Svatopluk I of Moravia

Svatopluk I or Svätopluk I, also known as Svatopluk the Great, was a ruler of Great Moravia, which attained its maximum territorial expansion during his reign (870–871, 871–894).

Svatopluk's career started in the 860s, when he governed a principality within Moravia, the location of which is still a matter of debate among historians, under the suzerainty of his uncle, Rastislav. In 870 Svatopluk dethroned Rastislav, who was a vassal of Louis the German, and betrayed him to the Franks. Within a year, however, the Franks also imprisoned Svatopluk. After the Moravians rebelled against the Franks, Svatopluk was released and led the rebels to victory over the invaders. Although he was obliged to pay tribute to East Francia under the peace treaty concluded at Forchheim (Germany) in 874, he was able to expand his territories outside the Franks' sphere of interest in the following years. His forces even invaded the March of Pannonia within East Francia in 882.

Svatopluk established a good relationship with the popes, and he and his people were formally taken under the protection of the Holy See in 880.

Not long after his death Svatopluk's realm of Great Moravia collapsed in the midst of a power struggle between his sons and the intensifying Hungarian raids.

Svatopluk, whose empire encompassed parts of the territory of modern Czech Republic (Moravia and Bohemia), Slovakia, Poland and Hungary, has occasionally been presented as a "Slovak King" in Slovak literary works since the 18th century, the period of the Slovak national awakening.

Early years

The Annals of Fulda refer to Svatopluk as a nephew of Rastislav, the second known ruler of Great Moravia. Svatopluk was most probably born around 840. According to the unproven later Moravian tradition of Tomáš Pešina z Čechorodu (17th century), who fulfilled the family tree of the House of Mojmír, Svatopluk was the son of a certain Bogislav. According to Simon of Kéza his father was Morot, a Prince of Poland who had subdued Bractari and occupied Crișana before retiring to Veszprém.

Svatopluk seems to have risen to power in Great Moravia in the early 860s. Michael III chose two brothers, Cyril and Methodius, who were fluent in the dialect of Slavic spoken in the environs of Thessaloniki (Greece). They arrived in Moravia in 863, and immediately set to work teaching and preaching. Their translation of liturgical texts into Old Church Slavonic was approved by Pope Hadrian II in 867.

Beginning of his reign

thumb|Statue of Svatopluk I in [[Loštice, Czech Republic]]

By the time Svatopluk first appeared in a Frankish sources (the Annals of Fulda) in 869, he was ruler of his own "realm" (regnum, implying autonomous or semi-autonomous land) within Great Moravia. His court was at "Rastislav's old city" (urbs antique Rastizi),

Svatopluk's "realm" was invaded and plundered in 869 by Bavarian troops led by Carloman, the eldest son of Louis the German, King of East Francia. At the same time Franconian and Alamannian troops attacked Rastislav's territories under the leadership of the same King's youngest son, Charles the Fat. Svatopluk, however, was warned of his uncle's plans, took Rastislav prisoner and handed him over to Carloman.

As a reward for capturing Rastislav, Carloman allowed Svatopluk to retain his principality, but the rest of Great Moravia was placed under the control of two Frankish lords, William and Engilschalk. Carloman's forces also captured Methodius, whom Pope Hadrian II had earlier appointed Archbishop of Sirmium with jurisdiction over the realms ruled by Rastislav and Svatopluk. Early in 871 Carloman also imprisoned Svatopluk on unspecified charges of disloyalty, which may have been connected to the rebellion of Carloman's younger brothers, Louis the Younger and Charles the Bald. Believing that Svatopluk was dead, the Moravians selected another member of their ruling family named Slavomír and made him their ruler.

Towards the Peace of Forchheim

Carloman soon came to the conclusion that the accusations against Svatopluk were unfounded and released him from prison. Thus this son of Carloman's son Arnulf received the Moravian name Zwentibold. However, on his arrival at "Rastislav's old city", Svatopluk betrayed the Bavarians and conspired secretly with the rebels.

thumb|left|200px|alt=Ruins of a fort at Kostolec|The ruins of a Moravian fort on Kostolec Hill at [[Ducové (Slovakia)]]

In October 871 Louis the German sent Bavarian and Franconian troops against the Bohemians (Czechs). During the campaign the Franconians surprised a party of Moravians somewhere near the traps that guarded the narrow approaches to a Bohemian fort.

