobert and subsequently invades Thuringia (in present-day Germany) several times.

636: Samo is defeated by the Thuringian duke Radulf.

641: Radulf, after he has created an own independent state, comes to terms with Samo’s Empire.

658(?): Samo dies.

658 – late 8^th century: The further history of the empire of Samo and of the Avars is unknown. Archaeological findings suggest that Samo’s Empire probably ceased to exist, because the Avars returned to southern Slovakia and entered into a symbiosis with the Slavs. Other parts of Slovakia, however, remain under Slavic influence. The Slav settlements of Samo’s Empire are largely identical with those of the later Moravian and Nitrian principalities (see below), so that the existence of some unknown Slavic states covering this obscure period is probable in this territory.

745 - 784: Christianization activities performed by Anglo-Saxon – Irish-Scottish missions (starting from Bavaria) reaches its height and reaches Slovak territory.

788: The Avar War (788/791 - 796/803) between the Frankish and the Avar Empire begins, after Bavaria (up to the Enns river at that time) has been annexed by the Frankish king Charlemagne. Parallely Charlemagne fights against the Saxons (772-804), Danes (808-810), Slavs at the Elbe and the Czechs (789-806)

790: The Frankish Empire and the Avar Empire do not reach an agreement concerning their common border. As a result, see 791.

791: The Avar War enters into a new phase – the Frankish Empire tries to expand in Pannonia and starts a series of attacks against the Avars. From September to November Charlemagne starts a successful attack along both sides of the Danube and he returns home after he has reached the mouth of the Rába (and the Váh) River. As a result he extends Frankish territory up to the Wiener Wald. Charlemagne undertakes this attack together with ”some Slavs” – maybe Serbs or Moravians and Nitrians or Czechs; if they were Moravians and Nitrians, then this marks the end of Avar supremacy over them, see also 795.

791(some sources): “Eastern Rugia”, i.e. the territory between the Danube and the Dyje Rivers, is granted to the arising Moravian principality, maybe as a reward for help provided to Charlemagne in the Avar War. According to other sources this territory was only annexed to Moravia in 853-854.

795: The main leader of the Avars – the kaghan – is assassinated because of the bad course of the war against the Frankish Empire since 791 and the resulting internal feuds of Avar commanders. Taking advantage of these internal feuds, the Slavs from the arising principalities of Nitra and Moravia get rid of Avar supremacy (if it did not happen already (see) in 791), and the leader of the westernmost part of the Avar Empire (maybe identical with the person Zodan – see 803) more or less betrays the remaining Avars, thus enabling a small Frankish troop led by the (till today unknown) Slav “Wonomyrus” – for the first time - to penetrate to the capital of the Avars in Pannonia (maybe in today’s northern Serbia), to devastate it, and to capture the  legendary Avar treasury. This will also enable the successful Frankish campaign next year.

795/796: The leader of the western Avars comes to Charlemagne together with many Avars. They are christianized and sent home. It is probable that also the Slavs around the Frankish Empire, who were also mostly more or less vassals of the Frankish Empire, were christianized as well at the end of the 8^th century.

796: When Pippin, the son of Charlemagne, comes to present-day northern Serbia to definitively defeat the Avars, their newly elected kaghan capitulates, but a large part of the Avars, who disagree with this, retreat to the east (behind the Tisza River). Pippin devastates the Avar capital once again (see 795). Charlemagne declares the Avar War terminated, but in reality it will go on unofficially during the following years. From now on, the Avar territory splits in 2 parts – the western (christianized) one will be under Frankish influence and the eastern one under the influence of Bulgaria. During the first decades of the 9^th century the Avar Empire will cease (last reference in 822, see below). Also in 796, a synod of ”some bishops” is convened by Pippin to a military camp at the Danube in the conquered Pannonia to discuss Christianization and ecclesiastic organization of the newly-subjugated areas. The resulting organization is as follows: the Aquileian patriarchate is responsible for the territory to the south of the Drave River, the bishop of Salzburg (see also 798) is responsible for the territory between the Drave and the Rába River (i. e. Lower Pannonia), and the bishop of Passau (founded c. 739) is responsible for the territory to the north of the Drave, i. e. Upper Pannonia plus present-day Slovakia, Moravia and parts of Lower Austria above the Danube. Quarrels will arise concerning this division, but it will be confirmed in 811 by Charlemagne. Anyway, East Frankish priests become the main Christian missionaries in Slovakia and Moravia, although there will be also missionaries from the Byzantine Dalmatia and from Aquileia (in Italy). After 796, the conquered territory is also divided among 2 ”praefecti provinciarum, comites etiam atque legati”, Gerold (to the north of the Drave River) and duke Erich of Friaul (to the south of the Drave river).

797(November): Some (probably western) Avars do homage to the Frankish king at Heristelli.

798: Great Salzburg is declared an archbishopric, the bishopric of Passau thus being subordinated to Salzburg. The first archbishops of Salzburg will be Arno 798-821, Adalram 821-836, Liutprand 836-859, Adalwin 859-873, Adalbert 873, and Dietmar I 873-907. The bishops of Passau in the 9^th century will be Hatto 806- 817, Reginhar 818-838, Hartwig 840-866, Ermanrich 866-874, Engelmar 875-899, Wiching 898-899, and Richar 899-903. The first order by Charlemagne to Arno is to undertake Christianization missions.

799: An uprising of the western Avars against the Frankish influence arises and is defeated in the same year (or 802/803).

c. 800-863: A new phase of Christianization takes place in present-day Slovakia and Moravia. It is characterized by a stronger penetration of Christianity than during the previous centuries. It has been enabled by the defeat of the Avars.

beginning of the 9^th century: Remainings of the Avars survive in southern Slovakia in the region around Komárno.

c. 800-830: The territory of the Nitrian primcipality expands and comprises whole present-day Slovakia, western Ruthenia and parts of present-day northern Hungary. The biggest centers found till today are: in western Slovakia:Nitra, Bratislava (parts Devínska Nová Ves, Devín), Pobedim; in eastern Slovakia and Ruthenia: Brekov and Zemplín; and in northern present-day Hungary: Feldebrö. It is possible that eastern Slovakia and Ruthenia became parts of the principality only later (that is already as parts of (see below) Great Moravia), however Slavic castles were there in the early 9^th century.

803: The Avars definitively stop to be Frankish enemies, after Charlemagne has sent a troop to Pannonia and “Zodan, the Prince of Pannonia” has done homage to Charlemagne. Zodan is accompanied by many Slavs and Avars, who also do homage to the king.

804: The eastern Avars are attacked and defeated by Bulgaria. In this connection the Avars reveal that the cause of the end of the Avar Empire were internal quarrels, corruption and hard drinking of wine.

805 or 806: One of the (maybe eastern) Avar leaders, Theodorus, asks Charlemagne (since 800 called ”emperor”) to allow the Avars, who - exhausted by fights with the Slavs (”infestationes Sclavorum” , esp. 802-805) - cannot live in their old seats anymore, to settle between Szombathely and Carnuntum, i. e. at the eastern Frankish border, as a small Frankish buffer state against the Slavs of the Moravian and Nitrian principalities. Charlemagne complies with the request. The remaining (eastern) Avars will be defeated by Slavs and/or disappear in the Bulgarian Empire. From now on, the Avars are no relevant factor in Pannonia anymore. At the end of the year, the Frankish Empire issues a (4^th) ban on the export of weapons to the Slavs and the Avars (previous such bans for the Slavs appeared in 779, 781 and 803, another one will appear in 811). These bans show that the power of the Slavic Princes is quite high already.

805: The Bavarian historian Johannes Aventinus (1477-1534) will write in the 16^th century that in 805 the Bratislava Castle was repaired during the reign of its lord, Prince Vratislav, (on the place of the ruins of an old Roman settlement allegedly called Pisonium) and was named Wratisslaburgium. If this is true, Prince Vratislav is - after Samo (see 658) - only the second Slavic historical figure known from the Middle Danube region.

806: Moravia is not mentioned among the countries paying homage to the Frankish Empire in Charlemagne’s Ordinatio imperii.

