East Europe (820 – 963 CE): Varangian Routes, Khazar Gateways, and the Making of Rus’

Geographic and Environmental Context

East Europe includes Belarus, Ukraine, the European portion of Russia, and the sixteen Russian republics west of the Urals.

• A vast transition from northern taiga and mixed forests to southern forest-steppe and Pontic steppe, threaded by great rivers—the Dnieper, Volga, Dvina, Oka, and Don.

• Major nodes formed along portage chains between the Baltic, Caspian, and Black Sea basins, especially at Novgorod, Smolensk, Kiev, and Volga Bulgar markets.

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Climate and Environmental Shifts

• A cool–temperate regime prevailed; by the mid-10th century the onset of the Medieval Warm Period (c. 950–1250) modestly lengthened growing seasons in the forest-steppe.

• Flood pulses on the Dnieper and Volga structured seasonal travel; winter freeze created over-ice corridors for sled transport.

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Societies and Political Developments

• Varangians and Tribal Unions (9th c.): Scandinavian merchant-warriors (Varangians) entered forest trade routes, installing ruling groups among Slavic and Finnic unions—Krivichs, Drevlians, Severians, Radimichs, Vyatichs, and others.

• Rurik and Oleg: Tradition places Rurik at Novgorod (862); his kinsman Oleg seized Kiev (882), uniting the “route from the Varangians to the Greeks.” Kiev became the core of   Kievan Rus’, extracting tribute from neighboring tribes and mediating steppe diplomacy.

• Khazar Khaganate: The Khazars controlled the lower Volga–Don and Caspian Gate, taxing trade between the steppe and Islamic markets; their elite adopted Judaism (9th c.). Rus’ princes alternately paid tribute, raided Khazar towns, and competed for Volga access.

• Volga Bulgars: A commercial polity at the Volga–Kama confluence; conversion to Islam (922) under Almış tied them to the Samanid economy.

• Steppe Frontiers: After c. 895 the Magyars moved into the Carpathian Basin; Pechenegs replaced them on the Pontic steppe, pressuring Rus’ river traffic and Sarmatian corridors.

• Byzantine Relations: Rus’ raids on Constantinople (notably 860) gave way to treaties (907/911 per later compilations), regulating trade duties and mercenary service.

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Economy and Trade

• Exports: high-value furs, wax, honey, slaves, and falcons moved south on river craft; iron swords and worked amber moved internally along forest routes.

• Imports: Byzantine silk, wine, fine metalwork via the Dnieper; Samanid silver dirhams, glassware, and textiles via the Volga.

• Monetization: massive inflows of Samanid dirhams fueled a hack-silver economy; coin hoards appear from Ladoga/Novgorod to the middle Dnieper and upper Volga.

• Kiev and Novgorod functioned as hinge markets, auditing tolls and tribute before goods crossed portages toward Cherson and Constantinople, or toward Volga Bulgar and the Caspian.

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Subsistence and Technology

• Agriculture: forest-steppe communities practiced plow agriculture (millet, rye, wheat) with slash-and-burn in the forest zone; stock-keeping expanded in river meadows.

• Crafts: iron tools, plows, and broad-seax blades; antler combs, bone skates, glass beads; early urban smithies in Ladoga, Novgorod, Kiev.

• River boats: light dugouts and plank-built craft—monoxyla—ported between watersheds; winter travel used sleds over frozen rivers.

• Fortifications: earthen ramparts and timber palisades ringed hillforts (gorodishche); princes maintained druzhina (retinues) of armored cavalry and river fighters.

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Movement and Interaction Corridors

• “From the Varangians to the Greeks”: the Dvina–Dnieper and Volkhov–Dnieper chains funneled Baltic goods to the Black Sea; the Dnieper porohy (rapids) demanded portage and escorts through Pecheneg country.

• Volga Route: Ladoga/Novgorod → Volga → Volga Bulgar → Khazaria → Caspian, connecting to Samanid markets in Gurgān and Tabaristan.

• Forest Portages: Smolensk, Rzhev, and Gorodets nodalized crossings between upper river systems, creating dense hub-and-spoke exchanges.

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Belief and Symbolism

• Slavic paganism (Perun, Veles), Finnic and Baltic animisms, and Norse cults coexisted among Varangian elites and local communities; shrines and sacred groves sacralized hilltops and river bends.

