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Principality of Nitra

March 11, 2023

The Principality of Nitra[1][2][3] (Slovak: Nitrianske kniežatstvo, Nitriansko, Nitrava, lit. 'Duchy of Nitra, Nitravia, Nitrava'; Hungarian: Nyitrai Fejedelemség), also known as the Duchy of Nitra,[4][5] was a West Slavic polity encompassing a group of settlements that developed in the 9th century around Nitra in present-day Slovakia. Its history remains uncertain[6] because of a lack of contemporary sources. The territory's status is subject to scholarly debate; some modern historians describe it as an independent polity that was annexed either around 833 or 870[undue weight? – discuss] by the Principality of Moravia, while others say that it was under influence of the neighbouring West Slavs from Moravia from its inception.

Principality of Nitra
Nitrianske kniežatstvo (Slovak)
Nyitrai Fejedelemség (Magyar)
c. 825–c. 870
A map presenting the theory of the co-existence of two principalities (Moravia and Nitra) before the 830s
StatusIndependent state (825-833)
Vassal of the
Great Moravia (833–906/907)
Principality of Hungary (906/907–1000/1001)
Kingdom of Poland (1001–1030)
Kingdom of Hungary (1030–1108)
CapitalNitra
Common languagesOld Slavic
Religion
Slavic Christianity
Latin Christianity
Slavic paganism
GovernmentPrincipality
Prince 
• 825–833
Pribina (first)
• 1095-1108
Álmos (last)
Historical eraMiddle Ages
• Established
c. 825
• Incorporated into the Great Moravia
c. 870
Today part ofSlovakia
Hungary

Background

Modern-day Slovakia was dominated for centuries by Germanic peoples, including the Quadi and the Langobards or Lombards, who were there until the middle of the 6th century.[7] A new material culture characterized by handmade pottery, cremation burials and small, square, sunken huts that typically featured a corner stone oven appeared in the plains along the Middle Danube around that time.[8][5] The new culture, with its "spartan and egalitarian" nature, sharply differed from the earlier archaeological cultures of Central Europe.[9] According to Barford, a report by the Byzantine historian Procopius is the first certain reference to Early Slav groups inhabiting parts of present-day Slovakia.[10] Procopius wrote that an exiled Lombard prince named Hildigis mustered an army, "taking with him not only those of the Lombards who had followed him, but also many of the Sclaveni"[11] in the 540s.[12][10]

The nomadic Avars, who arrived from the Eurasian steppes, invaded the Carpathian Basin and subjugated the local inhabitants in the second half of the 6th century.[13][14] Thereafter, Slavic groups inhabiting areas around the core regions of the Avar Khaganate paid tribute to the Avars.[15] The khaganate experienced a series of internal conflicts in the 630s.[16] According to the Chronicle of Fredegar, the "Slavs who are known as Wends" rebelled against the Avars and elected a Frankish trader named Samo as their king in the early 7th century.[17] Samo's realm, which emerged in the northern or northwestern regions of the Carpathian Basin, existed for more than three decades.[15][18][19] It disintegrated soon after its founder's death and Avar control of the region was restored.[18]

The Avar Khaganate collapsed around 803 as a result of several successful military campaigns launched by the Franks against it.[15][20] The fall of the Khaganate contributed to the rise of new polities among the Slavs in the region.[20][21] The shift in political control was accompanied by changes in military strategy and equipment. According to Curta, swords and other items of the "Blatnica-Mikulčice horizon" show "a shift from the mounted combat tactics typical of nomadic warfare to heavy cavalry equipment",[22] and the development of a local elite in the regions to the north of the river Danube and the Great Hungarian Plain in the early 9th century.[21]

Sources

 
Modern sculpture of Pribina in Nitra

The remains of a 9th-century fortress covering 12 hectares (30 acres), the age of which has not been determined, were unearthed in the centre of Nitra.[23][dubious – discuss] Beeby writes that the fortress belongs to the "Great Moravian period".[23] According to Steinhübel, the fortress may have been named after the river Nitra, which flows below the hill upon which it stood.[24] Archaeological research shows that a settlement inhabited by blacksmiths, goldsmiths and other artisans developed at the fortress.[23] An extensive network of settlements emerged around it in the 9th century.[25]

The main source of information about the polity now known as the Principality of Nitra is the Conversion of the Bavarians and Carantanians, a document compiled around 870 to promote the interests of the Archdiocese of Salzburg in Pannonia.[26][27][28] The manuscripts state that "one Pribina", who had been "driven across the Danube by Mojmir, duke of the Moravians",[29] fled to Radbod, Margrave of Pannonia (c. 833–856) in East Francia around 833.[3][30] Radbod introduced him to King Louis the German, who ordered that Pribina should be "instructed in the faith and baptized".[29][31][32][33] According to a sentence in three of the eleven extant manuscripts of the Conversion, Archbishop Adalram of Salzburg (r. 821–836) consecrated a church for Pribina "on his estate at a place over the Danube called Nitrava"[29] at an unspecified date.[31] Modern historians debate whether this sentence was part of the original text or was only a marginal note which was interpolated into the main text in the 12th century.[34][35]

Scholarly debates: the status and location of Pribina's Nitrava

See also: Further theories about the location of the Great Moravia

According to a widely accepted interpretation of the Conversion, Pribina was initially the ruler of an independent polity which was centered on Nitra.[1][3][20][6][36] For instance, Barford writes that Pribina "was apparently prince of Nitra".[37] Pribina's assumed realm is described as the "first demonstrable Slavic state north of the middle Danube" by Lukačka.[4] Lukačka also says that Pribina had a retinue and that most its members "certainly descended from the former tribal aristocracy" but some of them "could have come from the free strata of the mass of the people".[4] Richard Marsina says that it "can hardly be unambiguously decided whether Pribina was a prince of a greater tribe or of two or three smaller joined tribes".[38] He adds that Pribina may have belonged to the second or third generation of the heads of this polity, which emerged in the valleys of the rivers Hron, Nitra, and Váh.[39]

