SOUTH SLAVS IN THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES

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As you learned earlier, the South Slavs, in addition to the Serbs, belongs and Croats, Karantanians (present-day Slovenes), Bulgarian and Macedonian Slavs. All these nations are, in the early Middle Ages, formed independent states, although they were at between Franks and Byzantine. We should learn something about them. - Karantans are named after the city of Krn. First they were in the Sam's tribal alliance of western Slavs. To be saved of the Avars, they acknowledged the Frankish power. By participating in the uprising of Ljudevit Posavski against Frankish power (early IX century), Karantans lost their independence and became part of the Frankish Empire.

- The core of the Croatian state was located on the Adriatic coast, between the river Cetina and the Velebit mountain. Part of the Croats near the Sava river acknowledged the Frankish authority after the destruction of the Avars.

- When the weakened authority of the Franks, Coastal Croatia gained independence. The biggest rise Croatia was in 10th century, the time of King Tomislav, when connected Coastal Croatia and Croatia around Sava river. The Kingdom of Croatia was part of the Hungarian Kingdom, since 1102., with a special status, until 20th century.
-Bulgarians were warrior tribe of Turkish origin. Settling among the Slavs near the Black Sea, at the end of 7th century, they ruled the local tribes, created the state, eventually drowned in the Slovenian mass, but they left their name. The biggest rise was experienced during the reign of the Emperor Simeon, the early 10th century, when threatened Byzantium, ruled by Serbs, even attacked up to Croatia. After Simeon, Bulgarian state began to decline, and fall under the power of the Byzantine Empire.

Croatia, 10th century

Bulgarian Empire of Tsar Simeon, 9/10th century

- Byzantine power in the 10th century caused the uprising of Macedonian Slavs led by self-proclaimed Tsar Samuil. The composition of his country entered the Macedonian Slavs, Bulgarians, Serbs in the principality of Raska, parts of Byzantium, and territories of Duklja, Bosnia, Travunia, Srem, Albania. Then, Ohrid Archbishopric was elevated to the rank of Patriarchate. The story says that the Byzantine emperor Basil II, after defeating Samuilos army near the river Belasica 1014., sent to Samuilo blinded prisoners, but he left one man of every hundred men with one eye to be able to take those totally blind. When Samuel saw his mutilated army had snapped his heart, and the state was held for several years. Samuil's empire lasted until the first half of the 11th century, when Byzantine Emperor Basil II restore power to the Sava and Danube rivers.

Samuil's empire