Louis the German realized the grave threat posed by Svatopluk One army was sent out "against the Moravian Slavs" from Regensburg (Germany) in May, but the Thuringian and Saxon soldiers fled in their first encounter with the enemy. The second army, composed of Franconians under Bishop Arn of Würzburg and Abbot Sigihard of Fulda, experienced mixed results: although their forces fought well, the majority of the men were killed, and only a handful of survivors returned to East Francia. Svatopluk, however, soon assembled a large army and attacked the Bavarians who had been left behind under the command of Bishop Emriacho of Regensburg to guard ships on the bank of the river Danube.

In May 873, Pope John VIII moved energetically to discover the whereabouts of Methodius, who was still being held prisoner in Bavaria. He sent harshly worded letters to Carloman and the Bavarian bishops, and commanded Methodius's immediate reinstatement. After his meeting with the Pope at Verona (Italy), Louis the German went to Forchheim where, according to the Annals of Fulda, "he received the legates of Svatopluk asking for a peace treaty". Thus Methodius, who had in the meantime been allowed to return to Moravia, could continue his work in relatively peaceful conditions for some years.

Years of expansion

Great Moravia underwent considerable expansion in the 870s. For instance, the Life of Methodius refers to the capture of "a very powerful pagan prince settled on the Vistula" in territory of later Poland, and a letter written around 900 by Archbishop Theotmar of Salzburg states that Svatopluk conquered the region of Nitra, which had been thereto inhabited by pagans. Modern historiography, however, has tended to question the claims that huge neighboring territories were permanently annexed by Great Moravia. On the other hand, the Life of Methodius directly links Svatopluk's military achievements and Methodius' work. For instance, according to his Life, Methodius promised Svatopluk that if the Prince would celebrate Saint Peter's Day in the Archbishop's church, "God will soon deliver" his enemies to him, and "so it came to pass".

Nevertheless, at the court of Svatopluk, who himself professed the Latin Rite, intrigues against Methodius and the liturgy in Old Church Slavonic gathered strength. Svatopluk sent John of Venice, a known opponent of the Slavic liturgy, to Rome in 879 to achieve a settlement of ecclesiastical differences. Methodius, however, travelled to Rome in 880, together with a Moravian delegation. The letter also confirmed the decision taken by the Holy See during Rastislav's reign to create an archdiocese for Great Moravia. Upon Svatopluk's request the Pope promoted a German priest, Wiching, to be Bishop of Nitra, but he added that the new Bishop and all the clerics in Great Moravia were expected to be obedient to Methodius, who remained the head of the church in Svatopluk's realms.

The "Wilhelminer War"

At the time when Charles the Fat became the sole ruler of East Francia in 881, the sons of Wilhelm and Engelschalk, the one-time commanders of the Bavarian forces occupying Moravia in 870–871, began to conspire with various Bavarian magnates in order to eject Arbo, the margrave Louis the German had appointed to command a key part of East Francia's frontier on the Danube. Arbo, however, appealed for and received help from both Charles the Fat and Svatopluk, and even handed his son over to the latter as a hostage.

Upon Arbo's request, Svatopluk, who remembered "how much evil he along with his people had suffered" at the hands of Wilhelm and Engelschalk, attacked their sons. Thereafter the remaining sons withdrew from the authority of Charles the Fat and become the men of Carloman's son, Arnulf, who was ruling in Pannonia at that time. Learning of this, Svatopluk sent ambassadors to Arnulf, demanding that the sons of Wilhelm and Engelschalk be immediately sent away. Arnulf, however, refused to hand them over, to which Svatopluk responded with further invasions. According to a record in the Annals of Salzburg, the region of Vienna (Austria) was also invaded in 881 by Hungarians. They seem to have been hired either by Svatopluk or by Arnulf in order to intervene in their conflict.