Scholars who write that Pribina was an independent ruler also say that his principality was united with Moravia after he was exiled from his homeland.[1][3][25][20][40][41] Kirschbaum[3] and Steinhübel[20] add that the forced unification of the two principalities – Mojmir's Moravia and Pribina's Nitra – under Mojmir gave rise to the empire of Great Moravia. According to Marsina, the inhabitants of Pribina's principality who "definitely were aware of their difference from the Moravian Slavs" preserved their "specific consciousness" even within Great Moravia, which contributed to the development of the common consciousness of the ancestors of the Slovak people.[39]

Pribina was not an independent ruler, but Duke Mojmir of Moravia's lieutenant in Nitra, according to Vlasto.[42][better source needed] He says that Pribina's attempts to achieve independence led to his exile.[42] The identification of "Nitra" with "Nitrava" is not universally accepted by scholars.[43] Imre Boba and Charles Bowlus are among the scholars who challenged that identification. The Hungarian historian Imre Boba says, the Humanist historian Johannes Aventinus wrongly identified Nitrava (granted along with Brno and Olomouc by Louis the German, according to Aventinus) with Nitra, because Nitrava was in "Hunia or Avaria", to the south of Bavaria.[44] He also says that the Latin term "locus Nitrava" could not refer to a city.[45] According to his view, none of the modern names of Nitra (Slovak Nitra, Hungarian Nyitra and German Neutra) could develop from a "Nitrava" form.[45] Boba's linguistic approach is not compliant with onomastic research which suggests that Nitra was the primary form of the place name and "Nitrava" is only the secondary name; both forms were recorded already in the 9th century.[46][47][48] The Czech historian Dušan Třeštík, who says that the association of Nitra with Nitrava cannot be challenged, writes that the latter form developed from the name of the Nitra River, which fits well into the system of Indo-European toponyms; other rivers with similar names are not known.[49] Charles Bowlus also rejects the identification of Nitrava with Nitra, because the latter town was only annexed by Moravia during the reign of Svatopluk, years after Pribina's expulsion, according to a letter that Archbishop Theotmar of Salzburg and his suffragans wrote around 900.[50] According to Třeštík, the content of the letter can be explained as a reasonable mistake of its compilators who knew that the territory was in the past a separate realm different from Moravia.[51]

Duchy of Nitra (Kingdom of Hungary)

  Possible flag of the Duchy [52]

 
Nitra Castle - main gate

The Duchy or Ducatus is the denomination for territories occasionally governed separately by members (dukes) of the Árpád dynasty within the Kingdom of Hungary in the 11th-12th centuries. The symbol of the ducal power was a sword, while the royal power was represented by the crown. Modern historians do not share a consensual view on the origins of the Duchy or territorial units administered by members of the royal family within the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. György Györffy writes that the Ducatus or "Duchy" developed from the command over the Kabars and other ethnic groups which joined the federation of the Hungarian tribes.

According to his opinion, this command was initially, even before the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin around 895, bestowed upon the heir to the supreme head of the Hungarian tribal federation, in accordance with the customs of the Turkic peoples of the Eurasian steppes. Therefore, Györffy continues, the crown prince's command over these ethnic groups transformed, in the course of the 10th century, into his authority over the territories where they settled. On the other hand, Gyula Kristó, who rejected Györffy's theory, writes that the Duchy only came into being when King Andrew I granted one-third of his kingdom to his younger brother, Béla around 1048. He cites the Illuminated Chronicle which clearly states that this was the "first division of the kingdom".

 
The "Duchy" (including its parts around Nitra) within the Kingdom of Hungary in the 11th century.

The practise of dynastical divisions of the kingdom's territories commenced in 1048 when King Andrew I of Hungary conceded one-third of the counties of his kingdom in appanage to his brother, Béla. The territories entrusted to the members of the ruling dynasty were organized around two or three centers and the duchy made up one-third of the kingdom's territory. Béla's autonomous duchy (ducatus) extended from the Morava river to the border of Transylvania. It was composed of two parts: Nitra and neighboring Bihar, extending from the upper Tisa in the north to the Körös river in the south, from the Transylvanian borders in the east to the Tisa river in the west. Béla was a sovereign lord of his demesne. This is testified by ducal half-denarii - they had the words BELA DVX engraved on them - as well as by the previously mentioned Hungarian Chronicle. Béla probably had the coins struck at his ducal seat in Nitra and new fortifications were added to the Nitra castle. At that time, Duke Béla was the heir presumptive, but later King Andrew I fathered a son, Solomon. The birth of Solomon gave rise to conflicts between the two brothers that resulted in a civil war. The civil war stopped in 1060 when Béla defeated his brother and ascended the throne.[53]

When Béla died in 1063, his sons Géza, Ladislaus and Lampert had to flee from the Kingdom of Hungary, because their cousin, Solomon (who had already been crowned in 1057) returned followed by the troops his brother-in-law, Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor provided him. Shortly afterwards, King Bolesław II of Poland provided military assistance to the three dukes thus they could return to the kingdom. However, the parties wanted to avoid the emerging civil war and therefore they made an agreement on 20 January 1064 in Győr. Under the agreement, the three brothers: Géza, Ladislaus and Lampert accepted the rule of their cousin, King Solomon who conceded them their father's former duchy (the Ducatus).[54]

Following a nine-year-long period of cooperation, conflicts arose among the king and the dukes, and the latter could expand their power over the larger part of the kingdom and the king had to flee to the western borders. In 1074, the eldest duke, Géza was proclaimed king, while King Solomon could maintain his rule only in some western counties of the kingdom. Following his ascension to the throne, King Géza confirmed his brothers, Ladislaus and Lampert in the possession of the Duchy. When Géza died on 25 April 1077, his partisans proclaimed Ladislaus king who could enforce King Solomon to accept his rule in 1081. During Ladislaus' reign, the Duchy may have governed by his brother, Duke Lampert, but it has not been proven yet.[55]

The Ducatus was revived in 1095–1096, when King Coloman of Hungary made an agreement with his brother, Prince Álmos, who had been debating Coloman's right to the throne following the death of King Ladislaus I, and conceded the territories in appanage to him. In 1105, Duke Álmos rebelled against his brother and sought military assistance from the Holy Roman Empire and Poland, but his troops were defeated by the king shortly afterwards. In 1107, Duke Álmos made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and taking advantage of his absence, King Coloman occupied the territories of the Duchy.