811: Charlemagne sends troops to Pannonia to settle quarrels between the Avars and the Slavs “settled around the Danube”. This might be the first historic reference to today’s Slovaks (princeps Avarum et tudunum et alii primores ac duces Sclavorum circa Danubiam habitantium). Frankish troops succeed in this and bring to Aachen representatives of both parties. It is unknown how Charlemagne then solved the quarrels of the two parties.

817: The new Frankish emperor Louis the Pious puts the following territories under ”control” of his son, the Bavarian king Louis the German: Bavaria, Carinthia, Bohemia, Avaria and Slavs living to the east of Bavaria (Baioariam et Carentanos et Boheimos et Avaros atque Sclavves, qui ab orientali parte Baioariae sunt ). Note however that in reality only Bavaria was a direct part of the Frankish Empire.

822: Participants of the diet at Frankfurt , who are doing homage to the Frankish emperor, are – among others – the ambassadors of the (already Slavizized) Avars, the Moravians (Marvanorum) and the Bohemians. This is the last reference to the Avars and the first reference to the Moravians in history.

c. 825: Pribina (Priwina, Privina, Priuuinna) becomes the Prince of the Nitrian Principality (see 2^nd half of the 8^th century).

828: In Nitra (Nitrava) - in the Nitrian Principality (Slovakia) – a church is consecrated by Adalram, the archbishop of Salzburg (see 796, 798). This is the first written reference to a Christian church of Western and Eastern Slavs (the text is the Conversio Bagoariorum et Carantanorum (870)). It is disputed whether Pribina himself had been already baptized or not or whether he was baptized only by Irish-Scottish missionaries, which was considered an insufficient baptism by the Franconians, because it was done using ordinary water. In any case he will be (re)baptized in Traismauer after he has been expelled from Nitra (see 833).

829: Louis the German divides central Europe as follows: The Bishopric of Passau receives present-day Moravia and Slovakia (”territory to the west of the Rabica and Raba rivers”) and the Archbishopric of Salzburg Pannonia above the Drave river (”the territories to the east and to the south of the above mentioned rivers”).

c.830(some sources 833): Mojmír I (Moimay, Moymar) becomes the Prince of the Moravian principality.

831:According to the Conversio Bagoariorum et Carantanorum (870), Reginhar, the Bishop of Passau, baptizes all the Moravians (by which however the military leaders of the Moravians are meant). See also 796.

843(or around 850; some sources say 817): The undated anonymous document ”Descriptio, Civitatum et Regionum ad septentrionalem plagam Danubiti” (called the Bavarian Geograph) describes territories situated to the north of the Danube and neighboring on the East Frankish Empire. It mentions that the Slavs in present-day Slovakia [the Merehanos] have 30, in Moravia [the Marharii] 11, in Bohemia 15, and Bulgaria [Vulgarii regio] has 5 castles (or rather castle counties). Archaelogical finds of castles (fortified settlements) from the Mojmír I period almost exactly confirm these numbers. Older sources assumed that the original text was written in 817 and the part on the Merehanos was added only in 882-883/889, so that the Merehanos is only another name for the Marharii after they have expanded their territory mainly to Slovakia and Wislania.

846: Louis the German, the king of the newly (in 843) created Eastern Frankish Empire, invades Great Moravia, removes Mojmír and makes Rastislav (Rastic, Rasticlao, Rastislaus) (Mojmír’s nephew) the new king. Rastislav is thus the second king of the Mojmír dynasty. Louis permanently seeks to extract tribute from Great Moravia and to influence its internal affairs.

c. 850 – 855: Rastislav is not subordinate to Louis the German anymore and is even involved in struggles for power in the East Frankish Empire helping the adversaries of Louis. Bavarian priests are expelled from Great Moravia. In this connection the Synod of Mainz of 852 discusses –among other things - Christianization in Great Moravia by Frankish clergy and states that it is already a Christian country, although the Christianity there is ”rude”, i.e. only superficial (other sources translate this as violent). The decree of the Synod implies that neither the king nor the Synod have (presently) power over Great Moravia.

853(some sources): Slavs (including Great Moravia) together with the Bulgarians rise against Louis the German, but are defeated

853-854(some sources): Rastislav occupies the territory between the Danube and the Dyje River. See 791.

855: Louis the German first sends a small troop to Bohemia to prevent the Bohemians from helping Great Moravia and then invades Great Moravia and is defeated by Rastislav (probably at Bratislava-Devín). Rastislav even devastates the Eastern March of the East Frankish Empire.

late 850’s: Svätopluk (Sventopulk, Zventapu), the nephew of Rastislav, becomes the Prince of Nitra (see 833, 867).

857: Carloman, the count of the Eastern March and son of Louis the German, loots in Moravia up to the Svratka River. Carloman became count of the Eastern March in 856, one of his allies was the unknown ”Brynno, petty king of the Weneds (Slavs)”, who was settled at the Danube.

858: Rastislav becomes an ally of Carloman in connection with a rebellion of Bavarian nobles (led by the former count of the Eastern March count Ratbod) against Louis the German, the rebellion is defeated. After 858, Rastislav receives from Carloman north-eastern Transdanubia, i.e. the Pilis region in present-day Hungary.

860-861/863: Carloman - again supported by Rastislav - together with the Bavarian magnate Ernest fight against Carloman’s father Louis the German - supported by Pribina - and conquer large parts of his empire (”as far as the river Inn”). In this connection, Great Moravian troops invade the Balaton principality and Pribina dies (or is killed) in 861. Ernest is defeated in 861, Carloman in 863.

863/864: Cyril and Methodius arrive. See B)

862: First invasions of the nomadic old Hungarians against the East Frankish Empire – the old Hungarians are in Pannonia for the first time (see 881).

864: Rastislav, besieged at the Devín castle (Dowina, present-day Bratislava-Devín), is temporarily forced by Louis the German to acknowledge his supremacy over Great Moravia, but in the next year, he is again Louis’s enemy and an ally of his enemies. This is the first written reference to the important archaeological site – the Devín Castle in Bratislava.

865-866: In 865, Louis the German reorganizes the administration of his empire and divides it among his 3 sons. His son Carloman becomes the administrator of East Frankish marches situated along the Danube (“against the Slavs”) and in Bavaria. In 866, Louis junior, another Louis the German’s son, some of whose territories have been shifted to Carloman, starts a rebellion against his father and asks Rastislav to help him, but Rastislav refuses to do this. This is considered to be a proof of Rastislav‘s independence on the Frankish Empire.

867: Rastislav confers in fief to Svätopluk all eastern parts of Great Moravia, i.e. basically present-day Slovakia, (see late 850’s, 833) in connection with an (unsuccessful) East Frankish attack to Great Moravia. Thus Great Moravia is actually divided in two parts.

868-869(spring): Carloman undertakes looting raids in Great Moravia, trying to take advantage of the 867 division.

869(August): Louis the German launches a huge campaign against all Slavs settled at the Frankish border. For example, his son Charles is sent to Moravia to fight against Rastislav and his other son Carloman to Nitra to fight against Svätopluk, both Rastislav and Svätopluk defeat the enemies (although Great Moravia is devastated considerably).

870 (beginning of): The Pope makes Methodius (see B) )the Pope’s legate and archbishop of Pannonia and Great Moravia.

870: Svätopluk changes his mind and acknowledges East Frankish supremacy over his Nitrian principality. He has Rastislav (attempting to have Svätopluk killed) captured and gives him up to the Franks (in November, he is blinded and imprisoned for life). The Franks (Carloman) occupy Rastislav’s western part of Great Moravia (see 833, 867) and send own people there (esp. the counts Wilhelm and Engelschalk) to rule present-day Moravia. Svätopluk, having hoped to become the ruler of whole Great Moravia (i.e. incl. present-day Moravia), refuses to accept this occupation and he - as well as Methodius (see B) ) - are imprisoned.

871(summer): Facing a Great Moravian uprising against Frankish supremacy in the summer, led by the priest Slavomir from the Mojmír dynasty who is proclaimed Prince of Great Moravia, the Franks try to use Svätopluk, released from prison, to help them to suppress the insurrection as the leader of Frankish troops sent to Great Moravia. But Svätopluk defects to the other side, totally defeats the East Franconians (Bavarians) and becomes king (actually Prince) of Great Moravia. Svätopluk’s victory means the end of supremacy of the East Frankish king and bishops in Great Moravia.

