Samo

Samo (? – 658) was a Frankish merchant „born in the Senonian country” (probably today’s Sens in France), the first ruler of the Slavs whose name is known, and the founder of the so-called Samo‘s Empire (623 - 668), the first known organized community of the Slavs – actually a kind of tribal union, not a true state.

The Avars arrived in the Carpathian Basin in the 560’s from the steppes of Asia and subdued the Slavs living on the conquered territory. The Avar border run approximately along the line Byzantine Empire in present-day Serbia – Balaton lake – eastern Bratislava – southern Slovakia – Ruthenia. After the Avars had been defeated at Constantinople in the early 7th century, the Slavs living north of the Danube started to revolt against them. One of the Frankish merchants delivering arms to the Slavs (mainly) for these revolts was Samo. During a Slav anti-Avar revolt in 623 (probably at today’s Bratislava-Devín), Samo joined the Slavs, the Avars were defeated under his leadership, and the Slavs made him their ruler, so that what is known as the Samo’s Empire arose. Archaeological findings indicate that the “empire” was situated in present-day Moravia, Slovakia and Lower Austria. The settlements of the later Moravian and Nitrian principalities (see Great Moravia) are often identical with those from the time of Samo’s Empire. Present-day Bohemia probably, Sorbia at the Elbe surely, and Carinthia temporarily, became parts of the empire later (in the 630’s), as well. The Slavs led by Samo managed to defeat all Avar attacks, but after the Slavs had killed some Frankish merchants and had stolen some of their commodities, they had to fight against the Franks: In 631, the Frankish ruler Dagobert sent three armies against Samo. One of the armies - the biggest one from Austrasia - was defeated by the Slavs led by Samo at the (today unknown) castle Wogastisburg (Vosgate Castle) when trying to attack the center of Samo’s Empire. As a result, Samo even invaded Frankish Thuringia several times and undertook looting raids there. The Sorbian prince Dervan joined Samo after this success. The location of the Wogastisburg is still strongly disputed (castles in Bohemia, castles at the Danube, the Frankish Forchheim, Bratislava, Carnuntum etc.).

The history of the empire after Samo’s death in 658 (some sources: 659) are largely unclear. It is generally assumed that it disappeared with Samo’s death. Archaeological findings show that the Avars returned to their previous territories (at least to southernmost Slovakia) and entered into a symbiosis with the Slavs, whereas territories to the north of the Avar empire were purely Slav territories. The first particular thing that is known about the fate of these Slavs and Avars, is the existence of the Moravian and Nitrian principalities in the late 8th century (see Great Moravia) which were attacking the Avars, and the defeat of the Avars by the Franks under Charlemagne in 799 or 802/803, after which the Avars quickly ceased to exist.

The main source of written information on Samo and his „empire“ is the Fredegarii Chronicon (Fredegar's "Chronicle").