When Duke Álmos returned from the Holy Land and realised that his territories had been incorporated into the royal domains, he escaped to the court of Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor. Upon the duke's request, the Emperor laid siege to Bratislava. However, King Coloman sought the assistance of Duke Boleslaw III of Poland, who attacked Bohemia. In November, the emperor made a peace with Coloman, who let his brother come back to his court, but the Duchy and his ducal power was not to be restored. Shortly afterwards, Coloman set up the bishopric of Nitra in one of the seats of the Ducatus.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Bartl et al. 2002, p. 279.
  2. ^ Marsina 1997, p. 15.
  3. ^ a b c d e Kirschbaum 1996, p. 25.
  4. ^ a b c Lukačka 2011, p. 30.
  5. ^ a b Steinhübel 2011, p. 15.
  6. ^ a b Alexander 2005, p. 288.
  7. ^ Steinhübel 2011, pp. 16–18.
  8. ^ Barford 2001, pp. 38–39, 63–64.
  9. ^ Barford 2001, pp. 44, 63–64.
  10. ^ a b Barford 2001, p. 56.
  11. ^ Procopius: History of the Wars (7.35.19.), pp. 461–463.
  12. ^ Curta 2006, p. 55.
  13. ^ Barford 2001, pp. 56–57.
  14. ^ Kirschbaum 1996, p. 18.
  15. ^ a b c Urbańczyk 2005, p. 144.
  16. ^ Curta 2006, p. 76.
  17. ^ Curta 2006, p. 77.
  18. ^ a b Kirschbaum 1996, p. 19.
  19. ^ Barford 2001, p. 79.
  20. ^ a b c d e Steinhübel 2011, p. 16.
  21. ^ a b Urbańczyk 2005, p. 145.
  22. ^ Curta 2006, p. 130.
  23. ^ a b c Beeby, Buckton & Klanica 1982, p. 18.
  24. ^ Steinhübel 2011, p. 17.
  25. ^ a b Szőke 1994, p. 559.
  26. ^ Angi 1997, p. 360.
  27. ^ Kirschbaum 1996, p. 319.
  28. ^ Betti 2013, pp. 49, 142–143.
  29. ^ a b c Wolfram 1979, p. 50.
  30. ^ Bartl et al. 2002, p. 19.
  31. ^ a b Bowlus 2009, p. 318.
  32. ^ Curta 2006, p. 133.
  33. ^ Kirschbaum 1996, pp. 25–26.
  34. ^ Bowlus 2009, p. 327.
  35. ^ Třeštík 2010, pp. 113–114.
  36. ^ Lukačka 2011, pp. 30–31.
  37. ^ Barford 2001, p. 298.
  38. ^ Marsina 1997, p. 18.
  39. ^ a b Marsina 1997, p. 19.
  40. ^ Lukačka 2011, p. 31.
  41. ^ Barford 2001, p. 218.
  42. ^ a b Vlasto 1970, p. 24.
  43. ^ Berend, Urbańczyk & Wiszewski 2013, pp. 56–57.
  44. ^ Boba 1993, p. 134.
  45. ^ a b Boba 1993, p. 26.
  46. ^ Krajčovič 2005, p. 20.
  47. ^ Závodný 2008, pp. 49–51.
  48. ^ Hladký 2008, pp. 76–79.
  49. ^ Třeštík 2010, p. 123.
  50. ^ Bowlus 2009, p. 194.
  51. ^ Třeštík 2010, p. 116.
  52. ^ Ladislav, Vrtel (2017). EIGHT CENTURIES OF SLOVAK HERALDRY (in Slovak) (2nd ed.). Slovakia: Vydavateľstvo Matice Slovenskej. p. 61. ISBN 9788081152474.
  53. ^ Mikulás Teich, Dusan Kovac and Martin D. Brown: Slovakia in History, Cambridge University Press, 2011, p. 26 [1]
  54. ^ Mikulás Teich, Dusan Kovac and Martin D. Brown: Slovakia in History, Cambridge University Press, 2011, p. 26-28 [2]
  55. ^ Mikulás Teich, Dusan Kovac and Martin D. Brown: Slovakia in History, Cambridge University Press, 2011, p. 27-28 [3]

Sources

Primary sources

  • Anonymus, Notary of King Béla: The Deeds of the Hungarians (Edited, Translated and Annotated by Martyn Rady and László Veszprémy) (2010). In: Rady, Martyn; Veszprémy, László; Bak, János M. (2010); Anonymus and Master Roger; CEU Press; ISBN 978-963-9776-95-1.
  • Herman of Reichenau: Chronicle. In: Eleventh-century Germany: The Swabian Chronicles (selected sources translated and annotated with an introduction by I. S. Robinson) (2008); Manchester University Press; ISBN 978-0-7190-7734-0.
  • Procopius: History of the Wars (Books VI.16–VII.35.) (With an English Translation by H. B. Dewing) (2006). Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-99191-5.
  • Simon of Kéza: The Deeds of the Hungarians (Edited and translated by László Veszprémy and Frank Schaer with a study by Jenő Szűcs) (1999). CEU Press. ISBN 963-9116-31-9.
  • The Annals of Fulda (Ninth-Century Histories, Volume II) (Translated and annotated by Timothy Reuter) (1992). Manchester University Press. ISBN 0-7190-3458-2.
  • The Deeds of the Princes of the Poles (Translated and annotated by Paul W. Knoll and Frank Schaer with a preface by Thomas N. Bisson) (2003). CEU Press. ISBN 963-9241-40-7.
  • The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle: Chronica de Gestis Hungarorum (Edited by Dezső Dercsényi) (1970). Corvina, Taplinger Publishing. ISBN 0-8008-4015-1.

