Slavic settlement in the Eastern Alps region is proven by the collapse of local dioceses in the late sixth century, a change in population and material culture, and most importantly, in the establishment of a Slavic language group in the area.
The territory settled by Slavs, however, was also inhabited by the remains of the indigenous Romanized population, which preserved Christianity.
Slavs in both the Eastern Alps and the Pannonian region were originally subject to Avar rulers (kagans).
After Avar rule weakened around 610, a relatively independent March of the Slavs (marca Vinedorum), governed by a duke, emerged in southern Carinthia in the early seventh century.
Historical sources mention Valuk as the duke of Slavs (Wallux dux Winedorum).
Slavs of the Eastern Alps probably joined Samo's Tribal Union, a Slavic tribal alliance governed by the Frankish merchant Samo in 623.
The year 626 brought an end to Avar dominance over Slavs, as Avars were defeated at Constantinople.
In 658, Samo dies and his Tribal Union disintegrates.
A smaller part of the original March of the Slavs, centered north of modern Klagenfurt, preserves independence and comes to be known as Carantania.
