Svatopluk (-modern Czech name; modern Slovak name: Svätopluk; Old Slavic Свѧтопълкъ; reconstructed name: Sventopluk; some names in Latin texts: Suentopolcus, Zventopluk, Suatopluk, Zwentibald) (around 830 - 894) from the Mojmírs dynasty was the prince of the Nitrian principality (850's - 871) and then the king of Great Moravia (871 - 894). Under his rule Great Moravia reached its maximum territorial expansion. Events Christian missionary Ansgar visits Birka, trade city of the Swedes. ... Births Deaths Events Northumbrians and East Angles swear allegiance to Alfred the Great. ... Great Moravia (Old Church Slavonic approximately Велья Морава, Czech Velká Morava, Slovak Veľká Morava, Latin Magna Moravia) was a Slav state existing on the territory of present-day Moravia and Slovakia between 833 and the early 10th century. ... Events Nine battles are fought between the Danes and Wessex. ... Births Deaths Events Northumbrians and East Angles swear allegiance to Alfred the Great. ...

A medieval representation of King Svätopluk.

Svätopluk's life

Originally ruled in Nitra under the suzerainty of his uncle Rastislav, the Prince of Great Moravia. Because of a dispute with Rastislav, Svätopluk formed an alliance with the son of the Eastern Frankish king Louis the German, Carloman in 870. In the same year, Carloman accused him of breaking his oath of loyalty and imprisoned him in Bavaria. At the head of the resistance against the Frankish domination stood up the priest Slavomír from the Mojmír dynasty. After his release in 871, Svätopluk secretly allied himself with Slavomír and after the defeat of the Frankish forces became the sovereign ruler of Great Moravia. Three years later (874), he concluded peace with Louis the German and his sons. In 880 Pope John VIII took up his kingdom under the protection of St. Peter. The king expanded his kingdom and subjected many neighbouring lands inhabited by Slavic tribes - Vislania (southern part of Poland), Silesia, Tisza basin, Balaton principality, Bohemia and Lusatian Serbia. Svätopluk's empire withstood several attacks and campaigns of Ugrofinnic Magyar (Hungarian) nomads (after 889) and the forces of the East Franconian king Arnulf of Carinthia. On the other hand, the king undermined religious independence of Great Moravia when did not protest when papal legates expelled disciples of Saint Methodius. In liturgy, Svatopluk personally prefered the use of Latin over Slavonic. King Svätopluk passed away in 894. Nitra (-Slovak, German: Neutra, Hungarian: Nyitra / Nyitria [older]) is a city in western Slovakia (and the fourth largest urban settlement in Slovakia) situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the Nitra river valley. ... Rastislav (?-870) was the second prince of Great Moravia. ... Louis the German (also known as Louis II or Louis the Bavarian) (804 - August 28, 876), the third son of the emperor Louis the Pious and his first wife, Ermengarde of Hesbaye, was the king of Bavaria from 817, when his father partitioned the empire, and king of East Francia... Carloman (830-880) was a member of the Eastern Frankish Carolingian ruling house. ... The Free State of Bavaria  (German: Freistaat Bayern), with an area of 70,553 km² (27,241 square miles) and 12. ... Great Moravia (Old Church Slavonic approximately Велья Морава, Czech Velká Morava, Slovak Veľká Morava, Latin Magna Moravia) was a Slav state existing on the territory of present-day Moravia and Slovakia between 833 and the early 10th century. ... Louis the German (also known as Louis II or Louis the Bavarian) (804 - August 28, 876), the third son of the emperor Louis the Pious and his first wife, Ermengarde of Hesbaye, was the king of Bavaria from 817, when his father partitioned the empire, and king of East Francia... John VIII was pope from 872 to 882. ... Prussian Silesia, 1871, outlined in yellow; Silesia at the close of the Seven Years War in 1763, outlined in cyan (areas now in Czech Republic were Austrian-ruled at that time) Silesia (-Latin, Polish: ÅšlÄ…sk, German: Schlesien, Czech: Slezsko) is a historical region in central Europe. ... The Tisza in Szeged, Hungary Length 1358 km Elevation of the source  ?  m Average discharge  ?  m³/s Area watershed  ?  km² Origin  Ukraine Mouth  Dunav (Danube) Basin countries Ukraine, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia and Montenegro Tisza ([ˈtisa], Hungarian; Ukrainian Tysa/Тиса Romanian, Slovak and Serbian Tisa) is a river, a tributary of... The Balaton Principality (also called Pannonian or Transdanubian Principality, in Slovak: Blatenské kniežatstvo, in Bulgarian: Blatensko Knezevstvo) (839/840-876) was a Slavic principality (duchy) located in the western part of the Pannonian plain, between rivers Danube to its east, Drava and Mura to the south, the Rába... Bohemia This article is about the historical region in central Europe; for other uses, see Bohemia (disambiguation). ... Lusatia (German Lausitz, Upper Sorbian Łužica, Lower Sorbian Łužyca, Polish Łużyce, Czech Lužice, sometimes called Sorbia, is a historical region between Bóbr-Kwisa rivers and Elbe river in northeastern Germany (states of Saxony and Brandenburg), south-western Poland (voivodship of Lower Silesia and northern Czech... Magyar may refer to: The Magyar language The Magyar people This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Arnulf of Carinthia (German Arnulf von Kärnten, Slovenian Arnulf KoroÅ¡ki) (850 – December 8, 899) was one of the last ruling members of the Carolingian house in the Eastern part of the Frankish Kingdom, which had been split in the Treaty of Verdun in 843. ... Saint Methodius (Greek: Μεθόδιος; Church Slavonic Мефодии) (b. ...

Legend of Svätopluk's twigs

Svätopluk holding three twigs

The well-known legend of Svätopluk's twigs appeared in a fairy tale by the enlighted Byzantine emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitos around the 10th century. Image File history File links Svätopluk. ... Image File history File links Svätopluk. ...     Byzantine Empire (Greek: Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων) is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... Constantine and his mother Zoë. Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos (the Purple-born) (Constantinople, 905 – Constantinople, November 9, 959) was the son of Byzantine emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife Zoe Karvounopsina. ...

It says that the powerful Great Moravian king Svätopluk asked his sons to come to him before his death. He gave a twig to each of them and asked them to break it. The young noblemen could easily do it. Then he asked them to tie together three twigs and asked the sons again to break them. This task appeared to be more difficult. Thus the king demonstrated how it is necessary to be united. That only the strength of united kingdom guarantees the country its power and prosperity. Great Moravia was divided among the three brothers in 894 in spite of their father's warning. The country, weakened by wars, was destroyed in 907 by a Hungarian attack.