870/871: Rastislav dies while he is still a prisoner of Louis the German.

871(October): In southern Bohemia, Bavarian troops attack a Great Moravian wedding suit bringing a Bohemian bride to Great Moravia (probably a bride for Svätopluk) and capture 664 horses and shields. Great Moravia probably conducts retaliatory attack, which in turn lead to Frankish invasions in (see) 872.

872: Svätopluk defeats 2 invasions of Louis the German: In May an invasion of Thuringians and Saxons, which failed that much, that even Moravian women were able to beat the enemies with bludgeons. In the summer, the upset Louis sends the Thuringians and Saxons together with other Franks (led by the Bishop Arno and Sigihart, the abbot of the Fulda monastery) as well as Bavarians (led by Carloman) to Great Moravia again, but the Thuringian–Saxon-Frankish troops are totally defeated and the Bavarians, sent to loot in Great Moravia during the fights, are also defeated by a surprising capture of their guards and ships, anchored on the Danube and waiting for the return of the Bavarians.

c. 873: An informant providing information for a book of Alfred the Great, the king of the English Wessex, collects information in Central Europe. The book Book Which is Called Orosius written in 888-897, provides a perfect description of central Europe and a confirmation of the then localisation of Great Moravia. He writes that the western neighbors of the Moravians are the Thuringians, the Bohemians and a part of the Bavarians; the Carinthians are to the south on the other side of the Danube; and the Wislanians are the [north]eastern neighbours. To the east of the Carinthians there is a waste land [present-day central and eastern Hungary] and behind the waste land there is Bulgaria. The waste land between Carinthia and Bulgaria is also mentioned in another place in the text, where it is described as being situated to the north of Istria, which in turn is to the north of Dalmatia.

874: The Peace of Forchheim is concluded between Svätopluk’s envoys (led by the priest John of Venice) and Louis the German in return for regular payments (other sources: one-time payment) to Louis. From now on, Svätopluk can begin to conquer huge new territories (see C) ), thus turning Great Moravia into an empire (also called Svätopluk’s Empire).

875: In the course of his campaign against the ”Prince of Wislania (Vistule country)” (874-879), Svätopluk conquers Wislania (see C)).

876: After the death of Louis the German, the East Frankish Empire is divided among his 3 sons. One of his sons, Carloman, receives Bavaria, Pannonia, Carinthia and – only as a Frankish ambition - becomes responsible for the ”kingdoms of the Slavs and of the Bohemians” (i. e. Great Moravia and Bohemia). In addition, Arnulf of Carinthia, the illegitimate son of Carloman, becomes the margrave of Carinthia (i.e. app. the territory to the south of the Eastern March).

late 879 or early 880: Great Moravia tries to subdivide its territory into dioceses for the first time. The Latin clergy manages to persuade Svätopluk and his dukes to elect Wiching the first bishop of Great Moravia. His seat will be Nitra (in Slovakia). Thus, Nitra becomes a bishopric and Wiching Methodius’ only known suffragan.

880: The pope, in his letter Industriae tuae (see C)), complies with Svätopluk’s request and Great Moravia is given as fief to St Peter (i.e. to the Papacy). In terms of international law, this patronage makes Great Moravia equal to other independent countries and domination by the East Frankish Empire is rejected. From now on Svätopluk is a ”king” not only de-facto (i. e. as Great Moravian chief Prince), but also de iure.

880: Elsewhere, Charles III the Fat (876- 887), the youngest son of Louis the German, becomes the neighboring king of Great Moravia after the death of Carloman. In 881 he is granted the title emperor. In 882 (after the death of his 2^nd brother) he becomes the only king of the East Frankish Empire. Arnulf of Catinthia is still the count (margrave) of Carinthia (see 876).

880(some sources: before 879): Svätopluk annexes Silesia (see C)).

c. 881: The first monastery is founded in Slovakia in Nitra on the Zobor hill. It is a Benedictine monastery.

c. 881: Svätopluk annexes present-day Hungary to the east of the Danube and to the south of the Tisza (Tisa) river . See 882. (Some sources ignore this event and say that this territory was only conquered in 882).

881: The nomadic old Hungarians seen in the Carpathian basin for a second time (see 862) - this time close to Vienna - performing their looting raids. Methodius meets them on his way to Constantinople.

882 : Svätopluk invades the East March of the East Frankish Empire as an ally of Charles III the Fat (see 880) in order to support the Frankish count Aribo(n), and, in addition, Svätopluk defeats the Bulgarianss trying to retake their territories conquered by Svätopluk in (see) 881. In detail, the following happened: Charles the Fat had replaced the sons of the counts Wilhelm and Engelschalk (see also 870) in the East March by count Aribo. As a result, serious conflicts arose in the East March, the sons of Wilhelm and Engelschalk decided to get rid of Aribo by force, and Svätopluk became Aribo’s ally. Subsequently, the sons of W. And E. expelled Aribo, Svätopluk invaded the properties of the Engelschalk family behind the Kamp river, and Charles the Fat appointed Aribo a count again. The Wilhelms and Engelschalks escaped to their ally, Arnulf of Carinthia (see 876), in Pannonia, started to prepare an attack against Svätopluk (see however 883), and Arnulf persuaded the Bulgarians to attack Svätopluk.

883(some sources 882-883): Svätopluk‘s troops invade Pannonia (territory of Arnulf of Carinthia), devastate and occupy it (for the moment only preliminarily - with military garrisons). See 884

884: In the summer, Svätopluk invades Pannonia again (because Arnulf tries to reconquer it), defeats the East Franconians at the battle at the Raba river, and devastates adjacent territories around the Balaton lake. Subsequently, in the autumn, Charles the Fat (see 882 summer) negotiates with Svätopluk probably on the Chuomberg (mons Comianus) near the Wiener Wald in the East March. The archbishop Methodius probably also participates in the negotiations. As a result, permanent peace is concluded between the East Franconians and Great Moravians, and Svätopluk is allowed to annex present-day western Hungary (Transdanubia, more exactly, the territory between the Drave River in the south, Wiener Wald in the west, Great Moravia in the north and the Danube in the east). Parallely, Charles’ vassal, Prince Braslav (see also 896), is granted the territory between the Drave and the Sava river, and Arnulf of Carinthia (see 876, 885, 887) Bavaria.

885: Svätopluk makes peace with Arnulf of Carinthia (who is already planning to become the king of the East Frankish Empire - see 887), partly also because Svätopluk is the godfather of Arnulf’s (illegitimate) son Zuentibolch (Zuentibold, i. e. Svätopluk), the later king of Lorraine.

885(April 6): Death of archbishop Methodius, the main critic of Svätopluk’s personal life.

887: Elsewhere, Arnulf of Carinthia becomes the king of the East Frankish Empire (till Dec. 899) after the deposition of Charles III the Fat.

888 - 889: Tensions arise between Svätopluk and Arnulf of Carinthia, the new East Frankish king (see 887), who is often at the Blatnohrad castle (see C and 884) in order to prevent Svätopluk from looting in south-western Transdanubia. See also 890-before the Easter.

889(some sources): The old Hungarians seen in the Carpathian Basin for a third time (see also 862, 881). They loot in Great Moravia and in the East Frankish Empire.

890(before the Easter): Svätopluk concludes (a short-lived) peace with Arnulf of Carinthia on the ”Omuntesperch” Hill (maybe present-day Amandhegy-Pannonhalma or Omuntesdorf) where also an assembly of the East Frankish nobles takes place. As a result, the East Franconians (Arnulf) accept Svätopluk’s annexation of Bohemia. Subsequently, Svätopluk also annexes Lusatia (next to Bohemia). In addition, at Omuntesperch Svätopluk (on request of the Pope Stephen VI through the mediation of bishop Wiching in Nitra) persuades Arnulf to come to Rome to help the Pope to fight against Arab pirates.

