In what is now Czechia, there used to be an empire that lasted a little more than 30 years. It’s founder was a brave warrior who also found time to marry 12 times, have 22 sons and 15 daughters. This article pulls together what little information exists about him together.

Central Europe at the time

There is little documented history about Slavic culture before the 9th century¹. This is when St Cyril and St Methodius introduced writing, changing history for them². Most of what we know comes from Frankish documents³, and it’s not clear they are reliable either.

The primary source is The Chronicle of Fredegar written in the 7th century⁴. Scholars disagree about whether Fredegar wrote it or not. No matter who wrote it, most historians agree the content is reliable enough.

Samo, King Samo

Samo was a Frankish arms dealer supplying Slavic tribes with weaponry⁵. Arms dealing was a brisk trade in the 7th century. After all, the Slavs had fought against Imperial Rome and Mongol invasions. His long-distance trades would have made him a wealthy man⁶. There were many Slavic tribes at the time and it’s likely Samo traded with many, if not all, of them⁷.

Some of these tribes united in a sort of federation; historians refer to this grouping as the Wends⁸. Their south-eastern enemies suppressed and enslaved them⁹. The main enemy, known as the Avars, was of Turkish origin¹⁰. There were periods of war and also of peace between the Avars and the Wends¹¹. When they weren’t fighting, the Avars used the Wends as cannon fodder in battles¹². This makes me think ‘peace’ wasn’t all it’s cracked up to be for the Wends.

When the Romans attacked the Avars, Samo led the Wends in an uprising¹³. He was a skilful battlefield commander and won admiration for his tactics¹⁴. Samo proved his leadership so the Wends elected him King¹⁵. Historians call the lands he ruled over the Empire of Samo. Historians agree this is the first recorded Slavic state¹⁶.

The Great Moravian Empire formed about 150 years later.

Samo reigned as a king between 623 and 658¹⁷. He was wily enough to forge close ties to as many of the tribes as possible¹⁸. He did this by marrying 12 different women which shows it’s good to be the king¹⁹. He sires 22 sons and 15 daughters to ensure tribal loyalty and family connections²⁰.

Samo’s skill and wealth did not dissuade the Franks from attacking his empire²¹. As a pagan collection of tribes, this was a logical target for Christian Frankish troops²². Samo tried to negotiate a peace treaty with Frankish King Dagobert I but this did not last long²³.

The Battle of Wogastisburg

Dagobert kept trying to find an excuse to attack. In 630, he accused many Slavic brigands of killing and robbing Frankish merchants²⁴. Dagobert insisted that Samo should hand them over so they could be punished²⁵. Samo didn’t want to appease his rival. He promised to do so on two conditions²⁶:

• Dagobert had to identify the miscreants
• They were guilty of these accusations

Dagobert interpreted these conditions as a treaty-breaking act and invaded in 631^{27 28}. Samo led the Slavs to victory in a 3-day battle at a place called Wogastisburg^{29 30}.

There is no such place called Wogastisburg. Fredegar neither indicates where this is, nor leaves any geographical clues. Perhaps this is the name of a temporary encampment, or a town which no longer exists. It could be anywhere between Vienna in the west and the Slovak-Ukrainian border in the east.

The Slavs decimated their opponents, and drove the survivors away³¹. This boosted Samo’s reputation and gave him the confidence to raid Eastern Francia in later years³².

The end of Empire

Samo died in 658³³ and his Empire, such as it is, died with him. At its peak, it extended from the Adriatic Sea to (almost) the Baltic, stretching across the continent. None of his titles, power and wealth went to his many sons³⁴ which is curious. Since Samo earned his title through merit rather than inheritance, it’s possible this was normal for them. Soon after his death, his old enemies retook what they thought was theirs³⁵. They kept control over the land till Charlemagne came along more than 100 years later³⁶.

References

1. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
2. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
3. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
4. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
5. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
6. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
7. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
8. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
9. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
10. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
11. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
12. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
13. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
14. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
15. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
16. The Making of Christian Moravia (858-882): Papal Power and Political Reality; Maddalena Betti; 2014[↩]
17. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
18. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
19. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
20. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
21. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
22. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
23. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
24. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
25. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
26. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
27. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
28. Samo’s Empire; The History of Czechoslovakia; 2018-12-08[↩]
29. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
30. Samo’s Empire; The History of Czechoslovakia; 2018-12-08[↩]
31. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
32. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
33. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
34. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
35. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]
36. Samo; World History Encyclopaedia; 2014-12-30[↩]

Remember: links were correct at time of publication.