• Khazars patronized Judaism at court; Volga Bulgars normalized Islamic law and markets after 922.

• Christianity: Byzantine missions influenced Crimea and lower Dnieper; individual baptisms occurred among elites, but mass conversion of Rus’ came later (988).

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Adaptation and Resilience

• Dual-route strategy (Dnieper + Volga) hedged against steppe raids and political tolls; when Pechenegs blocked the Dnieper, merchants shifted to the Volga.

• Seasonal logistics—summer navigation, winter sled freight—smoothed transport risk; caches and fortified gorodishche protected goods and people.

• Tribute diplomacy balanced payments to Khazars and Pechenegs with punitive raids and alliances, keeping corridors open.

• Urban niches (Ladoga, Novgorod, Kiev) developed storage, craft specialization, and legal customs for foreign merchants, stabilizing long-distance exchange.

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Long-Term Significance

By 963 CE, East Europe had coalesced into a river-route commonwealth under emerging Kievan Rus’, framed by Khazar gatekeeping on the Caspian and Byzantine markets on the Black Sea.

• Silver-driven commerce integrated forest, steppe, and sea;

• Tribal unions and Varangian retinues forged the institutions of Rus’ rulership;

• Volga Bulgar Islam and Khazar Judaism embedded the region in wider religious economies.

On the eve of the next age, Sviatoslav’s campaigns (from 964) would crack Khazar hegemony, Pecheneg pressure would intensify, and the Dnieper metropolis of Kiev would begin its ascent toward high-medieval preeminence.

Oleg, another Varangian, moves south from Novgorod to expel the Khazars from Kiev and founds Kievan Rus' about  880.

During the next thirty-five years, Oleg subdues the various East Slavic tribes.

In 907, he leads a campaign against Constantinople, and in 911 he signs a commercial treaty with the East Roman Empire as an equal partner.

The new Kievan state prospers because it controls the trade route from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea and because it has an abundant supply of furs, wax, honey, and slaves for export.

Historians have debated the role of the Varangians in the establishment of Kievan Rus'.

Most Russian historians—especially in the Soviet era—have stressed the Slavic influence in the development of the state.

Although Slavic tribes had formed their own regional jurisdictions by 860, the Varangians accelerate the crystallization of Kievan Rus'.

The Carolingian Renaissance and Its Successors: The Macedonian and Ottonian Renaissances

The Carolingian Renaissance, initiated under Charlemagne, continues into the 9th and early 10th centuries, fostering intellectual revival, manuscript production, and architectural innovation in Western Europe. However, as the Carolingian Empire fragments in the mid-9th century, the focus of cultural and artistic renewal shifts eastward, particularly in the Byzantine Empire and later in Ottonian Germany.

The Macedonian Renaissance (c. 867–1056)

The Macedonian Renaissance refers to a period of cultural revival during the rule of the Macedonian dynasty in the Byzantine Empire, particularly in the 10th century. This era, marked by a renewed engagement with classical Greek scholarship, sees the preservation, copying, and commentary on ancient texts, particularly in philosophy, rhetoric, and science.

Key characteristics of the Macedonian Renaissance include:

• A revival of classical Greek learning, particularly in historical, philosophical, and theological writing.
• The integration of classical motifs into Christian art, seen in the decorative programs of churches such as the Nea Ekklesia in Constantinople.
• The systematic copying of ancient manuscripts, ensuring the survival of many classical texts that would later be rediscovered during the Italian Renaissance.

Although this cultural flourishing is often compared to the Carolingian Renaissance, the Byzantine revival remains more deeply rooted in the Greek intellectual tradition, while the Carolingians had focused on Latin learning and script reform.

The Ottonian Renaissance (c. 950–1050)

As the Carolingian Empire dissolves, the Ottonian dynasty (919–1024) in East Francia (Germany) rises to power, leading to a new phase of cultural revival in the West, known as the Ottonian Renaissance. This period is marked by:

• Art and architecture, particularly influenced by renewed contact with Byzantium, as seen in the grand cathedral constructions and the elaborate illuminated manuscripts from scriptoria such as Quedlinburg Abbey, founded in 936 by Otto I.
• Educational reforms in a select number of cathedral schools, such as the school of Bruno of Cologne, which fosters theological and political thought.
• The emulation of Carolingian ideals, reinforcing the connection between the Western imperial tradition and Christian kingship, particularly in political ideology.