891: New tensions arise between Svätopluk and Arnulf of Carinthia, probably because of Svätopluk’s annexation of Lusatia (see 890). Wiching leaves Nitra and becomes a servant of Arnulf of Carinthia (according to some sources, this happens only in July 892) and in 892 he will be appointed king Arnulf's Chancellor. Arnulf sends envoys (incl. Wiching) to Svätopluk to renew the peace between them, which is renewed formally, but see 892.

892: Arnulf, moving from Ulm to the East March, asks Svätopluk to come to meet him, but Svätopluk ignores this and even fights against the East Franconians in Pannonia, so that Arnulf decides to launch a large attack against Great Moravia (see below).

892 (July): Frankish, Bavarian, Swabian troops and troops of Braslav (see e. g. 896), sent by Arnulf of Carinthia, attack Great Moravia for 1 month. Hungarian troops have to be added to Arnulf’s troops, because the original troops turn out to be insufficient. Arnulf’s troops fail to defeat Great Moravia, so they only maraud in the country, and they even have to free the old Hungarians, who have been besieged by Great Moravians.

892 (September) – 893(spring): Arnulf ‘s envoys visit the Bulgarian tsar Vladimir to ask him to impose a blockade on exports of Transylvanian salt to Great Moravia

893(summer): Svätopluk defeats Arnulf of Carinthia, after he has marauded in Great Moravia again. This time, the reason for Arnulf’s attack was that the noble families of the son of Engelschalk (who had kidnapped Arnulf’s daughter) and of his uncle Wilhelm (see 882) started to become allies of Great Moravia and Arnulf wanted to prevent this

894(summer): Svätopluk dies, his son Mojmír II becomes the new king and his son Svätopluk II is conferred the Nitrian Principality (see e. g. 833). In 895 or 896, the 2 sons will fall out with each other, thus weakening the empire. Svätopluk II is supported by the Bavarians. It is not sure whether Svätopluk had a 3^rd son at this time (some sources suggest that yes and that he was called Predslav (Predeslaus) and received another principality within Great Moravia, maybe Bratislava (see under History of Bratislava). Some rare sources suggest that Svätopluk II was the new king, and not Mojmír II. Later legends (the Kosmos Chronicle) say that Svätopluk did not die, but went to a monastery at the Zobor hill in Nitra

894(autumn): The old Hungarians, taking advantage of the new situation in Great Moravia, undertake intensive looting raids there (acording to some less reliable sources: As a result Great Moravia looses Pannonia). In addition, Mojmír II concludes peace with Arnulf of Carinthia and probably renounces to Pannonia, i.e. present-day western Hungary (definitively lost to the old Hungarians in 896)

895: Bohemia breaks away from Great Moravia (gets rid of Great Moravian troops) and at the diet in Regensburg, in July, pays homage to Arnulf of Carinthia, the king of the East Frankish Empire, and promises to be his vassals.

896: Old Hungarians from Asia settle in the region around the Tisza River and easily conquer southeastern parts of Great Moravia in the Tisza region. As a result, the East Frankish king Arnulf of Carinthia charges his Slav vassal Braslav (Bräslav, Brazlaw; until then a Lower Pannonian Prince since 880(?)/officially (see) 884 ) with the administration of south-western Transdanubia with a center in Blatnohrad (see D). This territory will be however also conquered by the old Hungarians in 901 (see D). Braslav is probably the person who gave the Slovak capital Bratislava its German name Brezalauspurc (see 907), later Pressburg, and maybe also its new Slovak name Bratislava, which might suggest that he (or a person of the same name) was a lord of Bratislava castle in the late 9^th century. See also c. 995/1002

896(December): Envoys of Great Moravia visit Arnulf and ask him not to violate mutual peace agreements by providing asylum for refugees from Great Moravia (i. e. maybe Bohemians). Arnulf confirms his friendship towards Great Moravia.

897(some sources 899): Another delegation from Bohemia (see 895) appears in Regensburg and complains about oppression by the Moravians. Perhaps as a result, Mojmír II fails to recapture Bohemia.

897: Svätopluk II visits Arnulf of Carinthia in Worms. Arnulf becomes his ally

898: Mojmír II attacks Svätopluk II, but Arnulf sends Bavarian troops led by the nobles Liutbald and Aribo to help Svätopluk II, so that Mojmír II is temporarily defeated. The quarrels between the 2 brothers are fomented by the Bavarians count Aribo (see also 882) and his son Isanrich (son-in-law of king Arnulf of Carinthia), who were often seen at the central court of Great Moravia’s rulers.

898: Mojmír II asks the Pope John IX to send legates to enhance the independence of the Great Moravian ecclesiastic province, because after bishop Wiching’s departure in 891, there was no bishop, and after Methodius’ death in 885 no archbishop. Bavarian bishops (and especially Wiching, who was to become the bishop of Passau, which happened in September 898) are against this, because they consider Great Moravia ”their” territory. See 899

898-899(winter): The Bavarians – upset by Mojmír II’s request to the Pope (see above) - devastate Great Moravia.

899(early spring): After the retreat of the Bavarians, Mojmír II besieges Svätopluk II at some castle

899(spring): The Bavarians attack Great Moravia again, this time to help Svätopluk II (see above). They free him and take him to Bavaria. Subsequently, in Bavaria, Isanrich (see 898) revolting against Arnulf is defeated by Arnulf at the Mautern fortress, but Isanrich manages to flee (during his transport to a tribunal of Regensburg) to Great Moravia, and from there – supported by Mojmír II – he occupies some territory of the East Frankish Empire, which he can keep for some time, because Arnulf dies in 899 and due to internal problems of the East Franconians – see also 901. Isanrich’s rebellion enables that the arrival of papal legates in Great Moravia (see below) is carried on without difficulties

899(some sources 900): Based on the (see) 898 request, the three papal legates come to Great Moravia and consecrate four bishops and one archbishop for Great Moravia (whose names are unknown today). It is only known that one of the seats of these persons is again Nitra. In addition, from Great Moravia, the legates rebuke the Bavarian bishops to stop joining up the (heathen) old Hungarians (they claim that the old Hungarians had attacked the Lombardy in 899, because the Bavarians had bought off them). At the end of 899, the Bavarian bishops send a letter to the Pope, where they complain that the Pope has appointed the Great Moravian bishops and that it is not true that they would cooperate with the old Hungarians and that , on the contrary, Great Moravia has attacked Bavaria together with the old Hungarians in 899, and that, before the old Hungarians invaded the Lombardy in 899, they made a  truce with the Great Moravians and together they devastated Pannonia

900: Elsewhere, Arnulf of Carinthia is succeeded by his son Lousi the Child (900-911) on the East Frankish throne

900(spring): After their campaign to the Lombardy (see 899), the old Hungarians do not return to the Tisza River (see 896), but stay in Pannonia (today’s western Hungary).

900(spring): The Bavarians together with the Czechs (Bohemians) maraud 3 weeks in Great Moravia.

900(late summer): The old Hungarians attack Bavaria probably with Great Moravians as temporary allies– in late summer 900, they undertake a looting attack along the Danube up to the Enns river without a Bavarian reaction. Another group devastates a region next to Passau, but they are defeated by count Liutbald.

900 - 901(April): The old Hungarians conquer Braslav’s territory (see 896) and (maybe partly together with the Great Moravians) devastate Pannonia and Carinthia.

901: Facing Hungarian attacks, the East Frankish Empire (Louis the Child) and Great Moravia (Mojmír II) make peace -at the beginning of the year, envoys of Mojmír II go to a diet of Bavarian nobles where the conditions are agreed upon. In the autumn the envoys of the Frankish Imperial Diet (Richar - the bishop of Passau- and count Ulrich) visit Mojmír II, who has to confirm the peace in person. The peace also includes an exchange of Isanrich (who had fled to Mojmír II) for another person – maybe Svätopluk II (see 899 spring). This peace means that for the first time in history the Bavarians recognized the independence of Great Moravia, and it also put an end to Great Moravia’s hostilities with the Czechs (Bohemians).

902: Great Moravians defeat the old Hungarians who invade the center of Great Moravia for the first time.

903 or 904(some sources): Great Moravia is defeated by the old Hungarians.

