Svätopluk (Свѧтопълкъ, also Sventopluk, Suentopolcus, Zventopluk, Suatopluk, Святополкъ, Zwentibald) (?-894) 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.
Legend on Svätopluk's twigs
The well-known legend on Svätopluk´s twigs appeared in a fairy tale by the enlighted Byzantine emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitos around 10th century.
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 to tie together three twigs and asked the son 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 three brothers in 894 in spite of their father ´s warning. The country weakened by wars was destroyed in 907 by a Hungarian attack.
Weakened by internal struggle and frequent wars with the Frankish Empire, GreatMoravia was ultimately overrun by Magyar invaders in the early 10th century and its remnants were later divided between the Kingdom of Hungary, Bohemia, Poland, and the Holy Roman Empire.
The territory of GreatMoravia was originally evangelized by missionaries coming from the Frankish Empire or Byzantine enclaves in Italy and Dalmatia since the early 8th century (and sporadically earlier).
The Church organization in GreatMoravia was supervised by the Bavarian clergy until the arrival of Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius in 863.
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