The Ottonian Renaissance serves as a cultural bridge between the Carolingian and Romanesque periods, invigorating Germanic Europe’s artistic, intellectual, and political traditions while drawing inspiration from both Carolingian and Byzantine models.

Continuity and Transformation

Each of these renaissances—Carolingian, Macedonian, and Ottonian—represents a distinct phase of medieval intellectual and artistic revival, driven by political stability, imperial ambition, and religious reform. Though Western Europe and Byzantium develop independently, their intermittent cultural exchanges, particularly under the Ottonians, help shape the art, scholarship, and political thought of medieval Christendom.

Central Europe (820 – 963 CE): Carolingian Frontiers, River Kingdoms, and the Alpine Arteries

Geographic and Environmental Context

Central Europe spanned the Baltic lowlands of Poland and Germany, the Bohemian Massif and Carpathian arc, and the Danube–Morava corridor down into the Pannonian Plain, while the Rhine–Moselle–Main system and the Alpine passes tied the region to Burgundy and Italy.

• Northern arteries: Elbe, Oder, Vistula.

• Southern spine: Danube–Morava–Pannonian corridor.

• Alpine hinges: Brenner, Reschen, Septimer, Julier, Splügen, Great St. Bernard.
  A cool–temperate regime prevailed; by mid-10th century, onset of the Medieval Warm Period modestly lengthened growing seasons on loess uplands and improved Carpathian pastures. Flood pulses on the Elbe, Oder, Danube structured transport, milling, and settlement.

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Societies and Political Developments

East Central Europe: Carolingian Legacy, Great Moravia, and the Magyar Ingress

• East Francia → Ottonian Germany (Germany/Austria): After Carolingian partitions, East Francia stabilized as the Kingdom of Germany (Saxony, Franconia, Bavaria, Swabia). Henry I (919–936) and Otto I (936–973)consolidated power, pushing marches eastward against Polabian Slavs and laying the basis for the Holy Roman Empire.

• Great Moravia (833–c. 906): At its height under Svatopluk I (870–894), it spanned Moravia, western Slovakia, and parts of Bohemia and Pannonia. Cyril and Methodius (863) introduced Slavonic liturgy and Glagolitic, rooting Christianity in local tongues. Collapse followed Magyar raids and Frankish pressure after 894.

• Magyars (Carpathian Basin): Entered c. 895–907 under Árpád, occupied the Pannonian Plain, and crushed East Frankish–Bavarian armies at Pressburg (907). Through the 10th century, cavalry raids reached Bavaria, Saxony, Italy, and France until later checked at Lechfeld (955).

• Bohemia: The Přemyslids in Prague balanced Moravian precedent and German suzerainty. Wenceslas (r. c. 921–935) advanced Christianization and tribute ties to Saxony; Boleslaus I expanded Bohemian power after Wenceslas’s murder.

• Poland: Fortified grody anchored Polans, Vistulans, Pomeranians. By c. 960, Mieszko I began unifying the Polans and neighboring tribes—prelude to baptism (966, next age).

South Central Europe: Alpine Marches and Episcopal Road-Keeping

• Post-Verdun (843), the zone split between East Francia (Tyrol, Carinthia, Swabian/Bavarian forelands, Swiss Plateau) and Upper Burgundy (Geneva–Valais).

• The Inn and Carinthian marches guarded the Brenner approach; bishops of Trento and Brixen administered tolls and estates along the Tyrolean routes.

• Monasteries—St. Gall, Disentis, Einsiedeln (934)—managed alpine estates, kept passes open, and provisioned travelers.

• Otto I’s consolidation and victory at Lechfeld (955) ended Magyar pressure on Bavaria/Carinthia and secured the Alpine corridors.

West Central Europe: Lotharingian Marches and the Rhineland Core

• Verdun (843) fractured the Carolingian world; Lotharingia oscillated between East and West, with Aachen, Cologne, Mainz mediating border defense and royal claims (Meerssen 870, Ribbemont 880).

• Under the Ottonians (919–963), episcopal princes—Mainz, Trier, Cologne—and great abbeys stabilized governance as comital lordship proliferated.