904: The Bavarians stop the old Hungarians west of the Wiener Wald and kill the Hungarian chieftain Kusala during the following negotiations. As a result, there will be a Hungarian revenge in (see) 906/907, and Kusala’s death strengthens the position of the chieftain Árpád (d. Around 907), the founder of the Arpád dynasty ruling over the Hungarians till 1301.

905-906: The Raffelstetten customs tariff, set up by Bavaria and the East March, refers to a central "market of the Moravians" as available for Bavarian merchants and does not mention the old Hungarians, which suggests that they have no influence in Great Moravia yet

906: The old Hungarians are defeated by Great Moravians in several battles (in which Mojmír II probably dies). According to one (not very reliable) Hungarian chronicle from c. 1285, the Hungarians defeat Great Moravia at the decisive battle near Bánhida (in which some Svätopluk dies [however, the author confuses all names]) and at a castle near Szob – historians thus assume that Svätopluk II dies in 906, provided that he has returned from Bavaria to Great Moravia before 906 (see e. g. 901). Furthermore, the Hungarians defeat the Bavarians in several battles. Furthermore, in July, the Hungarians make a campaign to Saxony and probably pass through (the defeated?) Great Moravia.

907(July 4-5 and August 9): Three Battles at Bratislava (Brezalauspurc) [the Bavar-Hungarian War]: The Bavarians, led by duke Luitpold, are totally defeated by the Hungarians, led by Dursak and Bogat. Luitpold, Teotmar (the bishop of Salzburg), Udo (the bishop of Freising), Sacharias (the bishop of Säben) and many Bavarian counts die in these battles (especially on July 4). As a result, the Frankish East March ceases and is occupied by the Hungarians (907-955). Most historical sources do not mention the Great Moravians in this connection, who are thus often regarded as a spent force. One historical source however says that many Great Moravian warriors fighting together with the Bavarians were killed in this battle . Anyway, in connection with the August 9 battle, it is indirectly mentioned that, before the battle, Hungarian territory ended at the Danube in southwestern Slovakia. Therefore, the battle of August 9 is considered the end of Great Moravia. There are however references to Moravia (which maybe should not be referred to as Great anymore) from a time years later, e. g. (see) 924 and 942, they probably refer mainly to present-day western Moravia, Wislania, and northern Slovakia and Moravia and some other individual surviving centers. Many Great Moravian priests flee to Bohemia.

908(some sources wrongly 906): Two separate Hungarian armies make campaigns to their new allies, the Sorbian Glomaci (in German Daleminzier, Dalamanter, Dalmaten, Dalmatier), to help them to fight against the Saxons and probably pass through Great Moravia, which suggests that the central power in Great Moravia can be definitively considered defeated and that centralized Great Moravian authority collapsed in the late summer of 907 indeed.

861(?): Rastislav asks the Pope Nicholas I in Rome to send teachers to educate local (rather than East Frankish, i. e. German) clergy that would be loyal to the Mojmir Dynasty (other sources: He wants Slav missionaries and a Slav bishop). Rastislav intended to reduce East Frankish influence, which is not a surprise, because since 846, there have been permanent tensions between Great Moravia and the East Frankish Empire - the home country of the Frankish clergy from Salzburg and Passau. The request is ignored. Probably also in 861, Dalmatian Byzantine clerics (also active in Great Moravia, see 796) may have suggested approaching the Byzantine Emperor Michael III instead, see 862.

861 or 862: In his message sent to the Byzantine emperor Michael III (who was the 2^nd Christian head at that time) in Constantinople, Rastislav asks Michael III to send a Slav bishop and Slav teachers to educate local clergy (“ Our country has been baptized and we have no teacher that would lead us, educate us and explain to us the holy books, because we understand neither the Greek, nor the Latin language. . So send us teachers that could explain to us the words of books and their meanings. . .”). The emperor complies with the request and chooses Constantine (before 857 an experienced teacher and philologist, 857- 861 diplomat with the Arabs and Khazars, probably since 868 called “Cyril”) as the teacher. Constantine in turn chooses as his assistants his brother Methodius (around 850 an experienced administrator of a Slav province in the Byzantine Empire) as well as several students who were supposed to become priests. Both brothers are sons of a Greek father and a Slav mother and were born in Thessalonike , the 2^nd biggest Byzantine town and a region inhabited by many Slavs at that time. Before their departure to Great Moravia (863), Constantine chooses what we today call the Old Church Slavonic as the language he will use in Great Moravia. Originally this was the language (Slav dialect) used by Slav intellectuals from the region of Thessalonike (the language of the Aegean Macedonians), but during the Great Moravian mission the texts written in the language acquired many features of the language (dialect) used in Great Moravia (hence sometimes called Old Slovak). He also set up a script to be able to write texts in Old Church Slavonic needed in Great Moravia ("sclavinicae litterae", later called the Glagolithic alphabet) and , still in Constantinople, he translates some liturgical and biblical texts (these early texts however have not been preserved). Constantine and Methodius are thus considered founders of Slavonic (and Slovak) literature. Note that the Byzantine emperor did not send a bishop (who can ordain people) to Great Moravia to avoid conflicts with Rome (see also 867 summer).

863(summer or autumn) or 864(spring) [traditionally July 5 863]: Constantine and Methodius arrive in Great Moravia. They settle in an unknown town. Besides their first translations (see 861), they bring the remains of the former Pope Clement I, which Constantine had found in 860 or 861 in Cherson, to Great Moravia . They also bring the symbol of Byzantine cross (today’s national emblem of Slovakia) to Great Moravia. Note that Constantine and Methodius did NOT bring Christianity to the already christianized Great Moravia (see e. g. 796, 831, 852).

863 – 867: In Great Moravia, (in 863?) Constantine founds and leads the Great Moravian Academy, where future Slav administrators and priests are prepared. It becomes a center of Slav religious and profane literature, and some 200 students will have graduated from it when it ceases in 885. Its location is unknown, recent archaelogical research however shows that there was an ecclesiastic school at Devín (in today’s Bratislava). Bavarian (East Frankish) clerics in Great Moravia, representing the western (Latin) Christianity, are upset with the success of the 2 missionaries, representing the eastern (Byzantine, Greek) Christianity, and they claim that the liturgy can only be in Latin, Greek or Hebrew, i. e. in the languages of the Pilate inscription on the cross of Jesus Christ. In the Canon of St. Dimitris, written before 868, Constantine and Method express their regret at the attacks of the Latin Christians and state that Great Moravian society is still “barbarian”. The two brothers continue to translate and to write books – most importantly, they translate the Four Gospels into the Slavonic language (the 3^rd language after Vulgata and Wulfil’s translation). The divine services performed by the two brothers in Great Moravia are based on the eastern liturgy, but adapted to the Roman (western) one.

867(autumn): Constantine and Methodius leave Pannonia together with some 50 new students from the Balaton principality and arrive in Venice. In Venice, Constantine publicly defends the use of the Slavonic language (Old Church Slavonic) as a liturgical language in front of Italian priests , because until then only the Latin, Greek and Hebrew language were accepted as liturgical languages in the world (see also 863-867). In Venice they found out that Michael III has been killed and their supporter in the Byzantine empire, the patriarch Photius, has been replaced by his rival Ignatius. Subsequently, however, Constantine receives an invitation of Pope Nicholas I to Rome, which is probably due to the fact that he carries with him the remains of Pope Clement I (see 863 summer or autumn) and that he has some friends in Rome (e. g. Bishop Arsenius).

867-868(winter- March): In late 867, they are thriumphantly welcomed by the new Pope Adrian II (Pope Nicholas I died in November 867). Their entire mission in Great Moravia is approved : At Christmas the translations of the Bible are put on the altar in the St. Peter basilica in Rome and the translations of liturgical texts are put on the main altar of the basilica Maria Maggiore to show symbolically their acceptance by Rome, in February 868 Methodius and three of Constantine’s students (Gorazd, Clement, Nahum) are ordained and two become deacons , and in March 868 the Slavonic liturgy is approved. Note that it will only happen in the 20^th century again that other liturgical languages than Latin, Greek or Latin are allowed by the Pope in the world.