Secondary sources

  • Alexander, June Granatir (2005). "Slovakia". In Frucht, Richard (ed.). Eastern Europe: An Introduction to the People, Lands and Culture. ABC Clio. pp. 283–328. ISBN 1-57607-800-0.
  • Angi, János (1997). "A nyugati szláv államok [Western Slavic states]". In Pósán, László; Papp, Imre; Bárány, Attila; Orosz, István; Angi, János (eds.). Európa a korai középkorban ["Europe in the Early Middle Ages"] (in Hungarian). Multiplex Media – Debrecen University Press. pp. 358–365. ISBN 963-04-9196-6.
  • Barford, P. M. (2001). The Early Slavs: Culture and Society in Early Medieval Eastern Europe. Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-3977-9.
  • Bartl, Július; Čičaj, Viliam; Kohútova, Mária; Letz, Róbert; Segeš, Vladimír; Škvarna, Dušan (2002). Slovak History: Chronology & Lexicon. Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Slovenské Pedegogické Nakladatel'stvo. ISBN 0-86516-444-4.
  • Beeby, Susan; Buckton, David; Klanica, Zdeněk (1982). Great Moravia: The Archaeology of Ninth-Century Czechoslovakia. The Trustees of the British Museum. ISBN 0-7141-0520-1.
  • Berend, Nora; Urbańczyk, Przemysław; Wiszewski, Przemysław (2013). Central Europe in the High Middle Ages: Bohemia, Hungary and Poland, c. 900-c. 1300. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-78156-5.
  • Betti, Maddalena (2013). The Making of Christian Moravia (858-882): Papal Power and Political Reality. Brill. pp. 27–34. ISBN 978-9-004-26008-5.
  • Boba, Imre (1993). "In Defence of Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus". Die Slawischen Sprachen. Institut für Slawistik der Universität Salzburg. 32. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  • Bowlus, Charles R. (2009). "Nitra: when did it become a part of the Moravian realm? Evidence in the Frankish sources". Early Medieval Europe. Oxford (UK): Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 17 (3): 311–328. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0254.2009.00279.x.
  • Curta, Florin (2006). Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500–1250. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-89452-4.
  • Goldberg, Eric J. (2006). Struggle for Empire: Kingship and Conflict under Louis the German, 817–876. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-7529-0.
  • Hladký, Juraj (2008). "Z historickej slovenskej hydronymie a ojkonymie – Nitrava či Nitra?" [From the historical slovak hydronymy and ojconymy - Nitrava or Nitra?] (PDF). Logos Onomastiky (in Slovak). Donetsk National University (2). Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  • Kirschbaum, Stanislav J. (1996). A History of Slovakia: The Struggle for Survival. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 1-4039-6929-9.
  • Kirschbaum, Stanislav J. (2007). Historical Dictionary of Slovakia (Historical Dictionaries of Europe, No. 47). The Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-5535-9.
  • Krajčovič, Rudolf (2005). Živé kroniky slovenských dejín skryté v názvoch obcí a miest (in Slovak). Bratislava: Literárne informačné centrum. ISBN 80-88878-99-3.
  • Lukačka, Ján (2011). "The beginnings of the nobility in Slovakia". In Teich, Mikuláš; Kováč, Dušan; Brown, Martin D. (eds.). Slovakia in History. Cambridge University Press. pp. 30–37. ISBN 978-0-521-80253-6.
  • Marsina, Richard (1997). "Ethnogenesis of Slovaks" (PDF). Human Affairs. Bratislava, SLO: Slovak Academy of Sciences, Department of Social & Biological Communication. 7 (1): 15–23. Retrieved 2013-08-31.
  • Püspöki Nagy, Péter (1978). "Nagymorávia fekvéséről [On the location of Great Moravia]". Valóság. Tudományos Ismeretterjesztő Társulat. XXI (11): 60–82.
  • Steinhübel, Ján (2011). "The Duchy of Nitra". In Teich, Mikuláš; Kováč, Dušan; Brown, Martin D. (eds.). Slovakia in History. Cambridge University Press. pp. 15–29. ISBN 978-0-521-80253-6.
  • Szőke, Béla Miklós (1994). "Pribina". In Kristó, Gyula; Engel, Pál; Makk, Ferenc (eds.). Korai magyar történeti lexikon (9–14. század) [Encyclopedia of the Early Hungarian History (9th–14th centuries)] (in Hungarian). Akadémiai Kiadó. p. 559. ISBN 963-05-6722-9.
  • Třeštík, Dušan (2010). Vznik Velké Moravy. Moravané, Čechové a štřední Evropa v letech 791–871 [The Formation of Great Moravia. Moravians, Czechs and Central Europe in the years 791-871] (in Czech). Nakladatelství lidové noviny. ISBN 978-80-7422-049-4.
  • Urbańczyk, Przemysław (2005). "Early State Formation in East Central Europe". In Curta, Florin (ed.). East Central & Eastern Europe in the Early Middle Ages. The University of Michigan Press. pp. 139–151. ISBN 978-0-472-11498-6.
  • Vlasto, A. P. (1970). The Entry of the Slavs into Christendom: An Introduction to the Medieval History of the Slavs. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-10758-7.
  • Závodný, Andrej (2008). "Distribúcia sufixu -ava v slovenskej hydronýmii" [Distribution of the suffix -ava in the Slovak hydronymy] (PDF). Logos Onomastiky (in Slovak). Donetsk National University (2). Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  • Wolfram, Herwig (1979). Conversio Bagoariorum et Carantanorum: Das Weissbuch der Salzburger Kirche über die erfolgreiche Mission in Karantanien und Pannonien [ Conversio Bagoariorum et Carantanorum: The White Paper of the Church of Salzburg on the Successful Mission in Carinthia and Pannonia] (in German). Böhlau Quellenbücher. ISBN 978-3-205-08361-0.