• Lechfeld (955) secured hinterlands; Otto’s imperial coronation (962/963) reaffirmed the Rhineland’s role in ceremony, law, and church politics. Aachen remained symbolic capital; Worms, Speyer rose as royal centers; Basel guarded the Upper Rhine/Jura hinge.

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Economy and Trade

• Agrarian base: rye, barley, oats, millet, wheat on river terraces and loess soils; viticulture along Rhine/Moselle, Moravia, Bavaria; cattle/swine in forest and meadow belts.

• Resources & crafts: Kraków and alpine salt, Baltic amber, iron in Thuringia/Silesia; smithing and pottery spread with market towns.

• River & road systems:

  • Rhine served as Europe’s main north–south artery; Moselle/Main fed Rhineland markets.

  • Elbe/Oder/Vistula linked Saxony and Poland to the Baltic; Vistula connected to Prussia and Rus’.

  • Danube funneled Bavarian–Moravian–Magyar exchange toward the Adriatic/Balkans; Morava–Danube corridor carried Christian missions and Frankish influence.

• Money & flows: Islamic dirhams reached Poland/Germany via Rus’ and Volga Bulgar routes; Carolingian deniers and Ottonian denarii spread from Rhineland and Bavarian mints into Bohemia and Moravia.

• Alpine commerce: northbound wine, oil, spices, silks; southbound timber, hides, cheese, iron, horses; fairs at Zürich, Geneva, Chur knit Burgundian/German merchants to Lombardy.

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Subsistence and Technology

• Heavy plow (carruca) and horse/ox traction expanded deep tillage on heavy soils; three-field rotations appeared on richer estates.

• Fortifications: timber–earth grody and hillforts dominated tribal centers; in Alpine and Rhineland nodes, episcopal burgs and royal pfalzen guarded crossings.

• Mills & fisheries: water-mills multiplied on tributaries; river fish weirs provisioned towns.

• River craft & winter haulage: planked barges and dugouts on major rivers; sledges moved salt, grain, and timber over ice in winter.

• Military systems: Magyar steppe cavalry (stirrups, composite bows) reshaped defense; Ottonian armored retinues evolved in response, culminating in Lechfeld.

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Movement and Interaction Corridors

• Elbe–Saale front: Ottonian marches facing Polabian Slavs.

• Oder–Vistula–Baltic: fur, amber, and slave trades northward to the sea.

• Morava–Danube: mission and commerce into Moravia and Hungary.

• Carpathian passes: vectors for Magyar migration and later raiding.

• Rhine–Moselle–Main: wine, salt, timber, millstones; Alsace–Basel gate to the Alps; trans-Meuse roads to Flanders/North Sea.

• Alpine passes: Brenner, Septimer/Julier, Splügen, Great St. Bernard—redundant routes ensuring continuity despite storms or war.

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Belief and Symbolism

• Christianization:

  • Great Moravia pioneered Slavonic liturgy; after its fall, Bohemia and Poland leaned toward Latin-riteChristianity via Saxony/Bavaria.

  • Ottonian Germany deepened monastic–episcopal structures; sees at Magdeburg and Brandenburgadvanced missions eastward.

• Pagan traditions: Slavic polytheism (Perun, Veles, Svantovit) persisted among Poles, Pomeranians; Magyarsmaintained Tengrist and shamanic rites.

• Burials: hybrid zones reveal cremation in pagan districts, Christian inhumation in Moravia, Bohemia, Saxony; reliquaries and saints’ cults reinforced urban prestige in the Rhineland and Alpine valleys.

• Monastic charisma: St. Gall, Disentis, Einsiedeln anchored piety, hospitality, and safe passage along alpine roads.

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Adaptation and Resilience

• Military adaptation: Ottonians forged armored cavalry retinues to counter Magyar tactics; Lechfeld (955)stabilized East Francia and opened recovery in Bavaria/Carinthia.

• Agrarian buffers: mixed cropping (rye + millet), stock herding, and valley fruit/wine moderated climate variability.

• Jurisdictional layering: bishops, abbots, counts, and royal pfalzen spread risk and ensured continuity amid dynastic flux.

• Route redundancy: when upland war or storms disrupted roads, merchants shifted to river corridors or alternate passes; fairs re-routed exchange.

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Long-Term Significance

By 963 CE, Central Europe had become a crucible of state formation and connectivity:

• Otto I’s consolidation stabilized the German kingdom, checked the Magyars, and restored long-distance commerce.