868: Constantine, Methodius and their students stay in Rome and continue their work (esp. Translations). Their sojourn in Rome complicates the relations between the Pope and Constantinople.

868 - 869: At the end of 868, Constantine falls ill, becomes monk in a monastery (where he probably takes the religious name Cyril (Kyrillos) on his deathbed) and dies on February 14 869. One week later, he is buried in the St. Clement Basilica. Methodius will take on his work. There is practically no basis for the assertion of the document ”Translatio” that Constantine was made a bishop.

870 (summer): Bavarian (East Frankish) bishops have Methodius – when returning to Great Moravia – captured in Transdanubia. He is brought to Regensburg, tortured and sentenced to prison in Swabia probably in Reichenau (other sources: Ellwangen) in November. The Bavarians thus do not accept Methodius’ new post as archbishop. During the trial, the Bavarian bishops‘ tribunal (probably led by Louis the German himself) uses the “Conversio Bagoariorum et Carantorum”, a document written by the Bavarian archbishop Adalwin shortly before the trial, in which one can read how Salzburg has christianized Great Moravia and Carinthia, and that the only problem is allegedly Methodius and his new Slav script, Slav language and books. Today, the document is an important source of information on the history of Great Moravia and Pannonia.

870 - 872: From his prison, Methodius writes many letters to the Pope and to Great Moravia. Initially, Rome cannot help Methodius, because it first needs the support of Svätopluk’s Great Moravia, which only becomes possible in (see) 872, when he defeats the East Franconians.

872 – 873: The new Pope John VIII (Pope since 872) sends letters to Louis the German, Carloman and to the clerics who had tortured and sentenced Methodius to prison (archbishop Adalwin, bishop Ermanrich etc.), in which he requires immediate release of archbishop Methodius. In the winter, he also calls the Bavarian bishops to come with Methodius to Rome to participate in an arbitration tribunal, but they refuse. Subsequently, Svätopluk shows his interest in Methodius fate (see 870-872), so that Pope definitively decides to act. He sends Paul, the bishop of Ancona, as a papal legate to negotiate – he is supposed to bring Methodius to Prince Svätopluk, and to say (1) to the East Frankish king Louis the German that Pannonia is within the jurisdiction of the Pope, so that Louis must intervene against his Bavarian bishops and in favor of the pope, (2) to the Bavarian bishops that they let Methodius do his work till the end of 877 and that only then there will be further negotiations in Rome, (3) to Methodius that he give up the use of Old Church Slavonic during liturgies.

873 (May-summer): In May the negotiations end. As a result, (1) Method as archbishop must give up the territories in Pannonia under control of Bavarian bishops (so that, in Pannonia, he is only archbishop of north-eastern Transdanubia (between Balaton and Esztergom) and of the Sirmium region), (2) Old Church Slavonic cannot be used during liturgies (except for readings from the Bible) and (3) Methodius is released from prison (in the summer), returns to Great Moravia and is guaranteed no problems at least till the end of 877. In addition, the Great Moravian Academy renews its work under the leadership of Methodius.

874(summer): Svätopluk makes an agreement with Louis the German, so that Bavarian priest can continue their work parallely with Methodius.

874-879: The leaders of the Latin clergy in Great Moravia John of Venice (at the same time Svätopluk’s advisor) and Wiching (a Benedictine monk from Swabia) criticize Methodius, the leader of the new Great Moravian clergy, in front of Svätopluk and provoke many quarrels.

879: In the spring, Svätopluk sends envoys led by John of Venice to Rome to ask the Pope to test Methodius whether he is orthodox and whether he teaches correctly. In the summer, Pope writes a letter to Svätopluk, which shows that John of Venice, instead of transmitting Svätopluk’s request, had denounced Methodius. The Pope also writes a letter to Methodius, in which he calls him to Rome (see 880 spring) to remove the suspicion that he is teaching wrongly and furthermore criticizes Methodius because he is allegedly using the “barbarian” Slavonic language (see 873 May-summer).

late 879 or early 880: After the envoys have returned, Great Moravia tries to subdivide its territory into dioceses for the first time. The Latin clergy manages to persuade Svätopluk and his dukes to elect Wiching the first bishop of Great Moravia. His seat will be Nitra (in Slovakia). Thus, Nitra becomes a bishopric and Wiching Methodius’ only known suffragan (see also 880summer).

880(summer): Pope John VIII tests Methodius (whether he is orthodox, whether he adheres to the decisions of the 6 ecclesiastic councils etc. ) and subsequently confirms his functions as archbishop and papal legate. He also tests Wiching. Wiching is subsequently consecrated as the bishop of Nitra, who is subordinate to the archbishop Methodius. In June, the Pope sends a letter called “Industriae tuae” to Svätopluk, in which (1) in the introductory part, the Pope complies with Svätopluk’s request, so that Great Moravia is given as fief to St. Peter (i.e. to the Papacy). In terms of international law, this patronage makes Great Moravia equal to other independent countries and domination by the East Frankish Empire is rejected, (2) the Pope confirms the functions of Methodius and the consecration of Methodius, (3) the Pope orders to send to Rome a further priest (confirmed by Methodius) to be made the bishop of another region of Great Moravia, so that Methodius and these two bishops can consecrate bishops for other regions in Great Moravia (which did not happen [some sources however say that Methodius had 7 bishops], (4) the Pope orders any clerics not obeying to Methodius to be expelled from Great Moravia, (5) the Pope approves the Slav script (Glagolitic alphabet) and orders that liturgies be held in the Slavic language, except that the Gospel shall be read in Latin first and only then in the Slavic language, and finally (6) orders that the liturgies be held in Latin for Svätopluk and his dignitaries, because the Pope has been told that they prefer Latin. In addition, the Pope also gives to Method a collection of decrees for Svätopluk to help him understand the ecclesiastic law – in this connection Methodius is mentioned as the archbishop of (the town of) Moravia, suggesting that Great Moravia became a separate archbishopric.

880 - 881: While the majority of the 880 delegation returns to Great Moravia, Wiching stays in Rome a little bit longer and writes a falsified letter to the pope, according to which Svätopluk is ordered to expel Methodius from Great Moravia. Subsequently, Methodius sends a letter to the pope, in which he asks him, what other letters he had sent to Svätopluk and what powers he had given to Wiching. In the spring of 881 the Pope replies that he had not written any other letter than Industriae tuae to Svätopluk or to Wiching (see below) .

881: Having read the Pope’s letter, the upset Methodius deposes Wiching as bishop of Nitra and charges him with missions in “ a territory that Svätopluk only recently annexed” to Great Moravia, which can only be Wislania (Vistula region to the north of Slovakia) – see C). Wiching will try to return to Nitra (e.g. in 882), but Methodius’ students will prevent him from doing so. See also 885 winter.

881 – 882: Methodius visits (with Pope’s consent) the Byzantine emperor and the patriarch Photius (see e. g. 867) in Constantinople, i. e. In Methodius’ home country. On his way to Constantinople, he meets one of the chieftains of the old Hungarians at the Iron Gate (Derdap, Portile de Fier). In Constantinople, he is warmly received and the emperor keeps one student and one deacon of Methodius as well as some of his Slavic books. Methodius returns to Great Moravia together with some envoys of the emperor.

883(March – October): Methodius translates almost the entire Old Testament from Greek to the Slavic language, see also 863-867 and 885.

880’s (probably around 883): Prince Bořivoj, the leader of Bohemia, comes to Great Moravia to be baptized by Methodius.

885: Several months before his death (see below), Methodius finishes the translation of the entire Bible (see 833 March-October).

885(before April 6): Methodius – on his deathbed – chooses Gorazd as main teacher and his successor for the Great Moravian Academy. See 886 (winter/spring).

885(before April 6): Shortly before Methodius’ death, Wiching leaves Wislania (see 881) and – with Svätopluk’s consent - goes to Rome, where he (1) denounces Methodius and (2) on Svätopluk’s request asks for confirmation of Pope’s patronage over Great Moravia (see 880, 886 spring). See 885-886.