Further reading

  • Alimov, D. E., 2015. В поисках «Племени»: посавское и нитранское княжества в контексте этнополитической ситуации в славянском мире в IX В. Исторический формат, (4 (4)).
  • Baláž, P., 2015. Pseudokresťanskí Moravania, nitrianski neofyti a najkresťanskejší Frankovia. Konštantínove listy, 8(8), pp. 14-24.
  • Boba, Imre (1971). Moravia's History Reconsidered: A Reinterpretation of Medieval Sources. Martinus Nijhoff. ISBN 90-247-5041-5.
  • Bowlus, Charles R. (1995). Franks, Moravians, and Magyars: the struggle for the Middle Danube, 788–907. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-3276-9.
  • Pieta, K. and Ruttkay, A., 2006. Bojná–mocenské a christianizačné centrum Nitrianskeho kniežatstva. Predbežná správa. Bojná. Hospodárske a politické centrum Nitrianskeho kniežatstva, Nitra, pp. 21-69.
  • Ruttkay, M., 2012. Mocenské centrá Nitrianskeho kniežatstva. Bratia, ktorí zmenili svet: Konštantín a Metod. Príspevky z konferencie. Bratislava, pp. 115-144.
  • Šalkovský, P., 2013. Sídelný vývoj v povodí hornej Nitry v starších fázach stredoveku. Slovenská archeológia (Slovak Archaeology), 1(61), pp. 143-175.