• Great Moravia had dissolved, but its Slavonic Christian legacy endured in Bohemia and Poland’s emerging dynasties.

• Magyars controlled the Carpathian Basin, raiding while adapting to a settled frontier that would soon pivot toward Christian kingship.

• Alpine marches and monastic road-keepers secured the north–south arteries linking the Rhine and Danube to Italy.

• The Rhineland reemerged as imperial–commercial core, while Piast Poland and Přemyslid Bohemiacrystallized into durable realms.

These arrangements—river logistics, alpine gateways, armored retinues, and monastic–episcopal governance—forged the steppe–agrarian and Christian–pagan frontier dynamics that would define Central Europe’s integration into Latin Christendom in the next age.

East Central Europe (820 – 963 CE): Carolingian Frontiers, Great Moravia, and the Magyar Ingress

Geographic and Environmental Context

East Central Europe includes Poland, Czechia (Bohemia and Moravia), Slovakia, Hungary (the Carpathian Basin), northeastern Austria, and the greater part of Germany (including Berlin, Munich, Hamburg).

• The region stretches from the Baltic lowlands of Poland and Germany to the Danube basin of Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary, bounded by the Carpathians and the Bohemian Massif.

• Key arteries: the Elbe, Oder, and Vistula rivers northward, and the Danube–Morava corridor southward, connecting central Germany to the Pannonian Plain.

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Climate and Environmental Shifts

• A cool–temperate regime with seasonal rainfall.

• By the mid-10th century the onset of the Medieval Warm Period (c. 950) slightly lengthened growing seasons, aiding cereal expansion on the loess soils of Poland, Moravia, and Bavaria, and improving pastures in the Carpathian Basin.

• Flood pulses on the Elbe, Oder, and Danube structured transport and settlement.

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Societies and Political Developments

• Carolingian Legacy and Ottonians (Germany, Austria):

  • After the division of the Carolingian Empire, East Francia evolved into the Kingdom of Germany, with Saxony, Franconia, Bavaria, and Swabia as key stem duchies.

  • Henry the Fowler (919–936) and Otto I (r. 936–973) consolidated power, extending marches eastward against Slavic tribes. Otto’s reforms laid the basis for the Holy Roman Empire.

• Great Moravia (833–c. 906):

  • Spanning Moravia, western Slovakia, and parts of Bohemia and Hungary, Great Moravia under Svatopluk I (870–894) was the strongest Slavic polity.

  • Missionaries Cyril and Methodius (863) introduced Slavonic liturgy and the Glagolitic script, rooting Christianity in local languages.

  • Collapse followed Magyar raids and Frankish pressure after 894.

• Magyars (Hungary/Carpathian Basin):

  • Entered c. 895–907 under Árpád, occupying the Pannonian Plain.

  • At the Battle of Pressburg (907), Magyars defeated East Frankish and Bavarian armies, securing dominance over Hungary.

  • Throughout the 10th century, Magyar cavalry raided Bavaria, Saxony, Italy, and even France before being checked later at Lechfeld (955).

• Bohemia (Czech lands):

  • The Přemyslid dynasty emerged in Prague, balancing between Frankish/German suzerainty and Moravian precedents.

  • Duke Wenceslas (r. c. 921–935) promoted Christianity and tribute ties with Saxony; murdered by his brother Boleslaus I, who expanded Bohemian power.

• Poland:

  • Slavic tribes (Polans, Vistulans, Pomeranians) built fortified strongholds (grody).

  • By c. 960, Mieszko I of the Piasts began unifying the Polans and surrounding tribes, setting foundations for Poland’s baptism in 966 (just after this age).

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Economy and Trade

• Agriculture: rye, barley, oats, millet, and wheat grown in river valleys and loess uplands; cattle and swine in forest zones; viticulture in Moravia and Bavaria.

• Crafts & resources: salt from Kraków and alpine mines, amber from the Baltic, iron smelting in Thuringia and Silesia.

• Trade routes:

  • Elbe and Oder connected Saxony and Poland to the Baltic;

  • Vistula linked Poland to Prussia and Rus’;

  • Danube funneled Bavarian, Moravian, and Magyar exchanges into the Adriatic and Balkans.