885(April 6): Death of archbishop Methodius. Gorazd becomes the new head of the Great Moravian Academy. Methodius is buried solemnly in the “wall behind the altar of Virgin Mary” of the (today unknown) metropolitan church of Great Moravia – the burial service is performed according to the Slavic, Latin, as well as Greek liturgy. Methodius has educated more than 200 priests in Great Moravia.

885-886: In the summer 885, when the Pope Stephen VIII learns about Methodius’ death, he makes Wiching bishop of Nitra again (see 881) and probably also “ecclesiastic administrator” of Great Moravia (not however archbishop and papal legate), because Wiching is still in Rome and influences the Holy See. In the winter 885-886 , the Pope sends his letter “Quia te zelo fidei”, in which he confirms his patronage over Great Moravia (see 880) and condemns – based on what he has been told by Wiching - Methodius’ activities. Most importantly, he even claims wrongly that Methodius had sworn in Rome not to use the Slavic language for liturgies and based on this statement forbids the use of the Slavic language for liturgies (except for preaching and explanation of biblical texts) and excommunicates Methodius. As a result, the Latin liturgy and German priests are enforced. See also 886.

886(winter/spring): The Pope’s legates - bishop Dominicus and the presbyters John and Stephen – arrive in Great Moravia. According to their accompanying letter, they are mainly supposed to explain to Svätopluk the role of the Roman church (, the next part of the letter is missing) and to order to Gorazd, “whom Methodius was so bold as to appoint as his successor despite the regulations of all popes”, to stop teaching at the Great Moravian Academy until he does not come to Rome to explain everything in person ( but Gorazd does not come and the reason as well his further life are unknown, see also 886). The legates fulfill all their assigned tasks.

886: The Great Moravian Academy (see 863) is closed probably during the mission of the papal legates (see above) and the liquidation of the followers of Gorazd (and Methodius) is initiated by Wiching with the silent consent of Svätopluk: First, all of them get the chance to change to the Latin liturgy, then the 200 persons (students, priests and deacons) who refuse to do so are expelled from Great Moravia “in the biting winter” (after they have been imprisoned first). The leading followers of Methodius are Gorazd (born in Slovakia), Clement, Nahum (Naum, =(?)Chrabr), Sabbas (Sava) and Angelar. In 886, in several groups, the expelled persons go to Bulgaria (over Belgrade), where they will found 2 academies – at the Ohrid lake and in Preslav); probably from there some of them go to Croatia and Dalmatia, later to Serbia , Russia, Wislania (Lesser Poland), and Bohemia. E. g. Clement will become the bishop of Belica (893), Naum becomes teacher at the White Lake, Gorazd (see 886 winter/spring) maybe goes to Wislania, and Sabbas and Angelar will become founders of Bulgarian literature. According to some sources, some of the followers are sold to Jews, who bring them to Venice in order to sell them as slaves there, but they are saved (bought) by the Byzantine emperor and brought to Constantinople.

833 - 895/c. 907: Today’s Slovakia + Moravia + Austria (territory north of the Danube)+ Hungary (territory north to Budapest and Tisza (Tisa) River, except for the territory to the west of the Pilis mountains) + western Ruthenia. Note that westernmost parts of Moravia probably only became parts of Great Moravia under Rastislav around 846.

874 – ?907: + a strip of about 100km of present-day Poland above Slovak border (Wislania - Vistule Basin with Krakow)

880 - ? : + a strip of about 100km of present-day Poland above Czech border (Silesia)

881 – 896: + remaining present-day Hungary east of the Danube (Tisza (Tisa) valley), decribed as ”waste land” or ”unbaptized (i. e. not Christianized) great Moravia” at that time

883/884 - 894: + remaining present-day Hungary (up to Vienna)

888/890 - 895: + Bohemia

890 - 897: + Lusatia

?907/?920 – ?955 or 999 (Moravia and ?western Slovakia)/1001 (Slovakia) : maybe today’s northern Slovakia + (northern and western) parts of Moravia + ? Wislania, but maybe only in the form of several principalities.

839/840: After a distressful trek in Central Europe (Eastern March till 836, Bulgaria and Croatia (836-839/840) and again Eastern March), Pribina is conferred in fief the territory around the Balaton Lake by the Frankish king Louis the German (until then part of the Carinthia March within the Frankish Empire with Slav inhabitants) and settles at (and has built) the Blatnohrad (later called Mosapurc) castle near today’s town of Zalavar in Hungary. In the following years Pribina will have castles and churches built in the new principality and will obtain remarkable results in his efforts of Christianization in this region under the influence of Salzburg. Archaeological finds and papal documents show that there were close contacts between Great Moravia and the Balaton Principality.

846: Pribina becomes the (hereditary) owner of the principality.

850: Pribina has a castle built at the Blatnohrad castle and it is consecrated by Liutprand (Liutpram) , the archbishop of Salzburg . He will have 15 other castles built in the principality later.

884 - 894: Part of Great Moravia (see C) )

896: Given to Braslav see A)

900-901: Conquered by the old Hungarians from Braslav (after the death of Arnulf of Carinthia (899))

907/920 – 955: Archaelogical findings suggest that the former Great Moravian territory in Slovakia (except for southwestern Slovakia, see below) continues to exist and to flourish in form of individual Slavic (Slovak) centers. There are many settlements on these territories. Maybe they are still called Moravia (see 907, 942). Western and central northern Slovakia is maybe part or under under the influence of White Croatia (see 948), eastern Slovakia is under cultural influence of the Kiew Rus, the Balt and of certain parts of Poland.

920-935: The Hungarians establish permanent garrisons in southwestern Slovakia.

920 – 955: The Hungarian duke/commander Lél (Lehel) is the owner and ruler of the Nitrian principality (i. e. western and central Slovakia, but note that only southern Slovakia was under Hungarian control at that time). In 920 he and his warriors settled in Nitra (in partibus Nittriae). The nomadic Hungarians will not created a centralized state before 955/971.

924: The old Hungarians terribly devastate Moravia (before they attack the Saxons).

935-950: The old Hungarians, starting to lead a settled life, begin to settle near Slovak settlements in southern Slovakia , i.e. not in the mountains

942: A captured Hungarian fighter (in connection with Hungarian raids in Spain) mentions that a country/town called Moravia (Morabija) is situated north of Historic Hungary.

955(August 8): Troops of the German king Otto I and Czech king Boleslav I totally defeat the old Hungarians, led by Lél (Lehel), Bulcsu and Sur. As a result, the old Hungarians are forced to finally settle in present-day Hungary , until then a completely Slav territory.

This (1) permanently divides the northern from the southern and the eastern from the western Slavs. The Slav inhabitants on territories occupied by Historic Hungary are called and call themselves ”Slov(i)ene” until then, but from then on we can definitively call them Slovaks (in present-day Slovakia), Slovenians (in present-day Slovenia) and so on. The Slovaks call themselves [masculine:] Slov(i)enin (since the 15^th century: Slovák), [feminin:] Slovenka (till today), [adjective:] slovenský (till today). Note however that many historians define the Sloviene in Slovakia as Slovaks already in the 9^th or earlier centuries.

(2) The Hungarian dukes Lél, Bulcsú and Sur are executed (after they have been captured by the Germans) and their possessions are occupied by the Árpáds led by Taksony at that time (c. 955-c. 970). Thus the Nitrian principality becomes part of the Árpáds' domain only after 955, and not earlier as some later chronicles might suggest. See 955-971.

(3) The nomadic old Hungarians under Taksony begin to form a state (see 971) by integrating the divided tribal lands into larger units, and take over many Slav/Slovak basic expressions connected with a civilized life, e. g. the words for table, window, king, priest, border, county president (ispán), servant, christian, heathen, angel, miller, smith, ...