March 11, 2023
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Principality of Nitra news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Principality of Nitra 1 2 3 Slovak Nitrianske kniezatstvo Nitriansko Nitrava lit Duchy of Nitra Nitravia Nitrava Hungarian Nyitrai Fejedelemseg also known as the Duchy of Nitra 4 5 was a West Slavic polity encompassing a group of settlements that developed in the 9th century around Nitra in present day Slovakia Its history remains uncertain 6 because of a lack of contemporary sources The territory s status is subject to scholarly debate some modern historians describe it as an independent polity that was annexed either around 833 or 870 undue weight discuss by the Principality of Moravia while others say that it was under influence of the neighbouring West Slavs from Moravia from its inception Principality of NitraNitrianske kniezatstvo Slovak Nyitrai Fejedelemseg Magyar c 825 c 870A map presenting the theory of the co existence of two principalities Moravia and Nitra before the 830sStatusIndependent state 825 833 Vassal of theGreat Moravia 833 906 907 Principality of Hungary 906 907 1000 1001 Kingdom of Poland 1001 1030 Kingdom of Hungary 1030 1108 CapitalNitraCommon languagesOld SlavicReligionSlavic ChristianityLatin ChristianitySlavic paganismGovernmentPrincipalityPrince 825 833Pribina first 1095 1108Almos last Historical eraMiddle Ages Establishedc 825 Incorporated into the Great Moraviac 870Preceded by Succeeded bySamo s Empire Great MoraviaKingdom of HungaryKingdom of PolandToday part ofSlovakiaHungary Contents 1 Background 2 Sources 3 Scholarly debates the status and location of Pribina s Nitrava 4 Duchy of Nitra Kingdom of Hungary 5 See also 6 References 7 Sources 7 1 Primary sources 7 2 Secondary sources 8 Further readingBackground EditModern day Slovakia was dominated for centuries by Germanic peoples including the Quadi and the Langobards or Lombards who were there until the middle of the 6th century 7 A new material culture characterized by handmade pottery cremation burials and small square sunken huts that typically featured a corner stone oven appeared in the plains along the Middle Danube around that time 8 5 The new culture with its spartan and egalitarian nature sharply differed from the earlier archaeological cultures of Central Europe 9 According to Barford a report by the Byzantine historian Procopius is the first certain reference to Early Slav groups inhabiting parts of present day Slovakia 10 Procopius wrote that an exiled Lombard prince named Hildigis mustered an army taking with him not only those of the Lombards who had followed him but also many of the Sclaveni 11 in the 540s 12 10 The nomadic Avars who arrived from the Eurasian steppes invaded the Carpathian Basin and subjugated the local inhabitants in the second half of the 6th century 13 14 Thereafter Slavic groups inhabiting areas around the core regions of the Avar Khaganate paid tribute to the Avars 15 The khaganate experienced a series of internal conflicts in the 630s 16 According to the Chronicle of Fredegar the Slavs who are known as Wends rebelled against the Avars and elected a Frankish trader named Samo as their king in the early 7th century 17 Samo s realm which emerged in the northern or northwestern regions of the Carpathian Basin existed for more than three decades 15 18 19 It disintegrated soon after its founder s death and Avar control of the region was restored 18 The Avar Khaganate collapsed around 803 as a result of several successful military campaigns launched by the Franks against it 15 20 The fall of the Khaganate contributed to the rise of new polities among the Slavs in the region 20 21 The shift in political control was accompanied by changes in military strategy and equipment According to Curta swords and other items of the Blatnica Mikulcice horizon show a shift from the mounted combat tactics typical of nomadic warfare to heavy cavalry equipment 22 and the development of a local elite in the regions to the north of the river Danube and the Great Hungarian Plain in the early 9th century 21 Sources Edit Modern sculpture of Pribina in Nitra The remains of a 9th century fortress covering 12 hectares 30 acres the age of which has not been determined were unearthed in the centre of Nitra 23 dubious discuss Beeby writes that the fortress belongs to the Great Moravian period 23 According to Steinhubel the fortress may have been named after the river Nitra which flows below the hill upon which it stood 24 Archaeological research shows that a settlement inhabited by blacksmiths goldsmiths and other artisans developed at the fortress 23 An extensive network of settlements emerged around it in the 9th century 25 The main source of information about the polity now known as the Principality of Nitra is the Conversion of the Bavarians and Carantanians a document compiled around 870 to promote the interests of the Archdiocese of Salzburg in Pannonia 26 27 28 The manuscripts state that one Pribina who had been driven across the Danube by Mojmir duke of the Moravians 29 fled to Radbod Margrave of Pannonia c 833 856 in East Francia around 833 3 30 Radbod introduced him to King Louis the German who ordered that Pribina should be instructed in the faith and baptized 29 31 32 33 According to a sentence in three of the eleven extant manuscripts of the Conversion Archbishop Adalram of Salzburg r 821 836 consecrated a church for Pribina on his estate at a place over the Danube called Nitrava 29 at an unspecified date 31 Modern historians debate whether this sentence was part of the original text or was only a marginal note which was interpolated into the main text in the 12th century 34 35 Scholarly debates the status and location of Pribina s Nitrava EditSee also Further theories about the location of the Great Moravia According to a widely accepted interpretation of the Conversion Pribina was initially the ruler of an independent polity which was centered on Nitra 1 3 20 6 36 For instance Barford writes that Pribina was apparently prince of Nitra 37 Pribina s assumed realm is described as the first demonstrable Slavic state north of the middle Danube by Lukacka 4 Lukacka also says that Pribina had a retinue and that most its members certainly descended from the former tribal aristocracy but some of them could have come from the free strata of the mass of the people 4 Richard Marsina says that it can hardly be unambiguously decided whether Pribina was a prince of a greater tribe or of two or three smaller joined tribes 38 He adds that Pribina may have belonged to the second or third generation of the heads of this polity which emerged in the valleys of the rivers Hron Nitra and Vah 39 Scholars who write that Pribina was an independent ruler also say that his principality was united with Moravia after he was exiled from his homeland 1 3 25 20 40 41 Kirschbaum 3 and Steinhubel 20 add that the forced unification of the two principalities Mojmir s Moravia and Pribina s Nitra under Mojmir gave rise to the empire of Great Moravia According to Marsina the inhabitants of Pribina s principality who definitely were aware of their difference from the Moravian Slavs preserved their specific consciousness even within Great Moravia which contributed to the development of the common consciousness of the ancestors of the Slovak people 39 Pribina was not an independent ruler but Duke Mojmir of Moravia s lieutenant in Nitra according to Vlasto 42 better source needed He says that Pribina s attempts to achieve independence led to his exile 42 The identification of Nitra with Nitrava is not universally accepted by scholars 43 Imre Boba and Charles Bowlus are among the scholars who challenged that identification The Hungarian historian Imre Boba says the Humanist historian Johannes Aventinus wrongly identified Nitrava granted along with Brno