Thus the "Willhelminer War", that was to last until 884, led to the devastation of Pannonia east of the river Rába. Finally, Charles the Fat himself turned up and received Svatopluk as his man at Kaumberg (Germany), receiving promises of peace and fidelity. Peace between Arnulf and Svatopluk, however, was only sealed in the latter part of the following year.

Last years

Methodius, who seems to have been in Svatopluk's train at Kaumberg, died in 885. In his last days he had indicated Gorazd, one of his Moravian disciples, as most worthy to succeed him. Gorazd, however, did not or could not immediately submit his candidature for ratification of the Holy See, because Bishop Wiching of Nitra soon hurried to Rome. When they refused to do so, Svatopluk gave Wiching a free hand to take action against them. The exiles, however, subsequently found refuge in the First Bulgarian Empire where they were able to carry on their work. Saint Clement of Ochrid said:

In his letter Quia te zelo, the pope addressed Svatopluk as rex Sclavorum ("king of the Slavs"). According to the late 12th-century Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja, Svatopluk had been crowned "king in the Roman fashion on the field of Dalma" in the presence of a papal legate, cardinals, and bishops. They met at Omuntesperch, a locality that has yet not been identified, during the winter of 890. At the meeting Svatopluk transmitted to Arnulf a message from Pope Stephen V, urging the king to invade Italy to protect the Holy See. According to Regino of Prüm, the two monarchs also concluded an agreement, in which Arnulf ceded the ducatus of the Bohemians to Svatopluk.

Sometime during 891, according to the Annals of Fulda, Arnulf sent an embassy led by margrave Arbo to Moravia in order to renew the peace. A letter written by the margrave soon announced that the legates were returning from Svatopluk and the Moravians who had agreed "to give themselves in friendship". First the king met with Braslav, the Slavic dux on the river Sava, then raised an army of Franconians, Bavarians and Alamanni, and also recruited Hungarians to join his campaign. In the late 10th century, Arnulf was accused by Ottonian authors of unleashing the Hungarians on Europe because of his desire to bring down Moravia.

Arnulf's invasion started in July 892, but he failed to defeat Svatopluk. This was the year of Svatopluk's "most unlucky death", according to the Annals of Fulda, which implies that he met his end in some kind of mishap, the sort that occurs in war. The exact circumstances of Svatopluk's death, however, are unknown.

Simon of Kéza recorded that he died in battle near Környe. Among the conquered peoples, the Czechs were the first to withdraw in 895. Finally Moravia collapsed in the first decade of the 10th century due to the invasion of the Hungarians.

thumb|right|200px|alt=Map of Great Moravia|The legend of Svatopluk's three wands

thumb|right|200px|alt=Svatopluk I's depicted in the Chronicle of Dalimil|Svatopluk I disguised as a monk in the court of [[Arnulf of Carinthia|Arnulf, King of East Francia (from the 14th-century Chronicle of Dalimil)]] According to Hungarian legends, the Hungarians purchased the country from Svatopluk in a symbolic act of exchange: they sent a white horse with saddler to Svatopluk in return for some earth, water and grass, supposed to represent his country itself. In response, Ján Baltazár Magin, the Roman Catholic pastor of Dubnica, wrote the oldest known defense of the Slovak nation in 1728. Next another Catholic priest, Juraj Fándly, completed a history in Latin entitled Compendiata historia gentis Slavae ("A Brief History of the Slovak Nation") in which he depicted Moravia as a state of Slovaks and Svatopluk as their king. In 1833 the poet Ján Hollý published a poem entitled Svätopluk, the first of a series of epic poems dealing with the past of the Slovak people.

Notes

References

Sources

Sommer, Petr; Třeštík, Dušan; Žemlička, Josef; Opačić, Zoë (2007). Bohemia and Moravia. In: Berend, Nora (2007); Christianization and the Rise of Christian Monarchy: Scandinavia, Central Europe and Rus’, c. 900–1200; Cambridge University Press; .
Spiesz, Anton; Caplovic, Dusan; Bolchazy, Ladislaus J. (2006). Illustrated Slovak History: A Struggle for Sovereignty in Central Europe. Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc. .