955 – 971(?): Zoltan (Zaltas, Zsolt, Zulta), a son of Árpád, is the ruler and owner of the Nitrian principality within an arising Hungarian state led by his son Taksony (c. 955 – c. 971). From 955 on, members of the Arpad family will continue to administer the Nitrian principality (till 1108), while other members of that family will be rulers of Transdanubia and later of present-day Hungary. According to some less reliable sources, Taksony and then his son Geza were the rulers of Nitra before 971 instead.

c. 971: Geza, the son of Taksony of Árpád (and until then maybe the Prince of Nitra –see 955 - 971), becomes a “Grand Prince” based at Esztergom and begins to form a unified Hungarian state (, which will be finished only by Stephen). Transdanubia is ruled by himself, the Nitrian principality (Slovakia) is given in fief to his brother Michael (see below), influence in Transylvania is gained through Geza’s marriage with the daughter of the Transylvanian duke Gyula I, local chieftains still rule in other parts of present-day Hungary. Although Geza is de-facto only the ruler of Transdanubia, he is said to have made the Arpad dynasty the ruling dynasty of Historic Hungary (971 - 1301). The Arpad dynasty (esp. Stephen later) takes over the state administration system from the earlier Slav states governed from the town of Nitra.

c. 971 – 995: Michael, the brother of Geza, is given the Nitrian principality in fief (see above). Michael‘s wife is Adelajda (Adelhaid) the “Beleknegini”, the daughter of the Polish prince Mieszko I. Since Michael becomes too powerful, his elder brother Geza has him killed in 995, and Vazul and Ladislaus the Bold –full of fear - flee the country, probably to Russia (Ladislaus) and to the Pecenegs (Vazul), but then finally to Poland (see 1001 – 1030).

According to some less reliable sources Geza has Michael killed around 977 and the subsequent ruler of Nitra is Michael’s son Ladislaus the Bold (977 – 995). According to less reliable sources, Geza has Michael killed around 977 and the subsequent rulers of Nitra were Michael’s widow Adelajda., then his son Vazul (Vasil, Basil) and then – when Adelajda became Geza’s second wife in 985 - his other son Ladislaus the Bold (see also 997-1001).

c. 971: Pilgrim, the bishop of Passau, undertakes a first mission aiming at turning Prince Geza to Christianity and especially to regain the former Great Moravian province (see 870) for the bishopric of Passau, but he fails – just as many of the subsequent Bavarian missions (monk Wolfgang, bishop Brun). See also 997.

973: The bishopric of Prague is founded and according to its founding decree it is also responsible for western Slovakia (up to the Váh river). See also 955 – 999 and 976.

976(April 28): The ”bishop of Moravia”, whose name is unknown, and the bishop of Prague participate at a meeting of clerics at the seat of the archbishop of Mainz. This shows that Moravia (maybe identical with present-day Moravia, see 907, see however 973) constitutes a separate diocese (independent on Prague). Maybe the Moravian bishopric was renewed shortly before 976.

992 – 997(?)/1002(?): Bratislava and surroundings are probably part of Bavaria (Holy Roman Empire) – see 997/1002

995: Czech Benedictine missionaries, led by the Prague bishop Adalbert (Vojtech) (bishop since 982, see 973) and the abbot Astrik, arrive in Historic Hungary on invitation of Prince Geza. According to a later Russian source however, Adalbert came to Slovakia and Poland already in 982, where he introduced the Latin liturgy and script, definitively prohibited the Slavonic (“Russian”) ones (see 886) and had bishops not using the Latin expelled or executed.

995 – 997: Vajk (since 972 or (see) 997 called Stephen (� tefan) ), Geza (Gejza)’s son, is the ruler of the Nitrian Principality within Historic Hungary. He probably brings his Christian wife Gisela (see 995 or 1002, and 997 February 1) to the old Christian center of Nitra (see e. g. 828, late 879, c. 881) probably that is why he becomes an ardent Christianizer first in Slovakia, later in whole Historic Hungary. The young Stephen and the local nobles represented by Poznan and Hunt quickly develops very close personal relationships (see 997)

c. 995 or c.1002 (some sources): King Stephen marries Gisela, the daughter of Henry II the Quarrelsome of Bavaria. Gisela’s gift or dowry to Stephen is the Lesser Leitha territory (incl. Bratislava, Sopron, Steinamager), which has been Bavarian ”before the Battle at Bratislava (907) and then again after 991”. See also 896. Note that depending on the source, the year of this marriage is given as 994/995, 995-1001, 996/997, end of 997, 1002, 1004, or 1009/1010.

997 (February 1): Geza , the Grand Prince of Historic Hungary, dies. He and his son Vajk (Waik, Wojk) had been baptised shortly before Geza’s death by Adalbert, the bishop of Prague, and both of them receive the name Stephen. According to other sources, Geza and his family have been baptised already in or shortly after 972 by German missionaries led by Brun from Sankt Gallen or in 974 by bishop Pilgrim. Note however that already earlier two Hungarian chieftains have been baptized (Bulosu and Gylas) in Constantinople (Eastern Christians) and some Greek monasteries have been founded in present-day Hungary (e. g. in Veszprém).

997 – 1001: The ruler of the Nitrian principality is unknown. According to some sources it was Ladislaus the Bold (again – see 971-995; see also 1001).

1000 (December 25): Stephen becomes the first king of Historic Hungary. He is crowned by order of Pope Sylvester II.

1000 (December 25 or shortly afterwards) : The archbishopric of Esztergom is founded for Historic Hungary on Stephen’s request, whose territory is identical with that of the fomer Nitra bishopric within Great Moravia (see 880), i. e. Slovakia (except for easternmost parts) and the region around Esztergom. This again shows that Slovakia was still considered a special territory. The diocese will remain largely identical with Slovakia until 1776 except that (see) c. 1110 the renewed bishopric of Nitra will be separated from it.

c. 1000 – (?)1038: Silver coins are produced in Bratislava. They bear the inscription Preslavva Civ(itas) (the Town of Bratislava) and are probably the first coins of Historic Hungary. It is possible that the mint ceased or was suspended in 1001, when Bratislava was probably conquered by Poland (see below).

1001(or end of 1000): Slovakia “down to the Danube” (more exactly the Nitrian principality) is conquered by Poland under the Polish Prince Boleslaus I of Poland, who formally conquers it to protect the rights of Ladilaus and Vazul, the cousins of the Hungarian king Stephen I, to the Nitrian Principality (see 971-995).

1001(?): Boleslaus makes one of that cousins, Ladislaus the Bold (Ladislav Lysý), the administrator of Slovakia

1001: Peace between Stephen and Boleslaus I of Poland is made near Esztergom. Under this agreement, Stephen accepts that Slovakia will belong to Poland and that his own cousins will rule in Nitra as retainers of Boleslaus.

c. 1001 – 1034: After 1001, the hermit and martyr Zorard (Svoradus, Svorad), born in Wislania (Lesser Poland) or in northern Slovakia, arrives at the Zobor monastery (see 881) in Nitra, adopts the name Andrew (Ondrej, Andrej) and starts a hermit life at Skalka near the town of Trenčín . He finally dies in the Zobor monastery in 1031. After his death, his disciple Benedict (original name Stojislav) also lives as hermit and martyr at Skalka, until he is killed by mobbers in 1034. Both Zorard and Benedict will be canonized (declared Saints) in 1083. They are the first Slovak Saints (after Gorazd) and are burried in Nitra.

1018: See 1030

1025: Boleslaus I of Poland dies and internal conflicts in Poland arise

c. 1029 – c. 1030: After Ladislaus the Bold’s death, his brother Vazul is the ruler of Slovakia as Polish retainer

c. 1030: Stephen reconquers the Nitrian Principality (i. e. Slovakia) from Poland. Vazul is imprisoned and in 1031 (when Stephen’s only son Imre dies) he will be blended in Nitra to prevent him (as a cousin of Stephen) from becoming successor to the Hungarian throne. However, Vazul’s three sons (Levente, Andrew (future king) and Béla (future king) ) and Ladislaus the Bold’s son Domoslav (Bonuslaus) manage to flee to Bohemia and from there to Poland (Béla) or to Kiew (Andrew and Levente).

Thus , in 1030 (or 1018), a definitive incorporation of Slovakia into the Hungarian state begins (see also 1048). However the Hungarian border will reach the present-day northern border of western Slovakia only around 1100 and the northern border of eastern Slovakia only in the early 14^th century. Until then, the Slovaks in northern Slovakia continue to live in the mountain valleys in and around their old fortified castles. See 1030’s.