and Olomouc by Louis the German according to Aventinus with Nitra because Nitrava was in Hunia or Avaria to the south of Bavaria 44 He also says that the Latin term locus Nitrava could not refer to a city 45 According to his view none of the modern names of Nitra Slovak Nitra Hungarian Nyitra and German Neutra could develop from a Nitrava form 45 Boba s linguistic approach is not compliant with onomastic research which suggests that Nitra was the primary form of the place name and Nitrava is only the secondary name both forms were recorded already in the 9th century 46 47 48 The Czech historian Dusan Trestik who says that the association of Nitra with Nitrava cannot be challenged writes that the latter form developed from the name of the Nitra River which fits well into the system of Indo European toponyms other rivers with similar names are not known 49 Charles Bowlus also rejects the identification of Nitrava with Nitra because the latter town was only annexed by Moravia during the reign of Svatopluk years after Pribina s expulsion according to a letter that Archbishop Theotmar of Salzburg and his suffragans wrote around 900 50 According to Trestik the content of the letter can be explained as a reasonable mistake of its compilators who knew that the territory was in the past a separate realm different from Moravia 51 Duchy of Nitra Kingdom of Hungary EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed June 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message Possible flag of the Duchy 52 Nitra Castle main gate The Duchy or Ducatus is the denomination for territories occasionally governed separately by members dukes of the Arpad dynasty within the Kingdom of Hungary in the 11th 12th centuries The symbol of the ducal power was a sword while the royal power was represented by the crown Modern historians do not share a consensual view on the origins of the Duchy or territorial units administered by members of the royal family within the medieval Kingdom of Hungary Gyorgy Gyorffy writes that the Ducatus or Duchy developed from the command over the Kabars and other ethnic groups which joined the federation of the Hungarian tribes According to his opinion this command was initially even before the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin around 895 bestowed upon the heir to the supreme head of the Hungarian tribal federation in accordance with the customs of the Turkic peoples of the Eurasian steppes Therefore Gyorffy continues the crown prince s command over these ethnic groups transformed in the course of the 10th century into his authority over the territories where they settled On the other hand Gyula Kristo who rejected Gyorffy s theory writes that the Duchy only came into being when King Andrew I granted one third of his kingdom to his younger brother Bela around 1048 He cites the Illuminated Chronicle which clearly states that this was the first division of the kingdom The Duchy including its parts around Nitra within the Kingdom of Hungary in the 11th century The practise of dynastical divisions of the kingdom s territories commenced in 1048 when King Andrew I of Hungary conceded one third of the counties of his kingdom in appanage to his brother Bela The territories entrusted to the members of the ruling dynasty were organized around two or three centers and the duchy made up one third of the kingdom s territory Bela s autonomous duchy ducatus extended from the Morava river to the border of Transylvania It was composed of two parts Nitra and neighboring Bihar extending from the upper Tisa in the north to the Koros river in the south from the Transylvanian borders in the east to the Tisa river in the west Bela was a sovereign lord of his demesne This is testified by ducal half denarii they had the words BELA DVX engraved on them as well as by the previously mentioned Hungarian Chronicle Bela probably had the coins struck at his ducal seat in Nitra and new fortifications were added to the Nitra castle At that time Duke Bela was the heir presumptive but later King Andrew I fathered a son Solomon The birth of Solomon gave rise to conflicts between the two brothers that resulted in a civil war The civil war stopped in 1060 when Bela defeated his brother and ascended the throne 53 When Bela died in 1063 his sons Geza Ladislaus and Lampert had to flee from the Kingdom of Hungary because their cousin Solomon who had already been crowned in 1057 returned followed by the troops his brother in law Henry IV Holy Roman Emperor provided him Shortly afterwards King Boleslaw II of Poland provided military assistance to the three dukes thus they could return to the kingdom However the parties wanted to avoid the emerging civil war and therefore they made an agreement on 20 January 1064 in Gyor Under the agreement the three brothers Geza Ladislaus and Lampert accepted the rule of their cousin King Solomon who conceded them their father s former duchy the Ducatus 54 Following a nine year long period of cooperation conflicts arose among the king and the dukes and the latter could expand their power over the larger part of the kingdom and the king had to flee to the western borders In 1074 the eldest duke Geza was proclaimed king while King Solomon could maintain his rule only in some western counties of the kingdom Following his ascension to the throne King Geza confirmed his brothers Ladislaus and Lampert in the possession of the Duchy When Geza died on 25 April 1077 his partisans proclaimed Ladislaus king who could enforce King Solomon to accept his rule in 1081 During Ladislaus reign the Duchy may have governed by his brother Duke Lampert but it has not been proven yet 55 The Ducatus was revived in 1095 1096 when King Coloman of Hungary made an agreement with his brother Prince Almos who had been debating Coloman s right to the throne following the death of King Ladislaus I and conceded the territories in appanage to him In 1105 Duke Almos rebelled against his brother and sought military assistance from the Holy Roman Empire and Poland but his troops were defeated by the king shortly afterwards In 1107 Duke Almos made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and taking advantage of his absence King Coloman occupied the territories of the Duchy When Duke Almos returned from the Holy Land and realised that his territories had been incorporated into the royal domains he escaped to the court of Henry V Holy Roman Emperor Upon the duke s request the Emperor laid siege to Bratislava However King Coloman sought the assistance of Duke Boleslaw III of Poland who attacked Bohemia In November the emperor made a peace with Coloman who let his brother come back to his court but the Duchy and his ducal power was not to be restored Shortly afterwards Coloman set up the bishopric of Nitra in one of the seats of the Ducatus See also EditGreat Moravia Tercia pars regniReferences Edit a b c Bartl et al 2002 p 279 Marsina 1997 p 15 a b c d e Kirschbaum 1996 p 25 a b c Lukacka 2011 p 30 a b Steinhubel 2011 p 15 a b Alexander 2005 p 288 Steinhubel 2011 pp 16 18 Barford 2001 pp 38 39 63 64 Barford 2001 pp 44 63 64 a b Barford 2001 p 56 Procopius History of the Wars 7 35 19 pp 461 463 Curta 2006 p 55 Barford 2001 pp 56 57 Kirschbaum 1996 p 18 a b c Urbanczyk 2005 p 144 Curta 2006 p 76 Curta 2006 p 77 a b Kirschbaum 1996 p 19 Barford 2001 p 79 a b c d e Steinhubel 2011 p 16 a b Urbanczyk 2005 p 145 Curta 2006 p 130 a b c Beeby Buckton amp Klanica 1982 p 18 Steinhubel 2011 p 17 a b Szoke 1994 p 559 Angi 1997 p 360 Kirschbaum 1996 p 319 Betti 2013 pp 49 142 143 a b c Wolfram 1979 p 50 Bartl et al 2002 p 19 a b Bowlus 2009 p 318 Curta 2006 p 133 Kirschbaum 1996 pp 25 26 Bowlus 2009 p 327 Trestik 2010 pp 113 114 Lukacka 2011 pp 30 31 Barford 2001 p 298 Marsina 1997 p 18 a b Marsina 1997 p 19 Lukacka 2011 p 31 Barford 2001 p 218 a b Vlasto 1970 p 24 Berend