• Monetary flows: Islamic silver dirhams reached Poland and Germany via Rus’ and Volga Bulgar routes; Ottonian denarii spread from Saxony and Bavaria into Bohemia and Moravia.

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Subsistence and Technology

• Heavy plow (carruca) spread gradually into loess zones, expanding arable land.

• Horse and ox traction supported deeper plowing and transport.

• Fortified grody and hillforts dominated tribal centers, built of timber–earth ramparts.

• River craft: planked boats and dugouts moved salt, grain, and amber; sledges carried goods across frozen rivers in winter.

• Military technology: Magyar steppe cavalry (stirrups, composite bows) outmatched early Frankish infantry, reshaping frontier defense.

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Movement and Interaction Corridors

• Elbe–Saale frontier: the line of Ottonian marches facing Polabian Slavs.

• Morava–Danube route: conduit for Christianity and Frankish influence into Moravia and Hungary.

• Carpathian passes: vectors for Magyar migrations and later raids into Bavaria and Italy.

• Oder–Vistula–Baltic corridors: facilitated fur, amber, and slave trades northward.

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Belief and Symbolism

• Christianization:

  • Great Moravia pioneered Slavic liturgy; after its fall, Bohemia and Poland increasingly looked to Latin-rite Christianity from Saxony and Bavaria.

  • Ottonian Germany deepened monastic and episcopal structures, founding bishoprics in Magdeburg and Brandenburg.

• Pagan traditions: Slavic polytheism (Perun, Veles, Svantovit) endured among Poles and Pomeranians; Magyars maintained Tengrist and shamanic cults.

• Burial customs reveal hybrid practices: cremation persisted in pagan zones, while Christian inhumation advanced in Moravia, Bohemia, and Saxony.

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Adaptation and Resilience

• Military adaptation: Ottonians forged armored cavalry retinues to counter Magyars, culminating in victory at Lechfeld (955), securing East Francia and Bavaria.

• Agricultural resilience: mixed cropping (rye + millet) and stock herding buffered climate variability; river valleys stabilized surpluses.

• Political flexibility: polities used tribute, alliances, and intermarriage (e.g., Přemyslids with Ottonians; Piasts with German nobles) to survive between stronger powers.

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Long-Term Significance

By 963 CE, East Central Europe was a crucible of state formation and frontier contest:

• Otto I’s consolidation stabilized the German kingdom and checked the Magyars.

• Great Moravia had dissolved, but its Christian–Slavic legacy lived on.

• Magyars controlled the Carpathian Basin, staging raids while adapting to a settled frontier.

• Bohemia and the Piast realm in Poland were crystallizing into durable dynasties.

This period forged the Christian–pagan, steppe–agrarian frontier dynamics that would define the region until its full integration into Christendom in the following age.

The Hungarian nation traces its history to the Magyars, a pagan Finno-Ugric tribe that arose in central Russia and spoke a language that evolved into modern Hungarian.

Historians dispute the exact location of the early Magyars' original homeland, but it is likely to be an area between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains.

In ancient times, the Magyars probably lived as nomadic tent-dwelling hunters and fishers.

Some scholars argue that they engaged in agriculture beginning in the second millennium BCE.

Before the fifth century CE., the Magyars' ancestors gradually migrated southward onto the Russian steppes, where they wandered into the lands near the Volga River bend, at present-day Kazan', as nomadic herders.

Later, probably under pressure from hostile tribes to the east, they migrated to the area between the Don and lower Dnepr rivers.

There they lived close to, and perhaps were dominated by, the Bulgar-Turks from about the fifth to the seventh century.

During this period, the Magyars became a semi-sedentary people who lived by raising cattle and sheep, planting crops, and fishing.

The Bulgar-Turkish influence on the Magyars was significant, especially in agriculture.

Most Hungarian words dealing with agriculture and animal husbandry have Turkic roots.

By contrast, the etymology of the word Hungary has been traced to a Slavicized form of the Turkic words on ogur, meaning "ten arrows," which may have referred to the number of Magyar tribes.

The Magyars live on lands controlled by the Khazars (a Turkish people whose realm stretches from the lower Volga and the lower Don rivers to the Caucasus) from about the seventh to the ninth century, when they free themselves from Khazar rule.

The Khazars attempt to reconquer the Magyars both by themselves and with the help of the Pechenegs, another Turkish tribe.

