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Samo ( – ) was the founder and sole ruler of the first recorded political union of Slavs, known as Samo's Empire ("realm", "kingdom", or "tribal union"), ruling from 623 until his death in 658. The question about his origins is unresolved. According to Fredegar, Samo was a Franks merchant from Sens. Lexikon des Mittelalters. Verlag J.B. Metzler, Vol. 7, cols 1342-1343 However, according to Conversio Carantanorum, Samo was of Slavic people origin. One of his origin theories suggests that Samo was a Slav who fled persecution in the Francia and sought refuge in Bohemia.
Samo built his career by unifying several Slavic tribes against the robber raiders from the nearby settled Pannonian Avars and raising a rebellion against Avar rule, showing such bravery and command skills in battle that he was elected "King of the Slavs" (). In 631, Samo successfully defended his realm against the Frankish Kingdom in the three-day Battle of Wogastisburg.
The most well-documented event of Samo's career was his victory over the Franks royal army under Dagobert I in 631 or 632. Provoked to action by a "violent quarrel in the Pannonian kingdom of the Avars or Huns" during his ninth year (631–32), Dagobert led three armies against the Wends, the largest being his own army.Curta, 109 n102. The Franks were routed near Wogastisburg (Latin language castrum Vogastisburg), an unidentified location meaning "fortress/castle of Vogast." The majority of the besieging armies were slaughtered, while the rest of the troops fled, leaving weapons and other equipment lying on the ground. In the aftermath of the Wendish victory, Samo invaded Frankish Thuringia several times and undertook looting raids there. Kronika tzv. Fredegara scholastika The Sorbs prince Dervan abandoned the Franks and "placed himself and his people under Samo's realm".Curta, 331 n39.
In 641, the rebellious duke of Thuringia, Radulf, sought an alliance with Samo against his sovereign, Sigebert III.Curta, 109. Samo also maintained long-distance trade relationships.Curta, 331. On his death, however, his title was not inherited by his sons. Ultimately, Samo can be credited with forging a Wends identity by speaking on behalf of the community that recognised his authority.Curta, 343.
It is generally believed that the tribal union included the regions of Moravia, Nitravia ( Nitra), Silesia, Bohemia and Lusatia. According to Julius Bartl, the centre of the polity lay "somewhere in the area of southern Moravia, Lower Austria, and western Slovakia (Nitravia)". According to J. B. Bury, "the assumption that his kingdom embraced Carantania, the country of the Alpine Slavs, rests only upon the Anonymus de conversione Bagariorum et Carantanorum". Archaeological findings indicate that the empire was situated in present-day Moravia, Lower Austria and Slovakia. According to Slovak historian Richard Marsina, it is unlikely that the center of Samo's tribal union was in the whole territory of present-day Slovakia. The settlements of the later Moravian and Nitrian principalities (see: Great Moravia) are often identical with those from the time of Samo's Empire.
The core of Samo's state was located north of the Danube, and in the upper Main region.Kunstmann H. Wo lag das Zentrum von Samos Reich? // Die Welt des Slawen. Halbjahresschrift fűr Slavistik. Bd. XXVI. H. 1 (N. F. V, 1). Műnchen, 1981. S. 67–101; Jakob H. Frűhslavische Keramikfunde in Ostfranken // Ibid. S. 154–169 In some historical sources of the early 9th century, this region is described as " regio Sclavorum" or " terra Slavorum". Large amounts of early medieval Slavic Ceramic are also found here. Many Slavic toponyms have also been found in this area, such as Winideheim ("The Hill of the Wends"),(German) Geschichte Frankenwinheims frankenwinheim.de and Knetzburg ("Prince's Castle").(Russian) Валентин Васильевич Седов, СЛАВЯНЕ: Историко-археологическое исследование. М. 2002 // V.V. Sedov, The Slavs, Moscow, 2002Wolf-Armin Freiherr von Reitzenstein, Lexikon fränkischer Ortsnamen, C.H.Beck, 2013; Knetzgau (altsorbisch) p.122
In 630–631, Valuk, the "duke of the Wends" ( Wallucus dux Winedorum) was mentioned. These Wends referred to the Slavs of the Windic March, which according to some historians was the later March of Carinthia (Carantania) in present Slovenia and Austria. According to Jan Steinhubel, Valuk allowed Longobards to pass through his territory and attack Samo from south-west. Longobards were allies of Franks (Dagobert I) against Samo. If Valuk allowed Longobards to go through his territory, his principality could have not been part of Samo's empire.
In 641, the rebellious Radulf sought an alliance with Samo against his sovereign, Sigebert III. According to Chronicle of Fredegar, the Wendish rebellion against Avars took place in 623/624. This was two years before the Siege of Constantinople by Avars which was supported by Slavs. However, modern researchers reject this version and believe the revolt took place around 626, after Avar failure under the walls of Constantinople which provoked the Slavic revolt, combined with long history of unfriendly Slav-Avar relations.
According to Chronicle of Fredegar, "A great number of the Huns Avars were killed by Wends Slavic swords." during the rebellion. The success of the Slavic uprising caused irrecoverable damage to the Avar Khaganate and Samo was proclaimed Rex Sclavorum ("King of the Slavs") for his outstanding leadership in the uprising.
Samo also maintained long-distance trade relationships. On his death, however, his title was not inherited by his sons. Ultimately, Samo can be credited with forging a Wends identity by speaking on behalf of the community which recognised his authority.
All other sources for Samo are derived from Fredegar and are much more recent. The Gesta Dagoberti I regis Francorum ("Deeds of King Dagobert I of the Franks") was written in the first third of the 9th century. The Conversio Bagoariorum et Carantanorum ("Conversion of the Bavarians and Karantanians") from Salzburg (the Bavarian ecclesiastic centre), written in 871–72, is a very tendentious source, as its name suggests. According mainly to the Conversio, Samo was a Karantanian merchant.
The sources Fredegar used to compile his Wendish account are unknown. A few scholars have attacked the entire account as fictitious, but Fredegar displays a critical attitude and a knowledge of detail that suggest otherwise.Curta, 60. It is possible that he had an eyewitness in the person of Sicharius, the ambassador of Dagobert I to the Slavs. According to Fredegar, the "Wends" had long been subjects and befulci of the Pannonian Avars. Befulci is a term, cognate with the word fulcfree found in the Edict of Rothari, signifying "entrusted to", from the Old German root felhan, falh, fulgum and Middle German bevelhen. Fredegar appears to have envisaged the Wends as a military unit of the Avar host. He probably based his account on "native" Wendish accounts. Fredegar records the story of the origo gentis (origin of the people) of the Wends. The Wends were Slavs, but Samo was the only king of the Wends, at least according to Fredegar.
It has also been suggested that Fredegar's sources may have been the reports of Christian missionaries, especially disciples of Columbanus and the Abbey of Luxeuil. If this is correct, it may explain why he is remarkably free of typical stereotypes of heathen Slavs, and why he was familiar with the Wends as a specifically pagan nation.
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