Urbanczyk amp Wiszewski 2013 pp 56 57 Boba 1993 p 134 a b Boba 1993 p 26 Krajcovic 2005 p 20 Zavodny 2008 pp 49 51 Hladky 2008 pp 76 79 Trestik 2010 p 123 Bowlus 2009 p 194 Trestik 2010 p 116 Ladislav Vrtel 2017 EIGHT CENTURIES OF SLOVAK HERALDRY in Slovak 2nd ed Slovakia Vydavateľstvo Matice Slovenskej p 61 ISBN 9788081152474 Mikulas Teich Dusan Kovac and Martin D Brown Slovakia in History Cambridge University Press 2011 p 26 1 Mikulas Teich Dusan Kovac and Martin D Brown Slovakia in History Cambridge University Press 2011 p 26 28 2 Mikulas Teich Dusan Kovac and Martin D Brown Slovakia in History Cambridge University Press 2011 p 27 28 3 Sources EditPrimary sources Edit Anonymus Notary of King Bela The Deeds of the Hungarians Edited Translated and Annotated by Martyn Rady and Laszlo Veszpremy 2010 In Rady Martyn Veszpremy Laszlo Bak Janos M 2010 Anonymus and Master Roger CEU Press ISBN 978 963 9776 95 1 Herman of Reichenau Chronicle In Eleventh century Germany The Swabian Chronicles selected sources translated and annotated with an introduction by I S Robinson 2008 Manchester University Press ISBN 978 0 7190 7734 0 Procopius History of the Wars Books VI 16 VII 35 With an English Translation by H B Dewing 2006 Harvard University Press ISBN 0 674 99191 5 Simon of Keza The Deeds of the Hungarians Edited and translated by Laszlo Veszpremy and Frank Schaer with a study by Jeno Szucs 1999 CEU Press ISBN 963 9116 31 9 The Annals of Fulda Ninth Century Histories Volume II Translated and annotated by Timothy Reuter 1992 Manchester University Press ISBN 0 7190 3458 2 The Deeds of the Princes of the Poles Translated and annotated by Paul W Knoll and Frank Schaer with a preface by Thomas N Bisson 2003 CEU Press ISBN 963 9241 40 7 The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle Chronica de Gestis Hungarorum Edited by Dezso Dercsenyi 1970 Corvina Taplinger Publishing ISBN 0 8008 4015 1 Secondary sources Edit Alexander June Granatir 2005 Slovakia In Frucht Richard ed Eastern Europe An Introduction to the People Lands and Culture ABC Clio pp 283 328 ISBN 1 57607 800 0 Angi Janos 1997 A nyugati szlav allamok Western Slavic states In Posan Laszlo Papp Imre Barany Attila Orosz Istvan Angi Janos eds Europa a korai kozepkorban Europe in the Early Middle Ages in Hungarian Multiplex Media Debrecen University Press pp 358 365 ISBN 963 04 9196 6 Barford P M 2001 The Early Slavs Culture and Society in Early Medieval Eastern Europe Cornell University Press ISBN 0 8014 3977 9 Bartl Julius Cicaj Viliam Kohutova Maria Letz Robert Seges Vladimir Skvarna Dusan 2002 Slovak History Chronology amp Lexicon Bolchazy Carducci Publishers Slovenske Pedegogicke Nakladatel stvo ISBN 0 86516 444 4 Beeby Susan Buckton David Klanica Zdenek 1982 Great Moravia The Archaeology of Ninth Century Czechoslovakia The Trustees of the British Museum ISBN 0 7141 0520 1 Berend Nora Urbanczyk Przemyslaw Wiszewski Przemyslaw 2013 Central Europe in the High Middle Ages Bohemia Hungary and Poland c 900 c 1300 Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 521 78156 5 Betti Maddalena 2013 The Making of Christian Moravia 858 882 Papal Power and Political Reality Brill pp 27 34 ISBN 978 9 004 26008 5 Boba Imre 1993 In Defence of Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus Die Slawischen Sprachen Institut fur Slawistik der Universitat Salzburg 32 Retrieved 20 May 2015 Bowlus Charles R 2009 Nitra when did it become a part of the Moravian realm Evidence in the Frankish sources Early Medieval Europe Oxford UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 17 3 311 328 doi 10 1111 j 1468 0254 2009 00279 x Curta Florin 2006 Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages 500 1250 Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 521 89452 4 Goldberg Eric J 2006 Struggle for Empire Kingship and Conflict under Louis the German 817 876 Cornell University Press ISBN 978 0 8014 7529 0 Hladky Juraj 2008 Z historickej slovenskej hydronymie a ojkonymie Nitrava ci Nitra From the historical slovak hydronymy and ojconymy Nitrava or Nitra PDF Logos Onomastiky in Slovak Donetsk National University 2 Retrieved 13 July 2015 Kirschbaum Stanislav J 1996 A History of Slovakia The Struggle for Survival Palgrave Macmillan ISBN 1 4039 6929 9 Kirschbaum Stanislav J 2007 Historical Dictionary of Slovakia Historical Dictionaries of Europe No 47 The Scarecrow Press ISBN 978 0 8108 5535 9 Krajcovic Rudolf 2005 Zive kroniky slovenskych dejin skryte v nazvoch obci a miest in Slovak Bratislava Literarne informacne centrum ISBN 80 88878 99 3 Lukacka Jan 2011 The beginnings of the nobility in Slovakia In Teich Mikulas Kovac Dusan Brown Martin D eds Slovakia in History Cambridge University Press pp 30 37 ISBN 978 0 521 80253 6 Marsina Richard 1997 Ethnogenesis of Slovaks PDF Human Affairs Bratislava SLO Slovak Academy of Sciences Department of Social amp Biological Communication 7 1 15 23 Retrieved 2013 08 31 Puspoki Nagy Peter 1978 Nagymoravia fekveserol On the location of Great Moravia Valosag Tudomanyos Ismeretterjeszto Tarsulat XXI 11 60 82 Steinhubel Jan 2011 The Duchy of Nitra In Teich Mikulas Kovac Dusan Brown Martin D eds Slovakia in History Cambridge University Press pp 15 29 ISBN 978 0 521 80253 6 Szoke Bela Miklos 1994 Pribina In Kristo Gyula Engel Pal Makk Ferenc eds Korai magyar torteneti lexikon 9 14 szazad Encyclopedia of the Early Hungarian History 9th 14th centuries in Hungarian Akademiai Kiado p 559 ISBN 963 05 6722 9 Trestik Dusan 2010 Vznik Velke Moravy Moravane Cechove a stredni Evropa v letech 791 871 The Formation of Great Moravia Moravians Czechs and Central Europe in the years 791 871 in Czech Nakladatelstvi lidove noviny ISBN 978 80 7422 049 4 Urbanczyk Przemyslaw 2005 Early State Formation in East Central Europe In Curta Florin ed East Central amp Eastern Europe in the Early Middle Ages The University of Michigan Press pp 139 151 ISBN 978 0 472 11498 6 Vlasto A P 1970 The Entry of the Slavs into Christendom An Introduction to the Medieval History of the Slavs Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 521 10758 7 Zavodny Andrej 2008 Distribucia sufixu ava v slovenskej hydronymii Distribution of the suffix ava in the Slovak hydronymy PDF Logos Onomastiky in Slovak Donetsk National University 2 Retrieved 13 July 2015 Wolfram Herwig 1979 Conversio Bagoariorum et Carantanorum Das Weissbuch der Salzburger Kirche uber die erfolgreiche Mission in Karantanien und Pannonien Conversio Bagoariorum et Carantanorum The White Paper of the Church of Salzburg on the Successful Mission in Carinthia and Pannonia in German Bohlau Quellenbucher ISBN 978 3 205 08361 0 Further reading EditAlimov D E 2015 V poiskah Plemeni posavskoe i nitranskoe knyazhestva v kontekste etnopoliticheskoj situacii v slavyanskom mire v IX V Istoricheskij format 4 4 Balaz P 2015 Pseudokrestanski Moravania nitrianski neofyti a najkrestanskejsi Frankovia Konstantinove listy 8 8 pp 14 24 Boba Imre 1971 Moravia s History Reconsidered A Reinterpretation of Medieval Sources Martinus Nijhoff ISBN 90 247 5041 5 Bowlus Charles R 1995 Franks Moravians and Magyars the struggle for the Middle Danube 788 907 University of Pennsylvania Press ISBN 978 0 8122 3276 9 Pieta K and Ruttkay A 2006 Bojna mocenske a christianizacne centrum Nitrianskeho kniezatstva Predbezna sprava Bojna Hospodarske a politicke centrum Nitrianskeho kniezatstva Nitra pp 21 69 Ruttkay M 2012 Mocenske centra Nitrianskeho kniezatstva Bratia ktori zmenili svet Konstantin a Metod Prispevky z konferencie Bratislava pp 115 144 Salkovsky P 2013 Sidelny vyvoj v povodi hornej Nitry v starsich fazach stredoveku Slovenska archeologia Slovak Archaeology 1 61 pp 143 175 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Principality of Nitra amp oldid 1135422162, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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