This tribe drives the Magyars from their homes westward to lands between the Dnepr and lower Danube rivers in 889.

In 895 the Magyars join imperial armies under Emperor Leo VI in a war against the Bulgars.

However, the Bulgars emerge victorious.

Their allies, the Pechenegs, attack the weakened Magyars and force them westward yet again in 895 or 896.

This migration takes the Magyars over the Carpathian Mountains and into the basin drained by the Danube and Tisza rivers, a region that corresponds roughly to present-day Hungary.

Romans, Goths, Huns, Slavs, and other peoples had previously occupied the region, but at the time of the Magyar migration, the land is inhabited only by a sparse population of Slavs, numbering about two hundred thousand.

Tradition holds that the Magyar clan chiefs chose a chieftain named Arpad to lead the migration and that they swore by sipping from a cup of their commingled blood to accept Arpad's male descendants as the Magyars' hereditary chieftains.

The Magyars probably knew of the lands in the Carpathian Basin because from 892 to 894 Magyar mercenaries had fought there for King Arnulf of East Francia in a struggle with the king of Moravia. Estimates are that about four hundred thousand people made up the exodus, in seven Magyar, one Kabar, and other smaller tribes.

The Pannonian Basin and parts of Transylvania south-southwest of the basin had been settled for thousands of years before the Magyars' arrival.

A rich Bronze Age culture had thrived there until horsemen from the steppes destroyed it in the middle of the thirteenth century BCE.

Celts had later occupied parts of the land, and in the first century CE the Romans had conquered and divided it between the imperial provinces of Pannonia and Dacia.

The Goths had ousted the Romans in the fourth century, and Attila the Hun later made the Carpathian Basin the hub of his short-lived empire.

Thereafter, Avars, Bulgars, Germans, and Slavs had settled the region.

In the late ninth century CE, only scattered settlements of Slavs occupy the Pannonian Basin.

The Magyar forces, light cavalrymen who use Central Asian-style bows, quickly conquer the Slavs, whom they either assimilate or enslave.

The Great Moravian Empire is located at the crossroads of two civilizations: the German lands in the West and Byzantium in the East.

From the West the Franks (a Germanic people) conduct destructive raids into Moravian territory, and German priests and monks come to spread Christianity in its Roman form among the Slavs.

Mojmir and his fellow chiefs are baptized at Regensburg in modern-day Germany.

Rastislav (850-70), Mojmir's successor, fears the German influence as a threat to his personal rule, however, and turns to Constantinople.

At Rastislav's request, Emperor Michael III dispatches the monks Cyril and Methodius to the Great Moravian Empire to introduce Eastern Christian rites and liturgy in the Slavic language.

A new Slavonic script, the Cyrillic alphabet, was devised.

Methodius is invested by the pope as archbishop of Moravia, but Svatopluk (871-94), Rastislav's successor, chooses to ally himself with the German clerics.

After the death of Methodius in 885, the Great Moravian Empire is drawn into the sphere of influence of the Roman Catholic Church.

As a result, the Czechs and Slovaks will adopt the Latin alphabet and become further differentiated from the Eastern and Southern Slavs and, who will continue to use the Cyrillic alphabet and adhere to Eastern Orthodoxy.

The unification of Czech and Slovak tribes in a single state is shattered by the Magyar invasion in 907.

The Magyars, who enter the region as seminomadic pastoralists, soon develop settled agricultural communities; they will hold the territory until the Ottoman conquest in the sixteenth century.

With the arrival of the Magyars, the Great Moravian Empire disintegrates.

The chiefs of the Slavic tribes tribes in Bohemia break from the tribes in Moravia and swear allegiance instead to the Frankish emperor Arnulf.

The political center of gravity for the West Slavs shiftd to Bohemia, where a new political unit, the Bohemian Kingdom, will develop.

The Magyars establish the Kingdom of Hungary, which includes a good part of the Great Moravian Empire, primarily all of modern-day Slovakia.

As it turns out, the Magyar invasion has profound long-term consequences, for it means that the Slavic people of the Kingdom of Hungary—the ancestors of the Slovaks—will be separated politically from the western areas, inhabited by the ancestors of the Czechs for virtually a millennium.

This separation is a major factor in the development of distinct Czech and Slovak nationalities.